News
| Farewell | to our minister Kathy and her husband, Richard who have left us after 14 years. Their last service with us took place on Sunday August 3rd. We wish them both a very happy retirement. We will miss them. |
| Welcome | to our new minister, Rev. Blayze White and his family. We hope you'll be very happy with us. |
| Best wishes | to Rev. Jez Hackett who is taking over from Kathy as Circuit Superintendant | Thanks | to Jackie for all her hard work in assembling our latest banner based on the Creation story. Thanks also to everyone who contributed the squares to make up the banner. We are very blessed to have someone as talented as Jackie in our congregation |
Special Services at Church
Rev Annie Naish from the Scargill Movement, in May. This is a Christian retreat and conference centre in Kettlewell, North Yorkshire. Annie has worked on Mercy Ships in Africa with Nita and Geoff Worrall.
In June, Zoe Eddleston, a former member at Bolton Road, came to talk to us about her Christian journey since leaving our church. Zoe works in the chaplaincy at Canon Slade school.
Also in June, we welcomed Wendy Beedie to the pulpit. Wendy and Alan joined us earlier in the year. Another local preacher!
In July, Margaret Goodman gave her first full service at our church, made no easier by the fact she was assessed on her performance! What a blessing!
Rev David Hardman led a circuit service later in July. David is the Methodist Liaison Officer based in Jerusalem. He gave us an honest account of living through the conflict in Gaza.
In July/August, we had two retirement services for Kathy and Richard, one a circuit service led by Rev Jez Hackett, and the other led by both Kathy and Richard on their final day. In this service, we were blessed to be joined by the Congolese Church choir. We also celebrated the event with a buffet lunch.
In September, so far, we have welcomed Rev Blayze White as minister for pastoral care over Bolton Road, and we look forward to seeing much more of Blayze;
And also Gordon Clarke came to talk to us about Christians Against Poverty, and his work in Bury.
Obviously, ALL our services are special, and this is simply highlighting the special events or visiting speakers.
MHA Weekend
This afternoon took place on Saturday 12th July. It was attended by approximately a dozen residents plus some with family or friends. Many from our own church community attended.
Games that were played included hula hoops, skipping ropes, snakes and ladders, skittles, throwing the hoop, dominoes, tin cans, tiddlywinks, marbles, kerplunk, downfall, buckeroo.
The obligatory tea and cake was served, including Winston Churchill’s tea loaf, jam tarts and battenburg.
During the games, the youngsters and oldies were mixing together and chatting. The staff reported that the residents all enjoyed the event and were keen on doing it again.
A verse from the psalm in the service that Sunday was “They still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green”.
Ecofest 25
Our marketplace again offered a range of stalls, activities and workshops to choose from including some from last time - Bearded Barista with his honey stall, Incredible Edible who also did a workshop, Justicia Fairtrade, and Tools with a Mission. The Pantry had an information and book stall. Jackie did a roaring trade on her Make Do and Mend stall, repairing, restoring and generally extending the life of various items of clothing on her sewing stall, kept busy from beginning to end.
New stalls this time included Christian Aid (who also did a ‘craftivism’ workshop), Bury Balm who use locally foraged plants to make balms and ointments, and YourHomeBetter who brought their Community Engagement Vehicle, that people could board and learn about ways of retrofitting homes and other buildings (inc churches) with solar panels, heat pumps, insulation etc to make them more energy efficient.
This year we were also blessed to have musical accompaniment from the wonderful Harmony Belles, who entertained folk over lunch and the Bloco Ashe Samba Band, who got proceedings underway, then did a samba workshop. They performed outside, attracting folk from the local community with their melodic drumming, while a nice piece of collaboration with YourHomeBetter enabled them to stay dry under the vehicle’s awning during a shower.
A wider range of children’s craft activities and games were offered this time, including Catherine’s ever popular Toilet Twinning game and bird boxes from last year ably facilitated by Ian between showers. Meanwhile there were new activities - Jasmine and Liv helping children to make bird feeders, various ladybird-based activities such as a ‘ladybird hunt’, leaf art, and other activities to engage children and help them learn.
Unlike last year when we had an accompanying barbecue, this year we went with a world food offering, and my goodness what a truly amazing variety of cuisine was represented - from Africa to Asia to Latin America. Many thanks to the talented and generous folk who offered their culinary skills to feed people, while raising valuable money for Christian Aid.
Many thanks again to the amazing team of volunteers who made it happen on the day and the dedicated planning team who demonstrated extraordinary imagination and creativity, in coming up with ideas and devising activities, to bring about this wonderful church and community event. Although the intention was to raise awareness, we also raised over £1000 which will be shared between Christian Aid, Church funds, the Pantry and Toilet Twinning. With each year that passes, we learn a little more about doing these events, and hopefully people who come learn more of how they can protect our planet.
Ross Grant
