ELY Ely Cathedral SERVICES for May 15 - 21 THURSDAY: 7.40am – Morning Prayer; 8am – Holy Communion; midday – Quiet Hour; 12.10 - Holy Communion; 5.30pm – Evensong. Friday: 7.40am – Morning Prayer; 8am – Holy Communion; midday – Quiet Hour; 5.30pm – Evens

ELY

Ely Cathedral

SERVICES for May 15 - 21

THURSDAY: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 12.10 - Holy Communion; 5.30pm - Evensong.

Friday: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 5.30pm - Evensong.

Saturday: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 5.30pm - RSCM Diocesan Festival Service.

Sunday: 8.15am - Holy Communion; 10.30am - Sung Eucharist; 4pm - Evensong.

Monday: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 5.30pm - Evensong.

Tuesday: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 5.30pm - Evensong.

Wednesday: 7.40am - Morning Prayer; 8am - Holy Communion; midday - Quiet Hour; 5.30pm - Evensong.

Methodist Church

THE Sunday morning service, Pentecost, was led by Rev Steve Watts, with Holy Communion and the rededication of pastoral visitors. The morning service opened with prayers by the stewards. Hymns were sung by the choir, followed by readings from the New Testament. The reverend's sermon was based on the power of the Holy Spirit and gift of God. Offerings were taken during the service.

The evening service, at 6.30pm, was a joint sectional service at Haddenham Methodist Church. The musician was Donald Monk.

Thursday: noon to 1pm - Shoppers' Lunch

Friday: 7pm - Music for a May evening. 7.30pm - Ely Methodist Guild - a brush with John.

Saturday: 10am - coffee morning with Joan Lemmon, also cakes for sale in aid of church funds.

Sunday: 3pm-5pm -Michael and Wendy Powell hold cream tea in their garden (invitation only); morning service will be led by Ken Brown at 11am. Evening Service led by the Rev June Mallaabon at 6.30pm. Musicians will be Donald Monk and Ginny Klein.

Lavender House

FELLOWSHIP Hour was taken by Michael Freeman who welcomed everyone and read from the letter of Peter and the Holy Spirit seeking answers. Nine hymns were sung by the congregation. The service closed with a prayer, followed by tea and biscuits by Julie Freeman.

Next fellowship meeting is June 15.

St Peter's Church

SUNDAY: the celebrant and preacher at the 9.15am Eucharist will be the Rev Alan Partridge.

Wednesday: there will be a lunchtime service at 1pm and a Bible study at St Peter's House at 7.30 pm.

Countess Freechurch

PENTECOST Sunday began with praise and worship relevant to the work and power of the Holy Spirit. Louise Lomax, accompanied by the musicians, led the congregation in a time of jubilant singing. Pastor Lowman spoke on the presence and purpose of the Holy Spirit. The service ended with a special prayer relevant to Pentecost Sunday. Mike and Julie Freeman held a time of fellowship and singing of hymns singing at Lavender House at 3pm. Prayers were said for Sierra Leone in the church hall, from 5pm till 6pm. Sierra Leone is a country which the Countess church has had connections with for many years and each year a specific time is set aside for praying for the nation and their specific needs. Keith Water's worship at 6.30pm was based on the faithfulness of God. Rob Betts spoke on Part 13 of the 'big journey' 'God's new humanity' illustrating the talk with biblical references and slides. Pastor Jim Mullin spoke at the Fellowship Hour on Wednesday afternoon.

Saturday: morning Christians from the church will be involved with St Mary's School Summer Fete from 11am - 1pm. Next Sunday morning John Baldock will be the speaker. In the evening service Rob Betts will bring the Lord's message to His people. There will also be a time of reflection on the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus as Holy Communion will be celebrated.

The Olive Tree Fellowship

OUR Pentecost Sunday service was a little unusual in that we had the preaching of the word before the main time of worship. Thus our worship was a response to the exhortation from Tim Frost to ask ourselves whether there was some reluctance in us to receive all that the Holy Spirit has to offer. Later he and the Pastor offered prayer to anyone wanting it.

Sunday School class also looked at Pentecost, making a crown representing the fire that appeared to alight on the disciples on that great day nearly 2000 years ago.

Friday: from 10am until noon, the Open Door Café will run at the church (in Silver Street), offering a warm welcome and refreshments.

Sunday: Holy Communion - 10.30am when the speaker will be the Pastor. Crèche and Sunday School will be provided. All are welcome.

CHETTISHAM

Parish Church

CELEBRANT and preacher at St Michael and All Angels on Sunday was the Rev Alan Partridge. The organist was Rita Bartle. The first lesson was read by David Norman and the offertory was presented by Lee Howard.

Sunday: Morning Prayer is at 9.15am and the Family Service will be held at 4pm.

HADDENHAM

Baptist Chapel

THE morning service for Pentecost was conducted by the Rev Jim Mullin.

David and Joyce were the musicians. Happy Birthday was sung to Josh. Jim read a Bible reading and this was followed by prayers and songs. David spoke of being healed of depression at the recent healing service. The offering was taken up by Philip and Genevieve. The sermon was about friendship. The service closed with Holy Communion. A barbecue with members from the Holy Trinity Church, Methodist Chapel and Baptist Chapel will take place on Saturday at 2.30pm in the church yard.

HILGAY

Book Sale

THERE will be a mammoth Book Sale in Hilgay Village Hall on Sunday, from 10am until 4pm. Proceeds are in aid of the Guide Dogs for the Blind. There will be thousands of books, DVDs videos, CDs records, jigsaws and refreshments. There will also be a raffle with many prizes.

LITTLEPORT

Flower Club

THE club meets again on Friday, at 7.30pm in the village hall, Victoria Street. The demonstrator will be Adele Kent, from Norwich. There will also be a plant stall for the club's chosen charity this year, which is The Friends of the Princess of Wales Hospital. The demonstration will be followed by refreshments and a raffle when there will be a chance to win the arrangements which have been demonstrated. All visitors are welcome and the fee is £3.

INFO: Contact Pam Hayes on 01353 860102 or Pam Sole on 01353 863421.

St John's Methodist Church

IAN and Janice Weatherall led the morning service for Pentecost Sunday; this also included the baptism of Kaci Anne Powell on her first birthday. Peter Kirby was the pianist. The Rev June Mallabon led the evening service and Diane Harris was the preacher. The pianist was Pat Hodson. On Sunday, the Rev June Mallabon will lead the morning service at 10.45am and Rev Edwin Myers will lead the evening service at 6.30pm.

St George's Church

THE vicar presided and preached at the 8am Holy Communion and the 10am Parish Eucharist. Her sermon was based on the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost day. At 6.30pm we joined our friends at St John's Methodist Church for evening service, when Jane Harris was the preacher.

Friday-Monday: Reciprocal visit by our colleagues from Schnaitheim, Germany.

Saturday: Organ Recital to be given by Iain Harvey, starts 7.30pm, admission £5, concessions £3, to include refreshments.

Sunday: The vicar will preside and preach at the 8am Holy Communion. She will officiate at the 10am Family Service with baptism, at which Jane Harris will preach.

Tuesday: 1.45pm - pram service for all pre-school toddlers and their parents/carers.

Wednesday: Holy Communion - 9.30am.

The Vine Community Church

WE are a lively non-denominational church which meets at The Regal on Hempfield Road in Littleport.

Sunday: service is at 10:30am with contemporary music, worship and the sermon by Pastor Don Gee.

Youth and children's Sunday School is provided during the sermon.

After the service, we welcome you to stay for coffee, tea, and fellowship.

Small groups will be meeting this week in their dedicated homes.

INFO: contact Pastor Don Gee at 01353 860885 or 01638 780457 or visit us at www.thevinelittleport.org.uk

Littleport Village Hall

CATHERINE Jane Fashions of Ely presented an evening of fashion at Littleport Village Hall and helped to raise £1,100 for the village hall.

150 people attended the event and watched seven models displaying 57 varieties of clothes in three sections, with two intervals, the first interval the flower displays were auctioned by Becky Green, chairman of Littleport Players, and in the second interval the raffle was drawn.

Monica Frost, vice-chairman of the hall committee thanked Catherine and Jane for their generosity in presenting an evening of fashion for the benefit of the village hall and presented each with a tied bunch of flowers. Mrs Frost went on to thank everyone involved in the organisation of the evening with special thanks to members of Littleport Flower Arrangement Club for all the flower displays.

WI

LINDA Harvey welcomed all members and two guests. Jerusalem was sung and the minutes of the last meeting read. We expressed sorrow for Audrey Bent and Joy who are in hospital, and sympathy for Maggie McGowan who has just lost her father. There were birthday gifts for Joy, June, Lyn and Connie.

Group meeting on May 22 at Queen Adelaide. Doreen Robinson is holding a coffee morning for the Alzheimer's charity, on June 7 at 10am in Hawthorne Close in Littleport.

Maureen Fresco is going to represent us at the AGM on June 4 in Liverpool.

Pam Sole and her friends Pam Hayes and Diane Walters designed two flower arrangements each, which were then offered as draw prizes. Six very happy ladies went home with these beautiful arrangements. Sheila Border gave the vote of thanks. There were 12 entries in the competition arrangement of flowers in a cup and saucer.

The next WI meeting at Anchor Court will feature Mrs A Sloan discussing table cooking. The competition will be four buns on a plate.

LITTLE THETFORD

Baptist Chapel

OUR evening service was conducted by Brian Mizon who spoke about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Next Sunday, the preacher is Liz Herrington. Girl's Brigade meet on Friday at 6pm.

St George's Church

UNITED Family Service was led by the Rev Pauline Scott who illustrated the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Next Sunday, at 9.30am the preacher will be the Rev John Isaacs for Holy Communion.

Christian Aid week, envelopes will be delivered throughout the village for donations.

Prayers of both congregations continue for healing of Rene and Peter Cockerton.

SOHAM

Heartbeat Health Walk

ON Bank Holiday Monday, 26 walkers enjoyed a walk of 2.4miles following part of the Millennium walk. They were lead by David Clark.

Over 60's Club

ON Friday, Diane Wheeling welcomed members on behalf of Ruth Ginn. Birthday greetings were sung to Mary Hinds and Maureen Talbot. The speakers for the afternoon were John and Audrey Pelley who belongs to a group called world in miniature. Audrey began her talk with a slide show of her beautiful dolls house to big to bring to the club. This was an American-style clapboard house.

All the furniture was perfectly made to scale by Audrey. She then spoke about each of the miniatures they had brought with them ranging from market stalls to a band stand. Audrey also showed samples of items used to make furniture and accessories for the miniatures. A fascinating afternoon. A collection was made for the Milton Children's Hospice. Ruth Ginn thanked them on behalf of everyone. Refreshments were served and Vera Seal organised the raffle .The meeting closed with the singing of the club hymn.

Soham Bowls Club

ON Sunday, Gerald Johnson welcomed everyone to the club which included the Isaacson family. The Tom Isaacson Cup is a regular yearly triples competition and on Sunday, nine triples played for games of six ends in a round-robin format. A break was taken for tea and Ken Chapman organised the raffle. The games continued after tea with a final between teams one and two. The winners were Brenda Bridges, Jim Bentick and Ron Taylor and runners-up Susan Taylor, Jackie Isaacson and Tony Hobbs. Before the presentation of prizes Gerald Johnson thanked everyone for taking part and also those who had donated raffle prizes and helped during the afternoon. Gerald then invited Sue and Paul Isaacson to present the prizes. Prior to this, Paul read a poem relating to the afternoon's activities. The winners and runners-up were then invited to receive their prizes.

SUTTON

Girlguiding

THE First Sutton Guide Company has room for more members. Guides hold weekly meetings in the Methodist Church Hall on Thursdays and activities include games, challenges and badge work.

INFO: Call Judith on 01354 740232.

Dawn Walk

THE Sutton Dawn Walk, raising money for Cancer Research, will take place on May 17 starting from the Glebe Hall at 5am. The walk takes place along the village and then through surrounding countryside.

Conservation Society

ALAN Newnum has arranged a field trip to Kingfisher Bridge on May 17 - members free, non-members £1.50.

INFO: Contact 01353 777435 for times and more information.

There will be an Open Day at the new Donarbon waste management site on June 7 from 10am-4pm. New plans will be on display and you will be able to look round the existing recycling areas. There will also be a bouncy castle, music and food. You can collect free compost, but take your own bags.

Alan Revill will be at the Gault Hole on June 28 from dawn until dinner as part of the Medieval Feast, part of Feast Week.

STRETHAM

Over 60's Club

THIRTY members were present at our meeting in the church hall on May 7. We played bingo, which was enjoyed by all. Tea and biscuits were served by Pauline Regan, Betty Bidwell and Patrick Spencer. Rhubarb and cabbages were brought in by Dick Phillips which were auctioned and the proceeds went to our club funds. Our usual raffle took place. On April 23, friends from Little Thetford, Witchford and Ely joined us on a trip to Milton Keynes. Our meeting closed with the club hymn.

Bowls Club

THE weather has been ideal for outdoor bowling and the club enjoyed a win for their first friendly match of the season against Cottenham. On Friday evening, teams from the Red Lion, the netball team and the parish

council will be playing at the club. Spectators welcome.

WARDY HILL

Dominoes

THERE were four tables in play at the dominoes held on May 2 in the social club when Mrs M Dewsbery was MC. Winners were: Mrs a Houghton, Mrs L Dewsbery, Mrs B Norman, Miss M Murfitt and F Tall. Highest halves: Mrs P Martin and B Gillett. Consolation: Mrs S Saberton; Draw: B Copping, Mrs L Dewsbery and J Hines.

WITCHFORD

Baptist Church

ROY Barton from Cambridge was the speaker at last Sunday's Pentecost service.

Sunday: Norman Gulliver from Eden Baptist Church will lead the worship at 10.30am. All welcome.

WITCHFORD

St Andrew's Church

THE Rev Anna Hult was the celebrant on Sunday, and will be the celebrant next Sunday, her last service in Witchford before preparing to return to Sweden. She will be taking her last service at St Peter's, Wentworth on May 25.

On Tuesday, there will be Holy Communion at 10am, and morning prayer on Wednesday at 9.30am. On Friday, the Baby Café will meet in St Andrew's Hall at 9.30am. The Sunday School meets at 10.30am every Sunday except the first Sunday in the month which is a family service.