Chocolate!

 A Chocolate Fiesta!  A bright day with an attractive notice welcomed the visitors to Saint Mark's.  This was a fund raising afternoon with proceeds to TEAR FUND.

The hall is adjacent to the beautiful church - the foundation stone was laid in 1873.  One of the many claims to fame is the first rector who was CS Lewis' grandfather.  Saint Mark's have a very informative website if you're looking for more information about it.   http://dundela.down.anglican.org

 Today was devoted to the "worship" of chocolate!  Never mind the rugby on television - crowds poured into the parish hall to be immersed in this wonderful substance.  For a very small entrance fee you could have tea, coffee or hot chocolate with a chocolate tray bake.  Yummy.  The muffins above were on sale ...

... and it was possible to buy more chocolate related goodies to take home with you.  If you fancied a romantic breakfast in bed (in my case with the dog?) there was a ready-made breakfast treat complete with marmalade!

 The star of the show might just have been the chocolate fountain!  Oodles of runny chocolate poured in an endless stream into which this helpful young man dipped your marshmallows, strawberries or pineapple!  I opted for the marshmallows ... but with all the sticky goodness and juggling a quiz sheet as well .... I completely forgot to take a picture!  They did supply wet-wipes ... so you can imagine how messy it all was!

 Young men were very much in evidence ... and here the coffee was poured ... a welcome beverage on a very sweet excursion!

So, a very pleasant way to spend a while on a Saturday afternoon.   The hall had a great buzz and there were a lot of activities for children ... and ... they raised £600! A great sum for two hours ... although the work that went into preparation must have taken up many more hours.

 It's in doing things together that the church family enjoys fellowship as well as in the worship services.  Both are essential parts of the family of God ... worship and work.  The line between them is hard to define ... the best worship takes a great deal of work .... and the most effective work is rooted in worship.  
On the way home ... life returned to a more mundane activity ... washing the car.  It was too cold and too late to contemplate the sponge and bucket ... so I took the easy option and watched the rubber brushes do it for me.  One of the garages on the ring road has a very cheap car wash - just the one option "Take it or leave it" - but it worked fine for me.  

 All I wanted was the worst of the dirt removed ... and it did that very well.

 So now ... a grand day ... and just one more look at the chocolate fountain!

I lift my eyes to the quiet hills
in the press of a busy day;
as green hills stand
in a dusty land
so God is my strength and stay.


I lift my eyes to the quiet hills
with a prayer as I turn to sleep;
by day, by night,
through the dark and light
my Shepherd will guard his sheep.

Church Hymnal number 14

Timothy Dudley-Smith (b 1926)