Holbrook St Michael's Church supports Belper's Food & Community Hub on a weekly basis with generous donations from its parishioners & the wider community.The Hub is inside the Baptist Church, Bridge Street, Belper, Derbyshire & is open between 12pm and 2pm every Tuesday & Friday.Donations of tinned, packet items or toiletries are left at "The Staton's" House, 18 Pond Road, Holbrook, & donations can be left on the doorstep or hand delivered.
I thought you might like to receive an update regarding the Green Team proposals towards St Michael's Eco Church.After meeting with Chris and the volunteers we marked out the area for wildflowers. This will be the first of three areas which will be suitable along the roadside of the boundary. The volunteers completed an excellent job. This area has been chosen for several reasons as we have discussed:1.The area is the best aspect to receive the sunshine necessary for wild flowers.2.The wildflowers will be enjoyed by those travelling along Portway. It will also be easily visible from the road and will 'set off' the church nicely. 3.The verges are sufficiently far away enough not to cause a hindrance to those visiting graves.4.The flowers and butterflies may be enjoyed by those sitting on the bench.As agreed we will complete each step gradually. This is the first verge which will be planted up in spring. We will also be placing 3 bird boxes in the church grounds in early spring and an insect hotel. I am still in the process of completing surveys of your trees and monitoring what wildlife you have visiting your church and will let you know my results in due course.I look forward to seeing the bees and butterflies arrive this summer and building on the plans for the future ecology of the church. Do come along and have a look for yourself as the work progresses and let us know what wildlife you spot.
75 adults and 50 children gathered at the village war memorial for the annual act of remembrance this morning. Our local uniformed organisations had marched on parade form the village hall to the memorial and their flags marked the gateway to church. Nicky, the vicar, led the act while John Maxwell-Jones read out the list of those from our village who had died during both the first and the second world wars and several wreaths were laid. We then had a live bugle call for Last Post and Reveille which flanked the two minute act of silence.During the remainder of the service, we moved into the church building and sang hymns, listened to readings and poems, talked to a neighbour about our understanding of hope and completed a wordsearch of words about war which when completed revealed a hidden message taken from Jesus' words in John's Gospel 'Peace be with you'. We thought together about how the past, the present and the future all come together on Remembrance Sunday and the importance of us reflecting upon the sacrifice and suffering of those involved in war and our commitment to seek the well being and flourishing of all people which the Bible describes as true peace, human flourishing. The service completed with the opportunity for us to pledge ourselves to seeking peace in our world and living in a way that makes a difference and enables others to flourish. After the National Anthem and blessing, everyone was invited to take home a white rose petal along with their poppy so that together the two remind us of our calling to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others and to commit ourselves to seeking peace and human flourishing in our world today.
It was great to see around 100 members of Holbrook community gathering to enjoy a morning of fundraising in church. The raffle itself raised approximately £12,00 and was well supported by local businesses and individuals, we were able to give away 74 prizes to a range of winners. Other prizes won included a hamper, two cuddly toys and two jars of sweets for the hamper raffle stall which raise over £100 and for guess the name of the toys and the number of sweets in the jar. Stalls included cakes, books, pre-loved, arts and crafts, PFA stall, hook a duck, hoopla, refreshments, Christmas cards and the ever popular water or wine game.Altogether, we raise £1930, many thanks to everyone who helped organise and run the event and especially to the members of the community who supported it. If you would have liked to have had a stall, please let us know and we will ensure you are invited next year, we already have two potential new offers from the Green team and a local artist.
