Biblefresh campaign has a global focus: to raise money to translate the New Testament into Bissa Barka where speakers have no translation, and the Old Testament into Bissa Lebir, where speakers only have the New Testament. The languages are just two of the 66 dialects spoken in Burkina Faso.

Recently visiting partners there, Krish Kandiah said, ”In the UK we know the value of native translation - having the Bible in English has shaped our culture. Our problem is that we’ve lost our appetite for the Bible. But in Burkina faso, the president of the African Evangelical Alliance, pastor Samuel Yameogo, told me that the people there
would rather have a Bible than shoes.”

At Frodsham Methodist Church Biblefresh is our chosen charity this year. We will be passing all donations received for the Sunday morning tea and coffee to the charity.

You can find out more about their work by visiting their website at www.biblefresh.com

“Safari Suppers were mainly popular in the 1980s and the practice died out with big perms and fluorescent tracksuits!”

I found that quote on the internet and we certainly proved it wrong when we held our own Safari Supper in June. Members of our church family enjoyed travelling in Helsby and Frodsham in search of their four course supper. From the comments I heard afterwards people enjoyed the food, the gardens and the company. It was a very enjoyable evening and gave us a chance to chat in a relaxing atmosphere.

We travelled around with our 2 year old grandson, Henry, and his Mum and Dad. He quickly got the idea that every time we moved on we got more food. He was very impressed with the whole concept and kept asking, “Are we going to another house for tea?” He also enjoyed the fun and games in the hall, which was a new idea for this
year.

Finally thanks again to the hosts and their helpers – it was a great evening.

Ros Caldwell
Church Secretary

When I first saw this old quilt I was very excited to handle such a precious old item. Having previously seen many signature quilts, this one was very unusual in that it had an overall appliqué design with the signatures making up the pattern. The members in 1891 paid to have their names embroidered on the quilt and Mrs Robinson did the embroidery.

This raised £55 in aid of the Trinity Trust Bazaar.

The quilt was exhibited at the Wesleyan Centenary Bazaar on April 29th 1891. It was then purchased by Mr. J. Simpson and presented to the Frodsham Wesleyan Circuit. For many years it has been lovingly looked after by Mrs. Ruth Caldwell and was recently included in an exhibition at Frodsham Methodist Church for all to see.

However, it was felt that the quilt should now be preserved in a suitable museum, so in April Ros Caldwell and I took it to the Englesea Brook Museum just south of Nantwich. The museum is tucked away in a very small village and looks like an old red brick Victorian farm house. The large arched window to the right of the building hints of something different.

We were welcomed by Margaret Veal, the Education officer, who made us a hot drink. Whilst drinking, we watched a very interesting video about the museum, followed by a look around. The museum tells the story of the founders of Primitive Methodism, Hugh Bourne and William Clowes. It also has the largest collection of religious banners in the country and they are all very interesting, giving us an insight into lives in the 19 century.

We then unrolled the quilt and spread it out over the pews for Margaret and Stephen Hatcher to see. They were overwhelmed when they saw it - they had never seen another like it and were eagerly reading the signatures. We explained that there are still many people with the same family names in Frodsham today. Having told them
the story of the quilt we rolled it up and they said that they were interested in having it, but this had to be confirmed at a meeting and they would let us know in due course.

Margaret showed us photos of a wedding dress exhibition they had held, and said that the quilt would be used for display and education in a similar manner. Very soon afterwards we heard that they would love to keep the quilt and the papers were signed to hand over ownership to the museum.

The quilt is now in the safe hands of a registered museum which has the knowledge to preserve it for posterity. We can highly recommend a visit to this fascinating little museum.

Camille Bradford

If you would like to visit Englesea Brook Museum, you can find out more at their website: www.engleseabrook-museum.org.uk

A fantastic day was had at the Ladies Group Summer Fayre held on Monday 18th July, 2011, in the Church Hall, Kingsley Road.

There were refreshments on sale in the form of tea and coffee and home-made scones with butter, jam and cream. There were also bric-a-brac, card, book, plant and produce stalls. 

Approximately £740 was raised and this will be sent to the North-West Air Ambulance. To find out more about their important work or to donate, you can visit their website.

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to organise the Safari Supper. We were very lucky with the weather and
everyone enjoyed the whole evening. There was a real buzz in the hall at the final course with the games, quizzes and, of course, the chocolate fountain.
 
A special "thank you" to our hosts - they made it look so easy but I know lots of planning, shopping and preparation had gone on beforehand. The event raised £694 and more importantly lots of fun was had!
 
Thanks also to everyone who came - you made it all worthwhile. 

Ros Caldwell