by John Prince
Fifty portions of fish and chips, beach games and ice cream sound like a smashing day out at the seaside for anyone.
And that’s exactly what Deacon Jackie Fowler got at a surprise goodbye party thrown for her, as she sits down from her position as minister at Hornsea Methodist Church after six years.
Jackie’s last service was on Sunday, August 16, but the day before friends and churchgoers put on a seaside-themed celebration, with people dressing up in beachwear and Minnie Mouse ears, and carrying the odd stuffed seagull on their shoulders.
Jackie has served seven churches on the Driffield-Hornsea circuit since she arrived in 2020.
As she arrived to the party everyone sang, “Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside” in reference to one of the first comments she made when she took up post – that she was thrilled to be by the sea.
The church was decked out with deckchairs, blow-up rubber rings and buckets and spades, and there were games to play like frisbee and oversized noughts and crosses, as well as a tough seaside quiz to take part in.
Deacon Jackie is retiring to Keighley in West Yorkshire in September, and plans a trip to New Zealand where she spent time some years ago.
Last month, about 60 people from more a dozen churches came together to wish her farewell at a special service held at the Methodist church.
Whiteheads and Lily’s fish and chip shops in Hornsea provided the food.