Centenary Celebrations - 1983

September 17th - Centenary Supper

7.30 p.m. The Village Hall

3 course meal plus entertainment - tickets £3 each

September 21st - St. Matthew's Day Communion

7.30 p.m. in church, followed by coffee and biscuits

September 23rd - Harvest Festival Evensong

7.30 p.m. preacher Rev. K. Hallett (Rural Dean)

Followed by Harvest Home Get Together at Acacia Grove Farm, by kind invitation of Mr. and Mrs. P. Hill. Tickets £1.25

September 24th - Craft Exhibition

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Church.

Pottery, Lace Making, Candle making, Corn Dollies, etc.

Three Spites Morris Dancers

Refreshments, Stalls

7.30 p.m. Concert by Tamworth Music Centre Band.

September 25th

8.45 a.m. Holy Communion

11.00 a.m. Children's Gift Service

Preacher - Bishop of Wolverhampton.

Source Parish magazine

Centenary Gift

To mark the centenary year, we have been given a beautifully bound [hotograph album, which contains pictures and details of all the items donated to the church over the years. Our sincere and grateful thanks go to Mr. and Mrs. P. Wallis for this lovely gift and also to their grandson, Geoffrey, for taking the photographs. The album is kept in Church for anyone to see.

Source Parish Magazine

Centenary Celebrations

All the months of planning, scheming and arranging finally came together with our week of celebrations - and what a week it was! Hectic and hard work, but extremely happy. An event such as this could not have happened without the support and co-operation of many people. Hours of work took place in the churchyard, we begged or borrowed flowers, pictures, chairs, a carbouy and even two ladies from other villages to help with flower arrangements. It is impossible to thank each individual, so will you all please accept our sincere thanks for - donations of money, prizes, selling tickets, baking cakes, etc. serving refreshments, helping at any concert and any of the 101 duties taken on during the week. We had many visitors from far away and judging from their comments and remarks we can feel justly proud of our small village and Church.

MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE.

Source Rectors letter to parishioners- Parish Magazine

3.

Harlaston Rectory

September 1983.

My Dear Friends, 

The Centenary Celebrations are now over and what celebrations they were, and we are deeply indebted to the small band of cheerful workers who organised the events and made Harlaston Celebrations the success they were.

The dinner on the Saturday evening bore evidence of much careful preparation and the good success that it was, could only have been achieved by much labour for which we are immensely grateful. It was a most enjoyable evening.

The Communion Service on the evening of St. Matthew's day was well attended and the Harvest Services were memorable.  The floral arrangements in the Church were considered by everyone who saw them to be quite magnificent and again we are thankful to all who were involved in these lovely decorations.

Grateful thanks are also due to all who contributed to make the display of rural crafts such an interesting affair. I think we ought to use the Church for things of this nature more often.

Last but not least our thanks are also due to the kind people who extended to us the warm hospitality of their homes after the Harvest Services. The Rural Dean and the Bishop, like ourselves, enjoyed themselves immensely.

The gifts that the children so kindly brought to their service have already been taken to the Church of England's Children's Home at Hoar Cross.

Another happy event will have been celebrated by the time you read this letter, Percy and Winnie Wallis will have celebrated their Golden Wedding. We rejoyce with them and extend our congratulations to them and we express the hope that they will have many, many more happy years together.

The next two paragraphs are expressions of regret.

Mr. and Mrs. Preston are leaving us to take up residence in Newton Regis. We shall all miss them very much because of all the good work they have done here. I shall particularly miss the warmth of their fellowship at the Altar rails.

Mr. and Mrs. Robin Hawkins will be leaving Edingale in due course for possibly Sussex. We are immensely indebted to Mr. Hawkins for his work as Church Treasurer and as Foundation Manager of the School. We are also in his debt for steering through the sale of the Old School and liaising with the Charity Commissioners on our behalf.

We extend to Mr. & Mrs. Preston and Mr. & Mrs. Hawkins and family our very good wishes for the future.

Yours sincerely,

John Walters

P in C

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