Giving it up for Lent! Thoughts for May from Pat Zukowskyj What did you give up for Lent? Can you remember? Was it chocolate? Alcohol? Crisps. Did it make a difference to your life, once Lent was over? Like many people, I used to give up foodstuffs, only to begin eating them again at Easter. […]
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 […]
Self-Improvement I was very sorry to read of the death of writer and humourist Michael Green, at the not inconsiderable age of 91 years. Born and brought up in Leicester, just a little earlier than our own Michael (Hollick), but only just. He wrote for the local newspapers and also found time to produce […]
Seeing the Story of Samuel – Thought for the Month by Helen Gambles Quite a few weeks ago in January, I read the Readings at the 11am Eucharist Service. The first one was from the first Book of Samuel and told the story of the boy’s calling by the Lord. Afterwards, I was thinking about the […]
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 […]
What’s not to love about February in Blackrod? For the most part I consider myself to be of a happy disposition, yet the thought of another February fills me with gloom and trepidation. Gale force winds and heavy rain in the month of February over the years has definitely left scars. These include a 10 […]
I hope that you have all had an enjoyable Christmas and a chance to relax and spend time with family and friends. I also hope that you have not thrown out your Christmas tree yet or taken down your decorations! It seems to me that we see Christmas decorations going up earlier and earlier each […]
St Katharine and the Women Having been asked to write something for the magazine, the deadline was fast approaching in December and I hadn’t started. It was suggested that I could use the theme of the sermon I preached on St Katharine’s Day in November, so here goes…… ………Sunday 26th November – Well, what a […]
The Vicar writes……. A few years ago I went on a curates’ exchange visit to Braunschweig in Germany which is twinned with Blackburn Diocese. The main church in Germany is the Lutheran Church and our hosts were curates or “vikarin”. They were part way through their 7 year training which sounded extremely arduous and demanding, […]
A Box for a Hurting Child Thoughts for December from Robin Sharp Here we are once more into the Advent season. The season of joy and goodwill at the coming of the infant Jesus sent by God as saviour to us all and the promise of eternal life. It is, traditionally, a family occasion mainly […]