In January 1991 Gordon Sleight was still the Vicar of Crosby with Joanna Anderson as . The Youth & Community Worker was Mick Maskell with Pat Newcombe as his assistant. The Parish Clerk was Janice Brader and the Church Wardens were Barbara Scott and Norman Jackson. Tim Savage was PCC Secretary and Steve Barker was PCC Treasurer.

Lesley Sleight, the Parish Magazine Editor, recorded that 1991 would see some changes in the magazine as a new team would be taking over during the next few months. Subscriptions remained the same at 15p.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was marked with a series of services in the Town Centre Parishes between 18-25 January. The Speaker for the Lent United Services and discussions, scheduled for February and March, would be the Right Reverend David Tustin, the of Grimsby.

Pat Newcombe wrote that the St George’s Credit Union, which was set up during the summer of 1989 with 30 members, now had funds of £2,000, and it should become registered this year. To join this Credit Union a member had to live within the Parish of Crosby or be connected with the work of the Church or Community Department. All members had a say in how the Credit Union operates. A Credit Union was useful for many reasons; it kept local money in the local area. Loans were made from the savings pool and repayments allowed this money to be re-loaned and so on. No one was exploited and interest rates are set by law and are the same for all members.

Morfudd Arrand’s funeral took place on 18 February. Morfudd and her late husband Eric had been founder members of Group 62. Morfudd was also a member of St Luke’s Guild and visited hospital patients regularly; even when in hospital she did her round of the wards. She was also a founder member of the Young Wives group started by Margaret Laurence. She was one of the young mums who dug the trenches for the Greeson Hall heating and also scrubbed and cleaned the church for Easter Day many times. Madge Smales paid tribute by saying that St George’s had lost a good friend and a true Christian. Also in February, Olive and Norman Rimmington celebrated their Golden Wedding.

A very successful Ceilidh was held in the Greeson Hall on 4 May. The entertainment was good and amusing with Martyn Whitehouse as compere and Norman Jackson on the fiddle. The group and singing group also contributed to the proceedings which raised £116 for church funds. St Michael’s Family Circle held their Anniversary on 20 May when the chairman was Sylvia Bibb. Barbara Parker and Elsie Welch were thanked for the new altar cloth which was first used on Easter Sunday. Linda Pollard’s funeral took place on 16 May. She was a much respected member of the congregation and £157 was donated to the Mothers’ Union Centre in her memory.

As from 4 June the Co-operative Women’s Guild, which had recently celebrated its 67th Anniversary, started meeting in the Greeson Hall on Tuesday evenings. They were an active group, helping wherever they could and sent delegates every year to the Guild Congress. Their current national project was Aid for the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council to provide funds for research.

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Peter Anderson recorded that the Traidcraft Initiative had now been running for 12 months. At the end of July there was about £200 in the bank with a further £150 worth of stock. As the potential for fundraising was considerable he urged everyone interested to join the scheme.

The magazine editorial team were hoping to produce a supplement to the Crosby Magazine consisting of new poems about the Christian faith and budding poets were invited to send in their submissions.

Lillian Jackson celebrated her 80th birthday on 6 September and Kath Atkin also attained 80 years. In October, Toni Clark was congratulated on obtaining her degree and finding work in Copenhagen. Samantha Barker obtained her ‘A’ Levels and won a place at Hull University. Gary Clark obtained his degree and Hugh Sleight passed his ‘A’ Levels. Peter and Joanna Anderson had a new daughter, Fiona Mary. Finally, Cliff Barnard retired. The Family Circle Autumn Fair took place on 11 October.

The Churches Trust Sponsored Cycle Ride was held on 14 September and three intrepid cyclists from St George’s took part, Judy Leggott, Margaret Dyke and Chris Cockerill. St George’s Fellowship lost yet another member with the death of Freda Taylor who would be greatly missed. The Christmas Fayre took place on 30th November.

In 1992 Britain entered the Common Market. Pauline Oakley said that there were vacancies in both the Cubs and Scouts which met in the Barnes Crescent Headquarters. On 31 January the Town Centre Parishes held a Ceilidh at All Saints Church.

At the beginning January Mandy Talbot and Julie Savage took over the running of the Sunday School from Jan Neale. There were 20-25 children with an age range of 4-11 years attending and several members of the congregation gave regular help with this important work.

In February the afternoon Mothers’ Union Group decided to unite with the Evening Mothers’ Union Group as they had so few members. Olive Stephenson passed away on 23 February. Margaret Abbot recalled Olive’s work with the St Michael’s Family Circle which first started in 1942 when Olive, along with the late Nurse Andrews, ran it with about 25-30 members. A service for the Women’s World Day of Prayer was held at St George’s on 6 March when the theme was “Living wisely with creation”. The women who prepared the service came from Austria, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Switzerland.

Gordon Sleight had completed 22 years as an ordained minister and eleven years as Vicar of Crosby and was now entitled to a Sabbatical which he took from 4 May to 31 August. All work matters were to be referred to the Curate, the Church Wardens, or the Readers. Rachael Patterson was congratulated on gaining a teaching post at St Augustine Webster Junior School, to commence in September.

The May magazine changed its size and shape, the reason being the increasing cost of professional printing. From now on the Editorial Team, which comprised Jack Scott 3

(Convenor), Barbara Scott, Chris Baldwinson, Janice Brader, Carol and Steve Barker, Betty Baker, Sue Whitehouse, and Chris Baker, would produce the magazine “in- house”.

St Michael’s celebrated its 60th Anniversary on 21 May with a nostalgic evensong lead by Frank Barlow. At midnight on 22 May, 45 intrepid travellers set off for a marathon journey to Iona. This was our second visit and marked the beginning of another remarkable week of fun and fellowship.

On 4 June the St George’s Fellowship visited Southwell Minster at the invitation of David Leaning, the Provost, and a long-time friend of the Fellowship. At the end of June the Anderson family left Crosby for Iona. The PCC therefore set up a Vacancy Working Party to make some plans for the time when the church would be without staff.

In July, 1st Crosby Guides said goodbye to Pat Marshall, their leader for the past 12 years. Pat ended in style. After a barbeque and presentations from both Guides and Guiders, the Unit went off to camp at Poacher 92 together with 5,000 other Guides and Scouts from around the world. A perfect finale to Pat’s enormous contribution to Guiding in Crosby District and beyond. Janet Sheddon took over as leader, ably assisted by Sue Threadgold.

On 25th July a cake stall was held in the entrance to the Market. Everyone was very generous and baked lots of cakes. Approximately £106 was made for church funds. On the evening of the same day a barbeque was held in the gardens of St Francis House on Normanby Road. A good evening was had by all and another £72 was raised.

Donations towards the cost of buying a Christmas Tree for the church were now being requested by Mary Markham. Congratulations were given to Rebecca Patterson on gaining three ‘A’ Levels and a place at Reading University to study Biochemistry. Betty Baker had obtained an ‘A’ level in English Language. Hugh Sleight had obtained three ‘A’ Levels and a place at Cambridge. Emma Sleight had also obtained three ‘A’ Levels, and Carol Barker a Distinction in Word Processing. Ann Lawrence expressed her thanks to everyone for their kindness and offers of help after the death of her husband Fred.

Another Cake Stall was planned for 12 December and the price of the magazine would be increasing to 20p in the New Year.

1993 started with a decision to have a fresh look at church life bearing in mind we had declining numbers, vandalised and scruffy buildings, jobs that never get done, etc, all making for frustration and despondency. A series of meeting were convened to take place during the next three months with the theme “Fresh Start”

The Family Circle continued to meet every Wednesday afternoon in the Church Vestry. Sylvia Bibb and Madge Smales recorded that their stall at the Christmas Fayre had raised £225 for church funds and thanked everyone for their hard work.

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A Town Centre Parishes Supper and Dance took place at the Polish Club on 11 February. This featured The Boot Leggers Ceilidh Dance Band.

In April Gordon Sleight wrote about the new six unit Deanery groupings and noted that we would need to explore local lay ministry much more in the next few years as there will be fewer and fewer paid clergy.

The St George’s Family Circle held a Mini Fair on 16 April and raised £122 in just one hour for the children of Bosnia.

Sylvia Charlesworth recorded the death of Kath Parker, one of the Mother’s Union’s longest serving members. She became a member in 1938 at the same time as Mary Dawson. She would always be remembered as a loyal, conscientious worker, ever willing to play her part in all the activities of the Mother’s Union.

On 23 May, during Christian Aid Week, a Mile of Pennies was created as part of the 10:30 am Service, with the help of the Sunday School. Everyone was invited to bring their small change and join in the fun. There was also a Humber Bridge Cross in aid of Christian Aid Partnership in the Caribbean. Sponsor sheets were available from Janet Baker.

The Fresh Start course, which ran fortnightly between Christmas and Easter, raised a huge number of issues. A further course, Exploring Local Ministry, would look at our needs and resources and decide whether or not to establish an official Local Ministry Team. A new set of committees would look at other issues. Christian Nurture would oversee the whole corporate life of St George’s. Ministry would oversee the development of ministry within the church, e.g. bereavement and baptism visiting. Community Development would oversee the Greeson Hall, 198 Frodingham Road, and community work in the parish. Fabric and Funds would oversee the financial situation, covenanting, planned giving, money raising, fabric and repairs.

Peggy Frobisher recorded that St Michael’s Easter Fayre had been a very happy occasion and had raised £114. The Mother’s Union lost its oldest member when Gladys Wilson died in July. She was enrolled in 1938 and will be remembered for her outgoing personality.

Barbara Clark reported that in 1993 the Mother’s Union was celebrating 100 years in the . The Mother’s Union had been started by Mary Sumner in 1876 in Alresford, Hampshire to help and support local mothers and to promote Christian values, marriage and stable family life. There were now 130 branches in the diocese with 3,000 members. On 15 May Lincoln Cathedral was packed to overflowing for a special service to celebrate this great occasion. 130 banners, including St George’s were paraded round the cathedral.

Pat Newcombe reported on the work of the community department which aimed to develop initiatives relevant to the needs of the local community, enabling people to have more control over their own lives.

Confirmation candidates in June were James Houldsworth, Victoria Markham, Charlotte Burke, and Stephanie Burke. Mary Dawson retired from organising the 5

Church flowers and Margaret Clark, who now took on this responsibility, thanked Mary on behalf of everyone and asked for donations for flowers on a regular basis.

In August, Keith James, our new curate, arrived. Keith was born in New Zealand and came to live in this country when he was three years old. He grew up in Earby, near Burnley in Lancashire. After ‘A’ levels he spent a year at Scargill House before going to Leeds University to study Theology. He met Linda at Scargill, studied yet more Theology at Nottingham and has now arrived in Scunthorpe. They had one child, Tobias Benedict, known as Toby.

Norman Jackson, writer and Warden, died on 18 August. He was a writer whose poems had been published all over the world; he was also a keen musician. Outside his membership of the church, his main interests were concerned with writing and music. Because of his genuine concern for people in many walks of life, he was widely loved and respected. On 3 October, Mary Markham was duly elected Church Warden in his place.

On 10 October, during the 10:30 am Service, the new Local Ministry Team was commissioned by the Archdeacon of Stow and on 16 October we held a Traidcraft Fashion Show. On 26 October 1st Crosby Guides celebrated their 70th Anniversary with a service in church followed by refreshments.

The Christmas Fayre took place on 27 November and included an exhibition of Arts and Crafts by several talented members of the congregation.

In January 1994 the newly formed Knights of St George performed their first Pantomime, Cinderella. The script was written by Dave Walker, Jill Burns was the director, and Liz Hanson played the music. £555:89 was raised. The production was thoroughly professional and the audience enjoyed the fun immensely. It was decided to form a permanent drama group and the first chairman was Cliff Barnard, secretary Janice Houldsworth, and treasurer Betty Baker, with a committee of six members.

In February Keith James started a new Youth Group which met at 198 Frodingham Road. At this first meeting St George’s was host to the Diocesan Youth Quiz and our team comprised Jonathon and Matthew Savage, Owen Williams, and Robert Whitehouse. They did not win but put up a very good show. A Clown Workshop was scheduled for April.

The Ministry Committee published a summary of their findings following a survey conducted last November. 91 members were contacted and 53 completed the questionnaire devised by the Committee. The main purpose being to discover something of the range of ministries in which members of the congregation were involved, both in or through the church and beyond. This survey uncovered an extraordinary range of service; from Church Warden to Amnesty International, from Cursillo to conducting Funerals, From Baptism visiting to preparing the News Sheet; from Leading Worship to clearing the churchyard, etc etc.

There were now nine Cursillistas in our congregation: Leslie Sleight, Irene Cordock, Steve and Carol Barker, Barclay and Janice Brader, July Leggott, and Barbara and Jack Scott. The first Cursillo in the Diocese of Lincoln was scheduled for May 1995. 6

Cursillo is a movement of the Church providing a method by which Christians are empowered to grow through prayer, study and action and enabled to share God’s love with everyone.

On Christian Aid Sunday we held an auction of personal services which was organised by Keith and Linda James.

Keith James was ordained in Lincoln Cathedral on 3 July. This was followed by lunch at St Francis House on Normanby Road. Also in July the Drama Group held two workshops in readiness for the next pantomime and the newly formed Youth Group had a very enjoyable week-end away at Edenham near Bourne.

In September an appeal was launched to increase the funds we had towards the redevelopment of the Greeson Hall. Appeal brochures and letters were sent out to every St George’s Church in the country and to every parish in the Diocese of Lincoln. If this appeal and Scunthorpe’s bid for the Single Regeneration Budget was successful, work would commence on the Greeson Hall redevelopment next year.

On 25 September about 30 people of all ages took part in a Barton Pilgrimage. This was organised by those taking part in the Local Ministry Course as part of their training. Ernest Hepworth, Vicar of St Mary’s, Barton asked Geoff Bryant to give a guided tour of St Peter’s Church and Ernest provided a quiz about St Mary’s for the children and facilities in the church for tea. This proved to be a pleasant and informal afternoon and the trainees appreciated the encouragement and support received.

On 11 November we held a Funding Supper as it was four years since the last funding campaign. The December magazine noted that the number of clergy who resigned after the ordination of more than 1,000 women this summer was far lower than expected.

The Christmas Fayre, held on 3 December, included a display of Wedding Dresses over the years.

In January 1995 Gordon Sleight reported on the successful bid for nearly £6m of Government money for the regeneration of Crosby and the Town Centre. This would enable the building of a large scale Community Centre, based on the Greeson Hall site, within the next two years. This would be run in a partnership between the church, the various agencies in involved in its future use, such as Adult Education, and representatives of the wider community.

The Centenary Methodist Church was again the venue for our pantomime. This time is was Dick Whittington and his Cat, written by David Walker, another successful show which raised £560:32.

Two youth groups were now established. The Pathfinders for those aged 10+ had now been meeting for a year and the Explorers Group, for those aged between 7-9 years was launched at an activity day last November. Also, during most services there was now a small crèche which looked after the smallest members of our church. The Braders were looking to start the Walking Group up again and asked for anyone interested to get in touch. 7

In March the Singing Group performed on two very different but enjoyable occasions. They sang at the Scunthorpe Stroke Club which meets in the Minster Road Centre. They then sang at the Baptist Church on the occasion of the celebratory service for 20 years of Kings Christian Bookshop

The Sleight family left Crosby for Nettleham after 14 years in the Vicarage. Both Gordon and Lesley had mixed feelings but were looking forward to new challenges. As we started the interregnum, the importance and effectiveness of the committees was emphasised.

In May we started to look forward towards the coming of a new Vicar and thinking about the needs of the parish and the skills that the new Vicar will need to bring to Crosby. Ted Burks funeral was held on 17 May. He had been responsible for writing the history of the first 50 years of St George’s Church. He had made a considerable contribution to the life of the church over a great number of years. His faith was strong and he had no fear of death. Norman Rimmington also died in May. In one month the parish of Crosby lost two men who had been there from the early days.

The Festival of Faith in Humberside was held in June and the Churches in North Scunthorpe held events in our area. A Quiet Day at Great Limber Vicarage, a joint youth service at St Lawrence’s Church and a social evening at the Centenary Methodist Church.

Mike and Mandy Talbott were congratulated on the birth of their daughter, Harriet Georgina, on 13 July.

Samantha Barker, daughter of Steve and Carol, was congratulated on obtaining a post as teacher of Mathematics at Erdington School, Birmingham, to start in September. The Christian Nurture Group decided to run three House Groups, the first sessions covering “Beginning to Pray” and the remainder to be linked to the Advent Sermons.

The Local Ministry Team had now completed two of their three years training. The Team comprised Barbara Scott, Janice Brader, Enid Maynard, Mary Markham, and Margaret Clark. They thanked everyone who had helped and encouraged them over the past two years. In their final year they studied their own chosen options as well as attending the normal tutorials.

By November the new Community Centre was close to reality and we faced a future with a new in Charge. Accordingly a Parish Plan was formulated, the key issues being: evangelism, finance, raising the profile of St George’s, and building up the congregations.

The 4th Crosby Brownies appealed for help at their Thursday evening Unit Meetings. A Remembrance Day Service was held with the band of the Royal British Legion playing the music for the hymns. The Christmas Fayre was held on 2 December.

On 5 December, St George’s Fellowship lost another valuable member with the death of Kath Atkin at Holly House. Sylvia Charlesworth paid tribute to a faithful member and good friend to many.