'Churched' ???

I have a friend who was not a church goer but when he attended weddings, baptisms etc in a church, he always said he had been 'churched'. Friday last week and Sunday, I attended church; 2 to be exact...so was I 'churched'? Lol.

On Friday some friends and I went to Ipswich; specifically to St Paul's. This parish had their annual quilt show and we saw wonderful quilts as well as lovely old architecture.

A lovely wide veranda on the church hall... 

Then inside the church...

 I loved these stained glass windows...

There were so many quilts to admire...many of my photos were too dark, but some aren't too bad...
I loved the section where the children and babies' quilts were hung...

Quilts were hanging everywhere :-)

Some mini quilts too...such as these 2 by Susan, a fellow Sunday Stitcher...

There were lots of quilts draped over the pews...

Now this quilters' group had a challenge...this fabric had to be used in a wallhanging...

Here are a few of the entries...

Another lot of entries...the 'woman in red' was quite stunning, but they were all wonderful!

This one below,was my favourite in this challenge...I suppose you are surprised by that? lol

As well as quilts there were other displays, such as teddies, soft toys, lace making and vintage haberdashery displays...here's another favourite...I had heard of the Singer Featherweight sewing machine but had never seen one in real life...what a cutie! No wonder they are sought after. (A quick Google search revealed that there are still Featherweight machines for sale...prices range from $900-$1200 AUD)

In the same display were these magazines...my mother used to buy Home Journal when I was a little girl!
Judging by the date of this one, my mum probably had this one! She used to use the free patterns that came in each mag...

The next one is dated 1963...by then, mum was also buying paper patterns such as Simplicity.

It was a wonderful day out; as well as quilts, vintage displays, plants and a delicious lunch, we also visited the gallery (alias church hall/community centre) of entries in the annual art competition and the church op shop which was quite large.

Then on Sunday at my parish church, we had a baptism at the 9.30 service. As I watched this part of the service I thought what a wonderful occasion it was with the children of the Sunday School so very much involved...

The children took turns to pour water into the font. The little baby was from an Indigenous family so this water came from their traditional lands... 

After the ceremony, Father Bruce carried the baby around the church so that people could stroke/touch the baby and wish her well...another Indigenous tradition :-)

Then later in the day we were back in the church hall for a concert by the Apollo Men's Choir. This choir uses the hall for their rehearsals and each year they give a concert as a thank you to the Parish. Money raised from tickets goes to parish funds. Only 12 members of the choir were available for the concert but they were amazing nonetheless. Their repertoire included Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond songs as well as more traditional choral pieces.   

The choir and the church hall have something in common...the time of their origins. The hall was built in the 1880s as a church and the choir started in 1888 as Leidertafel. The German name was replaced in WW1 by the name Apollo Men's Choir. We had an enjoyable afternoon and monies were raised for the Parish funds.