For the second time this August the small church in Shortwood was considerably fuller than normal. Not a wedding this time, but a Sunday morning service to celebrate our special anniversary.

We invited the Rev Hilary Cooke to lead our worship as she is a former and greatly loved minister of this church. During Hilary’s time here we still had pews; now they have been replaced with chairs, and Hilary commented on how much lighter and brighter the church now looks.

The theme of the service was very much that of memories, and the congregation heard some fascinating reminiscences. Diane had been to visit our oldest member Dorothy and shared some of her recollections with us. When Dorothy was quite a young girl she was expected to attend chapel three times on a Sunday. She didn’t mind the morning and afternoon sessions but went reluctantly to the evening service because sermons could be very long, and sometimes the preacher would shout and bang his fist on the pulpit, which terrified Dorothy. If the regular organist was unable to be there, Dorothy’s mother would call on ‘Uncle Eddie’ to play. Apparently this led to a larger attendance as Uncle Eddie had a much more jazzy style of playing! For many years the church here was not registered for weddings; the very first one to be held in Shortwood was that of the Rev Rex Oldham, who married the organist Gwennie Taylor.

Kath Jefferies recalled the annual coach trip to Weston, which was an eagerly awaited treat. It seems that the high point of the excursion was not the seaside destination but the stop along the way when sugary buns were distributed to all the passengers.

Diane told us that she and all the other Sunday school children had to memorise a poem for their anniversary, and these poems had to be recited to the whole congregation. This was quite a nerve-racking ordeal for the youngsters.

Hilary said that while we treasure the memories we should also look to the future. We should be prepared for radical changes within the church in the coming years.

This joyful service was followed by an equally joyful buffet lunch in the vestry, with food provided by members of the congregation. This included a surprise 80th birthday cake for Denver, who has made some lovely pieces of furniture for the chapel using the timber from the old pews.

A day to remember and to treasure; may God grant us many more occasions to celebrate in the years ahead.