The Alnwick, Bamburgh, Glendale and Norham Deaneries were due to gather together in June 2020 at All Saints, Rothbury. Finally we made it on 20th June 2022! It was so good to get together and chat and catch up after a long enforced break. Hosted by Upper Coquetdale we met in AllSaints Church for a short service after a welcome cup of tea/coffee and biscuits/cake, especially as there was a long diversion due to roadworks. The sun shone for the whole day which meant that we could take advantage of sitting outside.
The theme was “The Environment” and Ann Marr, Area Chaplin, had sent us an interesting reading entitled re-Genesis which we followed with “If the Earth were only a few feet in diameter” (page 59 United in Prayer and Worship). Alison Ball, Branch Leader, led the service.
Liz Cummings then gave us a short talk about reusing/recycling and was delighted by the enthusiastic response of all MU members. We all agreed that much more should be recycled (some parts of the country do so much better), so Alison suggested we, as a group, request a visit to the Northumberland County Council Recycling Centre to stress the point.
Liz showed us some useful ideas for making something useful out of something we might throw away:
Compost Scoop from a plastic milk bottle
Seed trays and plant labels " " "
Watering can " " "
Elastic bands from old rubber gloves
Pan scrubbers from plastic net bags
Veggie/fruit bags (when buying items loose) from old net curtains.
Others joined in with more ideas e.g. using plastic bread wrappers as pedal bin liners.
We all do really care about the planet; after all it is God's wonderful creation, so we must do everything in our power to protect, care and nurture it for the future generations.
After lunch which we had in the church and the village, we went to visit an Eco-house in Rothbury where one of the MU members lives. This was fascinating and we had a tour of the garden and the house. There were many features that were explained to us which make the house eco-friendly and environmentally friendly. There were bat boxes built into the house and wall, including some with special entrances for inexperienced bats!
Then back to Rothbury for a final cuppa and the raffle! All environmentally friendly, recycled, reusable prizes!
So much to think about and so much to chat about as we caught up on the last few years. Cathy Smith was able to join us for a short time which was great, so old friends and new friends were able to meet. Thanks to everyone who came – there were 26 of us altogether. Until next time……..
