Church Services during Advent include for a “Service of light” on the 30th November to be led by Rev. Barbara Banton remembering those no longer with us. There will be two Carol Services on Sunday, 21st December. The morning Service will be traditional and led by Peter Colyer and the evening will be an “All age Service” which will be conducted by Emma Sofayo. A reverse Advent Calendar Poster will be in our Welcome Area in support of the Foodbank.
The Friendship Group continues to meet every fortnight on a Tuesday afternoon with different speakers or activities as part of its programme. The following was a highlight during the current year:-
VE DAY CELEBRATION AT BROMBOROUGH
On 13th May we celebrated VE Day by decorating the outside garden and our meeting room. We had some memorabilia/medals etc. on display and members who were very young at the time told us of their memories and stories of family members who had been away from home.Rita Evans played the music and all joined in the songs of the time and afternoon tea was much enjoyed. We normally have a Quiz or local speakers come and talk to us, which we find very interesting. – Barbara and Norman Green
1st Bromborough Boys Brigade
Boys’ Brigade continues to meet each Friday and we held our first Enrolment Service in Church since pre-Covid times when membership cards were issued for the current BB Session and promotion Certificates for boys moving up to the next Sections (one from the Junior to the Company and two from the Anchor to the Junior Section). We have been working for and have just achieved the RHS level 3 Certificate for the work carried out by boys and staff in our garden. It was a fruitful year with a full plum tree harvest and crops of carrots, strawberries, leeks, chives, tomatoes and several potted flowers.
The Company has continued with our normal activities over the past year but with the closure of the Wirral & West Cheshire Battalion we are now officially a member of the Liverpool & District Battalion as from 1st September 2023. We look forward to working with other Companies across the Liverpool area. We were invited, as Officers, to attend the District presentation of the last Queen’s Badge Awards at All Saints Church, Childwall. The next group of young people in the District will now be working for the Kings Badge having had the award officially approved.
Our Senior boy, Tom Warren, gained the President’s Badge which is the second highest award in Boys’ Brigade but has recently left the Company to study at Sheffield University so we wish him well in his academic career and hope to see him back with us from time to time. Tom made “Chocolate Bouquets” as a badge activity which were presented to various people at our awards evening and later to our District Officials.
Our programme continued with trips over the past year to St. Helens World of Glass Museum, the two Cathedral’s in Liverpool and the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port. Each of these became part of a Badge Activity or Project.
As we enter the time of Advent we praise the birth of Jesus and our Company has welcomed two new members, one whose father was a BB member in Brunei and gained his Queen’s whilst a member.
Boys’ Brigade is now 141 years and celebrates Founder’s Day on the 4th October. In the last year Ryan, one of our Anchor Boys, gained a “140 Badge” by designing a 140 from various materials
“Old Toy-New Adventure” was an activity to collect near new plastic toys for a Charity to send them on to countries where children have no toys to play with.
We are planning similar activities and trips for the coming months ahead. – Ken Chalton (Captain)