Christmas music included the Twelve Eco Days of Christmas, with new “eco” words, sung as a round with the audience, the Angels’ carol, Gesu Bambino with Yvonne Hartlebury as the soloist and favourite carols Joy to the World and Hark the herald angels sing. The choir and orchestra were conducted by Steuart Kellington and the violinist Andrew Hall led the orchestra.

As has become established over the eleven years since the first Joy to the World concert, key events of the year and anniversaries were included using music, drama, poetry and dance. Madeline Adey and Andrew Piercy introduced the items and explained the reasons for their inclusion. They first introduced dancers Lydia Humphreys and Imogen Clarkson of Ribble Valley Dance who danced beautifully to Elgar’s Salut d’amour. A sketch acted by William Burns and Gerry Purchase followed, which finally revealed that the Esau was a donkey who carried Mary to Bethlehem! A very moving performance of the spiritual Like a river in my soul was then performed by the Choir with a very demanding piano accompaniment played expertly by Dorothy Birtwell. A poetry interlude followed in which Richard Thornton read two poems written by Simon Armitage, the poet laureate, in honour of our late queen and Sue Paramore read the poem Mary’s song. Sue later performed a monologue by Michele and Abby Guinness called Miss Shepherd about a shepherdess who stayed with sheep instead of accompanying the shepherds to visit the stable. A very amusing sports review was then presented in rhyme by Norman Kelly.

A fitting climax to the music was the new Christmas composition Child of the Promise by Rose Aspinall and Jay Rouse for the choir and full orchestra, with Beverley Jones joining on the organ. The item included an excerpt from O Holy Night and ended with a majestic and appropriate setting of the words Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to all men.
The concert was introduced by Alan Meyer, Chair of Clitheroe Christians in Partnership who sponsored the concert and Revd Ian Humphreys, Superintendent Minister of the Clitheroe Methodist Circuit presented his reflections on the celebration of Christmas and
At the end of the concert, Revd Humphreys said “We have had an uplifting afternoon with quality singing and playing interspersed with relevant topical items reminding us of recent events. I will have to call in the building inspectors to check the condition of the roof after the rousing performance of Child of the Promise!”

A retiring collection for the Christian Aid Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal raised an amazing £1370. Following the concert, the audience enjoyed mince pies and coffee in Trinity Community Hub.

In Act 2 Shirley Holmes and her colleague, Dotty Watson, interview the suspects and reveal the murderer at the very end.  The author, Sue Dodd with be attending on the Saturday evening.

Tickets at £10 including hot pot supper and dessert can be booked on phone 07772 932 995 or by email on joanwillock@hotmail.com and collected at the door. There is a limited number of places because of catering requirements so book soon to enjoy a fun evening!

Trinity Ramblers keep rambling on!

The weather might be getting colder but that doesn’t stop the Trinity Ramblers! They climbed Ingleborough on Wednesday 28th September, and what a beautiful September day it was! The Ramblers set off from Trinity at 8:30 every Wednesday – rain or shine – walking 8-10 Miles with a 800-1500FT ascent!

For more information, contact Carol Baird, Hub Manager 

hello@trinityhub.org.uk | 07581 187615

Up Trow Gill

The last climb

Our Trinity Eco Group led September’s Coffee Stop with an Eco Theme! The Climate Action Network Group led activities for young people whilst Jenny from Natural England led a planting workshop with top tips for growing healthy plants! We are so grateful to everyone who popped in on Saturday 24th September – with your help we raised £255 which will fund the twinning of the remaining toilets in the Hub and will hopefully secure us a Silver Eco Church Award!

Thank you also to everyone who supported running stalls, helping in the kitchen or serving visitors – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Watch the Video from today:

Even though we are 1862 miles from Ukraine, Clitheroe hasn’t gone untouched. Many families in and around the Ribble Valley opened their homes to people from Ukraine, so they too can have a safe space to call their own. Some of those families joined us at the Coffee Stop and were very grateful to all the support and kindness they were being shown.

The Coffee Stop for Ukraine raised over £500 and received hundreds of pairs of shoes and many toiletries which have all been sent to Ukraine.

Rev Ian with all the shoe donations!

A new group for people with Parkinsons and MS and their families will launch on Monday 5th September from 10 – 12noon at Trinity Methodist Church Community Hub, Clitheroe. It will meet on the first Monday of every month. 

The Parkinsons and MS group is a drop-in Cafe which will provide much needed support since the local group run by the NHS has not been able to re-open since co-vid. It will provide NHS professionals popping in to answer questions, and hopefully, if funding will allow, a chance to invite specialist speakers. A rota of volunteers will provide the refreshments and a donation of min.£2 is asked to cover the costs of the group. The need for such a cafe was demonstrated by the very successful Taster Session held in August which attracted over 25 people to attend.  

Carol Baird, Trinity Community Hub Manager said “this cafe is going to be a great social support network and we look forward to welcoming people with Parkinsons and MS into the Hub. This drop-in could not have happened without the support of the Parkinson and MS Societies.”

Organising meeting prior to the Taster Session we held in August

Churches and homes supporting families from Ukraine are coming together to mark 6 months of the conflict with a high-profile event to mark National Ukraine Day at the end of August.

The monthly Coffee Stop at Trinity Methodist Church Community Hub on Saturday 27 August will be bigger than usual with a collection point for donations of shoes, boots and toiletries which will be sent to Ukraine via Christian International Aid trucks in Preston. There will be tea, coffee, hot chocolate, bacon butties, scones, tea cakes, cake stall, jigsaws, and Trade Craft stall.

Trinity Hub Manager, Carol Baird explained: ‘We are really looking forward to bringing all the churches together for this special event. We need volunteers to wait on tables, and to help man the collection point. At the event there will be many Ukrainian guests being hosted by Ribble Valley hosts attending to help the event go well. We are asking everyone who volunteers to help on the morning if they can to wear a touch of yellow and blue – the Ukraine National colours. We are also doing a community art piece of a sunflower – the national flower of the Ukraine.’

Have you ever heard of a Living Wall? Have you ever seen a Living Wall? Trinity Eco Group had the privilege of visiting Lancaster University Library’s Living Wall thanks to their mentor, Jenny Griggs from Natural England, who organised this trip. It was very inspirational to see the plants creating such a calm environment for the students and we even had a go at misting the ferns! This is helping us to see what might be possible in our own space at Trinity.

Trinity Eco Group learning more about the Living Wall

Sister Anthony welcomed us to Nazareth house and we had tea and homemade blackberry cake with her in the gardens. We were taken on a tour of the gardens complete with woodland walks, beehives, insect houses and a large pond.

Sister Anthony answering questions about the Sensory Garden at Nazareth House

On Saturday 6th August, Trinity was part of the town-wide Draw Clitheroe event! Over 180 people visited our terrace and became pavement artists for the day. Archie Whymark, Trinity’s Eco Champion, and the Eco Group led the butterfly chalk drawing and, through this, raised people’s awareness of the Climate Crisis and how this is affecting butterflies! The photo above shows our Coffee time after the morning service on Sunday, where the butterflies still looked beautiful!

Archie’s Eco Facts 

Archie takes part in the chalk drawing at the Draw Clitheroe Event

Plants are flowering a month earlier which catches the butterflies out!

A butterfly is very clever and can adapt quickly to changes in the environment, however our world is changing too fast for butterflies and they are becoming extinct.

Look at all these colourful butterflies!