Bishop of Chester - Diocese of Chester

Chester
Diocesan News
Growing s t r o n g e r p a r i s h c o m m u n i t i e s
December 2013
Extra news, features and jobs at
www.chester.anglican.org
God has a name, a human name… Jesus
of Nazareth, writes the Bishop of Chester
‘And it came to pass’.
With these words – as in
the Authorised Version –
the Gospel writers narrate
the events leading up to
the birth of Jesus.
It was Harold Macmillan who, when asked
about the most important thing in politics,
simply remarked: ‘events’. Life itself is an
event, or a whole sequence of events, from
our mysterious conception in our mother’s
womb, until we cross the mysterious vale of
death, the gateway to God.
It is very important to accept that Christmas
is about history, God’s immediate presence in
history, in a human birth. We count our years
from the birth of God, and despite all the
secularisation of our contemporary world, and
the marginalisation of the Christian faith, we
still do so.
‘And it came to pass’ means, simply, that
it happened. The hopes and fears of all the
years were met in the birth of Jesus. History
has a centre, from which Christians have
Swimming a metaphorical ‘channel’…
The Vicar of Alderley
Edge is swimming
the English Channel
– without ever leaving
our diocese. The Revd
Jane Parry has taken
the challenge to swim
the equivalent distance
of Dover to Calais at
her local swimming
pool to raise funds for
the St Philip and St
James Church spire
fund.
counted the years before and after. God has
a name, a human name: Jesus of Nazareth.
That is our faith.
So what will come to pass for us? Each year
is another year on our journey, and Christmas
has a way of focussing our thoughts upon
what really matters to us, and magnifying
them. ‘And he feeleth for our sadness, and
he shareth in our gladness’. To embrace
Christmas in its true spirit is to embrace our
own lives, and their essential contours, and to
recognise God’s embrace of us.
‘And it came to pass’ also has a ring of
certainty, of inevitability about it. History
cannot be undone. God’s birth into our world
was not a transient event, but a decisive event
in the history of the world (and God’s own
history, too). Amid the changes and chances
of this fleeting world stands the rock which was
Christ (1 Cor 10), the rock who is the Light of
the World.
Let that Light scatter the darkness which is
before your path this Christmas.
+ Peter
She’s swimming the 21 miles, or 1,750
lengths, across several weeks at the Energie
Fitness Club in Handforth. As CDN went
to press she had already raised more than
£1,000 in donations from local businesses and
well -wishers.
The church needs to raise £150,000 for
essential repairs to the spire – at 175 ft one of
the tallest in Cheshire.
Jane told CDN: “I’m going swimming most
days and I hope to ‘reach’ France in a week.”
If you’d like to make a donation email
vicarontheedge@hotmail.co.uk
Photo and original story courtesy of the
Wilmslow Express.
Compass
TRAINING
The Venerable Dr John Applegate is the
principal of the All Saints Centre for Mission
and Ministry. He will be the main speaker at
Compass (for those people thinking about
training for ordination) on the Saturday 8
February 2014, 10am to 12pm in Church
House, Daresbury. John will be speaking
about what ordination training hopes to
achieve, and covering the different ways of
training. All are welcome to attend. To book
or for more information call the Director of
Ordinands on 01928 718834 ext 237 or email
ddo@chester.anglican.org
Arts & Faith Network Weekend
Chester Diocesan News
EDITOR: Stephen Regan, tel
01928
718834 ext 233. Email stories and
pictures for the February 2013 issue by
16 December 2013, to:
stephen.regan@chester.anglican.org
Revd Canon Michael Burgess and the
Revd Pamela Salt at a previous art event
DISTRIBUTION enquiries: phone
Cowdalls Printers on 01270 212389.
The diocesan Committee for Ministry’s Arts &
Faith Network is offering another ‘Breathing
Space’ opportunity to work with local Christian
artists and teachers. The weekend event
– entitled ‘Light Work’ – will take place on
Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 February 2014,
at Foxhill Conference Centre, Frodsham.
The guest speaker will be sculptor Stephen
Broadbent, and there will be worship and
prayer with an accent on creativity, and time to
relax and chill out, maybe with a wintry walk in
the Foxhill grounds.
Workshop activities offer a choice of creative
writing, art appreciation, and singing. Is there
someone in your congregation who could
benefit from this opportunity? Residential
places are limited, so prompt booking is
advised. Some day-places are available.
There is no charge for the event. For further
details and booking information please phone
Jane Hood on 01928 718834 ext 257 or email
jane.hood@chester.anglican.org
• Chester Diocesan Board of Finance is a
company limited by guarantee, registered
in England (no. 7826) and a registered
charity (no. 248968)
There will be a Christmas brass band
concert on Friday 13 December, at St
Paul’s Church, Macclesfield, starting
7.30pm. The Lions Youth Brass Band will
play alongside the voices of the Go Gospel
Choir. The event is a curtain-raiser to a year
of celebrations for the 170th anniversary
of the parish church. Admission on the
door is £6 for adults and £3 for children.
Refreshments are available and a raffle
will be drawn on the night. For further
information or queries, phone Matthew
Cooper on 0751 5167469.
And don’t forget the Christmas tree
festival and fair at St Peter’s Church Little
Budworth, near Tarporley, on Saturday 14
December. Starts10am in the church. The
fair is in the Village Hall from 2pm.
2
My role as a Pastoral Worker
– by Mags Webb, newly licensed at St
Mary Magdalene, Ashton upon Mersey
I’ve been a Christian all my life and over
many years had been discerning my desire to
serve God in a much deeper way. I started to
discern the possibility of a call to ordination or
‘something else’ which God had yet to reveal.
The Called to Serve day held at Chester
Cathedral seemed just what I needed. I put
on the form that I wished to attend sessions on
ordination and Reader training – unconvinced,
really, that Reader was right.
The night before I attended I spoke with a
friend from church. She said: “I can see you
as a Pastoral Worker, why didn’t you put that
down instead of Reader?”
Training to be a Pastoral Worker had never
entered my head, but it stirred something
within me. I wondered if it could be the Holy
Spirit giving me a gentle nudge into discerning
another licensed ministry other than ordination.
When I arrived for the day, one of the first
people I met was the Warden for Pastoral
Workers. My conversation with her was one
of those where I just knew God was speaking.
Consequently I changed my workshop choice
from Reader to
Pastoral Worker
and what I heard
at
that
PW
session
really
resonated
with
me. By the end of
the morning I felt that God was calling me to
PW ministry. That evening a friend in church
who is a PW told me she had been thinking of
asking me to consider it!
My work as a PW means I often walk
alongside people in their brokenness and share
the love of God with them through scripture,
prayer, practical support and compassion. The
feedback I’ve received has made me aware of
my pastoral gifts and helped me to grow. I’m
so glad I went to Called to Serve.
Called to Serve will take place on Saturday
25 January at St John’s church, Hartford. Look
on the diocesan website for details or ring the
DDO office on 01928 718834 ext 237.
And with the other new Pastoral Workers
Four Pastoral Workers were admitted and
licensed during a service held at Chester
Cathedral on 28 September.
Pictured here L to R with their parishes
in brackets are: Mags Webb (St Mary
Magdalene, Ashton upon Mersey); Emma
Jones (All Saints with Holy Trinity, Runcorn);
Debra Clarke (Christ Church, Chester); and
Gillian Hart (Sale West Community Church,
and St Mary Magdalene, Ashton upon
Mersey).
During the service, the celebrant, the
Bishop of Chester said: “The Pastoral
Workers are called to work in partnership
with clergy and others in caring for people
inside and beyond the family of the Church.
“Those admitted on this day will serve their
communities in a variety of ways: preparing
families for baptism, couples for marriage,
and supporting them in the years that follow;
visiting the sick and housebound; comforting
the bereaved and lonely.”
During the current academic year, 12
people have begun training for Pastoral
Worker ministry.
3
Official opening of our new Church House
Our new diocesan office – in Daresbury Park,
near Runcorn – was officially opened by the
former diocesan bishop, the Rt Revd Michael
Baughen, back in autumn.
Among those also attending the opening
events were Margaret Ratcliffe, Mayor of
Halton, and Wesley Rourke, the borough’s
Operational Director, plus senior clergy with
past associations with Chester diocese,
including bishops Frank Sargeant, Michael
Langrish and Ronald Brown.
The Bishop of Birkenhead, Keith Sinclair,
and three honorary assistant bishops of the
diocese, William Pwaisiho, John Hayden and
Colin Bazley, also attended, as did the former
Archdeacon of Macclesfield, Richard Gillings.
The current Archdeacons of Chester and
Macclesfield – Mike Gilbertson and Ian Bishop
respectively – attended.
The Vicar of Daresbury, the Revd Canon
David Felix, said that Daresbury – including
the business park where Church House is
located and the nearby science park – was “a
centre of modernity”. “Welcome to the future,”
he told staff and guests.
A buffet lunch was enjoyed by some 112
guests.
The new Church House cost £1.5 million to
buy and fit out. All parts of it are fully accessible.
On the ground floor there are meeting rooms,
a chapel, a staff room and resources areas.
The first floor accommodates offices for the
Bishop Michael – pictured below (right)
with Bishop Peter – unveiled a plaque and
expressed the hope that the building would
be a “Christ-centred house, a place for people
who put God first”.
Bishop Michael also reflected that in current
TV programmes about house purchase and
renovation it is sometimes said that a building
hasn’t got the wow factor. But he added: “This
new Church House HAS got the wow factor –
so congratulations to all concerned.”
The ceremony – on Friday 4 October - was
preceded by a service of dedication, led by
Bishop Peter. The former Archdeacon of
Chester, the Ven Christopher Hewetson,
spoke during the service, which was held in
the main open-plan office on the first floor.
Christopher Hewetson reflected on the
poem ‘Atlas’ by Ursula Fanthorpe. Atlas in
Roman mythology was the one to hold up all
the structures of living. “And that is reflected in
what you do in the new Church House,” he told
assembled diocesan staff and visitors.
Unveiling the plaque, Bishop Michael Baughen (right) with Bishop Peter Forster
4
Archdeacons of Macclesfield and Chester
and work stations for staff – including the
Diocesan Secretary and people working
in HR, property management, surveying,
finance, ministry, parish development, social
responsibility, education, communication, the
training of ordinands, plus those working with
young people and children.
The new Church House replaces a former
rented one in rural Aldford, south of Chester,
where most staff had had their bases since
1999.
Daresbury Park was chosen as the new
site for the main offices of Chester diocese
because of its central location and good
communication links.
The new Church House address is 5500
Daresbury Park, Daresbury, Cheshire, WA4
4GE. The phone number is 01928 718834.
Staff outside new Church House
Senior and retired clergy together at the opening of the new building.
Front row: bishops William Pwaisiho, Michael Langrish, Ronald
Brown, Peter Forster and Michael Baughan
5
Showtime in Compstall!
St Paul’s Church, Compstall, was turned into
a theatre once again earlier in the year as
part of its creative Growth Action Plan (GAP)
activities.
Nineteen young people performed ‘Joseph
and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ by
Andrew Lloyd Webber, supported by members
of the church and local community.
The show retells the famous Old Testament
story in music, dance and drama.
The Revd Lynn Boyle is Vicar at the parish,
which is in the north-east of our diocese. She
said: “The production was filled with tragedy
and humour, with scenes of favouritism,
jealousy, betrayal, repentance and reunion.
Throughout rehearsals the young people
explored these various themes.”
Lynn praised the young people for their
talent and commitment. She explained that –
as was the case last year – the actors were
guided in their reflections and deliberations
by parish Reader and professional teacher,
Mick Boyle, who is also her husband. “He
showed incredible vision and imagination in
his staging and direction,” said Lynn.
The Revd Ian Rumsey, Diocesan Parish
Development Officer, said: “What a great
GAP project, driven by the young people
themselves to bring people from across the
parish together for such an inspiring and
enjoyable event. Brilliantly done!”
St Matthew’s Church, Stretton, near
Warrington, will hold its annual Christmas
tree festival on Saturday 30 November
(10am to 4pm), Sunday 1 December (2pm
to 4pm), and on Saturday 7 December
(10am to 4pm) and Sunday 8 December
(2pm to 4pm). Donations from the event will
be split between St Matthew’s Church and
The Walton Lea Partnership (a charity which
provides supported employment for adults).
The Remembrance Tree, for the names of
lost loved ones, is a focal point of the festival.
Entrance is free, and includes a drink and
mince pie. Young singers from two local
schools will perform at 2pm on both Saturdays.
stmatthewschurchstretton.org.uk
6
A reminder of God’s love for EVERYONE!
The ‘Mind Your Head’ show – which featured
an actress highlighting examples of how
Christians can be affected by mental health
problems – was a big success back in October.
The drama was performed by writer and
actress Eva McIntyre at St Michael’s, Newton,
Chester, and drew an audience of more than
100 people.
The production was promoted by the
diocesan Committee for Social Responsibility
to mark World Mental Health Day.
In the one-woman show Eva McIntyre
played: Nora (an ageing, jaded choir member);
Hilary (a child-despising Sunday school
teacher); Pamela (a depressive, guilt-ridden
single mum); Julia (a disillusioned priest); and
Chelsea (a six-year old child from a dubious
home).
Jane Knight, diocesan Head of Counselling
Services said: “The play was full of humour but
also had a serious side and provided a subtle
challenge to our thinking about mental health
and how our thoughts can get in the way of
good mental health. “It reminded the audience about God’s
universal love for everyone. For anyone
experiencing mental health problems (1 in 4
people) and those who may be experiencing
Jane Knight, Eva McIntyre, Ken Lewis
(Chair of Mental Health Forum) with a
member of the audience
feelings of low self-worth and esteem – that is
a powerful message.”
“The event helped to provide a space for
people to come together, to feel affirmed, to be
challenged and to reflect on what more they
and their church might do to help reduce the
stigma of mental health. The feedback was
positive.”
Join this new community choir
The choir has largely come about as a
result of members of St Paul’s Church also
being keen members of the Sale Square Mile
community group.
Alan Savage, founder of Sale Square Mile
said: ‘We already take clients with dementia to
other activities but by far the most enjoyed is
community singing. Research has shown that
it increases positive social behaviours in us.”
St Paul’s church in Sale has started a
community choir that’s designed to appeal to
all ages and abilities.
The choir (pictured) meets 1pm every Friday
for tea and coffee first then from 1.30pm it’s
singing – a mix of sacred and secular songs
Anyone in the community is welcome to drop
in on a Friday afternoon, meet
others and enjoy singing for
fun in a supportive and safe
environment. People with
age- related health concerns
are especially welcome.
Organisers of the choir say
know how much enjoyment
singing can bring to people
with dementia as they can
still remember lots of the old
music.
7
Church service … in the Tesco car park
Congleton team parish held their harvest
festival in the car park at the town’s main
Tesco supermarket back in autumn.
Instead of holding services in the church
buildings a decision was taken to hold one big
celebration on Sunday 6 October, starting at
11am in the car park (pictured).
Team
Evangelist
Heather
Kemball
explained the reasons: “We wanted to be
outside and visible as part of Christ’s Church
in Congleton for this big event. We are very
aware that when we gather in our church
buildings, we are largely invisible to the wider
community.
“Also we’d been considering ways of serving
the local community in difficult economic
times. All of our churches – St Stephen’s, St
Peter’s, Holy Trinity in Mossley, and St John
the Evangelist in Buglawton – support the
local Storehouse Foodbank charity that was
set up a few years ago and is co-ordinated by
the local New Life Church.
“The Foodbank distributes food items to
local people in need. We thought as part of
our harvest service we would give both church
members and shoppers the opportunity
to purchase an extra item and donate it
beforehand or bring it to the service in the
Tesco car park.”
She said of the event: “We did a rolling
programme of 3 x 20 minute sets, so people
could come and go. At its height we had a
congregation of about 120 people.
“We had a fantastic time. The weather was
warm and sunny, and all the arrangements
went well. The staff at Tesco were wonderful.
They provided hot drinks and bacon butties
for those setting up the gazebos and sound
system.”
The service included traditional favourites
such as ‘We plough the fields and scatter’
with some of the songs local children sing at
school, such as ‘Autumn days’, plus activities,
colouring and a wordsearch. The service
will also be signed for those with a hearing
impairment.
A list of items which the foodbank says are
especially useful to those in need was given
to those who visited, and their donations were
gratefully accepted.
The Christmas concert at St. James
Church, Ince, (near Cheshire Oaks
retail park) will take place on Friday 13
December, starting at 7.30pm, featuring the
City of Chester Brass Band.Tickets are £6
and includes refreshments. Proceeds go
towards St. James’ restoration project. For
tickets and information phone Tony Fletcher
01928 724028.
An event to promote growing dementiafriendly church will be held at Crowton
Village Hall, Kingsley Road, Crowton, CW8
2RW (between Frodsham and Northwich)
on Saturday 5 April, 2014. For information
please email nckparish@btinternet.com
8