Friends of the
Church of St Mary Magdalene Huntshaw
A hidden gem in rural North Devon
Thank you to Simon Jessop for the photograph
What we did in 2018
Click on each gallery for photos
Harvest Festival
9th September 2018
Huntshaw Remembers
1918 - 2018
11th November
A moving tribute to the brave soldiers who gave their today for our tomorrow. The service began with laying wreaths and placing crosses and photographs. This was followed by a two minute silence and the Last Post. The names of the soldiers from the five local villages were read out with many of their direct descendants listening in the congregation. Watching silently were our six Tommy silhouettes who made up a display called "There But Not There". The installation aims to place representative figures for those who died, into their church as a reminder of the great sacrifices they made. It was sponsored by the Armistice and Armed Forces Communities Programme.
CHRISTMAS 2018
CAROL SERVICE A favourite event in our calendar is the Carol Service and this took place on 9th December. The church was beautifully decorated with floral displays and candles and for the first time ever we had a stable complete with Mary and Joseph, the three wise men and a crib that contained the baby Jesus. Our star shone brightly above the stable. The church was full and included the Tommy silhouettes who looked on in silence. The service featured carols, songs, poems and a Christmas story for the children. Afterwards mulled wine and mince pies were served. It was a lovely occasion that was enjoyed by everyone.
On 23rd December we held a Prayer Service with carols by candlelight.
CHRISTMAS PARTY On Saturday, 8th December the Friends hosted their first Christmas party. The hall was beautifully decorated with a colourful festive theme and 68 people enjoyed a buffet of turkey, spiced ham and beef with vegetarian choices, a variety of salads and roasties. A selection of sweets, puddings and mince pies followed. Seconds and even thirds were served.
After the meal we were entertained by Truffetete - a talented five-piece band who played French and English folk music. Included in their performance were a couple of amusing tales narrated by Hercule Poirot??? Some of us were brave enough to attempt some Breton dancing. But, even with excellent guides and bags of enthusiasm our feet and hands just did not move in the right direction or in time with the music! But we had fun.
All proceeds made from the evening are going towards church restoration and we made a massive £847. Thank you to everyone who came along and joined in. And thank you to all the volunteers who gave their time and who donated food and other things to the event.
#FollowTheStar
We joined the Church of England's Christmas #FollowTheStar campaign for 2018. #FollowTheStar was a journey through the 12 days of Christmas that invited everyone to travel in the footsteps of the Wise Men to meet Jesus. It offered fourteen daily reflections that began on Christmas Eve and finished on the Epiphany (6 January). The daily messages were each accompanied by a picture, a short Bible passage, a simple prayer and an action to reflect on.
Star Church
As part of #FollowTheStar, we
became a Star Church by displaying
a star in the South window.
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To supplement the #Follow the Star campaign copies of the Christmas Hope magazine were handed out. It had something for everyone including topical features, a Nativity story for families to read together, a game to play and a competition
FRIENDS MEET FRIENDS
A joint event with the Friends of All Saints
Church Alverdiscott
FLOWER FESTIVAL
Reflections on War and Peace
Commemorating 100 years since the end of the First World War
2nd and 3rd June 2018
EXHIBITIONS
Saturday, 21st April
As part of an Open Day we held an exhibition of the essential repair work needed on the church. There were reports, plans, drawings and photographs for people to inspect. Members of the Friends and the PCC were on hand to answer questions. Around 70 people came along to the event.
"There But Not There"
On Sunday, 11th November (Armistice Day) we launched a permanent exhibition of Tommy silhouettes. The project is part of a national campaign sponsored by the Armistice and Armed Forces Communities Programme. The project’s aims are to commemorate those who died in the First World War through installations of silhouettes and Tommies wherever there is a Roll of Honour and to educate all generations, particularly today’s younger generation, born nearly 100 years after the outbreak of WW1, to understand what led to the deaths of 888,246 British and Commonwealth service personnel. We have installed six Tommies in the church.
WHAT ELSE DID WE DO?
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We produced our first book: Huntshaw Through the Ages. Written by Friend member and local historian Richard Sears.
Click here to find out more including how to buy it
We raised £41 for the Devon Historic Churches Trust by taking part in the Ride and Stride day
We adopted a policy of NO SINGLE-USE PLASTICS
We started a survey of the graveyard. (A work in progress)
We put a new roof onto the shed so it is now waterproof.
We confirmed that we have bats in the belfry!