It was with great pleasure that we welcomed The Bishop of Durham, The Right Reverend Paul Butler to St Michael and All Angels, Houghton le Spring for a Confirmation Service during which Zachariah Joseph & Charlotte Hepple from our congregation and Thomas Heslop from St Michael and All Angels, Easington Lane were confirmed.
Zak, Charlotte and Tom each read their testimony to us which was very moving and profound and really gave a sense of the Holy Spirit at work and with us as we shared in this public yet intimate moment. Zak was then Batptised which gave the other candidates and the congregation the opportunity to revist and reflect on their Baptism promises.
The Bishop then confirmed Charlotte, Zak and Tom reminding the congregation of the promises that they were making to support all three in their continuing journey of faith. We were then invited to welcome the newly confirmed by saying together “We welcome you in the fellowship of faith; we are children of the same heavenly Father; we welcome you.” Then we shared the peace.
And so after a service filled with beautiful music, thought provoking words and warm fellowship we moved to the back of church where we enjoyed some delicious food, a wonderful celebration cake and lots of chat and laughter.
Many Thanks to all those who contributed to making it such a splendid event.
Ros Pickersgill had made large poppies so that we could write our own special messages and she also recited a wonderful poem that she had written which reflected the many people in the stories that people had shared for the exhibition.
A little before 11am we all moved outside onto a bustling Newbottle Street. Rector Sue said a few words and then we observed the silence together. We were joined by passers by who also wanted to show their respect.
Following the silence we returned inside and placed our poppies on the exhibition boards around the stories.
Following the service in church the crowds gathered around the Cenotaph in the bright Autumn sunshine for an act of remembrance in a silence broken only by birdsong. Watching the standards fall and rise to the bugle call evoked both sadness and a sense of pride. 
The wreaths around the newly refurbished cenotaph a lasting reminder to young and old. 
We shall remeber them.
On Saturday 1st November a hardy group of walkers gathered at the arch to set off on an 18mile sponsored walk to St Hilda’s Hartlepool to raise funds for our SPACE4 project. We were delighted to be greeted by a beautiful sunny Autumn day and set off at 9am heading for our first rest spot at Plants R Ross 6 miles down the road.
We enjoyed a much needed sit down, coffee and delicious scones and took full advantage of the public convenience.
We arrived at Easington Colliery at around 12.30 and shared our lunchspace with a delightful young couple who played the guitar so we all had a singalong. Roger Elsey met us here with food and hot drinks to boost us for our next stage along the coastal footpath. Many steps lay ahead.
The coastal footpath offered us some beautiful views and grass underfoot but also some steep climbs down and stamina testing climbs back up. I think we all got to test out muscles that we don’t usually use. Conversation and company really helped us along the way and we appreciated each other’s support as we headed for the end of the walk.
Smiles of relief and achievement as we reach our goal in Hartlepool and think of our next stop which is the pub! Huge thanks to all who took part in the walk, the support drivers and all those who so generously sponsored us.
