DISCOVERERS/EXPLORERS TV/DVD FUNDRAISING – the coffee morning last week and the Grand Giveaway raised £207.50, and if you read this in time we are having a table at the table-top sale at HMC on Saturday 17 th – do come along.

SURPLUS BIBLES - The Lighthouse Bookshop is participating in a national scheme to collect surplus Bibles you may have and ship them out to India . This will run until 30 May so please look on your shelves and if you have any Bibles you no longer use which could help our brothers and sisters in India please bring them to the shop where they will be boxed up for collection. Malcolm Swift

MOTHER'S UNION – meets on Thursday. This month we are pleased to welcome Ann Barnes who will speaking on the subject "Prayer - what it means to me". As usual, everyone is welcome at the meeting. Anne Rees

STEWARDSHIP RESPONSE - We have had a wonderful return of 56 Stewardship Responses and we have reached well over one half of our target! A huge thank you to all those who have responded and a reminder to all those who have not had a chance to return their Stewardship Response that it's not too late. Geoff

SAVING OUR CHURCHES - Do read the excellent Sunday Telegraph article on the board in the Welcome area, about the demise of Parish Churches. Many are now in danger as the EU is pulling the plug on reclaiming VAT on church repairs. The article suggests our churches are used by the community Monday-Saturday to make use of excellent buildings - as the church review team has already put to us at the recent APCM! Take a form to lobby our government to 'Save our Churches'. Hilary Fortnam

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK - Thank-you to all our collectors for your hard work this past week. Please return your collections to church by next Sunday, not to the Lighthouse. We will announce the results as soon as the count is done. Tricia & Peter

"During a 30-day Ignatian retreat many essential, life-giving wisdoms surfaced: the hello-goodbye pattern as an integral part of all human existence, the necessity of change in order to have growth, and the need to let go before one can truly move on. I also learned that the cost of discipleship is inherent in any following of Jesus and that this following causes choices which mean goodbye to some parts of life and hello to others. Most important, I discovered that for the Christian, hello always follows goodbye in some form if we allow it. There is, or can be, new life, although it will be different from the life we knew before. The resurrection of Jesus and the promises of God are too strong to have it be any other way." Joyce Rupp

TODAY from 12.00noon we have the opportunity to join together to bid the Rushton family goodbye at the Grand Goodbye Barbecue at Westrop School . Tickets are £2 (under 12s free) from Stephen or Lesley Page.