We had a wonderful time at Wallingford Baptist Church, Oxfordshire helping lead Environment Sunday 2004 on Sunday 6th June.

1) Three Sage members provided the children's slot in the morning service with about 100 people present. This involved the children putting their hands in clay, and then pressing their hand prints onto a large white cloth to make a "tree". By a miracle (and Emily's brilliant organization) it all worked, and the church remained in pristine condition! After the service we had lots of good conversations around our display boards over coffee.

2) Sage took part in an afternoon walk starting at the church. We took a gentle stroll along the river Thames towards Shillingford, admiring God's Creation as we walked. Hardly any of the 20 plus people made it as far as Shillingford, but there was a café at a suitable spot! It was a glorious sunny afternoon, and we were rewarded by good views of great crested grebe, reed bunting and damselflies. We ended with tea and cakes back at the church (the cakes were much appreciated by the children).

3) The evening service was an informal affair with about 35 present, and was largely led by Sage members. The worship was great, led by Cath Sefton from Wallingford Baptist, with Franz Stevens from Sage on top form on the keyboard. Mary Broster from St. Leonard's churchyard project in Wallingford gave us a short talk on the work of her group. People stayed behind chatting for over an hour!!!

Lots of people to thank. The Sage members who took part in the services: Dave, Caroline, Emily, Franz, Jennifer, Karl, Martin, and Russell. The Sage supporters who came: Dickie, Felicity, Richard and Suzie. Cath Sefton and Emily Wilkins were our main contacts at Wallingford Baptist, and did an enormous amount of organization behind the scenes. And Wallingford Baptist Church for being incredibly gracious hosts!