There are 15 photo albums.

• Poems for Holy Week 2020 (8 photos)

  Church member and Local Preacher Peter Dawson is writing a series of poems for Holy Week.

  

• Signs of Hope (77 photos)

  Photos taken by friends of the church of things that symbolise hope.
  
  You can send your pictures to Stuart Green (if you don't have Stuart's email address, please call 01335 300338).

  

• Advent Displays 2019 (10 photos)

  All the way through Advent, there are special displays at Ashbourne Methodist Church.
  
  The displays has the theme "We're Going on a Journey" and features giant postcards, which tell the story of Christmas.
  
  The church is open every day, so please pop in and have a look.

  

• Ashbourne Soap Box Race 2019 (14 photos)

  Our church entered Ashbourne's first ever Soap Box Race, with our soap box titled "On a Wing and a Prayer". The soap box was driven by Kirsty Durose and accompanied by angels, one of which "flew" behind the soap box down the course.
  
  The soap box design and our theme and fancy dress were the result of great team work by people of all ages from our church.
  
  We raced down the track in 33 seconds and also earned points for the engineering of the soap box and our fancy dress.
  
  It turned out to be a winning performance as we came first in the family race - winning a huge trophy!
  
  Huge thanks to everyone who helped to organise the event, especially Sean Clayton, and to everyone from the church community who supported the team effort.

  

• Ashbourne Festival 2019 (11 photos)

  Once again this year, Craft & Chat worked with members of our church and local groups including Ashbourne WI to put on the yarn-bombing and the displays inside church.
  
  We put out over 100 plant pots each filled with knitted or crocheted flowers, together with a watering can which was sustaining a large pot of allium. (As it turned out, the rain made any need for a watering can rather superfluous!!) We attached a guard of honour of bunnies up the railings on the steps, together with bees, birdies and lots of added extras.
  
  New for this year was the Tree of Hopes and Dreams. We wanted to be more interactive, to invite people into our space and to be part of something which they could find meaningful. Not quite a prayer station but as near as you can get without it! So young and old, visitors and locals tied a ribbon over the course of the summer. And with each ribbon, a person remembered and offered something which was on their heart – a hope or a dream, but also a symbol of their ongoing concerns for the world and its people.
  
  Similarly inside the church we offered displays which included an interactive element. After a display of woodland and pond creatures in the foyer – reminding us of our Creator God - three boards interpreted each person of the Trinity, with a prayer station and also a space to write a note about how the Holy Spirit works in the world. Comments included:
  •‘Every time an open hand is held out in love’
  •‘In the kindness of strangers’
  •‘In the encouragement of friends’.
  
  And we were encouraged too by the comments in the visitors’ book. It was clear that people had felt able to accept the invitation to come into our church and find space to encounter not just our displays but also their own thoughts. It was great to read that one visitor had taken photos to use back in their own church.
  
  So we would like to thank everyone involved – those who contributed, those who encouraged, those who helped set it all up on two busy days, those who prayed that it would meet people in their lives. And especially thanks to all the knitters and crocheters at our church and at the WI; to Mustard who found fantastic images of crosses around the town, and to Kids @ Cornerstone who made lovely flowers.

  

• Messy Church Easter 2019 (9 photos)

  We had great fun at our Messy Church at Easter, which had the theme "Breakfast on the Beach". We heard about when Jesus appeared to the disciples who'd been fishing and caught nothing all night, but then caught loads of fish when Jesus told them to put their nets on the other side. Jesus then cooked breakfast for them, and we thought about how Jesus cares for us too. Here are a few pictures...

  

• Wesleygogs event (30 photos)

  Did you know that there was a Methodist School in Ashbourne from 1880 to 1970?
  
  On 10th March, Ashbourne Methodist Church held an event celebrating the school, which was attended by over 120 people including ex-pupils, one ex-teacher and even the former caretaker’s wife.
  
  Pupils at the school were nicknamed “Wesleygogs”, and during the evening they were able to explore the old school which is now a residential centre used by visiting schools and youth groups.
  
  Pupils from different decades shared their memories in a panel discussion, with the oldest having attended the school in the 1930s and the youngest leaving when the school closed in 1970 after it had merged with Parkside. A common theme was how happy the school was.
  
  Refreshments were enjoyed in the Century Hall, giving people plenty of time to share their own stories and to meet old friends.
  
  Former pupil Peter Dawson shared poems inspired by his memories of the school and the event also featured live music from the 40s, 50s and 60s, played by ex-pupil Don Cox and by members of the church’s worship band.
  
  A book about the school, written by Sheila Cook, was on sale at the event. Anyone interested in a copy should contact Stuart on 01335 300338.

  

• Christmas Angels (26 photos)

  In December 2017 our Craft & Chat group coordinated a special project.
  
  With people from other churches in Ashbourne, we knitted and then distributed over 800 angels around the town. They appeared early one Saturday morning, and soon all had been taken to new homes.
  
  Each angel had its own special message, and was a gift from the churches to the people of the town.
  
  The response was amazing, with people sharing their stories on Facebook.
  
  This album contains a selection of the comments we received, along with photos.
  
  This was part of a national initiative - for more details see http://www.christmasangel.net/
  
  #xmasangels

  

• Mission Service 2017 (12 photos)

  Some photos from our all age celebration of God's mission around the world, led by Rev Jimione Kaci and Richard Odell.
  
  The service also included our JMA service.

  

• Walking groups (14 photos)

  photos from Walk & Talk and Amble & Ramble

  

• Brailsford Coffee Shop (4 photos)

  Brailsford Coffee Shop November 2012

  

• Tissington Refurbishment (12 photos)

  Photos showing the refurbishment scheme and the rededication service

  

• Meditation - Meetings with God (16 photos)

  A Meditation created by the Tuesday morning housegroup based on a photograph or item that is important to them.

  

• Meditation - How glorious and wonderful... (23 photos)

  How glorious and wonderful is God's creation...
  
  Meditation used at the Methodist Women in Britain Creative Day.
  

  

• Gateway Residential Centre (15 photos)

  Gateway Residential Centre Ashbourne is a conversion from the former day school premises beneath Ashbourne Methodist Church.
  
  For more details see the Activities - In the Community section of our website.