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News items from previous years can be seen by clicking on the year: 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Thanks to those wonderful folks at Google we are now able to give much more detail about events at St Paul's listed in the Diary. Visit the Diary and click on an event to see additional information.
2012/02/17 Jars of Change - our Lent appeal
Every single day, across Africa, children are forced to give up things most of us take for granted. Their time. Their education. Their health. Simply because they do not have access to safe, clean water. “Since I came here my children suffered a lot from worms and diarrhoea and the health centre is like my home...I always pray to God to bring someone who can think about our water problem in the village.” These are the words of Musabyimana, a mother from Rwanda. You may not know it, but diarrhoea is the biggest killer of children in Africa. Every day, it takes the lives of more children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. By joining our Lent appeal, you can provide families like Musabyimana's with the safe water they so desperately need. By using technologies like rainwater harvesting, WaterAid hopes to bring a safe supply of water to 2,000 people in Rwanda. Our church can help realise the solutions that will save many lives, and can be owned and maintained by the people that benefit from them. Saint Paul’s can save lives this Lent by turning Jars of Change into jars of water. Just set aside a jar and drop some money into it every time you have a shower, or wash the car, wash up or use water in any way. Do this to show your appreciation of our unlimited access to safe water at the turn of a tap and to raise funds to provide safe water in countries in the developing world. Add to the jars throughout Lent and hand them in at church on Easter Sunday. Visit WaterAid's website Watch a short film about WaterAid's work
2012/01/20 PCC Away Day - 1 - January 2012
As you will probably be aware, the PCC had an Away Day near the end of January. Actually, I say Away Day, we only went to St. Matthew’s Centre in the middle of Stalybridge! Nevertheless, the facilities there were excellent and we had a relaxing and enjoyable time. More importantly, we engaged in some most helpful discussions, as we formulated the GAP (Growth Action Plan) priorities for 2012-2013. In the morning sessions (which over-ran!) we looked at the Strengths and Weaknesses of the church, and the Opportunities and Threats these posed. This is called a SWOT analysis. In the afternoon we put together our GAP, which was much easier to do than the SWOT analysis, hopefully because our morning discussions had been productive. Here I intend to simply list the findings of the SWOT analysis. Please bear in mind that some of these were considered more significant than others, and this doesn’t necessarily come over from the lists below. Nevertheless, a flavour of what was discussed should be apparent. Next month I will write another article, ‘PCC Away Day – Part 2,’ reviewing the GAP priorities for the last two years (GAP 1 and 2), as well as stating those for 2012-2013, i.e. GAP 3. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths · Sunday School · Church congregation size · Accessible Worship · Building and Car Park · ‘Younger’ congregation · Open and welcoming · ‘Traditional Church’ – choir, bells etc. · PCC young · Schools involvement · Money raising when focussed · Vicar!! Weaknesses · Critical of one another · Older children absent · Communicating costs of running the church · Communicating information · Volunteers – same people · We still need more people in Church · Pastoral Care of elderly · Social side needs more helpers Opportunities · Outside use – advertise · ‘Messy Church’ – evening · Communications need to improve – possible survey · Communications co-ordinator needed · Prayer Group to replace Sunday Evening Service · Fund Raising – explain what for? Re-visit £10 Challenge; Development/ Fund Raising Committee · Pastoral Care Team – younger people involvement; shoe boxes for the elderly · Encourage Lay Ministry Threats · Elderly Choir · Building – constant drain on resources · Declining numbers, especially of the ‘middle aged’ · Complacency · Image – too much for only the elderly
2012/01/20 PCC Meeting - January 2012
This was a shorter meeting than normal (although there was still a large agenda), mainly because many longer/ more ‘serious’ issues could be considered the week after at the PCC Away Day. A report of that meeting will appear in the next Parish Magazine. PCC Away Day – the agenda for such was outlined. This will consist of a morning review of our GAP priorities for the last two years and a S.W.O.T. analysis. For those unfamiliar - Strengths and Weaknesses of the church and the Opportunities and Threats posed by such. The afternoon will then focus on producing GAP priorities for the coming year. Finance and Fund Raising – the church is still struggling to pay the Parish Share and unless new fund raising ideas can be thought of soon we will fall behind on payments. In the longer term this has implications with regards the appointment of the next vicar. A letter regarding those implications from the Bishop of Chester was read out. The Three Crows Concert has been cancelled due to illness of one of the singers. The possibility of using the church for ‘medium sized’ events (like the recent Saddleworth Male Voice Choir) was suggested as possibly a way forward. PA System – this should be operational by the time you read this article. The Development Fund has paid for such, with a small grant of £400 from the Allchurches Trust. Money is still needed for the AV System. Cup Licensing – a list of 16 members of the church was approved to present before the Bishop of Stockport. This is most encouraging. Parish Boundary Changes – two small changes were made at the top of Mottram Road, with St. Michael’s Parish. See Tim if you would like more detail. Building, Restoration and Maintenance – the flaking paint and ‘dirt’ on window ledges in the upper lounge has become a health and safety issue. A clean up has been planned for Saturday 28th. January at 1.00 p.m. Volunteers will be asked for from the congregation. The window in the bell tower remains a major concern in need of urgent restoration work. The outside lighting work and the work on the south side of the church roof have now been completed (with a ‘patched up’ job on the lynch gate).