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St Leonard's Church Balderstone, Lancashire |
February 2010 Edition |
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WelcomeWelcome to the website of St Leonard's Church, Balderstone in Lancashire, UK This is the online edition of the Parish Magazine, and is updated monthly. All contributions are warmly received, please email news, notices, articles and photographs to admin@ balderstonechurch.org.uk or post an item using the link on the left.
St Leonard's, Commons Lane, Balderstone The Vicar writes...When I was little just about the only thought on Ash Wednesday was of how many pancakes I’d eaten the day before. The only other question I can ever remember being asked was ‘What are you giving up for Lent?’ and as far as I can recall, my answer was always ‘Chocolate’. I never really understood why I had to go without it for six weeks of the year. But it seemed to be the expected thing to do and it earned approval of both my parents and my Sunday School teacher. Mind you, I’m not quite sure if I ever succeeded for the whole of the six weeks. I was well into adulthood before I understood why Christians down the ages practised self-denial during Lent, and when it was put into proper historical perspective I began to realise just how much potential it offered for spiritual growth and renewal. The reason why Christians took Lent so seriously from the earliest days, is that Easter Day was the highlight of their year. On this day, like us, they celebrated the amazing fact that Jesus’s body wasn’t left in a grave to decay. He rose from the dead. But also on this day they welcomed new converts to Christianity into the full fellowship of the church and they welcomed back people who had once been firm believers but whose faith had become dim and whose love for God had grown cold. Throughout Lent, these people would prepare for Easter by becoming familiar with the basic teaching essential to an understanding of Christianity. They’d be encouraged to repent of past failures and be shown how to live life God’s way. Committed Christians didn’t escape the rigours of the Lent season either. They took Lent very seriously and used it as a time to examine their life-style, to turn their backs on the sin that so easily creeps into our lives and to re-dedicate their lives to God. When I became a real Christian in my late thirties, I determined to try this ‘recipe for spiritual fitness’ for myself. But giving up things like sweets still seemed as silly to me as it did when I was a child. I decided I would sacrifice, not chocolate, but my most precious commodity, time. And I devoted this extra time to extra prayer, extra Bible reading, extra reflection and meditation. But most important of all, I didn’t do it on my own. I did it with the support of many other people in the parish who, at the same time were making a similar sacrifice and I, along with others was able to support them too. Ever since, belonging to a Lent Study Group has been very important to me. God has the uncanny knack of putting his finger on the inconsistencies in my life. He makes a fresh impact on my mind, my imagination and on my view of him. Those of you who’ve actually been able to get to church over the past few weeks have heard or seen notices of this year’s Lent Study Groups. They’re happening both during the day and in the evening so that no-one’s excluded either because they go to work or because they don’t like to go out in the evenings. But just like no-one can conquer Everest without discipline and preparation, so no-one can fully enjoy the mountain-top experience of Easter without the discipline and the preparation of Lent. May God’s blessing be with you all Mothers' UnionBy the time you read this we will have had our AGM - more details next month. The Wave of Prayer this year will be held at the Community Centre on 9th February at 10.00 am. Hope to see you all there as it is always a nice little service. Our speaker for the meeting on the 16th will be Rita Parkes. I'm sure we will all look forward to that one as Rita is always entertaining. It will be at the usual time of 1.30pm. An advance notice:- Women’s World Day of Prayer will be held on March 5th and this year it will be in Balderstone Church. Social CommitteeNot very much to report this month except just to let you know that the amount raised at the Christmas Fair back in December was £1,500, which was excellent. Thanks again to everyone concerned.
As mentioned previously, the dates for this years events are:- Walking Day - Saturday 8th May Garden Party - Saturday 12th June Harvest Supper - Thursday 30th September Christmas Fair - Saturday 4th December In addition to these we're hoping to have some extra events (still to be decided) Watch this space! Coffee MorningAs a result of the coffee morning in November for the joint sale of recycled Christmas cards and a bring and buy stall, a total of £180 was raised. This resulted in a cheque for £200 being forwarded to the East Lancashire Hospice. Thank you for you support. I will not be collecting Christmas cards for recycling this year as I still have a large amount waiting to be processed. I will however be still collecting other greeting cards which can either be given directly to me or left in church. Christ and the ChocolaterieA Lent Course Some people don't think that fiction can teach us anything. But many films are great starting points for exploring big issues. And this year we’ll be using the Oscar nominated film "Chocolat", starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, to lead us into discussion about God, the world and what it means to be human. The course will take place over 5 weeks beginning in the first full week of Lent and running until just before Holy Week. Each session will include extracts from the film, group discussion questions, exercises and meditations, suggestions for individual reading and related Bible passages. You’ll also get a chance to learn more about the curious history of chocolate, the unfair economics of chocolate and for those really hooked on it, there’ll also be one or two recipe ideas. Oh - and we might also get to eat some! The course will be on Monday evenings at the Vicarage in Mellor, and for those who are available during the day it’ll also happen on Tuesday mornings. If you’re going to come, please sign-up on the form at the back of church. This will not only give an idea of the numbers, but you also need to see the whole film first, so we need to know who needs to borrow a cd or a dvd. If more than 10/12 people sign up for each session, the course will be repeated on another day to cope with the numbers involved. Ladies' FellowshipCookery Demonstration by Kate Wright To be held at the home of Julie Caton, 2 February 2010 at 7:45pm It was a shame that the meal at the Millstone had to be cancelled due to the inclement weather. However, I have managed to rearrange this to take place in March in place of the Beauty Demonstration. A list will be circulated at the next event for those ladies interested in attending. The next event is on the 2 February 2010 and is at the home of Julie Caton. Kate Wright will be demonstrating her culinary talents, and I am sure there will be an opportunity to taste the goods! There will not be a Ladies Fellowship meeting in April. The May event is being organised by Maureen Britcliffe – Talk ( Miles of Smiles). I look forward to seeing you all at the next event Kind Regards
Men’s FellowshipOur February meeting will be Ten-pin bowling on Tuesday 23rd February at 8pm at Ten Pin, Capitol Centre Walton-le-Dale. It has previously proved to be an enjoyable evening - bringing out the competitive streak in some of our members!!! If anyone is interested in joining us please let me know as I need to pre-book the lanes.
With thanksIt has been a real inspiration to receive all the cards, phone calls and visits wishing me a speedy recovery from the heart surgery I had on Christmas Eve. Margery and I want you all to know how much we have valued the fellowship and good wishes of all the congregation of St Leonard. This operation, although undeniably daunting, is now pretty much routine and I am glad to say that I am well on the road to recovery and look forward to tramping the lanes round the parish on my prescribed mission to build up my strength again. But I won’t forget those wonderful messages of support. Thank you all very much, Cathedral Made Safe
Balderstone School NewsEveryone at Balderstone School would like to wish you all a very peaceful and prosperous new year. As ever, December is our busiest time of year at school. Over the course of the month, we performed our Nativity Play, which was superbly acted and narrated by our infant department. The juniors helped out with singing, poetry and French Christmas songs. The two performances went without a hitch and were enjoyed by many families and friends of our school. We went to King George’s hall to see the pantomime – Cinderella -. For some children, it was their first visit to the theatre and their enjoyment of the performance was evident in their faces. As ever, all the children joined in to raise the roof of the theatre. One of our children was chosen to go on stage and had to perform a rendition of ‘How Much is that Doggy in the Window?’ Supported by some very loud singing from or children, he carried off first prize. Father Christmas visited school on our class party day and gave each class a present. The junior classes decided that, rather than have games for themselves, they would prefer to support a worthy cause. Children in Foxes have sponsored a snow leopard and the children in Badgers, a dolphin. We look forward to following their progress over the next year. Our last day of school was very dramatic, as the poor weather conditions prevented many children from getting to school. Just under half made it and in spite of everything we enjoyed a simple, yet beautiful carol service, joined by a number of parents who made it through the snow. True British spirit shone throughout the day with all the community coming together to help push cars, give lifts and walk children home. A day none of us will forget! In January, we welcome back Mrs Cast from her maternity leave. Mrs Riddell has done an excellent job covering in her absence for which we all thank her. Our spring term is always busy and the teachers are looking forward to sharing all the lessons they have prepared. Our topics this term include a study of the Aztecs and the Weather – Most topical! Hopefully it won’t be long before we see the return of milder weather signalling the return of spring and the promise of new life and beginnings. You may have heard that we have had a difficult start to the term due to the cold weather. We were completely closed for the first 4 days and when it looked like the big freeze would continue, staff decided that enough was enough and we would look to open school at another, more accessible venue. On Monday January 11th we met at the Canberra Club at BAE and held morning school there. Staff worked very hard to ensure this could happen, carrying resources through the snow on foot. It was a well organised and busy session and the children certainly enjoyed the novelty! We are now back in school. Snowdrop timeWhat a relief to see the tips of the snowdrops peeping out now that the snow has disappeared.
The French word for snowdrop, perce-neige, is very descriptive, meaning literally ‘piercing the snow’. Here’s hoping that they won’t need to pierce the snow again this year, but if so, we’ll know that they are there waiting patiently to herald the Spring.
Churches Together in MellorAlpha News After much thought and prayer, the Alpha Team has decided to postpone the next Alpha course, which was to start towards the end of February, until September. One of the reasons for the decision is that Paul will be running a Lent course starting towards the end of February which would create a rather busy diary of events if we ran Alpha at the same time. As Christians it was felt we should all work together and support each other, as our aims are the same, and that is to help people to know Christ and to encourage them to grow in their faith. So over the Spring and Summer (which we hope will be a good one, after all this snow!) the Alpha Team will get together and work on preparing for the Autumn course. In the meantime, anybody wanting to know more about Alpha and what it entails should speak to either Liz Wilson or Sheila Parker. Women’s World Day of PrayerWomen’s World Day of Prayer (International and Interdenominational) “LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE GOD” On Friday, 5th March, over 3 million people worldwide will be praying and worshipping together during an annual day of prayer, using a service prepared by Christian women in Cameroon. Emma Wilcock, the president of the National Committee of the Women’s World Day of Prayer Movement, said: “This is always an exciting day as a great wave of prayer sweeps the world, beginning when the first service is held in the Queen Salote Girls’ School in Tonga and continuing around the world until the final service takes place, some 35 hours later, in neighbouring Western Samoa. By then the day will have been celebrated in over 170 countries, and over 5,000 services will have been held in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Cameroon faces many challenges as its people seek to move forward into a modern age without losing their distinctive characteristics. But at all times, in all circumstances, Cameroonians are able to praise God with joy and exuberance and the service reflects this.” Our local service will be held at St Leonard’s Church, Balderstone, on Friday 5th March, and is a truly ecumenical occasion as it will be prepared by a committee comprising ladies from all four churches in our Churches Together forum. The service will be held at 7.30pm and the speaker will be Rev’d Fleur Green. Everyone is welcome to attend—men, women and young people. Christingle Service at St. Mary's Church, MellorThank you to everyone who attended the Christingle service. It was lovely to see the church so full, and was made extra special by the Sunday School Nativity and the arrival of all our friends from Balderstone after the service there was cancelled. The bumper amount of £240 was raised for The Children's Society, and will make a real difference to a child in need. The winners of the colouring competition were Lucy Calderbank and Scott Wilson, Zoe Summersgill and William Vause. Well done! A thank you goes to all the people who gave up precious time to help with the service. Geoff Gill, Hilda and Graham, Mr. Ashton and the choirboys, and Amy and Ellen Procter for being such fab Christingle constructors. From our RegistersFuneral 23rd December 2009, David Briggs Mellor Brook Community CentreSat 27th February 8.00pm: Debby McClatchy & Albemarle Ramblers (USA) Old Time mountain tunes and songs from Virginia
Sat 13th March : 10.00am - 4.30pm - The 3rd Mellor Brook Fiddle Day A day of fiddle workshops culminating in evening concert. 7.30pm - Nick Wyke & Becki Driscoll Traditional and original material with duelling fiddles - overtly English in style with special guests: Mellor Brook's own fiddle group, The Palatine Fiddlers
Further details from - www.mellorbrook.org Please see the notice board in the community centre window for details of other events and regular meetings and classes. Readings for February7th Rev. ch. 4 1-11 Luke 8. 22-25 14th 2 Cor. 3. 12-4.2 Luke 9. 28-36 (37-43a) 21st Rom. 10. 8b-13 Luke 4. 1-13 28th Phil. 3. 17-4.1 Luke 13.31-end 7th Mar 1. Cor 10. 1-13 Luke 13. 1-9 Rotas for February 2010
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