Extracts From Parish Magazine
From the Vicarage
Someone told me over Christmas that she’d stopped attending church completely because she was “absolutely fed up with the Church of England”. If she’d hoped to disconcert me, I was (probably inappropriately) pleased to disappoint her.
It’s probably a good thing to be absolutely fed up with your church – whatever its denomination – now and again, since it implies that we’re prepared to give a critique of an organisation which is an inevitable combination of the divine and the human, the sublime and the cor blimey.
Unfortunately critique, meaning critical solidarity, quickly descends into criticism. Critique is constructive and healthy but needs effort; criticism is destructive, but since it’s easier to do, that’s what lazy minds opt for.
Critique needs taking seriously, but empty criticism helps no one.
Mr Bumble said that “the law is an ass”. So can the Church of England be. There are more than enough issues over which people can complain that the church has got it wrong, or isn’t doing enough - all of which, incidentally, seem to me to be entirely secondary to what we should really be in business for.
But no matter how much of an ass it may be at times, remember that the church is still the foolish donkey Jesus continues to use as his mode of transport.
Gary Bowness.
CALENDAR
Sun. 1 Christmas 1
8am Holy Communion
10.15am Holy Communion
6.30pm Evensong
Thurs. 5 10.40am Holy Communion
Sun. 8 Epiphany 1
8am Holy Communion
10.15am Plough Service
6.30pm Evensong & Holy Communion
Thurs. 12 10.40am Holy Communion
7.30pm Mother’s Union
Sun. 15 Epiphany 2
8am Holy Communion
10.15am Holy Communion
6.30pm Evensong
Mon. 16 7.30pm Standing committee meeting
Thurs. 19 10.40am Holy Communion
7.30pm Parochial church council meeting
Sun. 22 Epiphany 3
8am Holy Communion
10.15am Mattins
6.30pm Evensong
Thurs. 26 10.40am Holy Communion
Sun. 29 Epiphany 4
8am Holy Communion
10.15am Holy Communion – to Book of Common Prayer
11.45am Holy Baptisms
6.30pm Evensong
Thurs. 2 10.40am Holy Communion
Sun. 5 Christmas 1
Feb. 8am Holy Communion
10.15am Holy Communion – vist by Bishop of Chester
6.30pm Evensong
LESSON READERS
Please phone the Vicar during the week before your reading to obtain details of the lessons. If you are unavailable on your allocated date, please arrange to change with someone else.
Date Morning Evening
January
1 John Russell Wyn Belt
8 Carolyn Andrew David Plews
15 Beryl Storey John Russell
22 Rita Russell Carolyn Andrew
29 John Haddock Wyn Belt
February
5 John Russell David Plews
Prepared by Tony Dewdney 439753
From the Registers.
Mothers’ Union
And so another year has begun! Let us hope that it will be a good one for all of us in the Branch, in the UK and in all the other 80 countries where MU members are working hard to improve the family life around them.
2012 will be the end of the current triennium, which means that there will be elections for many official posts in our Diocese. As the theme for next year is “Your gift – discover and celebrate” perhaps we should all consider how we might be able to further help the MU in our area by thinking if there is any job/post we could consider filling. Not everyone is cut out to be Diocesan President, but there are all kinds of other posts that will need to be taken up, that do not have such a high profile. For example, Macclesfield Deanery needs a new Enterprise representative. Since the cut back in number of official meetings there is only one per year for this part of the MU work at Deanery level. Of course, that is not quite all it involves, but with so many people now on e-mail, passing on the information that comes from Chester or Mary Sumner House is very much easier than it was. We really are beginning to cut down on the amount of photocopying needed to keep everyone “in the know”.
This year’s General meeting of the whole of the MU in the UK will be held in Llandudno on Saturday 16th June. As it is so close, the Deanery is considering putting on a coach to make it possible for more people to attend. Please can you let me know at our meeting this month of you think you would like to go. A provisional cost is £15, but a full coach might bring the cost per person down a bit. ( Llandudno is a very nice place to visit for a day out – even if you didn’t decide to go to what is a very interesting meeting! )
Diary dates
Thurs.Feb A.G.M, followed by an exhibition of Archie Thomas’ first year as our traveling fund raiser.
Flowers Tricia Steele
Raffle Judith Dewdney
Refreshments Volunteers please!!
11th November
Di Waller - In loving memory of her dad Ralph Osbourne.
Advent ring
28th November -- In memory of Norah Holt.
Christmas Memorials
Beryl Storey – In loving memory of George
May Bostock and family – In loving memory of Peter
John Reed and family - Loving birthday memories of Vera Reed.
Loving Christmas memories of Roy, Doris & Kel Besley , Nora & Denis Holt – from the Besley family in Cardiff.
Steven Potts
In memory of Muriel, Harry and Andrew.
Thank you to the flower guild for giving up their time to decorate the church for this festive season especially on such a cold and snowy morning.
Unfortunately Sue Batters has left the area, Sue use to pop in to church mid week and water the flowers for us. So is there anyone close to church who could bob in for 10mins and water the flowers for us, as the rest of the flower ladies live a little way away from church. If you feel you can please Contact Lynne Hibbert on 01625 610701
FLOWER ROTA
January 6th all clear Jean.
January 13th Jean
January 20th Lynne Hibbert
January 27th Lynne Hibbert
February 4th Jackie
There will be a Meeting for the Flower Guild at
40 Fallibroome Road on Wednesday 21st March 2.00pm.
Any one who would like to join the flower guild will be most welcome to join us at this meeting.
ENTERTAINMENTS COMMITTEE
The Christmas Fayre was a big success, raising approx. £1100. We would like to thank all those who helped either beforehand or on the day – without everyone’s support it would not have been so successful.
The Rum and Coffee Morning at Jill & Wyn’s was once again well attended and thoroughly enjoyed by all. A further £600 was raised towards Church Funds. Thanks go to Wyn and Jill for once again opening their home to us all and to the Probus Choir for their singing of Christmas Carols.
Our next event is the Jubilee Banquet on February 10th to celebrate the Queen’s accession to the throne 60 years ago.
JUBILEE BANQUET
The entertainments committee are putting on a Jubilee Banquet on February 10th in the Church Hall. Tickets will be £12 per person and it will start at 7.00 p.m. – the banquet being served at 7.45 p.m. There will be entertainment from a Barber Shop Group and John Jones, the accordionist.
Numbers will be limited so don’t delay – book now!
contact
Ann Cresswell (420614) or Eileen Haddock (421299)
Thanks should go to the group of intrepid men who spent a morning in December, clearing the car park of leaves and debris.
Thanks also go to John Russell who kept the pathways clear whilst we had the snow and ice
CHURCHWARDENS EMERITI
MALCOLM CRAGG
ROBIN WEST
DAVID PLEWS
JOHN HADDOCK
WYN BELT