Our "Water into Wine" Mission Week took place during October 2006 and as well as many services and events during that week, there were a lot of events in the months leading up to Mission Week.

This page is a summary of those events, with short reports for many of the items. If you weren't able to join us at any of the events, we're sorry you missed them. But don't let that stop you coming along to one of our services, or the other events that are taking place at St Andrew's now. Check out the Diary pages for details of what's on now.

In the summaries below, look out for the links to photo-reports in the Gallery section.

Sing-along-a-Joseph – Saturday 24th June

The songs from the “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” have been popular since the musical was first staged in 1968. We joined forces with local schools and choirs, as well as our own Community Choir and band to perform the full set of songs to tell the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers.

*** See the photo report - click here ***

Holiday Club – Monday 14th to Thursday 17th August

Our summer Holiday Club already has a marvellous reputation and is known to be great fun for all those that attend - children and leaders alike. It is a good opportunity for children to learn about Jesus and God in a relaxed and fun environment, and is already very popular with many families. This year's Holiday Club was no exception to the rule, and was thoroughly enjoyed by almost 200 children and young people.

Holiday Club Service - Sunday 20th August

After the main Holiday Club activities during the week, we held our regular Holiday Club Service, with all of the the singing, dancing, drama and excitement that is the hallmark of Holiday Club worship. This year's service was at the later time of 10.00am, and was followed by a separate Holy Communion service shortly after the Holiday Club service. This seemed to make it easier for more families to get there, and meant that you didn't have to stay on for Holy Communion if you didn't wish to.

*** Read more about Holiday Club - click here ***

Quiz Night - Friday 15th September

The Quiz Night was a social evening for all ages that also raised money for a good cause; people in need in developing countries. The event was held in the Weatherly Centre and was centred around a light-hearted, but highly competitive, pub-style quiz (and yes the bar was open). All the profits from the evening were donated to a 'buy a goat' scheme to enable more third-world families to become self-sufficient. Hence it was a great event to invite friends and neighbours to; good fun and all for a good cause. During the evening there was a short talk about our Mission Week in October, so that everyone has a chance to hear what was going to be happening that week.

The Quiz Night went well with about 100 people taking part in a light-hearted but hard fought competition. With 6 themed rounds plus extra rounds for films and phrases there was plenty to keep everyone busy. The winning team on the night was Bob's "Newman's Knowalls" team, but the real winners were the recipients of the camel which we were able to buy though Oxfam Unwrapped as a result of the evening! We must do it again sometime.

Harvest Festival - Sunday 1st October

Harvest Festivals have always been popular, and for many people remain an important milestone in the year, marking the shift into autumn, but also a time to thank God for the many gifts we enjoy from his creation. For this reason it appeals to both regular and irregular visitors to the church, and we wanted to encourage more people to attend the service this year. That's why we changed the time of the service to 10.00am and included a separate Holy Communion after the Harvest service itself.

We hope that this enabled many more people to set aside an hour to thank God for the bountiful harvest that we enjoy. Worshippers could chose to join us just for the Harvest service, or for both the Harvest and Holy Communion.

Mission Week - Sunday 8th to Sunday 15th October

The Mission Week itself was a mixture of special services and talks, youth and school activities, and a social evening.

During the week there was a number of talks from gifted guest speakers based on stories from St John's Gospel and how they relate to our daily lives. We were challenged by those stories and the message they contain, and as the talks were given as part of simple services we were able to use visual images to focus our thoughts and responses.

Towards the end of the week we were joined by Roly Bain, an internationally renowned Christian clown who used his circus skills to share the Christian gospel. Roly hosted a youth event as well as visiting the church schools and helping out at a special Holiday Club event, and joining us in our final Sunday service. For those who saw Roly, you will know just how entertaining yet powerful, his presentations are.

In amongst all of that there was a social evening at which we provided our own entertainment with a mixture of musical and dramatic pieces. As with previous events, the evening was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone that came along to a packed St Andrew's School hall.

Services and Events during the Mission Week were:

• Sun 8th Oct 9.30am - Parish Communion with The Ven Paul Hughes, talking about "Water into Wine".
• Sun 8th Oct, 6.00pm - Special Service with the Revd Kevin Fitzgibbon, talking about "Thirsting for the Living Water".
• Mon 9th Oct, 7.30pm - Special Service with the Revd David Anderson, talking about "Journeying from Darkness to Light".
• Tue 10th Oct, 7.30pm - Special Service with Canon Jeremy Fletcher, talking about "Disciples of the Servant King".
• Wed 11th Oct, 7.30pm - Special Service with the Ven Helen Cunliffe, talking on "Christ and the Cross".
• Thursday 12th Oct, 7.15pm - Youth Service with Roly Bain, international Christian clown.
• Friday 13th Oct, daytime - Special assemblies at St Andrew's and Edward Peake schools with Roly Bain, Christian clown.
• Friday 13th Oct, 7.30pm - Social evening at St Andrew's School with entertainment and refreshments.
• Saturday 14th Oct, 2pm to 5pm - Holiday Club event at church, with Roly Bain.
• Sunday 15th Oct, 10.30am - All-Age Parish Communion followed by lunch.

As you can see, there was an awful lot going on, and it was a fabulous week. We estimate that the combined attendance to all the events was in the region of 1500 adults and children, and we hope that whether they attended one or all of the events, it left them thinking about where God is in their lives.

*** For photos Roly and some of the activities, click here ***