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The Music Group or Hesband, as some people call it, is the group of people you will often see in the corner on a Sunday morning, the more disreputable-looking members wielding guitars. Believe it or not, we sometimes practise – at the moment we tend to rehearse on Wednesday or Thursday evenings. If you have an instrument and want to join in or have vocal cords and want to use them to add to the singing, come and find Rick (the one with the facial hair who is playing acoustic guitar). The aims of the group are threefold: to have fun, to worship God to allow people to discover/use/develop musical gifts, to be a group where people can meet each other, and to help others to worship God. OK – fivefold. Help us to do this better – we welcome feedback, especially with new ideas. New members of the group, both singers and instrumentalists are always welcome.______Rick Taylor

the music group

Mothers' Union meets on the third Thursday of each month in the meeting room (2.00 pm in winter and 7.30 pm in summer) with a varied programme of speakers. In summer there is an outing in July and a Christmas lunch in December. They also meet on the first Wednesday of each month at 9.30am for a corporate Communion in the Church followed by Bible study.

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Meetings in 2010
21st January 2.00pm AGM and 'Miscellany' Nancy
18th February 2.00pm Facing the Music John Beilby
Friday 5th March 2.00pm Women's World Day of Prayer  
18th March 2.00pm
A Jewish Seder and The Last Supper
Margaret Barr
25th March 11.00am Lady Day Service Middlesborough
15th April 2.00pm Sentences Aileen Bloomer
20th May 7.30pm "When I was sick, you visited me" Angela Brefitt
17th June 7.30pm In praise of disappointment Christine Stephenson
Monday 5th July   Visit to Parliament Baroness Afshar
15th July   Summer Outing
August   No meeting  
16th September 7.30pm So you think you can't paint? Karl Jarvis
21st October 2.00pm Prehistoric and Roman Heslington Cath Neal
18th November 2.00pm A chance to dance Melanie Drewicz
16th December Christmas lunch

Flowers The church is very appreciative of the beautiful flower arrangements produced each week. They are usually done by Rosabelle Lonsborough, Deirdre Hopwood and Pat Beckwith with back-up from Margaret Cummings and Marjorie Gollop. Other members of the congregation usually help at the bigger celebrations. We welcome anyone who might be interested in doing flowers, perhaps to celebrate an anniversary or in memory of a loved one. Please contact one of us.

Wedding flowers are usually organised by the people concerned but we are more than happy to do them for our regular members if they wish.

We try to be self-funding but rely on generous donations from our church members throughout the year for buying flowers and oasis.

Look at the examples of beautiful flower arrangements in the pictures and click on any of them to see the enlargement.

flower display flower display
flower display flower display

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The Banner Group's main focus recently was on the new banner for the 2008 birthday celebrations. So many people have been involved it is impossible to name them all – but our grateful thanks to all who have picked up a needle (some for the first time in many years) to embroider panels. We even managed to get it all done in time for the party (just!). Look at the result in the picture and click on it to see the enlargement.______Deirdre Hopwood


The 20 / 20 Social Group caters for those aged 20 upwards. We meet on the third Saturday of each month for social activities such as 10-pin bowling, safari supper, BBQ, games evening, theatre trip, quiz, video evening, etc. The meetings take place in someone's home, usually with a shared supper unless it is a trip out. There is no formal membership and anyone is welcome to turn up. Full details of each event will be given nearer the actual date. Contact Margaret or Bob Cummings at 01904 413928.

Program of events for 2009
21st February Ten-pin bowling Derek Wortley
28th March Theatre visit Linda Maloney
25th April Trip to Bradford Museums Maureen Brownbridge
23rd May Games evening Claire Hayden
27th June Croquet John Eckersley
25th July Trip to Bempton Cliffs Bob Cummings
12th September Trip to SledmereHouse Stuart Turner
10th October Safari Supper  
28nd November Pre-Xmas meal Alison Morley
31st December New Year's Eve party Linda Maloney
23rd January 2010 Winter BBQ  

Heslington Men's Group meets in the meeting room on the second Wednesday each month at 7.30pm during the autumn and winter. There are always interesting speakers on a variety of unusual topics. All men of Heslington Church and their friends are welcome to attend. Our retiring collections last year were allocated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance; this year's is yet to be decided. For more details of the group, contact Brian Blanchard (tel: 01904 410278).

Season 2009 / 2010
14 October Work of the Arclight charity  
11 November The Chocolate Letters Ken Hayward
9 December Composting by York Rotters Catherine Bamford
13 January Pictorial history of Heslington Church Harry Telfer
10 February The diary of a Far East P.O.W. John Nixon
9 March (Tuesday) Radio nostalgia (Ladies Night)
Terry Richards

The Prayer Group meets fortnightly on a Tuesday morning at 10.00 am in the Community Room at Heslington Court. Members take it in turns to lead the meeting, each person doing it in their own way. After the time of prayer there are light refreshments and friendly chat. Please join us if you can.

image of Albrecht Dürer's betende hände.

The Church Walking Group meets at Heslington Vicarage at 9.30 am, usually on the third Saturday of the month, for walks in the Howardian Hills, the Wolds or the North York Moors. Historical or religious interest is often part of the planning. The distance is normally about 10 miles, with a shorter route of about 5 miles for those who prefer it. The walks are most ably led by our trusted guide and author, John Eckersley. Bring your own lunch and don't be put off by the nettles, brambles and mud that are a guaranteed feature of every walk. You don't have to be super-fit to join us - walkers of all levels of experience and age are welcome. Numbers involved have ranged from three to twenty-four and ages from two to getting on a bit.

walking group

Let us know if you are coming (so we can arrange transport) either by signing the notice in the church or by ringing John Eckersley at 01904 410389.

Dates of walks in 2010
16 January 13 February 13 March 5 April
17 April 15 May 19 June 17 July
21 August 18 September 16 October 20 November

See the pictures taken by our enthusiastic photographer on a recent walk to explore the countyside around Bugthorpe and Kirby Underdale - look out for the badger sett and the field full of molehills.

Find out about John's walking books by going to his website.