Planning for our new Vicar

Revd Louise has been in Bamburgh for several months now and we gather that she is being kept busy. No surprise there. In the meantime the plans for filling the vacancy at St Mary's are progressing. The Diocese has decided that there will be a full-time post made up of half time as vicar for St Mary's and half time with responsibilities for clergy training in the area. A similar balance to Louise's.

 The formal steps which need to be followed before the post can be advertised in September are well advanced and the PCC and congregation have been working hard to put together the necessary documentation so that applicants may have a full and accurate a picture of the job, the local community and our view of the priorities. The post will be advertised on the Diocesan website as well as Pathways which is the go-to place online for Church of England jobs. 

 Shortlisting of applicants will take place in October with interviews in November. All being well that would mean a Vicar being in place here for Easter 2020.

This is a very important process for the future of our communities so please pray for us.

What's going on around St Mary's

Monday Prayer Meetings: the group will not be meeting in Embsay on 19^thor 26^th August.

Fete at Holy Trinity:  the sun shone, people came and spent money, there was lots of chat and everything was tidied away with little apparent effort. And we raised £791.11. A big thank you to all those who worked to make this possible. 

Away Day at Scargill, September 28th: a day for joint reflection and prayer with members of Embsay Methodists. Do come if you can, details from Peter or Liz.

Looking Both Ways – our window restoration: the final stage of the work on our windows takes place next week when the two nave windows will be replaced. After that there is minor cleaning of the remaining windows which will be done in situ. The making of a new storage unit for the hymn books and the provision of book storage for children at the rear of the church should be completed within the next month and the publication about our windows will follow at the end of the year. On the evidence that surrounds us this has been a diverse and very successful project.

Two things to look forward to:  A family fun evening at the Beetle Driveon September 20^thand “Dancing in the Aisles” (maybe?) when Swing City bring their music to St Mary’s on October 19^th. Both are going to be popular so mark your diaries and get tickets from Liz (beetle) and Peter (swing).

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY. 

• Monday September 9^th: Community Café opens in the Methodist Hall between 9.00 and 11.30.
• Friday 20 September: Beetle Drive, 6.30pm to 8.30pm, Embsay Village Institute
• Saturday 28 September: Away Day at Scargill House – a joint venture with the Methodists.