'Carols in the Park' and 'Sing Christmas' - December 2008
Following the success of last year's pair of Christmas events in the community (see write up below), we are pleased to be repeating them both in 2008! Full details can be found on our events page.


HOPE HITS HOME - July 2008
As part of the national HOPE '08 initiative, Spirit of Aylestone took to the streets of Aylestone in their HOPE HITS HOME initiative on Saturday 5th July. Many residents came out of houses or stopped as they walked by to encourage the 'Clean Up' team, made up of twenty young people and adults from the churches who spent the day picking up 10 big bags worth of litter and painting over graffiti on 30 green roadside boxes. The Spinney behind Montrose Road received particular attention with an old car wheel and a burnt out mattress being cleared along with the crisp packets and plastic bottles. Meanwhile, donations of old tools, phones, bicycles and pairs of glasses steadily built up throughout the day at the two collection points at St. Andrew's Parish Church and Aylestone Baptist Church as the community responded generously to the appeal to 'Clean Out' items that could be passed to charities for re-cycling. The final tally included 25 sewing machines and a huge variety of tools which will find new homes in the developing world thanks to the refurbishment and distribution work of the charity Tools With A Mission and 30 bicycles to be re-cycled by Leicester based Bikes 4 All. And while all this went on, a steady stream of visitors attended the 'Green Up' Eco-Fair at the Baptist Church to discover ways of responding to the environmental challenges facing us as individuals and as a city. 

 

 
It was a delight to be able to serve the community in this way. It made a real difference to environment we live in and, through the tool collection, the lives of others in much greater need. In particular, it was great to see some of our young people getting satisfaction from clearing up some of our streets.

Easter Restored - March 2008
Following the success of December’s Carols in the Park event (see below), Spirit of Aylestone decided to restore the place of Easter in our community. Often neglected, it remains the primary Christian Festival, and we marked it with a range of services and events. St. Andrews Church choir performed beautifully the classic 19th century choral work, Stainer's 'Crucifixion', conducted by choirmaster, Will Welsford. Aylestone Baptist Church invited the community to two performances of 'Taste and See', a dinner play that related the Easter Story set around a three-course meal. The audience played a full part, some of them being gently coerced into taking the role of Jesus' disciples. Both performances drew a full house.

The churches joined together for 'Walk the Story', a Good Friday service on the move, in which readings and hymns were shared at various stations around Aylestone to which we walked carrying an eight-foot cross. Seventy joined the procession and many more stopped to watch and listen.

 

 

Easter Restored culminated in a joint Songs of Praise service at St. Andrews, where we imagined ourselves part of the events of Easter Day using stories, readings and hymns old and new.

We hope to build on this initiative in future years to put Easter truly on the map.

Fantastic turn out for Carols in the Park - December 2007
300 people from the community came down to a frosty Aylestone Hall Gardens to the first ever Carols in the Park, on 16th December. The gardens, kindly opened for us by the Council Parks Department, looked atmospheric with candles lighting each pathway, and a small backlit marquee giving shelter for the members of Southfields Concert Brass who provided the music. The 45-minute service was led by Tim Fergusson, minister of Aylestone Baptist Church, who spoke of the surprise of the first Christmas for Mary and Joseph, and the surprise of discovering God's love that we should all be ready for in our Christmasses today. A lone Scots Piper performed amid the array of carols that were sung by the crowd, as 200 glowsticks candles were waved, having been handed out to those who came early enough to get one!

  

The service was followed by a warming cup of tea and coffee and hot mince pies, served in the Hall stables, now the Aylestone Hall Bowling Club House, under the supervision of Lily Brighton, whose idea the service was.  It was a wonderful community evening, with a very broad mix of people. We hope to repeat the event next year, hopefully with more candles and more carol sheets. Our thanks to all who came to support this new event.

Carols at the Black Horse for Sing Christmas - December 2007
We were delighted to join in with Radio Leicester's Sing Christmas event on 20th December, down at the Black Horse on Narrow Lane in Aylestone (photos coming soon). A Carol service was broadcast live from The Craddock Arms, and we at the Black Horse were one of many pubs and other venues across the city and county to tune in and join in. Over 100 people from Aylestone came down for a sing-along outside, round braziers provided by Phil the landlord. Soup, hot dogs and roast chestnuts, prepared by Phil's wife, Marnie, were served by members of the 102nd Scout Troop to those who wanted some warmer than a pint. The service was followed by some carols played by members or Ratby Brass Band, of which Phil is a member. It was another good community event, meeting friends old and new - our thanks to all who came, and especially to Phil and Marnie for hosting us. Phil will be making a bid to hold the actual broadcast at the Black Horse next year, so watch this space!

Clergy in a cage - March 2007
To mark the 200th anniversary of the slave trade in March 2007, Spirit of Aylestone campaigned locally in support of STOP THE TRAFFIK, a global coalition that aims to raise awareness of human traffiking today.

Alan Race and Tim Fergusson are joined by local MP, Peter Soulsby

Rev Alan Race and Rev Tim Fergusson took turns to occupy a cage situated at the Aylestone shops, whilst passers by were asked to sign the "Global Declaration for Freedom." Meanwhile, up at the Baptist Church, young people washed cars to raise money for the cause whilst tea and coffee were served inside the church to encourage people to look at the campaign displays.

 
Collecting signatures at the shops and informing people at the Baptist Church

We were reminded of our history: 250 years ago, Great Britain led the world in the international slave trade. In the so-called triangular trade, ships left British ports for the west coast of Africa, laden with arms and alcohol. These were traded for African slaves who were herded onto the ships for a nightmare voyage of four to eight weeks to the Americas and the Caribbean. The slaves were in turn traded for sugar and ginger and other luxuries, which were brought home to England. The demand for sweet tea, cakes and pastries ensured a very profitable return for the traders. On the ships and in the sugar plantations of the Caribbean colonies, slaves were treated with mind-boggling cruelty and neglect. Many died on the journey, and life expectancy on arrival was only a few years. In fact, the supply of slaves was so plentiful that it was cheaper to mistreat slaves and buy new ones when they died than it was to look after them properly.

Christian campaigners, under the leadership of William Wilberforce put an end to this trade, but now, 200 years later, we are faced with a new form of slavery - human trafficking. Our aim in campaigning was to educate people and call for action from government to stand against this human trade.

Over 300 signatures were collected and the clergy cage was featured on local television, radio and in the newspapers - successfully bringing the issue to light in Leicester.

Gareth Davies-Jones: songs of faith and justice - May 2007
We were delighted to welcome acoustic singer/songwriter Gareth Davies-Jones for a gig at Aylestone Baptist Church in May, as part of Christian Aid week 2007. Gareth's songs reflect his concern for global justice and were beautifully performed in a cafe-style environment in the church sanctuary. If you want to hear Gareth's music or find out more about tour dates, go to his myspace page, or to his website. He is a great performer and we had a highly entertaining and challenging evening.