mission in st mary without-the-walls, handbridge, chester · mission in st mary without-the-walls,...
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MISSION IN ST MARY WITHOUT-THE-WALLS, HANDBRIDGE, CHESTER
STORY TELLING SERVICE
Nearly 2 years ago, we started to hold a story telling service on Sunday morning, to provide a service especially for young children. It’s held on the 1st,3rd and 5th Sundays at 9.30am, for just under half an hour, so families still have most of the rest of Sunday to do their other weekend activities.
We start by lighting a candle together, share any news we all have, sing a song, hear a story and take part in it, say our prayers together, sing another song, then finish with juice and biscuits, tea and coffee, and lots of running around in church to explore everything.
It has helped to bring more families into church and has been especially helpful for baptism families as it provides an accessible service for them and their children. Links are forming between the families who come, as they chat over the drinks afterwards and their children play together.
There’s also interaction with those arriving early for the 10.30 service, forming a link between the 2 congregations.
We are now thinking about how to lead on from the story telling service to providing for children as they grow older, and how to keep the families engaged with the church.
Contact details: https://www.facebook.com/St-Mary-Without-the-Walls-Chester-392886070859983/
Or http://www.stmaryschester.co.uk/p/contact.html
Mission in St Matthew’s Church Stretton
Annual Christmas Tree Festival
The church holds a Christmas Tree Festival over the first 2 weekends of Advent, the church is open and refreshments are provided for visitors. Money raised goes to a chosen local charity. A theme is decided and local businesses sponsor smaller trees which they decorate based on the theme, visitors to church vote for their favourite tree. We also have 2 large trees for prayers and remembrance, with tags for people to write their own requests
During the event 2 schools (one a church school and one not) hold their carol services. In addition to the volunteers providing refreshments there is always pastoral support available.
Reasons, benefits, outcomes etc
Many local people visit the church during the festival, and for some it has been a way of reconnecting with church. The school services provide contact with local families and some people drop in for some quieter personal reflection, or to use the prayer and remembrance trees.
Initially the money was split 50/50 between the church and the charity, but we now give all to the charity (once basic costs have been covered). This decision was made as we don’t financially support many causes as a church; charities benefitting have included Papyrus, Women’s Refuge, Children’s Adventure Farm Trust and Walton Lea Nursery.
Contact details
ST. JOHN’S HARTFORD GOLF FELLOWSHIP SOCIETY
The SJHGFS (for short!!) was established in 1999 and welcomes male and female golfers of all ages and abilities to enjoy golf, food and fellowship. We regularly welcome 30 or more golfers, both “Churched” and “un-Churched”, to 10 events throughout the year including our “Winter Warmer” in January, 8 events between March and October known as the SJHGFS Championship “Tour” which then culminates with our annual Presentation Dinner in October.
The SJHGFS is a well established element of our Church outreach which aims to engage with “un-Churched” friends, neighbours, work colleagues or other family members in a familiar environment to enjoy golf, mix with Christians and learn a little more about our faith by interacting on a regular basis. Over the years we have been blessed to welcome golfing clergy and golfers from neighbouring Churches whilst our Presentation Dinner always includes a well delivered Christian message as a focal point of the evening.
Many SJHGFS members participate in the “Churches in Cheshire” Golf Days and join in other St. John’s activities like the Curry Club or Ladies Meals plus attending the Hartford Victorian Christmas event and our Christmas services.
For further information please contact Martin (Barber) on [email protected] or Ray (Bridgewater) on [email protected]
Mission in St Mary Magdalene Church, Sale
Title and brief description of the mission activity or event
Fuel is our new weekly gathering for all youth in years 7-13 (with year 6s joining for June and July) and
takes place from 7.30-9.30pm each Friday. It aims to provide space for young people to spend time with
their friends, meet new people and meet with God. Through a combined programme, including time spent
getting to know the young people and hanging out in the café, games, Fuel (small) groups and worship,
the evenings aim to inspire and fuel young people in their daily walk with God. As part of St Mary’s
Church, we will strive to provide opportunity for young people to worship God and connect with him
through the use of art, video, music but we also want to provide opportunity for youth to be involved
behind the scenes - mixing sound, playing instruments and singing etc.
Brief description of the reasons, benefits, outcomes and/or follow-up
Life for young people is so busy now it’s proving difficult for them to be involved in a small group, a
Sunday service, a youth group and more. Because of this we decided to combine all these ‘typical’
elements of church youth work into one evening in the hope that young people will engage with God in a
deeper way. We want to give young people the fuel they need to grow in their faith and impact the world
around them from whatever starting point they may be at. Youth will be encouraged to step up and get
involved in worship, praying together, serving the church and supporting each other in their journey and
ultimately feed into wider church life as they get older.
Contact details of someone who can be contacted about it
To find out more you can visit www.stmarysaom.org/youth or contact our Youth Pastor, Jonny Davies, via
the ‘Contact Us’ part of the website.
Mission in Partington and Carrington
Gardening and Maintenance Team
The team meet together twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They use their skills and gifts to ensure both the church building and grounds are kept in good order.
This Mission outreach is inclusive of all volunteers either from the church family or the Community and is advertised in the local Transmitter newspaper and our church Focus sheet. There is good camaraderie amongst the team and a time of fellowship when they take a break for Tea and Toast. The results of the hard work put in are enjoyed by all who come along to church and who visit the churchyard. The volunteers are encouraged by being part of ‘Partington in Bloom’, gaining a Silver Award last year. We see God at work in this Mission and in the lives of all involved.
For more information contact us through St. Mary’s e mail or website.
MISSION IN INTERGENERATIONAL WORSHIP
The children made the grapes and put up the vines before the service and during the service everyone filled in their own ideas on how they contribute to church life. Because it was the beginning of May we had a May pole
in one of the side aisles.
Kaleidoscope Mass takes place at St. Michaels and All Angels in Bramhall on the third Sunday of every month at 10.00 am. This is an intentionally intergenerational service which ask for contributions from all ages but often with an emphasis on younger members of the congregation playing a key role in the service.
Three years ago, the decision was taken to have one monthly intergenerational service which would feed the needs of the whole Church family including those with younger children. The idea is that any member of the congregation can contribute to the planning and the planning meetings are publicly announced. From this we now have a group of volunteers of all ages who contribute to a more accessible, intergenerationally friendly service. This group of volunteers includes contributions from the uniformed groups associated with our Church. The Gospel readings are regularly acted out or explained with the help of props and interactive ideas. Our Church puppet group makes a regular appearance. Members of the congregation are now used to being given prayer cards and asked to take part in interactive activities during the service. We also enlist musicians, young and old to join a music group to accompany the service.
For details contact either:
Susan Joyce or Jill Elston at St. Michaels and All Angels Church, St. Michaels Avenue, Bramhall, Stockport. email: [email protected] Tel: 0161 439 3989
Mission in St George's, Poynton
Title and brief description of the mission activity or event.
BrightStars Toddler Group
A weekly toddler group for parents and grandparents to bring their children to. It's an opportunity to
serve the local community and for parents to get to know other local parents. Children get to play
and socialise while the adults can have some quality time with their children or have some time out
and get to know other adults.
Brief description of the reasons, benefits, outcomes and/or follow-up.
BrightStars is an opportunity to welcome people to a church led group. It's a chance to have
conversations with people and get to know local families. We have a craft each week and some of
these relate to Christian festivals throughout the year. BrightStars is a great springboard for
inviting dads, granddads and their children to our 'Who Let The Dads Out?' group that we run once
a month, parenting courses, men's and women's events and our church services.
Contact details of someone who can be contacted about it.
Sarah Williams (Family Worker)
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.poyntonpc.net
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Church Building versus Chappell
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The Opportunity
Church Community
The Challenge
• People did not come into church
• Café is familiar environment
• Smart & Professional• Getting people to
cross the threshold
• Church in community• People out and about• Saturday activities –
dance clubs etc, pick up / drop off
• Police drop-in• Pharmacy drop-in• Bolt hole• Wide age range –
babies to retired
• Volunteers• Paid staff• Our mission only when we get
involved• Mix of volunteers – church
and non-church• Builds relationships
• The next step• Moving people from
café to church• Moving church into
café (worship)• Bible Study• Coffee [email protected]
Bosley Village Hall? – We would like your thoughts! We now have the opportunity to fulfil one of the key priorities highlighted in the village Parish Plan some years ago - to have a community hall - by developing St. Mary’s Church. The planned improvements would provide modern cloakroom facilities, a new, efficient heating system and an adaptable space for a variety of activities. The outline plans are on our village website (www.bosleyvillage.org.uk) if you would like to check them out. So that we can access relevant grants to fund the changes, we need to know what the people in the village and other prospective users think to be sure that this facility is needed and will be used by local people. Please take a few minutes to fill in the short survey below. 1. Are you in favour of the church being developed so that it becomes a community/village centre as well as a place of worship? (Please tick the appropriate box.) Yes No Don’t know 2. Do you think installing the toilet and kitchen extension will make the church more useful for the community?
Yes No Don’t know 3. Do you think installing a modern, efficient heating system will make the church more comfortable and inviting for village activities?
Yes No Don’t know 4. Do you think that removing the pews and replacing them with modern chairs will make the space more adaptable for village use? Yes No Don’t know 5. Do you think that relocating the font to increase flexibility of the space is a good idea?
Yes No Don’t know 6. Which of the following activities would you like to be available in the new facility? Activities for families / children Activities for the elderly Fitness and well-being activities Educational and training activities
Concerts and church services
Other (please specify) _________________________________________________________ Your comments:
Your age range: Under 18 19 – 30 31 – 50 51 - 70 71+ Do you live in the parish? Yes No Would you like to be involved in developing this project? Yes No (If “Yes”, please give your name and contact telephone number overleaf.) Thank you for your completing this survey - please return it to St Mary’s Church or
to your local contact.
Please continue overleaf if you need more space.
MOTHER’S DAY CHURCH SERVICE
INCLUDING
MEGA MUM
MEGA BREAKFAST
THE YOUTH CLUB INVITE EVERY
MEGA MUM AND THEIR FAMILY
TO
THE MEGA MUM
MEGA BREAKFAST
9.30AM
26TH MARCH
ST MARY’S CHURCH
RESULTS OF QUESTIONNAIRE 71+ 51-70 31-50 19-30 UNDER 18 YOUTH CLUB TOTALS YES 38 54 38 13 9 14 166 NO 9 7 7 4 27 WANT TO BE INVOLVED 1 6 8 1 16 DON’T KNOW 1 4 2 7 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NO TO MOVE PEWS 4 2 1 8 NO TO MOVE FONT 2 2 5 NO TO MOVE BOTH 3 2 3 2 10 DON’T KNOW PEWS 2 4 1 1 8 DON’T KNOW FONT 9 10 9 2 30 DON’T KNOW BOTH 4 4 1 9 NO PEWS DON’T KNOW FONT 1 1 NO FONT DON’T KNOW PEWS 1 1 2 TOTAL RESPONDED 201 TOTAL IN FAVOUR 166 82% TOTAL AGAINST 27 13% TOTAL NO TO MOVE PEWS 17 TOTAL NO TO MOVE FONT 14 For those who voted NO to developing the church as a Community Centre the votes to other questions do not apply as this change is not desired. This should have been made clear in the questionnaire. So they are not included in the results about pews, font, heating etc.
Mission at St Mary’s Newton with Flowery Field
Café style Church is welcoming, friendly and relaxed worship service, with modern worship songs and videos. Tea, coffee and cake are served free of charge, but a plate is put out for donations to cover costs.
We meet once a month on the Fourth Sunday in the Parish Hall 5:00pm till 6:00pm
It is a good opportunity to invite friends and acquaintances that would not normally attend Church join you for tea and cake and introduce them into the Church Fellowship.
Ian Marshall - [email protected] Or - http://www.stmarysnewton.org.uk/
Mission in HOLY TRINITY STALYBRIDGE.
Title and brief description of the Mission activity or event.
Sponsored meal at Stalybridge Celtic FC. The church is sponsoring the forthcoming game at Stalybridge Celtic. This is an opportunity for people to meet with others in a relaxed and enjoyable environment. The match will be preceded by a 3 course meal and there is a free bar throughout the afternoon. The church will also be selecting the man of the match.
Brief description of the reasons, benefits, outcomes and/or follow up.
The benefits are threefold. Firstly members of the church can have a good time getting to know each other better in an entertaining situation. Secondly it is a great opportunity to invite none Christians to see Christians enjoying themselves doing ‘normal’ things. Thirdly it is a great witness to the football club and their supporters that the church wants to be involved and supporting in the local community in things that are important to them on their grounds.
Contact details of someone who can be contacted about the event.
John Haslam. 07961026743 or through the church office.
Mission in St Peter’s Church, Crewe
Come and Walk the Labyrinth at St Peter’s
Take half an hour out to find your still centre
In 2016 the town of Crewe had a Love Crewe mission outreach with the evangelist Jonathan Conrathe. St Peter’s has a very traditional form of worship and we wanted to do something that was in keeping with how we worship on a Sunday. We didn’t want people to come during this-week and then find that it was very different on a Sunday.
Our vicar had experienced the labyrinth at Malmesbury and that is what gave us the idea. So many local people have welcomed the opportunity to come into the church in an informal manner and have seen that their local church is indeed accessible to them and they’re warmly welcomed. Many said that they’ve often walked past and now a chance to come inside, see what’s behind the red doors. Interestingly we’re open for other occasions, not just Sundays, but but being open for several hours each day over several days made such a difference.
Many Christians of all denominations enjoyed the chance to just sit, to walk the Labyrinth, take in the various stations, activities and the prayer corner. The different elements spoke to people in individual ways. One outcome was, that as many people were not able to come to the Labyrinth last summer, being involved so much in their own church’s outreach, this year we decided to have a second labyrinth, to be held during the first week of Lent. Unlike last year, it wasn’t focused on mission but on Lent itself. The benefits have been very individual, strengthening the individual’s walk with God.
For our church as a whole, the congregation have seen that the church can be completely altered and then returned “to normal” and they can cope with it. They have enjoyed something different which hasn’t threatened the usual form of worship. Most importantly it brought together all members of both St Peter’s and our sister church, All Saints, as so many volunteered to help with keeping the church open all week. It was a truly whole-church event with people praying, physically moving furniture and setting it up and then manning the open church. For those living locally it was a chance to see that St Peter’s is an important part of their community and open to all.
Contact details of someone who can be contacted about this [email protected]
Storytime Service A story, song and prayer for 0-6 year olds and their carers
followed by
hot chocolate and marshmallows
Sundays, 6.00pm
at St. Alban’s Church, Offerton
www.stalbanofferton.org.uk
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