News Archive : 2009

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Family Fun Day Saturday 13th June 2-5pm, held on the lawn of Staley House, next to the Vicarage. Barbecue, children's games and races - a lovely annual event. Tickets: Adults £2; Children £1; Family ticket £5.

This year’s Confirmation Service will be on Sunday 28th June, at 10.30am, at St Paul’s.  Bp Robert, the Bishop of Stockport, will be here to conduct the service, which is always a very special occasion, not just for the candidates, but for the whole church. 

This year there are 6 candidates from our congregation going forward for confirmation: 2 adults (Donna Jones and Paul Smith) and 4 children (Emma Clark, Hannah Leech, Tristan Manchester and Rebecca Stone). 

Again we shall be sharing our service with St Mary’s, Newton, and possibly another church.  So it will be lovely to have the opportunity also to welcome friends from other churches.

Please pray for our candidates at this important time for them.

The restoration work on the tower (and high-level stone-work) is due to start on 20 April. This is the penultimate phase of the restoration programme for St Paul’s.  The work is due to take between 2 and 3 months, and although the tower will be scaffolded, we will still be able to access the building through the west door as usual, and we are told it should provide no special restrictions on church use.

The final phase of the programme will be the south transept and organ chamber, which may happen next year.

We had some financial good news recently when the Historic Cheshire Churches Preservation Trust gave us a very generous grant of £10,000.   We now have a significant proportion of the money needed for the remaining work, and so the light can be glimpsed at the end of the tunnel.  With one last push, we shall be in position to complete the restoration of St Paul’s.  When all the work is done, it will be good for everyone to be able to concentrate on normal maintenance rather than restoration.

Thank you again for all your generosity in this process – please keep up the good work.

Our Annual Meeting will be on Sunday 26 April, at 11.30am, following a shorter than usual Morning Prayer service at 10.30. Do join us if you’re able. This is the meeting at which we elect churchwardens, PCC members and others, and when we look back over the year just ended, and look forward to the year ahead. (All those on the church Electoral Roll are elegible to vote.)

The church Electoral Roll is the official list of church members, and we update it regularly, and especially before the Annual Meeting. Please do add your name to the list, if you’re not already on it. Any baptised person who lives in the parish, or who lives outside the parish but has been attending worship regularly here for 6 months, is entitled to appear on the roll. It’s an important record, but also a significant sign of belonging. All you have to do is sign a very simple form, which you can get from our Electoral Roll Officer (Eileen Frith – 304-9926) or from Richard Lawry, or from the table just inside church.

For any of you who are not able to be there at the Annual Meeting, Jacqui is once again kindly collating a booklet of reports from all the groups active in church, giving an overview of activities over the last 12 months, so do pick up a copy or ask someone to bring you one if you’re house-bound.

Richard.

Congratulations to Lauren Parkinson, who will be St Paul’s next Rose Queen.  Also to her retinue, which (as at the time of writing) will be: Alarna Leech, Hannah Jones, Rebecca Jones, Isobel Bate & Eleanor Bate.  Lauren will take over in July from Freya Clark, who is carrying out the role so well this year.  Perhaps I could also take this opportunity to thank Sue Clark and all the Retinue mums (and dads!) for their hard work this year in arranging events, services and fund-raising.
Richard.

It will be a pleasure to welcome our archdeacon, Richard Gillings, to St Paul’s on 8th March.  Archdeacon Richard is coming to preach and preside at the 10.30 Communion Service on that day, and I know he is looking forward to joining us, and meeting people here again. 

Do join us for our annual Mothering Sunday Service on 22 March.  It’s a good service to bring friends or relatives to, with its heritage of people regathering in the mother church, and it being a day to focus also on relationships.  And of course, being a Parade Service as well, with the children staying in throughout, it’s an ideal service for people to bring their kids to – and for any daffodil lovers!

In recent years, during Lent, we have joined together with members from St James’, Millbrook and All Saints, to share a Lent Course.  The purpose of this is to set aside a little time, during this important season of preparation, to explore aspects of faith and spirituality, and to grow in our understanding and discipleship.

This year we will be looking together at “The Passion”, the dramatisation of the events of the last phase of Jesus’ life, which was made and shown by the BBC during Holy Week last year.  I saw most of it then, and I thought the series was excellent – very engaging and thought-provoking.  It has been re-published as a package for church groups.  We will watch the 4 episodes, over the course of 4 weekly meetings, and then use the resources provided to help us to discuss in small grouups the events described and their portrayal in this version.  We hope it will prove to be a stimulating preparation for Holy Week & Easter.

The sessions will be at St James’ Church in Millbrook, on Tuesday evenings at 7.30pm, beginning on 10th March.  All are very welcome to join us, and I would warmly recommend this course as part of your pre-Easter diet!  Feel free to come to some of the sessions, even if you can’t make them all.  And if you’re housebound, or otherwise prevented from attending, perhaps you might like to offer a prayer on Tuesday evenings for our churches, for those attending the course, and for all of us, that we might grow in our understanding of the mystery of the cross, and God’s redemption of the world.

Richard.

Are you on the Electoral Roll of St Paul’s? 

The church electoral roll is the official list of church members, and we update it regularly, and especially before the church’s Annual Meeting in April.  Please do add your name to the list, if you’re not already on it.  Last year (as is the case every 6 years) a completely new roll had to be drawn up, and it may well be that you missed the opportunity to have your name included.  Any baptised person who lives in the parish, or who lives outside the parish but has been attending worship regularly here for 6 months, is entitled to appear on the roll.  It’s an important record, but also a significant sign of belonging.  All you have to do is sign a very simple form, which you can get from our Electoral Roll Officer (Eileen Frith – 304-9926) or from Richard Lawry, or from the table in church. 

This needs to be available in advance of the Annual Meeting (26 April, 2009) so the deadline for articles is 1 March. If you lead any church group, activity or committee (including any group which regularly meets here) please submit a short report to Jacqui Barker (stpaulst56@sky.com or in the Magazine box in the porch).

The Bishop of Stockport will be here at St Paul's to conduct this year's Confirmation Service on Sunday 28th June. Any adults or children aged 13 and upwards who would like to be confirmed into full membership of the Church (or who would ike to know more about what's involved) please have a word with Richard. There will be preparation sessions on Wednesday evenings from 22 Apnl to 13 May.

Do please contact Richard Lawry if you’d like to sign up for Confirmation or would just like to talk about the possibility.  It’s a staging-post where people make public statements of belief in God, confirming the promises made for them at baptism, and of their resolve to follow Jesus.  In doing so they become full members of the Church, and are strengthened by God’s Holy Spirit for the Christian life.  And it’s a great celebration in the life of the church.

The book I’m recommending for reading during Lent this year is called “Journeying through Lent with Mark”, and is a series of short daily meditations on a verse or two from Mark’s gospel.  It’s a slim volume, costing just £3.99, and would be a good thing for busy people!  It’s a good way to commit to a little Bible reading and prayer time during the 40 days of Lent, even if you feel that available time is at a premium!

Copies are available from the bookstall in church, after services.  If you would like a copy, but can’t get to church, please phone Cicely on 339-3409 or Richard Lawry on 338-2514.

For our joint Lent Course this year, we're going to be showing and discussing "The Passion" - the highly acclaimed 4-episode drama screened last year, focussing on the last days of Jesus' life. Tuesday evenings, starting 10 March, at St James' Church, Millbrook.