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 […]

The Vicar writes….. Address given at the Annual Parochial Meeting on 22nd April At last year’s APCM I left you with a question. “What do you think we should do next?” You’ve heard a lot about MAPs (Mission Action Plans) this last year. The Bishop has asked every Parish to produce its own MAP and […]

Dear Friends, Very Early on Sunday morning at sunrise, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome brought spices to go and anoint the body of Jesus. On the way they said to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the tomb?” It was a very large stone. Then they […]

    Dear Friends, A month into 2018 and whatever other resolutions you may have made, I wonder how many of us have resolved to use less plastic or even try to live a plastic free life? The Blue Planet programme shocked us all with its images of the plastic filled oceans and the heart […]