St Michael and All Angels Houghton-le-Spring

What a way to celebrate the 21st Birthday of the Friends of Houghton Parish Church Trust – with a Music Festival.  The Trustees wanted to do something special this year and we certainly did!!  We tried to put together a programme that would suit everyone, from the choir reunion, and music from the 70’s and 80’s in the Kepier to choirs and coffee morning, handbells, brass band, and organ in church, Sunday supper in the Kepier and all greatly supported by members of the Friends, congregation and of course the generous people of Houghton.

Tuesday 6th May Choir Reunion – After choir practice we made our way up to the Kepier Hall for our social evening.  We hoped that we would see one or two past choristers who had seen the invitation to get in touch.  We provided a buffet and Stand kindly opened the bar for us.  Would we get anyone?  Yes we did! Six or seven men turned up including the Rev’d Richard Davison who was a curate during Canon Gwilliam’s time and the beginning of Rev’d Peter Brett’s time with us.  After the ‘old boys’ caught up with each other and a birthday cake (made by Janet from the choir) was cut for Grank Gibbon whose birthday was that day they all went down to see the old photos of the choir in years gone by.  A trip down memory lane caused one man to be so overwhelmed and emotional being back in church and hearing the organ he could not put into words how he felt.  A lovely night and well worth doing.

Thursday 8th May Houghton Brass in Concert – A wonderful evening of great music.  The programme had a First World War theme, everyone was expected to sing along with a medley of WW1 songs.  Tom Gibson was delighted to be back with his band in church.  The night was well supported and both the band and the Friends were delighted with the evening.  The band is very professional and the sound in the church was excellent.

Saturday 10th May Coffee Morning – The morning began with St Michael’s hand bell ringers.  They played a great programme and were enjoyed by a large gathering of people who came for coffee, cake and scones and to listen to the music.  The handbells were followed by a selection of favourite hymns played on the organ.  I had many requests of old and new hymns and people sang along enjoying the variety of music.  As people were leaving, we had a full peal of bells from the tower played by Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Association of Bell Ringers.

Saturday 10th May Music of the 70’s & 80’s – Held in the Kepier Hall the music if ‘Zen’ performed live – a good night was had by all who boogied well into the night!  Thanks to Stan for organising this.

Sunday 11th May Thanksgiving Service for the Friends of the Church – We had a grand service, and it was made very special to have Peter & Elizabeth Fisher back with us.  Peter was instrumental in forming the Trust in 1993.  Gordon Stewart kindly played the organ and Rev’d Frances Wilson conducted the choir.   Rev’d Margaret Lee led the service.  Gordon said to me in an email “Thank you so much for making my visit to Houghton so thoroughly enjoyable.  It was great to see you and to hear the evensong choir in such good form.”  This is a wonderful comment from the conductor of ‘Songs of Praise’.  The choir sang better than I have ever heard them sing; don’t know if it was because I was singing!  It was great to have Peter Crawford back with us.

Celebration Supper – After the Thanksgiving Service and the AGM of the Friends, fifty friends made their way up to the Kepier for what was a lovely meal, everythig was just perfect.  A lot of hard work from the ‘Next 900’ team.  Thank you!  We had a 21st Birthday cake which Peter & Elizabeth cut for us.

Monday 12th May Gordon Stewart Organ Concert – Another great evening.  Gordon always manages to provide a programme for all to enjoy.  He set up his large projection screen so everyone could see him playing the organ from the body of the church.  Gordon came to Houghton on Sunday afternoon and practiced until the evening service.  He then was back in church on Monday at 10am for the day rehearsing for the concert.  “Thank you so much for making my visit to Houghton so thoroughly enjoyable.  It was great to see you and to hear the evensong choir in such good form, lovely to be at the dinner and with such friendly people, good to have a whole day with the Harrison, and a great privilege to play the Friends’ Recital again to such an appreciative audience!  A splendid couple of days”. What dedication to achieve perfection.  Gordon will be here again next year.

Wednesday 14th May The Choirs Concert – We had music from the Gilpin Singers and the Church Choir.  A varied programme including music from ABBA and the Beatles to Mozart and Cesar Frank.  Both choirs were in good voice under the direction of Rev’d Frances Wilson the Gilpin Singers conductor.  Another event well supported and appreciated by the audience.

Members of the Friends, the congregation of the church and many of our friends in Houghton and beyond we thank you for making this festival a resounding success.

We were greeted with warm Spring sunshine as we gathered in Rectory Park for our Proccession of the Palms.  A local farmer had kindly provided us with a sweet,well behaved donkey as we reflected on the journey our Lord took into Jerusalem.We moved off from the park singing When The Saints Go Marching In, crossing the Broadway, perhaps an interesting spectacle for the unsuspecting folk waiting for the bus but also a visible reminder of Christ’s presence in the world.

Once in church we heard  the moving and incredible story of our Lord’s Passion read by many voices.

The annual Spring clean was achieved with a small band of cleaners, polishers etc.  It is surprising where the dirt comes from but the webs and dust are no more! This year was no exception but the addition of a floor scrubbing machine added to the hustle and bustle. By 9.30am people were arriving and no time was spared as tasks were taken in hand.  There was definately a feel of our community working hand in hand, especially at coffee time, thanks to Anne’s oat goodies to eat and then pizza at lunchtime to boost the energy levels.

The journey was messy but as the day grew on we could see the reward for the efforts made and by 3.30pm our church looked spick and span to say the least and all ready for our Mother’s Day service the next day.

Today we welcomed guest preacher  The Reverend Canon Sheila Bamber, the Canon Provost of Sunderland at the Celebration Eucharist for the Feast of Bernard Gilpin.  Sheila wondered what Bernard Gilpin would have made of our celebration of his life and achievements and reflected on his view that faith and our labour are and should be intertwined.  Also exploring the role of the Church in society today in speaking out for those who are marginalized by poverty.  A thought provoking sermon.

We also welcomed a small number of additional once a month members to our choir, these numbers perhaps impacted by those busy folk working hard in the Kepier Hall preparing lunch and others down South supporting our City’s football team.  Feedback following the service was that the sound was pleasing to the ear and those who took part felt welcomed and enjoyed the experience.

After the Celebration Eucharist a delicious lunch was served in the Kepier Hall, a time for conversation, companionship and a celebration of our church community.

Gathered around Bernard Gilpin's tomb

Rev Canon Sheila Bamber, Rev Judith Howes & Rev Margaret Lee

On Saturday 25th January 2014 a good number of folk gathered in the Keipier Hall for the Parish Party organised by the very hard working Next 900 Team. The evening began with a game of pass the parcel and following the delicious hot supper there were lots of great prizes up for grabs in the raffle.  Following on from that an amusing game of bingo and then to the dancing.  The brave souls who attempted the barn dance spent a good deal of time laughing and getting rather muddled, myself included.  Then the ballroom dancers took to the floor moving around with effortless grace.  The evening was rounded off with dancing for all with the disco.  All in all it was an evening of good conversation, delicious food, a variety of games, a huge amount of laughter and some sparkling footwork on the dancefloor.