All Saints Methodist Church

Appleford Drive

Abingdon

Golden Anniversary Celebrations

1959 - 2009

Special Services during the Gold Year

2 November 2008, 49th Church Anniversary:

Revd Alison Tomlin, Chair of Northampton District

7 December 2008: Revd John Rowland (friend of All Saints)

11 January 2009: Revd Gordon James (minister 1983/86)

1 February 2009: Revd Brenda Woods (friend of All Saints)

22 March 2009: Revd Ruth Gee (church member and Local Preacher 1981/86 and now Chair of Darlington District)

26 April 2009: Revd Ron Berry (minister 1965/72)

17 May 2009: Revd Philip Berry (son of Ron Berry, now Superintendent Minister, Congleton Circuit)

14 June 2009: Revd Brian Jones (minster 1990/97) & Revd Mary Jones (Brian’s wife, ordained while at All Saints)

5 July: Revd Richard Baggott (minister 1972/76)

13 September 2009: Revd Helen White (minster 2007/08) & Revd Ian White (Helen’s father and a past President of Methodist Conference)

October: Gold Preacher to be arranged

1 November 2009, 50th Church Anniversary: Revd Baroness Kathleen Richardson, a past President of Methodist Conference

Gold Charities

During the Gold Year, All Saints will be supporting two special charities:

• The Alzheimer’s Society (Abingdon Branch)
• Church Development in Bishnica, Albania.   Bishnica is a village in SE Albania; funds raised will support church services and mission work in the surrounding area.  Support will go to study groups, including children and young people, social work, a school house in Bishnica, a medical care project or a reforestation programme.

Other Gold Events

1 November 2008: Two Christophers’ Concert

8 November 2008: Safari Supper in aid of Gold Charities

9 May 2009: Away Day, details to be announced.  This will be an opportunity for everyone to look to the future and to contribute to plans for the next 50 years of All Saints Methodist Church. 

16–25 May 2009: Oxfordshire Artweeks: Exhibition of the Artistic & Creative Talents of All Saints Methodist Church.

27 June 2009: Church Outing to the seaside

11–13 September 2009: Flower Festival

30 October 2009: Start of celebratory weekend

31 October 2009: 6pm Golden Anniversary Dinner at All Saints

Notes

Abingdon Camera Club, which meets on our premises, has agreed to make a photographic record of the Gold Year.  A photographer will therefore often be present at special events and we hope to mount an exhibition of the year in October 2009.

The weekend of 30 October – 1 November 2009 will see the final celebrations of the Gold Year.  On Saturday 31 October we shall plant a tree and have a special meal at 6pm.  Please let Paul Williams have names and addresses of any All Saints friends who have moved away from Abingdon, so we can invite them for the weekend.

Jan Greenough is collecting thoughts about of All Saints and these will be published in time for the celebratory weekend.

We shall also have a special Tea Towel on sale during the year.

We shall need stewards for the Artweeks exhibition in May and the Flower Festival in September.  Please let me know if you can help with either of these events.

Judith Penrose Brown

Gold Co-ordinator