New entrance for Prestwood Methodist Church
The front entrance to the church was modified in the 1970's with the addition of a flat-roofed lobby extension. Before that time the front entrance opened directly onto the increasingly busy High Street, a situation that was getting very dangerous. However moving the entrance to the flat-roofed lobby meant that anyone entering the building was confronted with a blank brick wall before having to turn into the vestibule. It was not a welcoming aspect of the building, and with a number of the congregation now in wheelchairs, it wasn't very easy to negotiate. As part of the 150th Anniversary celebrations the Church Council decided to update the entrance with new glass doors right in the middle of the church tower section, and to turn the old lobby into a display area. Building work started in January 2013 was finished in March, well in time for the anniversary weekend. During the afternoon Circuit Service on 14 April 2013, the doors were dedicated by our former minister, Revd Nigel Coke-Woods.
The new entrance at Prestwood Methodist Church
Here are some pictures taken during the building work - click on any to see a full-sized version.
150th anniversary weekend photos
During the 150th Anniversay weekend on 13/14th April 2013 we took many photos of the Flower Festival, the exhibition of photos and other memorablia, the concerts and the services of worship, culminating in the dedication of our new front doors by Revd Nigel Coke-Woods. Click on any of the thumbnails to see a full-sized version.
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Minister:
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Stewards:
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Hall and church bookings
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Church Stewards
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Mrs Sandie Wheatley |
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Mrs Mary Spooner |
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Mrs Bridget Appleby |
"What caught your eye today?"Superintendent's Newsletter by Revd Anne Ellis |
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This was the title given to a series of photographs posted on a social media site by a friend of mine. It started as ten photos, one each day, that morphed into a year long project. Lorna set herself the task of being deliberately observant of the situations and people she found herself dealing with on a daily basis, in the hope that by sharing those things that caught her eye it would encourage her to look up from her screen to the world beyond. The result was an eclectic mix of places and people, starry skies, sunsets, and also of the small things that surround us, unremarkable for their very familiarity. Those small everyday things that could, so easily, have gone by unnoted: the leaf design swirled on top of a cappuccino by a skilled barista; a coil of rope laid neatly beside a mooring, a bowl of podded peas ready for shelling; a jug full of spring daffodils; the jazz singer’s glitzy shoes. Each photograph underscoring the rewards of looking in anticipation, expecting to be surprised. Our lives are full of the familiar; people, places, routines, the things we know about and understand. It is our experience of the familiar that provides the interpretive framework we use to make sense of the world in which we live and function. The tendency is, however, to see what we expect to see, and to look no further. The lectionary cycles of the Christian year lead us over familiar ground. The Christmas narrative with angels, shepherds and an unmarried couple has become embedded in popular culture. The season of Lent brings us once more to the Wilderness and temptation resisted, and of signs, miracles, mercy and judgment we know well. What thrill can remain, say. in the telling of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, with all its hopes of a new Davidic dynasty, when Good Friday is already anticipated? Have we decided already what the Scriptures are all about? What Jesus is all about? May be, like Lorna, we need to raise our eyes and choose to become deliberately observant of what the gospel writers are saying and come intentionally to each anecdote and passage afresh. It is then the well-worn phrases, words and situations, and even the smallest of details, may catch the eye of our imagination and surprise us with insights anew.
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