Christmas Comes Early For Two Sutton Coldfield Brothers
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At Sutton Coldfield’s December meeting which was the occasion of the Circle’s Christmas Party there was early Christmas cheer for two Sutton Coldfield brothers – Liam Tomlinson and Alf Dineen who received their 40 year membership scrolls presented by Brother Provincial President Paul Clancy .Brother Paul gave a brief history of both brothers contribution to the circle over the years both of which had served as President of the circle. A most enjoyable evening was held in the true Christmas spirit with £325 being raised for Brother President Steve Broom’s charity – The Lisieux Trust.
GOLD MEDAL AWARD FOR MALVERN CIRCLE BROTHER
The Guild of St. Stephen
The motto of the guild of St Stephen is “CUI SERVIRE REGNARE EST” -To serve is to reign” and this has been the way of life of Peter Armstrong, Vice President of Malvern Circle who was recently awarded the Guild of St Stephen’s gold medal for 50 years’ service to God and the Church as an altar server. This is the highest award of the Guild for long service.The Guild motto is printed on the front of the medal and on the back is the title of the Guild “SANCTI STEPHANI ARCHISOLDALITAS” – Archconfraternity of St Stephen. The Greek letters Chi and Rho in the centre are the first letters of “Christ”.
Peter says: “This is the medal for serving on the altar for over fifty years. I have served all over the world in my career in the armed forces, Australia, Cyprus, West Germany and the UK and retired with the rank of Major. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to assist the clergy by serving on the altar over the years and I shall continue to do so at St Joseph’s Church in Malvern.”
Peter is pictured front-row on the right.
Redditch Circle Mastermind Competition
On Thursday 21st. November Redditch Circle hosted their annual Mastermind Competition. A good turnout of 7 circles, all bringing their own competitor, led to a very successful & enjoyable evening. Brother Adrian was as usual responsible for collating all the questions, giving each contestant 2 minutes to answer general knowledge questions covering a wide range of topics. He was assisted by VP Nicholas & time keeper John. There were some very high scores but the clear winner was Peter Finkal of Stratford upon Avon circle. Provincial President Paul Clancy presented Peter with the winners cup. A special category was included for Liam Kane who answered questions about his school, Ampleforth, he was presented with a bottle of beer with instructions not to drink it before his 18th. birthday in December!!! We expect to enrol Liam into our circle at our January BURNS NIGHT meeting. This is a Ladies Formal Evening on Friday 17th January which will be attended by our National President Phil Brown.
Malvern Catenians Go Indian
Malvern Catenians enjoyed a tasty night out at a local Indian restaurant with VIP representation in the form of Provincial President Paul Clancy and wife Angela (pictured). Paul and Angela have become regulars at our “Indian nights”
Provincial Marketing and Membership Workshop
Calling all Circle Membership and Marketing Officers………
Save the date!
On Saturday 29th February 2020 the Province will be holding a workshop that will help Circles develop or create a marketing strategy that will assist in the recruitment of new members and help retain existing brothers. Membership is THE most pressing topic for all Circles and we hope that all Circle Membership and Marketing Officers will be able to attend.
The workshop will be held at Lea Marston Hotel near Kingsbury B76 0BY. More details of the workshop content and timings will be published when confirmed.
David Prescott djprescott@sky.com 07702 605611