The Friends - Dates for your Diary

There will be two Friends' events in November, both of which will be held at Swanton Morley Village Hall. Please do make a note of these in your diary.

The first is John Carrick's Fireworks Evening on Saturday 8 November. Pay on the gate.

The second is the Friends' annual quiz on Saturday, 15 November.Teams will consist of a maximum of four people, but smaller teams are welcome to enter and we will help you to make up the numbers if you wish. The bar will be open and hot food will be available to the interval. Full details will be given nearer the time, but the number of tables is limited and you may book your table now if you wish to avoid disappointment on the night. (Contact David or Judy Stone on 01362 637592.)

Church and Tower Open Day 2014

The Church and Tower held an open day today. The were a number of exhibitions in the church showing the different groups and who use the church, a number of which were manned by members of those groups. There was of the course the delicious refreshments available which many of the visitors took advantage of! The Bell Ringers of All Saints conducted Tower Tours throughout the day giving people the chance to watch ringing take place as well as take a look at the 6 bells of All Saints.

Although there wasn't as many people as we would have liked to have seen those who did come commented on how beautiful the church was and how it was lovely t be able to come in a take a look as they had passed it so often. Many people were also drawn to the day to take a look at the bells and find out what goes on to make the beautiful sound they love to listen to on Fridays and Sundays. A few even said they would like to come along and have a go at ringing.  

The Friends - The Great Village Yard Sale

The Friends of All Saints would like to thanks all those who took part in The Great Village Yard Sale on Saturday 12 July.

This was a very successful day, the weather was kind and everyone seemed to have a good time. There were 37 individual yard sales throughout the village and the total profit, all of which goes to the Restoration Fund for the church was £450.

In addition, there were stalls in the church, including teas, which raised a further £217. Many thanks to all who kindly made the refreshments and manned the stalls.

Our thanks also to all the "Yards" who took part and we hope you all had an enjoyable/profitable day.

Our special thanks to the Village Shop and Swanton Morley Butchers for kindly selling the maps.

Bell Ringers & PCC - Teddy Bear Zip Wire 2014

We would like to thank everyone who came along to this year's Teddy Bear Zip Wire at All Saints Church. Despite the awful weather conditions a great day was had by all. The afternoon started with a special visit for the BBC Radio Norfolk's Treasure Quest team who came to find the treasure which was a special bear name "treasure Bear".

This year me made a record £372. This money will be split between the Bell Ringers to help maintain the bells of All Saints and the PCC for the restoration of All Saints Church.

PCC - Harvest at All Saints

The Harvest Service was well attended with many people commenting what a lovely service it was and how beautiful  the Church flowers looked. Thanks must be said to the Flower Team for doing such a great job as well as to everyone who kindly contributed produce which was distributed to the elderly within the village.
The harvest supper held in the village hall on 28th September was very successful, there was approximately 50 attending and made a friendly gathering. Thanks must go to all the help received from the ladies of the church and a very big thank you to Dougal Smith and members of "reprise" who entertained us after the meal with songs from West End shows. We were very fortunate and made a total of £200 after expenses for the Heating Fund for the Church.

Bell Ringers - The Day of Two Zip Wires

The Ringers' annual Teddy Bear Zip Wire took an unusual twist this year when the weather took a turn for the worse! The afternoon started off in beautiful sunshine with the Zip Wire taking its usual place from the top of All Saints Church Tower to the tree beside the West Gate. Many of the stalls were dotted around the grounds with refreshments and cakes being held in the church. We were also delighted to welcome the Firemen from Dereham Station, who allowed children (and adults) the chance to look around one of their Fire Appliances. There was as usual a wide variety of games and stalls around the church with one, the bean bag game, becoming very competitive between families and friends!
During this time our two brave volunteers up the tower, Darren Hall and Lee Fox, had noticed that there were some rather dark clouds starting to surround the village! At 3pm a huge flash of lightening grabbed the attention of everyone outside and so started the ad dash to get everything inside the church, take down the zip wire and get everyone off the roof before the storm hit (no mean feat!). After only ten minutes and with help from members of the public the zip wire was reborn inside All Saints Church! It now ran from the trap door of the ringing chamber to the pews below. The biggest cheer of the day went up after the first brave bear took a test run on the new styled wire!
The first prize of the raffle was won by David Stone. Lauren Cooke correctly guessed the name of the teddy for a second year (Henrik) and Anne Boston had the highest score on the Bean Bag Game.
We would like to thank everyone who took part in the event and helped to raised £253.87.

The Friends - Yard Sale Thank You

The Friends of All Saints' Church would like to thank all those who participated in the recent Yard Sale and in particular to thank Swanton Morley Butchers, the Village Shop and Darby's for kindly selling the maps, the 24 people who organised yard sales at their houses and the many visitors who seem to have spent their money generously.
The Yard Sale itself raised a total of £303. In addition the PCC raised £80 from their own 'yard sale' in the church.

PCC - Pancake Day Coffee Morning

The Pancake Day coffee morning held by Rhoda and Jack Edwards raised £156.50 for the Church's new heating fund. Rhoda and Jack would like to extend their sincere thanks to everyone who supported them. 

PCC - A Generous Harvest

The Harvest Supper was a great success and everyone enjoyed a two course hot meal. A total of £295.50 was made for the fund towards the new electrical system for the Church.
The Harvest Festival Service was also a great success and the PCC would like to thank everyone who kindly donated produce. This year the PCC decided to take all the tins, packets, fruit and vegetables dontated to Genesis (previously known as St. Matthews) a Charity in Dereham for the homeless.

The Friends - Recent Fund Raising Events

The two recent events held by the Friends of All Saints Church have raised a total of £790.The first of which was the Wombling by the Wensum evening at Castle Farm with music performed by DixieMix. Despite the dubious weather £420 was raised for the church Restoration Fund. A special tanks to John Carrick for the use of Castle Farm and DixieMix

On Saturday 9th July the second Great Village Yard Sale took place in the village. There were 24 individual yard sales taking place throughout Swanton Morley with £370 raised for the church Restoration Fund. A special thanks to Swanton Morley Butchers, the Village Shop and Darby's for kindly selling the brochures.

The Friends of All Saints' Church would like to thank all those who took part in both of these events.

Flower Festival 2011

The Flower Festival 'A Touch of Paradise' which was held over May Bank Holiday and had approximately 400 visitors over the four day period. Over £2,000 which will go towards the improvements of the electrics in the church. The Saturday evening saw a concert performed by Dereham Band, during which Derek Woods was presented with an award after playing the tuba in the band for over 60 years! Canon Sally Theakston took a special Songs of Praise Service to round the weekend off.

PCC - Pancake Coffee Morning

The Pancake Coffee Morning at Rhoda and Jack Edwards on Tuesday 8th March raised £152.25 for All Saints Church funds. Rhoda and Jack would like to thank everyone who supported them and all those who kindly helped.

PCC - Supper Success!

Rhoda and Jack Edwards would like to thank all who supported the Supper Party at Swanton Morley on 1 November, which raised £200 for All Saints church funds.

Bell Ringers & PCC - The Big Sky Dive

Two brave ringers today took part in a sponsored sky dive to raise funds for both the Friends of All Saints Church and the All Saint Swanton Morley Bell Ringers.
Aaron Hall and Fiona Joisce both said they would take part in this leap of faith all in the name of charity, so on Saturday they join over a hundred other people who were all raising funds for the charities of their choice.
Both agreed it was an experience which they will never forget. You can read Aaron's article by clicking here