Dear Friends, The summer is rapidly coming to an end as we approach September, and for many of us that lovely holiday is now a distant memory. The schools will be re-opening soon and for families life will settle back into its own routine involving work, rest and play, hopefully in a balanced way. It […]
Dear Friends, Here we are August already and we are in the height of summer, enjoying some lovely summer weather, at least from time to time. I was pleased to note that it did not rain on St Swithun’s day so we are in with a chance of more good weather! Even the Scarecrow weekend […]
Dear Friends, It now feels like Summer is on its way, doesn’t it. The lighter evenings and the sunshine, the trees are almost all in full leaf and the gardens and hedgerows are ablaze with colour, and growth is lush. I was delighted a few evenings ago as I stood washing up in the kitchen, […]
Once again it’s been a busy year for us, but before I go any further I’d just like to pay tribute to two faithful servants of this parish who died last year. Jean Douglas and Anita Skinner. Both Anita and Jean were artistically gifted and creative. Jean was not only a master of her needle […]
Dear Friends, If you’ve been in church you may have seen our photographs of Messy Church displayed in the lower room? You can see more photos in this magazine and an article from the Sunday School Team about our first one ever at St Katharine’s at the beginning of March. For the uninitiated, Messy Church […]
Dear Friends, Here we are in March and spring is on its way. At the end of the month we’ll put the clocks forward and look forward to lighter evenings. We’ve had a short respite in the church’s calendar with Easter being so late this year, which has enabled us all to get our collective […]
Dear Friends, Once more it’s my pleasure to wish you all a “Happy New Year” although I wish it didn’t come round quite so quickly! Each New Year gives us the opportunity to take stock of our lives and see what could be improved on leading to our making of New Year’s resolutions. Have you […]
The Vicar writes for December….. Dear Friends, Here we are already at the beginning of December and looking forward to celebrating the birth of our Lord once again. Have you ever wondered why we celebrate it on the 25th December? After all, nowhere in the Bible does it state that Jesus was born on that […]
The Vicar writes….. Dear Friends, “As an open and welcoming church our vision is to be at the heart of the community sharing faith and friendship to do God’s work. We aim to be a strong vibrant church committed to all ages.” This is our Vision Statement which has developed out of the work we […]
The Vicar writes…… Dear Friends, As July slips into August, the schools have broken up for six weeks or so, families are off to relax and enjoy their summer holidays, and the sun shines on. This month the Blackrod, Daisy Hill, Westhoughton and Wingates Team say more goodbyes and au revoirs. Ian Hepburn who is […]