The Runway is due to celebrate it’s 10th Birthday this summer and it is a privilege to be involved in the planning for this celebration. Each year the Runway has steadily increased the amount of footfall, reaching out to more and more people in our community and further afield. We have been supported in the past three years with updating the Runway in terms of décor, new flooring and doors. The Runway is a not-for-profit church coffee shop in the heart of the Martlesham Heath community and is attached to St Michaels Church. We are staffed by a dedicated team of volunteers five mornings a week, Tuesday through to Saturday inclusive from 9am – 12pm. We offer a wide range of drinks, homemade cakes and scones all at a very reasonable price. Along with several groups who meet here each week, please feel free to join us for that quiet coffee or for some company and a chat if you would like, come and meet with your friends and perhaps make some new ones. As often as possible we have a Chaplain on hand should you wish to use them - someone who will take the time to listen to your words, a place that is warm and inviting and everyone is welcome. Event Days – In August we offer a Cream Tea event and in December Tea, Coffee, Cakes and Carols. Both events take place in the afternoon and are well attended. An opportunity to spend a couple of hours enjoying some nice food with unlimited tea and coffee and in December with added music and singing too. A treat to enjoy with your friends and neighbours and at a nominal cost. We know people struggle with finances, and to ensure we are helping our community as much as possible we offer a ‘Coffee of the Wall’ scheme. This means we can serve refreshments to someone who for whatever reason may not have any money on them. It is very worthwhile and much appreciated by those who have needed it in the past. Twice a year we have a ‘Free Cake Day’, offering anyone who purchases a hot drink, a free slice of homemade cake or a fruit/cheese scone – what’s not to like!As the Runway logo suggests - what we offer in terms of caring and fellowship is "More than just Coffee!!
St Michael’s Baby and Toddler group was launched earlier this month and has already welcomed over 20 new families to the church. The group runs from 9.30-11am every Thursday and is run by Emma and a small team of volunteers. Every week we have free play for the first 45 minutes and then we have our snack time. The children are offered fresh fruit or vegetable sticks, a healthy snack and a biscuit. The grown-ups get good coffee and chocolate biscuits! At 10.45am we tidy up and gather in a circle in the middle of the room for story and song time. Each week we have a story from ‘The Play-Along Bible’ which is a short retelling of a bible story with simple actions that the children join in with. During the session we have craft and play opportunities that link with the story. We then have our song time which is mainly traditional nursery rhymes with a couple of Christian songs too. We close with a ‘thought to make your heart sing’ for the adults and a sung blessing for the children (to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!) We hope that more and more families come along each week and that we see friendships starting to grow.
The new curate at the Martlesham with Brightwell Benefice has just completed his first six weeks in the role – and says it’s ‘the greatest job in the world’. See the full article on the diocese website
