Church news

Around the Benefice

06 November 2021

Dear friends,

I hope this finds you well. Perhaps for the first time in many years Bonfire Night this year seems to have slipped by barely unnoticed. Apart from a few minor ‘bangs’ on Friday evening I haven’t been aware of the previous celebratory spirit of years gone by. Not too long ago, it seemed that every neighbourhood had its own bonfire with neighbours coming together to provide pie and peas and jacket potatoes with a real sense of togetherness, and the next morning one would wake up to the smell of last night’s smoke hanging heavily in the air. (Perhaps with climate change and COP 26 it’s as well that we don’t have as many bonfires!)

I was reminded earlier in the week that the roots of Bonfire Night were actually in religion  - Guido Fawkes along with his pals were determined to restore a Catholic Monarchy to the throne of England by plotting to kill King James the First. I wonder what our church and country might look like now if he had succeeded? Would it have mattered that much anyway, considering our good relationship with the Catholic church these days? What would Jesus have made of all the bloodshed carried out in His name over the years? Thoughts to ponder…

Our services tomorrow 7th of November:

• 8am - BCP Communion at St Andrew’s
• 10am - Holy Communion at St Michael’s
• 11am - Family Service at St Andrew’s
• 4pm - Compline Evensong at St Peter’s

Next week our Remembrance Sunday services are:

• St Peter’s - 10.50
• St Michael’s - 10.50
• St Andrew’s - 10.45

Please do join us at the War Memorials as we remember those who have served so faithfully so that we can enjoy peace in our country. There will be a service in each church followed by refreshments.

Stephanie Darling

Please pray for Stephanie, who spoke recently at St Michael’s, as she is commissioned on Sunday at her home church in Warrington, and as she prepares to fly back to Malawi on Tuesday 9th November to continue her missionary work there.

Advent Course

Rev Sue and I are offering to run Advent Courses within the Benefice. Each course will follow a book with it’s own study material as we enter Advent, the season of quiet and expectant watching and waiting. If you are interested, please do let either of us know by email.

Please continue with the most important work in hand - that of prayer. Prayer is our first calling, and by entering into prayer we can change the world around us, whilst at the same time we open ourselves up to transformation by the Holy Spirit - becoming more like Him who died for us and lives again. This is the most important work of God’s Kingdom and it is the basis of our calling.

Finally, please continue to keep yourselves and others safe by wearing masks at church, careful hand-cleansing and social distancing - Covid numbers are still very high and our local A and E is very busy with Covid patients.

With our prayers,

Rev’ds Andrew and Sue