In this edition

Page two

Directory

Page three

Clergybit

Lent begins

Page four

Joan says ‘Thank you’

Horwich Scouts Christmas Post

Page five

Forthcoming Fundraising

Christian Aid Week

Bishop Chris comments on Scargill

Page six

Noughts & Crosses

& the Basement Club

Bikes for Namibia

Page seven

From the Registers

More dates for your diary

Page eight

Children’s Corner

Entertaining Angels

Please share!

April 2014 Issue

Deadline - March 23rd

Publication Date - April 6th

March 2014 THE MAGAZINE OF THE HORWICH & RIVINGTON TEAM CHURCHES Price 50p

WOMEN’S WORLD DAY of PRAYER International & Interdenominational

Friday 7th March 2014

This year the service from

EGYPT

’STREAMS

in the DESERT’ will be held

in

St. Elizabeth’s

Cedar Avenue

Friday 7th March

at

7.30 pm followed by refreshments

Speaker:

Mrs Pat Greenhill ALL WELCOME

(including men, women and

young people)

Women’s World Day of Prayer

is an international, inter-church

organisation which enables us to

hear the voices of women from

all parts of the world: their hopes,

concerns and prayers. The

preparation for the day is

extensive. An international

committee works from New York

and each participating country

has its own national committee.

Regional conferences meet to

consider the service and then

local groups make their plans.

Finally, at a church near you (see

below) on March 7th, women and

men will gather to celebrate using

a programme of worship offered

this year by women in Egypt.

The theme of our service is

‘Streams in the Desert’ and we

are asked to reflect on our

Christian role of being a ‘stream

in the desert’ for those who

experience spiritual ‘drought’. We

believe that the service from

Egypt has universal appeal.

One of the oldest civilisations

in the world, Egypt has long been

home to Coptic Christians. Since

the uprising in 2011 there has

been conflict between religious

groupings. Political change

affects individual lives and we

pray with the women of Egypt for

peace.

We envisage a great wave of

prayer, rising with the sun over

the island of Samoa and

sweeping across Asia, Africa, the

Middle East, Europe and the

Americas, coming to rest in

American Samoa some 36 hours

later. By then WWDP services will

have been celebrated in over 170

countries.

All are welcome to attend, men

and women and people of all ages.

For further information see the

WWDP website: www.wwdp.org.uk

Churches Together in Horwich

and Rivington celebrate this

service together annually in a

different church each year .

‘STREAMS in the DESERT’

CLERGYBIT

by Terry Litherland

3

For all you film buffs out there, can you remember the first line of the theme song to The Love Story? “Where do I begin to tell a story of how great a love can be?”

The Church in any community is just that, a love story ..the love for God of all generations past, present

and those yet to come. It is a love story that has brought each one of us to where we are at today, but more importantly, it’s about God’s love for us, His people. It isn’t just a story about a Church, it’s a story about people. We know only too well, don’t we? ..that love can sometimes blow hot or cold, so with that in mind, are you a thermometer or are you a thermostat?

What a strange question you might ask, but let me explain - a thermometer reflects its environment, it tells you what the temperature is, whether it’s hot or whether it’s cold. It doesn’t have any influence on what is around it.

Now a thermostat has power, it sets the temperature, it changes things, so which group would you put yourself in?

Let’s be clear about one thing, Christianity is infectious When you get a good dose of it everyone around gets it as well. There is a problem though, so many people try to cure it. They try to cure it by stifling it, by ignoring it, by hiding it. In other words, by living like thermometers instead of like

thermostats. It’s not hard to be a thermometer, just be agreeable, go along with what everyone else wants, think of our own comfort and ease, just keep quiet don’t let anyone know about our faith, don’t make waves ..go with the flow, don’t speak about God’s power and love, don’t live each day full of God’s mercy and grace.

Not that many will have heard of Robert Chesebrough. He’s the one

who invented Vaseline, a petroleum jelly that was refined from the ooze that forms on shafts of oil rigs. He believed so much in this product with its healing properties that he

became his own guinea pig. He burned himself, he also scratched himself ,scars that he bore for the rest of his life, but he proved to his doubters that this product actually worked. People would look at his wounds ,and see the value of his work and of course, the extent of his belief.

Will people look at us and see the extent of our belief? Are we thermometers or are we thermostats?

On Ash Wednesday many

churches hold services when

Christians are marked on the

forehead with a cross of

ashes. This is a sign of saying

sorry to God for any wrong

doing.

The ashes come from burning

the palm crosses from Palm

Sunday of the previous year.

ASH

WEDNESDAY

SERVICE

St. Elizabeth’s, Cedar Avenue

5th March 7.30 pm

ALL WELCOME

LENT SERVICES, all at 7.30 pm, followed by refreshments

Mon 10th Mar St Mary’s Preacher: Eric Kent Temptation

Tue 18th Mar Ind. Methodist Preacher: David Griffiths Betrayal

Wed 26th Mar St. Catherine’s Preacher: Sally Martin Forgiveness

Thu 3rd April St.John’s Preacher: Terry Litherland Ridicule

Fri 11th April Rivington Preacher: Stephen Fletcher Sacrifice

LENT DISCUSSION GROUP

- PARABLES & POSSESSIONS Material taken from Churches Together in Britain & Ireland

used during each of the Lent services in the week.

Tuesday mornings 10am for 10.30am start

at Holy Trinity,

Starting Tuesday 11th March

until 16th April inclusive.

Leader: Kim. All welcome.

THERMOMETER or THERMOSTAT?

LENT - the 40 days before Easter

(not including Sundays!) During the 40 days of Lent, Christians remember the time when Jesus went into the desert to fast and pray

before beginning his work for God. During this time Jesus was tempted several times by Satan, but was able

to resist. Lent is often a time of giving things up. For Christians, it is one way of remembering the time Jesus

fasted in the desert and is a test of self-discipline. There are many foods that some Christians do not eat in

Lent, such as meat and fish, fats, eggs and milky foods. Some Christians just give up something they really

enjoy such as cakes, chocolate or alcohol.

4

Once again you

have done

Horwich Scouts

Christmas Post

proud! The 2013 figures exceeded

our expectations when so many

people say they are reducing the

number of cards they send.

Cards processed: 2,176 (211 up

on 2012). Funds raised: £608.57

(£71.71 up on 2012).

The donations are shared out

equally between the Scouts and

Explorers who help with the sorting

and delivery. It is extremely

generous of you – the majority of

the donations were more than the

23p minimum donation which

helped to boost the total.

We trust that all cards were

delivered in time for Christmas and

that there weren’t any mistakes. If

there were please let us know as

we will endeavour to make sure

they don’t happen again.

Mark Smith, Andrew Threadgold

and I are stepping down from

organising the Scouts Christmas

Post after many years and in 2014

there will be new names and faces

involved with the Christmas Post.

The Group Scout Leaders of the

three Horwich Scout Groups and

the Unit Leaders from Jaguar

Explorers will be taking over the

organisation and we are sure they

will continue to offer you a good

service while allowing the young

people to do their bit for the

community.

On a personal note Mark, Andrew

and I thank you for helping us to

keep Christmas Post going over

the past 13 years and we hope you

will continue to support our

successors in the future!

Thank you again and we wish

you all a happy and healthy 2014.

Margaret Broadfoot 01204 690283

Mark Smith 07947 004057

(on behalf of the Horwich Scouts &

Jaguar Explorers)

HORWICH SCOUTS

CHRISTMAS POST

2013

& NEWS FOR 2014 Well, as you

read this

article, it will

have been

my last

Sunday with

Holy Trinity or

I will have

finished my

placement and returned to my own

parish of Great Lever.

When I arrived in October, having

already spoken to Stephen, I thought

I would be a kind of ‘Secret

Worshipper’, a bit like a ‘Secret

Shopper’, where the company itself

send in a designated person to shop,

unbeknown to staff. This person

then observes how staff treats them,

were they helpful, polite and so on.

Some say ‘you don’t get a second

chance to make a first impression’,

but you had nothing to worry about.

As soon as I walked in, I was greeted

by a number of people and I might

add, not just by the people whose

‘job’ it is to greet people. There was

a lovely warm atmosphere in the

place and I quickly came to the

conclusion that this was a place

where God was honoured and

worshipped and where people

valued and loved one another.

I was so thankful to Stephen,

Caroline and the Team of Churches,

for accepting me as a trainee. I

appreciate the time, organisation and

restructuring of service duties that

are required just to enable me to

obtain the required 50 hours

External Placement training.

My regular church of St. Simon &

St. Jude’s Great Lever, part of the

Seven Saints Team, is quite modern

and less formal than the 8am &

10.45am Holy Trinity services, but I

have thoroughly enjoyed all aspects

of both services. The Choir has

blessed my socks off and their

worship has reduced me to tears on

more than one occasion, in a positive

way, of course.

I have also been humbled and

blessed by the dedication and faithful

commitment of your Church

Wardens, Lay Assistants and all the

other helpers I’ve seen. Church

doesn’t just happen, and

sometimes we can take for

granted those who faithfully serve

week after week. Your children’s

workers, behind the scenes but

such a delight to God, who sees

every sacrifice made in the care

of these little ones……thank you.

I appreciated how beautiful the

church always looked, so

whoever cleans, whoever

prepared the church for

Christmas and whoever does the

flowers…. thank you. Those who

make tea and coffee and asked,

after the service, if I had a drink,

even making me a cup of Earl

Grey tea, which I asked for in

jest…….thank you.

As someone from the outside,

looking in, I would say you are

truly blessed to have Stephen as

Rector of the Horwich &

Rivington Team. I’m sure you

appreciate the loving

commitment to God and the love

care and concern that Stephen

has for you all, something which

has come across very strongly in

the time I’ve spent with him.

Your OLM Caroline has taken

me under her wing, teaching,

mentoring and generally caring

for me in so many ways.

I also had the honour and

privilege of meeting the

worshippers at Rivington who,

again made me so welcome and

greatly encouraged me in my

ministry.

In such a short time, you made

Horwich feel like ‘home’ for me,

and that didn’t happen by

chance, it was due to the love of

Jesus at work in and through you

lovely people of Horwich. I have

made many friends and leave

with some sadness, but with

many happy memories to

treasure. I will come back to visit

when time and commitments

allow. I will keep you all in my

prayers and would welcome

yours as my training continues.

So for now….a very sincere and

heartfelt Thank You.

May God Bless you all.

A BIG THANK YOU by Joan Nicholls: Trainee OLM

5

FAMILY QUIZ NIGHT

for Namibia

Saturday 15th March 6.30pm

at Holy Trinity Church

Entry by Ticket only (for catering purposes)

£2 adults : £1 children includes a pasty supper.

Tickets available from:

Holy Trinity Church, the Namibia Committee

or ring Pat 01204 693552.

A fun night with categories including cartoon characters,

anagrams and spot the difference

Do come along and test your knowledge.

It may still seem a

long way off, but this

is an early notice that

this year,

Christian Aid week will be

from 11-17th May. Last year, our churches in Horwich

& Rivington were among the 20,000

churches across the country who

helped to raise £12m during Christian

Aid Week. This year, the focus will be

on the lives of a growing number of

people across the world for whom the

horror of war is part of daily life.

By working together during

Christian Aid week and at other times

the churches across Horwich &

Rivington have helped to put the lives

of many of the poorest and most

distressed in the world back together

so that they can face the future

without fear. This year we would like

to continue with that success. There

will of course be more information

about all the events planned across

Horwich for CA week at a later date,

but a number of events are planned

to both inform and motivate all of us.

One of these is a

Christian Aid service

St Catherine’s Church,

Richmond Street

Sunday 16th March 10.30am

Preacher: Dave Hardman from Christian Aid.

Please support if you can.

Horwich CA Committee

I was delighted to learn a few

months ago, that Churches

Together in Horwich had booked

in to Scargill House for a holiday

at the end of September

2014. (29th September-Friday 3rd

October)

As some, but not all of you may

be aware, I chair the Council for

Scargill House, so from that

perspective as well as being

Bishop of Bolton, it is a double

joy to know of your plans! I look

forward to also contributing to

and speaking to your time there

towards the end of the week.

For those who haven’t been to

Scargill House before, it is

located in 80 acres of land, in the

stunning Yorkshire Dales

countryside, and therefore is a

wonderful area, not least for

shorter or longer walks.

Since its re-opening in 2009,

the vision statement we have

adopted has been ‘Lives Shared

– Lives Transformed’, and the

experience of many individuals

and groups, who have been to

Scargill has been just that. Lives

and relationships shared and

deepened with one another,

along with the members of the

community who run Scargill, and

who come from different parts of

the world as well as different

Christian denominations and

traditions; lives transformed taking

time out to be with God and others, in

a place of welcome and hospitality,

where you will be well fed and at the

heart of which is a daily rhythm of

worship.

I look forward to hearing that many

people from different churches in

Horwich and Rivington have booked

in, and assure you that

your experience at

Scargill will be a

refreshing and

renewing one!

With every blessing.

+ Chris

There are still places left for the

holiday week. If all the brochures and

booking forms have gone from your

church you can get a set from Gloria

Long our administrator on

glo@rbandglong.free-online.co.uk or

01204 692035

or from your church representative:

Chris Hodgkinson (St John’s),

David Tracey (St Mary’s)

Sandra Almond (St Elizabeth’s)

Lyn Mitchell (St Catherine’s)

Brenda Griffiths (Rivington)

CHURCHES TOGETHER SCARGILL HOLIDAY CELEBRATING COMMUNITY

Lives shared - Lives Transformed

6

CELEBRATIONS & CONGRATULATIONS Anything to celebrate? Someone to congratulate? Let the editor know and see it printed here!

Email jill.harley@talktalk.net or ring 01204 694611 before the deadline on the front page.

St Catherine’s have faced a

challenge recently because of the

success of their Sunday Club and

the numbers of youngsters now

attending. A lot of work has therefore

gone into renovating the basement of

St Catherine’s – it has been

repainted, re-carpeted, and various

pieces of equipment have been

made available, or given - electronic

games, snooker, pool, table tennis,

table games.

Noughts and Crosses has recently

been started on Sunday mornings for

the older members of Sunday Club,

under the leadership of Kathryn and

Glen Wynne-Jones, Rosene Patel

and Victoria Allan. They have

appreciated the support to get off the

ground of Stephen Watson, Graham

Smith, Toby Harley and Rebecca

Green from St Elizabeth’s. That’s a

good example of our Team working

together.

With the withdrawal of the Eden

Bus from Horwich last

September, the Basement Project

has now also been launched as a

replacement under the leadership

of Club Leader Graham Smith.

This is a youth club which meets

every Friday in term time from

7.30-9.00 pm in the basement.

This is under the umbrella of and

financed by, Churches Together

in Horwich and Rivington.

Chairman of the Project Steering

group Eric Kent spoke warmly of

the work that Graham and others

from St Catherine’s have put into

renovating the basement to provide a

very useful facility. Some more work is

needed but thirty eight youngsters

were there recently when a Bolton

News reporter & photographer visited

the club. Together with other helpers,

Team Rector Stephen Fletcher was

there teaching the youngsters how to

play snooker. Without the Basement,

many of the kids would just be

wandering the streets. The Club

needs other volunteers and the

Steering Group are in the process of

producing a rota of helpers. If you are

interested you could call in on a

Friday evening to see what happens

and whether you might be able to

help. David Griffiths

It’s all happening at St Catherine’s!

Noughts

and Crosses

The Basement

Club

The Namibia committee have

agreed to make a bike collection to

help the BEN bikes projects in

Namibia. We would take your old

bike off your hands and take it to the

“re-cycle collection point” in

Rochdale. It will be sent off to Africa

to provide bikes and spares for

workshops which give income for

mechanics and independence and

dignity for people with no other

means of transport.

What kind of bikes?

Mountain bikes and hybrids - these

strong bikes are particularly suitable

for unmade African roads.

City and commuter bikes - (often

with 3-speed hubs, mudguards and

parcel carriers) - these are practical

cycles and 3-speed hubs are low

maintenance.

Shopper bikes - these are easy

to ride even for inexperienced

cyclists and easily adjust for

riders of different heights.

Road bikes - these can be used

by a few projects that are city

based.

3-wheeled adult bikes - great

for riders with poor balance.

24”-wheel cycles are suitable

for shorter riders and teenagers

20”-wheel cycles can be used

for children going to school

Small bikes are only of limited

use so must be in good condition

and not require too much work.

The ‘not wanted’ bikes!

Small children’s bikes made

from a lot of plastic. They are not

in demand and plastic costs a lot

to dispose of.

Rusted up old bikes that have

been out in the rain - even the

spare parts are not usually re-

useable.

Also useful please

All bike spare parts

Tools - especially bike-specific

tools but also general workshop

tools such as spanners, hammers,

screwdrivers, hacksaws, allen-

keys, files etc.

We have set ourselves a target of

100 bikes, please search your

sheds and garages and help us

achieve this aim. You can either

drop off your bike(s) at 4, Medway

Close; contact Margaret on 01204

469091 to arrange collection or

speak to any member of the

Namibia committee any time in

MARCH.

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE

BIKES TO CHURCH!! Thank you.

CAN YOU HELP COLLECT

100 BIKES FOR NAMIBIA?

2nd Feb Esme Mae Rogers-Sokun

9th Feb Tommy Robin Heaton

BAPTISMS & THANKSGIVINGS We welcome to the family of the Church: 15th Dec George Firth Guyton )

15th Dec Charlie Logan Griffiths ) with apologies for the omission from the last magazine

29th Dec Ava Robbins )

2nd Feb Ava Elizabeth Nodwell-Small

2nd Feb James Fearnley

WEDDINGS We wish joy and happiness to: 15th Feb John Lee Georgeson & Sarah Leanne Craine

FUNERALS We offer love and sympathy to the relatives and friends of: 31st Jan Christopher Riley, Back Lane, Heath Charnock

7th Feb Irene Nicholas, Catherine Street East, Horwich

10th Feb Ramon Fido, Abraham Street, Horwich

12th Feb Alice Lomax, Jubilee House, Bolton

14th Feb Neville Crompton, Arcon Village, Horwich

18th Feb John (Jack) Greenhalgh, Melbourne Grove, Horwich

19th Feb Allan Ralphs, Mill Lane, Horwich

From the Registers

BOLTON PRAYER BREAKFAST The next one, hosted by the Mayor of Bolton, is in the Festival Hall at the

Town Hall on Friday 28th March. It starts at 7.30 am and finishes by

9.15 am. This will be led by Bishop Chris, who will reflect on his 6 years

in the post as the Bishop of Bolton, and also interview a number of the

people who have initiated or lead some of the exciting events and

activities which we can all celebrate and pray for. It gives an opportunity

to celebrate all that God is doing in Bolton.

Costs £10 for a full English breakfast. Send your details (name, address,

telephone & e-mail) with a cheque (payable to: Bolton Prayer Breakfast)

to: Bolton Prayer Breakfast, Bishops Lodge, Walkden Road,

Worsley. Manchester M28 2WH. Tel: 0161 7908289 or a

BACS Payment: Sort Code 05-02-77 Account No 20871474

and e-mail to susan@edmondsons.org.uk

The March speaker is Dave Bullock, author of 'The worlds most

successful failure' (autobiography). Dave's been a businessman,

alcoholic, suicidal, pastor...The group meets at The Beehive pub on the

first Thursday of each month and can be contacted on 07804530951,

email FGBBolton@gmail.com, even via facebook (FGBBolton)!

Peter (FGB - Bolton Chapter)

The purpose and focus of the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (UK & Ireland) is to reach men and women for Christ and to empower them for life through the power of the Holy Spirit. Regular meetings are held throughout the world to share 'real life stories' about what a difference it makes having Jesus in our lives.

Clocks go

FORWARD

at 2 am on Sunday

30th March

MOTHERING SUNDAY

30th March

Services in all our

churches.

All welcome, as we

celebrate those who have cared for us and

instructed us along

life’s journey

Apologies for the typos in the last issue and well done to those who spotted them! Even

with 3 proof readers, mistakes are still made! Human after all?!

With many thanks to Easiprint, Crown Lane, Horwich for printing this magazine.

For the Youth!

about the Youth!

and BY the Youth?!

Some contributions are trickling in! Thank you!

PLEASE send us your photos and articles of individuals

or groups and what you have been doing.

AND, how about if you are a young person who

would like to edit the page?

please get in touch with the current editor!

CHILDREN’S BIT! - Spring has Sprung!

Spring is on its way. The first lambs will soon be out in the fields with their mothers. Can you colour in this picture? Plus six words to find in a word search this month.

8

This play, which sees

disturbing revelations

come out at a family

reunion, was on at

Bolton Little Theatre

during February. It was

an outstanding and very

well acted warm

comedy with probing wit and many

deep Christian themes – redemption,

compassion, love and essentially

forgiveness. The play was directed by

Sandra Leatherbarrow (Simpson) a

member of the congregation at

Rivington Church.

Set in a vicarage garden, as the new

women vicar Sarah (Julie Penson)

comes to take over the parish

following the death of the vicar

Bardolf,(Chris Moxon), the play tells

the story of Grace, (June Grice) a

clergy wife who has spent a lifetime

on her best behaviour. After her

husband’s death, she feels she can

enjoy a new-found freedom until the

return of her somewhat eccentric

missionary sister, Ruth, (Margaret

Marks) together with the devastating

disclosure that Ruth had had a child

by Grace’s vicar husband 30 years

before. This forces Grace to

confront the reality of her

marriage and eventually come to

a place of

reconciliation with

her dead husband,

her sister and her

daughter Jo’s (Alison

Whittaker) step

brother Jeremiah.

‘Entertaining Angels’ was

written by Richard Everett and

premiered in 2006 at the

Chichester Festival Theatre. The

title is taken from Hebrews 13

verse 2: ‘Do not neglect to show

hospitality to strangers, for by

doing that some have entertained

angels without knowing it.’ As

Everett writes about the practice

of hospitality, ‘all who enter our

homes, are not just human traffic

(Grace has had a lifetime of that)

but seeing each individual as a

possible divine visitor or

messenger’, who may bring

generosity, kindness,

forgiveness, reconciliation and a

new freedom.

It was an excellent play –

congratulations to director, cast

and all the crew at Bolton Little

Theatre. David Griffiths

ENTERTAINING

ANGELS PLEA to

SPREAD the WORD!

Currently there are quite a few magazine copies left in each of our churches at the end of the month. We have considered reducing our print run but it wouldn’t actually save us any money! So PLEASE take an extra copy, share it with a neighbour, take some to your dentist and/or doctor and leave in the waiting room - share the word, don’t waste it. Let others know what is happening in our team of churches in Horwich & Rivington.

And to finish...