Reflections

In my welcome on the morning of the Centenary service, I quoted Reverend Marshall Hartley, ex- President of Conference who conducted the opening ceremony at Sandhurst Methodist Church on 2nd May 1906. He said everyone should have the religion of his choice, and have it firmly grounded in him and through him, right down to the heels of his boots! He asked them for heaven’s sake to be something, and whatever they were let them throw their whole hearts into it, and be sincere and true in their attachment to the church to which they belonged.

I said that morning and reiterate now, that the people of Sandhurst Methodist Church took that exhortation to their hearts and still do today. Nothing proves that more than the tremendous effort and enthusiasm that was put into our centenary celebrations by so many people in our church – the weekend was full of joy and I am sure I was not the only one who felt the Spirit moving among us. There was a real feeling of working and celebrating together and I sincerely hope that we can keep that feeling alive as we go forward together into our second century!

The weekend began with the first performance of the Wesleyan Drama. What a fantastic production. It was interesting, informative and great fun and many congratulations must go to the team led by Douglas Brown who gave us such a treat. We were delighted that the Mayor of Sandhurst, other councillors and many residents of Sandhurst and Yateley were able to join us for the evening.

Our Open Day on Saturday was a great success. So many former friends visited us and enjoyed the History of the Church and the beautiful floral decorations, and I have had many thanks from people who said they felt so “at home” and welcomed by our church community. I know there were visitors who had been at our church as far back as the 1960’s and we are so pleased that so many people came back to share our celebrations. Libby Godden, our church historian, was on hand to talk to our visitors and copies of her book, with the update by Auriole Hill were available. Many visitors also came to the Wesleyan Drama in the evening which was, again, a great success. Thanks to our wonderful catering team led by Diane Knight who provided us all with excellent sustenance throughout the day!

I am sure we all felt that the highlight of our weekend was our Centenary Service on Sunday led by our own Rev. Phil Thomas. It was also a real pleasure to welcome past ministers, Rev. Tony Bullock and Rev. Roy Howard who took part in the service, as well as representatives from the other churches. We also welcomed for the second time over the weekend, Elizabeth North, Mayor of Sandhurst. Our church was full and we were so delighted to see so many members and friends, both past and present, and to be able to include them all in the whole church photo after the service. I am sure I am not the only person who was quite overwhelmed by the occasion. Seventy of us finished this momentous weekend with an excellent lunch at The Lismoyne Hotel in Fleet.

Sue Bastone