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A letter from our Curate-to-be Rebecca Crowe I’m
really excited to be joining you in Penwortham in June this year. I thought perhaps you may like to know a
little about me before I arrive..... It’s
always good to know something about someone’s character, as well as what
they’ve done. I’m 31 years old, have a
fairly quiet and reflective personality, and am passionate about helping
people relate to Jesus and church being a place that relates to where people
are at. I love cooking, doing
hospitality, good food, the cinema and theatre, and generally just catching
up with friends. People often see me
as a ‘completer-finisher’ because I like to see things finished and done
well. I care deeply about people and
want to see everyone achieve their best. For
almost three years now I’ve been training for ordination at Trinity College
in Bristol. Originally I’m from
Manchester, or at least that’s where I did most of my growing up, and my
parents still live there. My faith
journey has been gradual, but it was through the church I attended as a young
person and that Jesus became real to me.
My journey to this point in my life has also been quite gradual. When leaving school I sensed some call to
work for the church, but had no idea what it may look like and had completely
ruled out any idea of becoming a vicar!
As is often the case God had that last laugh with that one! First
time round at University I studied hospitality management, but like so many
haven’t used my degree, that is apart from working
in the village pub as a student. Since
then I’ve worked for a couple of charities doing community development work
in inner city Manchester and Salford. For the four years before coming to college
I was Administrator & Development Officer at St. James’ in Clitheroe. It was
through my role there that over time I gained a sense of feeling that I had
more to give than the role of administrator, and it was at that point that I realised maybe God was calling me to ordination after
all. Some of
the highlights of my training have been the placements I have undertaken. My first placement was a cooking project
for women who were trying to put their lives back together after working on
the street. At the end of my first
year I did an amazing parish placement that I absolutely loved in inner city
Manchester, where I saw some really inspiring work with and in the local
community. Just this summer I had the
privilege of spending a month in New York working alongside ministries with
those suffering from homelessness, addiction and mental health concerns. Finally, this year I am attached to a local
parish church in Bristol in a fairly affluent neighborhood. What has been special about all of these
placements is that I have had the opportunity to share the message of Jesus
in ways that are relevant to the particular contexts, as well as working
alongside some very special people who know their communities so well. One of the things I am most looking forward to in coming to Penwortham is to work alongside not only Chris, but all of you too. I’m really looking forward to finding out about what matters to you in Penwortham, and about your individual journeys of faith. It is my prayer that my time in Penwortham will be a time of learning and encouragement for each of us, and for all who live in Penwortham. Rebecca Cop Lane School Cop Lane School have successfully been awarded a church
school distinctiveness award from The Church of England this week for the high
quality work we undertake in promoting a Christian ethos through our
collective worship. Mrs. Atkins and Miss Carter will receive the award at
Blackburn Cathedral on Education Sunday. What a lovely celebration to
start the year! People We have received some good news recently regarding a
new Curate. Next June we will be very
pleased to welcome Rebecca Crowe as our new curate. Rebecca is currently at
theological college and will be ordained at Petertide
2012 All
being well Rebecca will be with us for 4 years. We are sure she will bring with her fresh perspectives for
our ministry in Penwortham. We
will also be blessed with the services of a Reader from Advent until Easter
next year. Her name is Gill Lancaster from Whittle-le-Woods. She is currently training as a Reader and
will be with us on placement from Advent Sunday until Easter Sunday Please pray for
Rebecca and Gill as they prepare for their ministry with us and give them a
warm welcome when they arrive. Chancel The new
paneling around the east end of the chancel has now been completed and it
looks very well indeed. The wood is of oak and matches the existing paneling
perfectly. Church We now have the lectern back in
church and it looks much better – it doesn’t dominate the surrounding space. Ormsby’s of Scarisbrick are also in the process of installing the
extra paneling on the chancel walls. When the Bishop of Blackburn came
on the 16th October he complimented us on the re-ordering of our
church and give a mark of Alpha Plus (A+).
Child Friendly Award On Sunday November 6th
at the 10.15 service we were formally presented with our Child Friendly
Award. Sue Witts,
the Diocesan Children’s Officer will present the award and a well deserved
Long Service Award to Ian Driver. During the service in place of the sermon
Sue will conduct a question and answer session. Our young people will be involved in this
service with them presenting music, readings and prayers and helping with
collections and so on. Please come along and support our youngsters on this
day Open Church Now that our
church is open again we have decided to re-start our To achieve
this we need volunteers to act as stewards on a rota
basis for about 2 to 3 hours per session no more than twice per month. Stewards
will welcome visitors and show them the church and grounds. If you are interested please give Jacqui
Nelson a call on 01772 743143. Christian Meditation. We have
recently started a Christian Meditation group at Church. Christian Meditation
is a practice aim at bringing us to stillness, to enable us to experience that
“peace which passes all understanding” and to bring us closer to God. The group
meets on Thursday evenings at church from 6.30 pm and the session lasts for
approximately 30 to 45 mins. All are welcome. For more information about
Christian Meditation please visit the World Community for Christian
Meditation at http://www.wccm.org Church re-ordering At last we are back into our church after 20 months of refurbishment.
The interior looks beautiful. All the walls have been repainted, we have new
seating, a new sound system and, most important of all,–
we have an efficient heating system. The re-ordered church now allows us to
be more flexible in the use of space as the seating can be arranged in any
way required. The Return to Church weekend went off very well indeed. It was
an opportunity to say thank you to all who have been involved in the project:
our architect, advisors. building contractors,
heating engineers archaeologists, plasters and decorators. On Friday we had a
showing of a DVD entitled “A Moment in Time” which described the
archaeological discoveries during the excavation of the old floor. Our thanks
to George Bailey and Susan Greenhalgh for their outstanding work in filming
the proceedings and getting the film onto DVD (no mean feat in itself!). We
have ordered 100 copies of the DVD which can be purchased at £9.99 each. If
you are interested in purchasing a copy please put your name on the list at
the back of church or speak to David Thornton. On Saturday afternoon there
was a further showing of the DVD followed in the evening by songs and music
from Gilbert and Sullivan and a recital by the Elizabethan Singers. On Sunday
we had our first Eucharist services at 8.15 and 10.15. At the 10.15 service
we had lovely music from Euphoria and our organist Bill Henebury. The weekend
would not have gone so well without the hard work, love and dedication of
many, many people. The church looked fabulous with flower displays and
displays from the schools, the bell ringers and local businesses. Well done
to Julie Harrison and the Social and Fundraising Committee who worked
tirelessly to plan and organize the event and to everyone who gave of their
time and talents. Our heartfelt thanks go to our decorators led by Paul Lord.
Their high standard of work and helpfulness ensured that the build up to the
Return to Church weekend went so smoothly. Thanks are also due to the
churchwardens, officers and members of the PCC and our architect Stephen Fish
who steered the work so ably despite the many delays and frustrations which
have been described in this magazine over recent months. But this article
cannot be finished without saying a massive thank you and well done to our
vicar Chris whose vision planted the seed of this great work. Supported by
Jacqui he has negotiated, coaxed and cajoled many people over 20 months to
ensure the plans were delivered. Our church is, once again, fit for
proclaiming God’s word to the people of Penwortham for many more generations.
Thanks be to God. But more work is still to be done.
Over the coming months the following work will be undertaken; painting of the
ceiling and beams in the chancel, painting of the 1950s extension, installing
a disabled toilet in the larger of the two toilets and installing a small
kitchen area for serving tea, coffee and light refreshments. We have provided
a baby changing facility and this is in the 1950s extension near the toilets. Church Hall The church hall has served us very well over past 20
months. The services held in the hall have allowed us to develop a more
welcoming, relaxed and friendly atmosphere without detracting from the beauty
of the Anglican liturgy. We are sure that this will transfer to church and
ensure that St. Mary’s is known as a welcoming church, open to all. Now that
we have returned to Church we will need to give some attention to the hall
which is badly in need of some TLC both inside and out. We would appreciate
the help of anyone who is willing to assist in cleaning, gardening, painting
etc. Please let David Thornton know if you can help in any way |
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