Eggleston Show 2025
Upper Teesdale Churches Together (UTCT) were, once again, at the heart of this year's show - and in spite of it turning into what everyone agreed was the wettest show in recent years, we still enjoyed lots of interest from show visitors (having a canopy to shelter under was a big attraction!)
Taking the parable of 'the lost sheep' as our theme, youngsters (and some not so young!) were invited to make a sheep to add to our flock in the fold while hundreds of lovely, home-baked, sheep-shaped biscuits - each accompanied by the "I am the Good Shepherd" text - were handed out to passers by.
"The weather may have been less than kind but it certainly didn't dampen our spirits," said UTCT chair Mary Howard."Eggleston Show attracts an audience from far beyond our dale so it was good to show our churches playing their part in the life of the communities we serve."
Among our visitors was the local MP for Bishop Auckland Sam Rushworth, still nursing his broken leg, seen here with the Rev John Howard.
Taking the parable of 'the lost sheep' as our theme, youngsters (and some not so young!) were invited to make a sheep to add to our flock in the fold while hundreds of lovely, home-baked, sheep-shaped biscuits - each accompanied by the "I am the Good Shepherd" text - were handed out to passers by.
"The weather may have been less than kind but it certainly didn't dampen our spirits," said UTCT chair Mary Howard."Eggleston Show attracts an audience from far beyond our dale so it was good to show our churches playing their part in the life of the communities we serve."
Among our visitors was the local MP for Bishop Auckland Sam Rushworth, still nursing his broken leg, seen here with the Rev John Howard.
Putting our heart on show
Community was very much at the heart of the Upper Teesdale Churches Together presence at this year’s Eggleston Show.
Under the banner 'helping our communities to flourish' our ‘Church About The Dale’ trailer was a prominent feature among the many stands in the centre of the showfield.
Throughut the day visitors added leaves to the branches of a large tree mural, each representing a local school, club, church or community space, and everyone was encouraged to contribute to the creation of an even larger collage, representing what makes Teesdale special to them, on a beautifully painted backdrop by local artist Alan Matthews.
Meanwhile, members of the UTCT team roamed the showfield handing out 300 snowdrop bulbs with the text: But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. (Psalm52:8)
“We wanted to give people the means to plant something in memory of someone who was important to them or their community and, at the same time, help their community to flourish quite literally,” said UTCT Chair Mary Howard.
“And that, in turn, led to conversations about people who were important to them, and those sort of conversations play such a vital part in our ministry to those among whom we live, whether they’re churchgoers or not.
“Eggleston Show is the last, large agricultural gathering in the dale and our prominent position, whether by accident or design, meant we were seen to be very much at the heart of that community.
“The UTCT presence at the show was, once again, made possible by the generous support of the Durham Diocese and the Methodist Church and we are very grateful to all those members of local churches who gave their time and energy to making it the success it so obviously was.” she added.
Under the banner 'helping our communities to flourish' our ‘Church About The Dale’ trailer was a prominent feature among the many stands in the centre of the showfield.
Throughut the day visitors added leaves to the branches of a large tree mural, each representing a local school, club, church or community space, and everyone was encouraged to contribute to the creation of an even larger collage, representing what makes Teesdale special to them, on a beautifully painted backdrop by local artist Alan Matthews.
Meanwhile, members of the UTCT team roamed the showfield handing out 300 snowdrop bulbs with the text: But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. (Psalm52:8)
“We wanted to give people the means to plant something in memory of someone who was important to them or their community and, at the same time, help their community to flourish quite literally,” said UTCT Chair Mary Howard.
“And that, in turn, led to conversations about people who were important to them, and those sort of conversations play such a vital part in our ministry to those among whom we live, whether they’re churchgoers or not.
“Eggleston Show is the last, large agricultural gathering in the dale and our prominent position, whether by accident or design, meant we were seen to be very much at the heart of that community.
“The UTCT presence at the show was, once again, made possible by the generous support of the Durham Diocese and the Methodist Church and we are very grateful to all those members of local churches who gave their time and energy to making it the success it so obviously was.” she added.
Tennis theme proves an 'ace'
It was 'game, set and match' when The Pathway hosted the Upper Teesdale Churches Together "Strawberry Tea."
Coming as the All-England Championship neared its dramatic conclusion, the choice of theme was obvious from the start and, with the necessary licence being bought (thanks to a donation), we were able to show separate matches on each of The Pathway's two screens.
Although numbers were not as high as we had hoped, those who were there greatly enjoyed the event as well as the home-made refreshments. Hopefully we may be able to stage a return 'match' next year.
Coming as the All-England Championship neared its dramatic conclusion, the choice of theme was obvious from the start and, with the necessary licence being bought (thanks to a donation), we were able to show separate matches on each of The Pathway's two screens.
Although numbers were not as high as we had hoped, those who were there greatly enjoyed the event as well as the home-made refreshments. Hopefully we may be able to stage a return 'match' next year.
A vigil for PEACE
Over the course of an hour, more than 40 people took part in the silent, candle-lit vigil organised by UTCT in front of The Pathway Methodist Church in Middleton-in-Teesdale.
UTCT Chair Mary Howard said: “We are fortunate to live in a peaceful community in a beautiful part of the country untouched by the horror and brutality of war. It is so easy to take that for granted, and that’s why we wanted to hold this vigil and acknowledge how grateful we are, for that blessing.
“But it also sends an important mesage to the community. Children returning from school, young families out walking, people doing their shopping all saw us standing up for peace - and if that made even one of them think a little more deeply about the issue then it will have been worthwhile.
“It was not about taking sides or waving flags or shouting slogans. It was about coming together as a community and saying, 'we stand for peace,' and we’re delighted we had the support of so many of our UTCT churches and other members of the community who stood alongside us."
UTCT Chair Mary Howard said: “We are fortunate to live in a peaceful community in a beautiful part of the country untouched by the horror and brutality of war. It is so easy to take that for granted, and that’s why we wanted to hold this vigil and acknowledge how grateful we are, for that blessing.
“But it also sends an important mesage to the community. Children returning from school, young families out walking, people doing their shopping all saw us standing up for peace - and if that made even one of them think a little more deeply about the issue then it will have been worthwhile.
“It was not about taking sides or waving flags or shouting slogans. It was about coming together as a community and saying, 'we stand for peace,' and we’re delighted we had the support of so many of our UTCT churches and other members of the community who stood alongside us."
Creating a stir at Eggleston Show!
Upper Teesdale Churches Together have, once again, played an active part in this year’s Eggleston Show.
Our theme was “stir things up!” and visitors were invited to knock down the evils of ‘injustice’, ‘cruelty’, ‘pride’, ‘war’, and ‘hunger’ on our coconut-shy, to post the things they wanted to see changed on our ‘Stir It Up’ board and to decorate wooden spoons to take home as a reminder of our theme.
With a pitch just inside the main public entrance to the show ground we could catch the attention of everyone arriving at the show - and leaving it later on!
The result - in spite of some very overcast weather - was a steady stream of visitors throughout the day, with the coconut shy and the spoon decorating proving popular with young and old alike, while the comments posted on the board were circulated to local churches as a focus for prayer the following day.
Mary Howard, Chair of Upper Teesdale Churches Together said: “We attach great importance to being present at such a significant community event.
“Hopefully, the fun activities we encouraged people to engage in still made the point that the churches are here to fight for a just society, and to stand alongside the disadvantaged, showing God's love for all.
“As ever, I am indebted to the volunteers who gave time and energy to the preparations before and on the day, and also to the 'Churches in the Dale' for the loan of the trailer.”
(All photographs used with permission.)
Our theme was “stir things up!” and visitors were invited to knock down the evils of ‘injustice’, ‘cruelty’, ‘pride’, ‘war’, and ‘hunger’ on our coconut-shy, to post the things they wanted to see changed on our ‘Stir It Up’ board and to decorate wooden spoons to take home as a reminder of our theme.
With a pitch just inside the main public entrance to the show ground we could catch the attention of everyone arriving at the show - and leaving it later on!
The result - in spite of some very overcast weather - was a steady stream of visitors throughout the day, with the coconut shy and the spoon decorating proving popular with young and old alike, while the comments posted on the board were circulated to local churches as a focus for prayer the following day.
Mary Howard, Chair of Upper Teesdale Churches Together said: “We attach great importance to being present at such a significant community event.
“Hopefully, the fun activities we encouraged people to engage in still made the point that the churches are here to fight for a just society, and to stand alongside the disadvantaged, showing God's love for all.
“As ever, I am indebted to the volunteers who gave time and energy to the preparations before and on the day, and also to the 'Churches in the Dale' for the loan of the trailer.”
(All photographs used with permission.)
Eggleston Show 2022
The 146th Annual Eggleston Show was another outstanding success - and once again Upper Teesdale Churches Together were there to celebrate the work of God up and down the dale and our place in its many communities.
And, thanks to the good offices of the show organisers, our 'Church In The Dale' stand was positioned right at the heart of all the action.
We decided to re-visit our theme from last year - "wonderfully and beautifully made" - but use it this time to celebrate the beauty of the wonderful dale in which we live by asking for help to create a piece of public art.
Scores of boys, girls, mams and dads - and even some of our local constabulary - visited our stand over the course of the day and, using scraps of paper, card, felt, fabric, foil, wool (and lots and lots of glue!), they succeeded in creating a colourful and vibrant panorama which truly celebrates Upper Teesdale.
The finished artwork is now on display at The Pathway Methodist Church, in Middleton, but we hope to show it in other venues over the autumn.
The stand was staffed by clergy and volunteers from several churches. Afterwards, UTCT chair Mary Howard said: "A huge thank you to all who helped make our stand at Eggleston Show such a success. There was a huge buzz around the artwork, and plenty of opportunity to engage with the community."
And, thanks to the good offices of the show organisers, our 'Church In The Dale' stand was positioned right at the heart of all the action.
We decided to re-visit our theme from last year - "wonderfully and beautifully made" - but use it this time to celebrate the beauty of the wonderful dale in which we live by asking for help to create a piece of public art.
Scores of boys, girls, mams and dads - and even some of our local constabulary - visited our stand over the course of the day and, using scraps of paper, card, felt, fabric, foil, wool (and lots and lots of glue!), they succeeded in creating a colourful and vibrant panorama which truly celebrates Upper Teesdale.
The finished artwork is now on display at The Pathway Methodist Church, in Middleton, but we hope to show it in other venues over the autumn.
The stand was staffed by clergy and volunteers from several churches. Afterwards, UTCT chair Mary Howard said: "A huge thank you to all who helped make our stand at Eggleston Show such a success. There was a huge buzz around the artwork, and plenty of opportunity to engage with the community."
Palm Sunday Witness
Around 40 members of Anglican and Methodist churches in Upper Teesdale came together in Eggleston for this year's Pam Sunday Walk of Witness service, led by the Rev Alison Wallbank.
Blessed with glorious sunshine, the first part of the service took place on the village green - accompanied by real donkeys! - followed by the walk up to the village hall for the remainder of the service and refreshments.
Blessed with glorious sunshine, the first part of the service took place on the village green - accompanied by real donkeys! - followed by the walk up to the village hall for the remainder of the service and refreshments.
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The Vigil took place at the Pathway Methodist Church. Over the course of the three hours more than 25 people took part and the vigil ended with some of those standing in silence at the war memorial.
Right: The Communion Table at the end of the Vigil.
Right: The Communion Table at the end of the Vigil.