The Green Spire

The Parish Magazine ofSt Andrew, Orford with Longford

February 2016School News 2From the Vicar – pilgrims in Lent 3What’s on in February 5 Who’s On in February 7The Lenten Collect 9Coming soon ... in School 10What the PCC decided... 11It’s not a picnic 13How are we doing? 14Prayer is the Sharing o Presence 15Notice Board 16Snippets from the Church Times 17Fabulous February at the cathedral 18The Primates’ Conference 19As I see it – by Churchmouse 21Praying for the world-wide Church 23From the Registers 26HMQ90 27Prayer Intentions for February 28

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The Green Spire is published monthly. Copies are 35p per month, or £3.50 for a year’s subscription – normally payable in January. Enquiries about advertisements welcome.

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School NewsHomework Club is the latest after-school activity to be offered to children in Key Stage 2 (juniors) and their parents. The club is a chance for children and parents to work together on homework activities with staff available to support if necessary. Also on offer is a Family earning workshop offering tips and advice for healthy lunchboxes.

Education is more than just reading, writing and arithmetic. Our aim is to offer our children as many experiences and life skills as possible during their time at St Andrew’s. To this end, children from the upper juniors did their Bike Right training recently. It involved to full days of cycle training on local roads to give the children the skills necessary to cycle safely. The first day was bitterly cold and they worked extremely hard. At the rewards assembly the following week, the children proudly received their awards. And talking of healthy living, in mid-January, each class in turn was treated to a ‘skipping workshop’ to promote exercise as fun. The School Council have decided to apply the proceeds of a sponsored skip equally to Lawrence’s Roundabout Well Appeal and play equipment for use in school at lunchtime.

Class Eucharists have begun – our theme this term is Candlemass and Jesus, the light of the world. The Eucharists are normally held at the beginning of the day and the children join in enthusiastically. This year, we have extended the classes to Year 4 as well as 5 and 6. We hope that it will also encourage them to think seriously about confirmation by giving them an understanding of the Church and the Eucharist.

At the beginning of February, children will be taking part in the Active Hope ‘Winter Warmer’ event. It’s two days of organised activity, one of which takes place in Delamere Forest. The children learn to work together and develop team skills. They’re hoping for dry weather!

This month, there’s Messy Church on 4th February. On February 10th, we are looking forward to Ash Wednesday when whole the school family will come to church to take part in the 10.30am service; and on the 12 th, we break up for the half-term holiday!

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From the Vicar:Pilgrimage is having something of a revival.

Pilgrimages date back to the fourth century when devout followers of the faith made their way to holy sites and shrines, initially those associated with the life of Jesus. Origen, one of the early Church Fathers, found local folk who could show him where Jesus had cast the demons into the Gadarene swine! Pilgrimages went to Bethlehem and Jerusalem, and other areas where Jesus taught and performed his miracles.

When it became more difficult to travel to the Holy Land, pilgrimages to sites where the saints had seen visions and performed miracles became prominent. One of the most well-known is that of Santiago di Compostella in north-west Spain where the remains of St James were laid to rest. Pilgrims would walk hundreds of miles along the Way of St James. It was particularly popular in mediaeval times.

In recent times, there has been considerable interest in retracing many of the pilgrim routes both at home and abroad. The Way of St James is as popular as ever and some pilgrims still walk hundreds of miles, while others do it more sedately, walking only the last few!

In this country, there is St Winefride’s Well at Holywell in Flintshire, just off the North Wales’ coast. Legend has it that Winefride was restored to life by the prayers of her uncle, St Bueno, and continued to live there as a nun for the next twenty-two years. The Holy Well is the oldest place of pilgrimage in Britain, and a place of miraculous healing.

Some of you have, I know, visited Walsingham in Norfolk, another holy place where pilgrims often walk the last mile barefoot. Again, the waters are believed to have healing properties and many a pilgrim has much to be thankful for on their return.

Not all pilgrimages, though, involve walking long distances (or even taking the easy way, travelling most of it by car!) Some pilgrimages can take place without ever moving out of the house. Really? Well yes, they can. Sometimes, that spiritual journey can be into ourselves rather than out into the world.

A pilgrim is a traveller, but the journey can be inward as well as physical. Seen in this light, I suppose a Retreat could be seen as a form of pilgrimage as the retreatant delves

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into their innermost being to find Christ.

St Ignatius of Loyola developed a series of spiritual exercises that helped individuals discover God in themselves and to find his will for them. These, too, are popular today.

Originally, individuals went on month-long silent retreats to deepen their faith. They followed a programme of meditations, prayers and contemplative practices designed to help them deepen their relationship with the living God.

For many people living modern lifestyles, the original pattern was no longer feasible and new ways were developed to help them get the most out of the exercises within the constraints of modern living. A “retreat in daily life” was born and has proved attractive and valuable. One of the most recent innovations is the ‘online retreat’.

Lent is often seen as a time for spiritual renewal. From Jesus’ time in the wilderness came the idea of taking a step back from the world to deepen our relationship with God. Jesus, we’re told, spent the time in prayer and fasting, and Christians since have been encouraged to use Lent as a time for spiritual growth.

Many clever ways have been devised to help us use the time to best advantage. There are books on prayer to give our prayer lives a ‘kick-start’ and there are lots of good books to help us understand the essentials of our faith, and thereby the God we worship and serve.

Prayer leads to action, and many Christians have used the forty days to help other people, directly by spending time with them, or indirectly – I knew someone who wrote a letter each day via Amnesty International to Christians who were suffering persecution.

This Lent, we are hosting a series of lunchtime gatherings at which we will look at the Bible. We’ll use a variety of interesting and engaging ways of looking at it afresh to build our knowledge of the Bible and through it, our knowledge of God. Come along and see what you make of it.

Lent is a time for spiritual growth. Whether it is about attending that extra service, or trying to be in church every Sunday during Lent, a Bible study or time devoted to the service of others, I hope your Lenten ‘pilgrimage’ will help deepen your faith and your love for God. Michael Raynor

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What’s on in February...

Sunday 31st The Presentation in the Temple (Candlemass)January 10.00am Sung Eucharist, Holy Baptism and Procession

Wednesday 3rd 2.45pm Meeting with parents about confirmation

Thursday 4th 3.15pm Messy Church in school – help needed please

Sunday 7th The Sunday next before Lent10.00am Sung Eucharist12 noon Holy Baptism

Tuesday 9th 7.30pm Deanery Synod meeting at Christ Church, Padgate

Wednesday 10th Ash Wednesday10.30am Solemn Eucharist (Church and School together)

with Ashing 7.00pm Solemn Sung Eucharist with Ashing

Thursday 11th 8.00pm Thursday Ladies' Club meet at the vicarage

Friday 12th 6.30pm Stations of the Cross

Sunday 14th The First Sunday of Lent 10.00am Sung Eucharist

Thursday 18th 1.30pm Bible Fun – at the vicarage

Friday 19th 6.30pm Stations of the Cross

Sunday 21st The Second Sunday of Lent 10.00am Sung Eucharist

Wednesday 24th 8.50am School confirmation class

Thursday 25th 10.30am Eucharist with Year 6 present 1.30pm Bible Fun – at the vicarage

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Thursday 25th 5.00pm Full Governing Body meeting in school(continued) 8.00pm Thursday Ladies' Club meet at the vicarage

Friday 26th 6.30pm Stations of the Cross

Sunday 28th The Third Sunday in Lent10.00am Sung Eucharist

Thursday 3rd 10.30am Eucharist with Year 5 present

Sunday 6th The Second Sunday of Advent 10.00am Sung Eucharist

There are regular weekly celebrations of the Eucharist (Holy Communion) on Wednesday evening at 7.00pm and Thursday morning at 10.30am. Celebrations on Saint’s Days are published on the Sunday sheet. All are welcome.

St Andrew’s Charity Shop

every Wednesdayfrom 10am to 3.30pm in the Hall

Drop-in for tea and toast. Carer’s advice desk

Thank youYou will find a number of letters from charities we supported at the end of last year on the notice board at the back of church. Most of them say something

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about the work they are presently involved in. While you are having a cup of tea, don’t forget to have a look at them.

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Who’s on in February…

2016 SIDES-PEOPLE READER INTERCESSOR OFFERTORY7 Feb J. Devereux

M. Ellison J. Raynor Sunday School M. GreatorexH. Smythe

10 FebAsh Weds

Volunteers please B. Glover J. Raynor Volunteers please

14 FebLent 1

F. GreatorexO. Vowles D. Kirk K. Rowan M. Ellison

Z. Zahorcova21 FebLent 2

M. GreatorexH. Smythe B. Boscoe W. McKinnon M. Greatorex

H. Smythe28 FebLent 3

L. GiblinP. Smith N. Lee M. Harrington J. Brookman

C. Muir6 MarLent 4

B. BoscoeB. Glover F. Greatorex M. Brown M Ellison

Lucia

2016 SUNDAY SCHOOL COUNTING COLLECTIONS

7 Feb B. Boscoe / B. Glover14 Feb Awaiting APCM21 Feb I. Appleton / M. Ellison28 Feb V. Carter / J. Raynor6 Mar B. Boscoe / B. Glover

2016 TEA ROTA READ ON WEDS EVE HALL CLEANING

7 Feb M. Ellison / M. Harrington D. Kirk (10 Feb) J. Devereux14 Feb F. Greatorex / L. Giblin Fr Michael (17 Feb) C. Worrall21 Feb M. Harrington / Lucia N. Lee (24 Feb) Fr Michael28 Feb M. Ellison / P. Smith D. Kirk (2 Mar) J. Devereux6 Mar B. Boscoe / B. Glover Fr Michael (9 Mar) C. Worrall

If you change your turn on the rota, please remember to mark the rota on the notice board. Thank you

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Shrove TuesdayHave you noticed that some people are calling the day before Ash Wednesday ‘Pancake Tuesday’? I think I can see where they are coming from, but I sincerely hope it doesn’t catch on. The proper name, Shrove Tuesday, tells us what it‘s all about.

Traditionally, people were expected to confess their sins before Lent began. Most people went to confession on the Tuesday and the phrase used when people made their confession was that they ‘shrove themselves’. It wasn’t long before people called this day ‘Shrove Tuesday’ – the day that people cleansed themselves from past sin.

Following the example of our Lord, who went into the wilderness for the forty day of Lent and abstained from eating during that time, people gave up fat and other rich food until Easter. They gave it up, but they didn’t want to waste anything; food was far too precious. So they gathered everything together and had a feast on Shrove Tuesday. They mixed flour, eggs and milk (all of which they gave up for Lent) into a batter and cooked as pancakes, ensuring everything had been used up before the Lent fast began.

It is interesting that Mardi Gras, celebrated in many Latin countries, literally translated means grease, or fat, Tuesday. Many places have extravagant carnivals (carnival coming from carne, which means ‘meat’ – the heart of a good feast). The participants were the most flamboyant costumes and ride on highly decorated floats, following bands. In the deep south of America, the bands are often jazz bands. In other parts of the world, they use steel bands. Carnival masks are also popular.

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The Lenten collectJust before Christmas, we mentioned the traditional practice of using the Advent collect (said on the first Sunday of Advent) for the whole of the season up to Christmas Eve. Once widespread, the practice largely disappeared when the Alternative Servce Book was intorduced in 1980.

A similar situation used to hold in Lent when the collect used on Ash Wednesday was used as a second collect all the way through to Palm Sunday. Some of you might still remember it. Whether it is familiar or not, you might like to use it each day during Lent this year.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: create and make in us new and contrite hearts that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may receive from you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

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Coming soon ... in SchoolAt the beginning of February, we’re holding another Messy Church. The theme will be Shrove Tuesday so expect lots of pancakes and fun. Several members of staff are not on site on the 4th so we really do need help. The activities will be pre-planned and prepared so it’s really a case of coming along and helping and supporting the children. We finish with a meal and everyone is welcome to stay. That’s February 4th at 3pm and will finish at 4.30pm.

On Ash Wednesday, the whole school family will join us in church for our 10.30am Eucharist with Ashing. This is the first time we’ve joined together for this special service. The service will be accessible to all and include at least one hymn. Again, everyone is welcome.

Later in the term on 8th March at 2pm, there will be an opportunity to visit school. You are invited to a walk-around to meet children and staff and see the freshly decorated and improved building, to watch Fr Michael try his hand at story-telling (though it’s debatable whether that is an attraction or not!) and stay for afternoon tea. We hope lots of people will come along. It would help if you’d let Fr Michael know if you are planning to come along.

On the final day of the spring term, the children from Reception and Year 5 will lead their very own Easter Service in church on Friday 1 st April at 9.15 and would love to see as many people from church as possible.

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What the PCC decided...

The main item of business for the PCC this month was the Bishop’s Growth Planning Framework 3. Before working on that, though, the meeting was asked to consider the Accounts for 2015 which had been circulated prior to the meeting. (A copy is on the notice board if you’d like to look at it). Fr Michael presented them, including the brief summary that accompanies them, and invited questions. The meeting noted the concerns about falling planned giving and the need to address this soon. Members also recognised that the Charity Shop provided invaluable support but that this could not be relied on to top up other shortfalls in income. The meeting accepted the Accounts as presented. They will be sent to the External Examiner and be presented to the Annual Meeting in April.

There was a short update on the Church-School partnership and members were invited to help with Messy Church in early February (4 th). All the charitable giving had been sent out with the exception of the Angel Trust which had been well supported and had reached their target for 2105. Thank you letters can be found on the notice board in church. The confirmation is planned for Sunday 8 th

May at 4pm, to be held at St Margaret’s Church this year. A table of fees (principally for weddings and funerals) was approved. The increases over 2015 are minimal and the cost of calling banns decreased by £1.

The meeting turned its attention to Church Growth. Members had been given the planning framework at the last meeting, and copies of our objectives two year ago, together with the Church Times’ report on the Church Growth Conference, were circulated in advance. Members were asked to consider the Framework in advance of the meeting.

The Framework follows the pattern of previous ones, with each of the eight sections having a specific focus on church life. There’s a statement that they have to say how far they agree with; a number of questions to help the thought process and then an opportunity to come up with an action that might develop

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this area. What is new, though, is that it also asks members to look at the previous objective set two years ago and say what benefit it had brought, or if it wasn’t completed, what were the reasons for not finishing it. Finally, the PCC is asked to assign each objective to one or more members and set a completion date.The following notes about our aims and objectives are taken directly from the PCC minutes. The first part of each objective is the area of focus, and what follows are our plans to address that target. The initials are those who will take responsibility for fulfilling the ideas, though we believe we will only be truly successful if many people contribute. Whether you are a member of the PCC or not, we would value your help and support.

1. A place of welcome and belonging: “to develop a professional-looking notelet with information for visitors, listing times of services, a resume of what we offer and contact details. A follow-up visit will be made to those who request one. The notelets will be distributed at all services including baptisms. They will be available in a prominent place for weddings and funerals”. (FG, RW, sidespeople)

2. A place where all can worship: to continue work with school, involving children is worship on special occasions; to involve the Scout Group; to ensure that worship is accessible on these occasions; to look at other models including the cafe-style worship at the Cathedral and St James’ Westbrook; and to investigate ‘story-telling’ for the under 5s. (MR, LG, WMcK, JR)

3. A place of prayer and Bible study: to build up and promote our library; to offer a Lent Bible study using techniques employed in school to engage and involved and build on this. (Norma Lee (library), MR)

4. A place of nurture, discipleship and vocation: to offer confirmation preparation; work with school including Thursday Eucharists and the Ethos Group; develop alternative services as a way of teaching the faith. [See also 3] (MR, WMcK and school)

5. A place of leadership, empowerment and release: to encourage members to take responsibility for areas of leadership within the church; to list

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those tasks which might best be shared and to seek individuals to take them on. (initially MR then others)

6. A place of service and sending: work with school; to pilot the Christian Aid link with school; continued outreach through the Charity Shop and links with YMCA Warrington; to invite occasional preachers from missionary societies to inform us. (WMcK, JR, MR)

7. A base for evangelism, outreach and numerical growth: many of the above areas including welcome, the Charity Shop, school and occasional offices (a strong point). (FG, WMcK, JR, MR)

8. A place of good administration and pastoral care: to establish a group of parish visitors including those who take out the sacrament to the housebound; to re-do the congregational survey; work with school. (LG, FG and others).

The next meeting of the PCC will be held on Tuesday 15 th March and the Annual Parochial General Meeting will be held after the 10 o’clock service on Sunday 17th April.

It’s not a picnic!When Ann Moran, wife of the Chairman of the 33rd Warrington West Scout Troop (our Scouts), died of cancer at the end of last year, our Scouts decided to raise money for Macmillan Nurses.

The cubs decided to do a sponsored walk, and that will take place later in the year, but the main body of scouts wanted to do something bigger and decided to collect and sell Teddy bears. This has now become a “Warrington spectacular” and is called ‘A Thousand Teddies for Cancer’.

It has already caught the imagination of a great many people and teddies of all sorts; stuffed and cuddly, small and monumental, in fact just about every size and shape imaginable are now pouring in. [There is no truth in the rumour that Chester Zoo is providing extra security on the bear enclosure].

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Meanwhile, our flagship teddies, called ‘Mac’ and ‘Millie’, are hard at work raising awareness of the wonderful work that Macmillan Nurses do, and raising money in memory of a lovely lady who was proud to be a scout.

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How are we doing?About this time of the year, the Church of England requires every parish to submit Statistics for Mission, a return showing the numbers attending worship and using the church in other ways. Statistics for Mission 2014 has just been published and makes interesting reading.

The headline figures show a continued decline in the number of people attending church each week, but this comes as no surprise. The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Graham James pointed out that “given the age profile of the C of E, the next few years will continue to have a downward pressure, as people die or become housebound and unable to attend church”. He added, “Whilst the recent trend of the past decade continues, it has been anticipated and is being acted on radically”.

Here at St Andrew’s, we have seen similar signs of decline in numbers. Though numbers remained buoyant in the early days of the past decade (when others started to fall) we have followed the trend more recently.

However, all is not doom and gloom for us as a parish. The report tells us that the average Church of England church in 2014 had 40 people attending worship each week, with 31 on a usual Sunday, we reported our average (usual?) attendance was 33. Over all the services held on Christmas Day, the national average was 82 while we had 112 adults and 35 children. At Easter, we welcome 55 people against a national average of 58.

Where we continue to shine, though, is in the ‘Occasional Offices’. We baptised 50 while the ‘average parish’ baptises just 4; we married 5 couples (2 nationally) and renewed marriage vows on 2 occasions and blessed a marriage too; and conducted 20 funerals in church (against an average of 5) and a further 18 at the crematorium. Clearly, St Andrew’s plays an important part in the life of this community.

The bishop confirmed that looking at attendance statistics did not tell the whole story. “There are many things that churches do which are not included in these data, from running homelessness services and hosting Foodbanks, to educating a million children a day in our schools, to providing welcome and accompaniment to the least, the last, and the lost in our society.” In his own diocese, one church had grown from 50 to 450 in just two years. “The story is not one of inevitable decline.”

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Prayer is the Sharing of Presence

“When I spend time with a friend, I want that person’s presence. After a while, a phone call or an e-mail just isn’t good enough—I want a body to hug, a face to gaze upon, the whole person behind the phone voice and the written words. God wants our whole presence, not just our thoughts flung heavenward when we have a second and just our emotional overflow when the day has gone sour. Prayer is the sharing of presence”.

—Days of Deepening Friendship

One reason prayer can seem unnatural is that we don’t go about it naturally at all. We feel that we must assume a certain physical position, or that we must use some words and phrases but not others. It’s all right to feel joy and gratitude, but we try to push the anger and sadness back and out of the way.

Actually, sometimes we’re tempted to pray sort of the way we’d go through a job interview—putting out our best appearance and conversation, and presenting the self that we think will make the best impression.

Or, we are so used to other people judging and shaming us that we bring to God the self that is least likely to get us into trouble.

What do you bring to prayer? What language? What emotion? What facial expressions? What movements of body?

Are you entering a conversation with a tricky deity who is impossible to please? Or are you entering a conversation with someone who loves you better than the “bestest” friend?

Try this: After you have enjoyed a conversation with a friend, reflect on your part of the conversation. Write down what you said, what tones of voice you used, which physical gestures. Write about how you felt and how you expressed those feelings.

Then, when you pray, remember that marvellous self that you shared with your friend. Try to bring that self into conversation with the Divine friend, and see what happens.

by Vinita Hampton Wright in Ignatian Prayer

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Stations of the Cross ...will begin on Friday 12th February at 6.30pm in church. Each week, we walk The Way of the Cross, stopping at each of the pictures (stations) that portray a particular event on the journey from Jesus’ arrest to his burial – and then resurrection. It lasts 30-45 minutes, depending on the set of mediataions we use. Why not come and try it?

Bible FunFor Lent this year, we are holding a Lent study group with a difference. As part of the Bishop’s Growth Framework, the PCC dedcided to host a series of Bible workshops that everyone can join in with. No prior knowledge is necessary though you might be surprised just how much you actually know already!It will be held at the vicarage (unless there’s not enough space for everyone!) on Thursday afternoons, beginning at 1.30pm on Thursday 18th February.

Also for LentReflections for Lent launched its latest phone app this month. It features Bible readings, reflections, and prayers from a number of celebrated writers including Paula Gooder, Martin Percy and Stephen Croft. It is the fifth year that Reflections for Lent has been produced. All you need is a smart phone to access it.

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Snippets from the Church Times

The Rev John Barron surprised judges recently when he appeared on The Voice dressed in clerical attire, complete with collar! Initially, the judges listen without looking at the contestant, and within a few bars of opening his song, there was applause and whooping from the audience. When they turned to see him, there was an element of surprise, though they too were swaying along with the crowd by the end. John was not chosen to proceed in the competition but everyone agreed he had acquitted himself well.

Creating a new cloister at Blackburn Cathedral is almost complete. Opening in March, it’s the first to be established since Peterborough in 1525. It will provide housing for cathedral clergy, staff and scholars, a library and conference centre, a traditional cloister and underground parking. The project is part of a major re-modelling of the city centre.

St Andrew’s, Congresbury, celebrated their 800th anniversary with 800 acts of kindness. Their vicar is urging people t continue this outpouring of grace. The whole village took part and recorded their deeds anonymously on cards placed in a special box in church or by email. They included emptying a dishwasher and providing and delivering goods to refugees in Calais. The 800th act was achieved on Christmas Day and now stands at 912.

The Deanery of Salford has given £3,000 to the local credit union to be used to help victims of recent flooding in the Salford area. It will help people get new cookers or sofas. “It’s money we had put aside for a rainy day,” the Area Dean said, “and this was certainly one!”

A supplement on holidays and retreats offered a wealth of opportunities to those looking for something different. You could spend a week on Skomer with the puffins, or browsing antiquarian books in Gladstone’s Library at Hawarden. You could choose Gallipoli for a centenary service to commemorate the First World War, a three generational holiday on the canals – or a naturist resort.

A theology undergraduate at Nottingham University has entered the Miss Nottingham contest. She hopes to win the title by modelling outfits bought for less that £10 exclusively from the local Save the Children charity shop where she is a volunteer.

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Fabulous FebruaryThe Cathedral is staging a number of events which may appeal to a wider audience:

ONE on Saturday 13th February 6:30pm – 9:00pm at Liverpool CathedralOne Vision, One God, One ChurchOne is a worship event which aims to unite ages and denominations through opportunities to worship in different styles and mediums. Meeting at Liverpool Cathedral, we want to encourage, inspire and minister through worship, scripture, creativity and contemplation. Feel free to come and go throughout the evening.

https://www.facebook.com/oneworship2016/http://www.oneworship.co.uk

Women’s Conference on Friday 19th & Saturday 20th Februaryto be held at Frontline Centre, corner of Lawrence and Wellington Road, Wavertree, Liverpool L15 3HAThe theme for this year’s Unique Women’s conference is ‘connected’ focussing on the passage in John 15.

http://www.frontline.org.uk/events/unique-womens-conference-2016/

Men’s Conference Saturday 27th February 9:30am – 4:00pmat Liverpool CathedralA day of worship, teaching, networking and having a laugh.A chance to be equipped and inspired. The theme is Rough DiamondsMain Speaker Anthony Delaney (Leader of the Ivy network of churches)

http://tinyurl.com/qzqk6bu

Cathedral welcomes all ‘In Praise of Love’ this Valentine’s

We're offering a unique way for couples to celebrate their commitment to each other this Valentine’s Day. There's a service in celebration of love at 3pm in the cathedral, plus special Valentine's offers: a three course home cooked meal in our Welsford restaurant before or after the service, and 2 for 1 entry and extended opening hours for our Tower experience with impressive views an incredible 154m above the Mersey. Click here to find out more. (online version of Green Spire only)

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The Primates’ ConferenceA conference was held in Canterbury to which the heads of every Province in the Anglican Communion were invited. In recent years, major divisions have developed between member provinces, largely to do with issues of sexuality. The decision by the Episcopal Church in the USA to allow same-sex marriage exacerbated the division. Churches with a liberal outlook have pushed the boundaries (and overstepped the mark in the eyes of some) to unacceptable, and un-Biblical, proportions. Others have taken what their opponents see ads a fundamentalist view which is at odds with modern (Western?) society. The net result has been threats that provinces may leave the Anglican Communion completely, while some have formed new alliances of like-minded people. The net effect is a huge dark cloud hanging over the Anglican Communion with many people asking whether it had a future at all.

To address the issues, the Archbishop of Canterbury (and head of the Communion) invited the leaders to Canterbury so that they could find a way forward. Even this was greeted with a considerable degree of pessimism as pundits predicted that swathes of Churches would not be represented. When the invitations were issued, there was some surprise that no one was saying they wouldn’t attend, and when the day finally came, so did the leaders of all those Churches. That was significant in itself.

Archbishop Justin is a past master at reconciliation; his time at Coventry taught him a lot. It seems from press reports that he was totally honest with the delegates, showing his commitment to keeping everyone on board. Just before the conference opened, he said, “We will not find a way forward, a reconciling, either by avoiding issues or by aggression and power games... There has never been a time when the Church was one in view, but it has often been one in heart.”

At the conference, the Archbishop appeared to be reassuring and placating Primates from the Global South. In a brief history, he suggested that faith had often arrived with “racism, oppression and contempt for those it met”. In praising the African Church, he spoke of his own conversion after teaching in Kenya at the age of eighteen.

Archbishop Justin pointed to the Church of England’s orthodoxy, and spoke of the recent opposition to the Assisted Dying Bill and its exemption from the

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Marriage (Same Sex) Act. “Our voice is still heard against the prevailing wind of our society, and at much cost to ourselves, by the way”.

The meeting started by agreeing the agenda, the first item being to discuss an important point of contention among Anglicans worldwide: the recent change to the doctrine of marriage by The Episcopal Church in the USA. The Primates had already unanimously agreed to “walk together, however painful that is, and despite our differences, as a deep expression of our unity in the Body of Christ”.

At the conclusion of the meeting, a communiqué was issued, including recommendations. On the question of the consequences that might follow the recent change of marriage doctrine by the Episcopal Church, most of the Primates adopted a recommendation that The Episcopal Church should not represent the Communion on ecumenical and interfaith bodies; should not serve on internal standing committees or take part in decision-making processes on issues pertaining to doctrine for a period of three years. A Task Group will be set up to find ways of restoring the relationship and rebuilding mutual trust.

During their discussions, the members condemned homophobic prejudice and violence and resolved to work together to offer pastoral care and loving service, irrespective of sexual orientation. {Separately, but at the same time, Archbishop Justin made a public personal apology to all who have been hurt in the past]

While marriage discipline was foremost on the agenda, and the most likely cause of the demise of the Communion, other issues were also discussed. In the wake of the Paris summit on climate change, the meeting agreed to look at ways it might divest from fossil fuels, recognising the effect that climate change will have on some of the poorest people in the world.

They looked at ways in which mutual accountability might be introduced to the Communion. They also discussed the reality of religiously motivated violence in parts of the world and expressed solidarity with those who suffer from this evil in the world today.

The Primates committed themselves afresh to evangelism; to bear witness to the transforming love of God in the power of the Spirit throughout the world.

Given the point at which the conference started, it’s hard not to believe in the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit. Repeatedly, the Primates were reported as

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treating one another with generosity of spirit. There is much still to be done –and I believe there is now a greater willingness to walk together.

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As I see it …by Church Mouse“Après moi, le déluge”

Things have never been the same since Grandpa Mouse opened his Christmas presents. Someone had slipped in one of the Teach Yourself books – French. I suspect one of the Shop ladies thought it might be fun to have bi-lingual mice – or was it just that it was nearly 3 o’clock?

All was fine as long as he was muttering ‘Bonjour’ and ‘Au revoir’. However, someone mentioned Madame de Pompadour and he got all silly. He searched the internet and soon came up with the saying, ‘après moi, le déluge’, which he went round quoting like Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses!

We’re told (I can use t’internet too) that it means ‘after me [and my family], things will get worse’ but I prefer my own interpretation: ‘after Christmas, it’s going to rain buckets!’ And it has!

The Shop has sold out of wellies (not that they had many in our size in the first place), plastic hats and macs. We have resorted to using those green caps you get on the top of a jug of milk but they don’t do much for anything more than your head.

They certainly don’t help when we have to walk across to the vicarage

from church. After the slightest drop of rain, the path starts to flood again and sometimes we are up to our shoulders in water if we try to plough through it. If we walk on the grass, it’s so slippery that we finish up falling over and getting a mud-bath. It may be good for the complexion, but it ain’t half cold!

We decided to stay in church for the time being because the Hall roof is still leaking like a sieve in spite of having more patches than a clown’s pants.

Still, I suppose it could be worse. Some of you may remember, some years ago the Hall was badly flooded all along the kitchen side under the extension. At that time, the Thursday Ladies' Club met in the Hall, and we had a visit from some people from our partner diocese, Akure, in Nigeria. They were amazed by the water, but we made the best of it, holding our meeting on the dry side!

What we have to remember is that we are the lucky ones. We have heard of whole families of mice (and sadly, people too) in some parts of England and Scotland, being completely flooded out of their homes with nowhere to go. Even

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though the Crib has been put away – we loved to settle down in the nice, warm straw – we have a dry church with ready access to the candle stubs in the drawer for when we get peckish and a few odd biscuits in the kitchen at the back of church

Not long ago, we were just getting ready to settle down after choir practice when lots of people started to arrive. A few of us decided to investigate and found there was a PCC meeting. The heaters were on and we quietly trooped through.

It was all a bit boring to begin with and we were wondering about going to bed when Fr M started to talk about Church Growth. “What’s all this?” I asked Millie, my wife.

It seems the bishop wants every church to grow and it set us a’ thinking.

My first thought was that we mice could do our bit. We were there at the beginning when God said, “Go forth and multiply” – and just look how many mice there are in the world today.

When we went back to the Crib (it was still there in mid January), we all sat around talking about this Church Growth thing. Grandpa Mouse suggested that Sunday morning services should be held in the Hall for a while because you know how quickly plants grow if you water them often enough! Just sit them under the drips, he suggested.

One of the young mice, taking a leaf out of Grandpa’s book, suggested buying a few big flower pots, getting members of the congregation to stand in them and filling them with compost. Perhaps they would grow, though it might mean a lot of standing around. Grandma Mouse, sharp as a packet of razor blades, asked if that was ‘Church Planting’ and would Fr M get extra Brownie points if we did it.

In the end, we all agreed that the best and most reliable way of growing the Church was to give people lots to eat. That way, you could be sure they’d grow – around the middle, even if not numerically.

Churchmouse

A little boy had just got home from an outing with his dad. “How was the zoo,” his mum asked?“It was great,” he said, “Dad got really excited when one of the animals won by a neck at 33-1

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Praying for the world-wide Church

Sunday by Sunday (and day by day), Anglicans around the world take it in turn to pray for one another, following a two year cycle. In our worship in church, we join with fellow Anglicans in praying for the people of those dioceses. Here are the dioceses that will be mentioned on the Sundays in February:

Sunday 7th February: The Anglican Church of Canada

There are just over half a million regular members of the Anglican Church of Canada with a further 1.3 million who are ‘nominally’ members. There are 1,676 parishes. The Church dates back to 1578 when British explorers landed in Newfoundland. Chaplains to the military and traders such as the Hudson Bay Trading Company further introduced the Anglican Church to the country.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, formerly bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, was elected as 13th Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada in June 2007. He leads the church in discerning and pursuing the mission of God. Individual Churches have their own ways of finding new Archbishops, and electing the next archbishop is becoming popular, especially on the American continent.

From the website, it would appear that the Anglican Church in Canada has just one Synod a year (In England, we used to have three but have reduced the number to two a year). It’s possible that the huge journeys delegates face has an impact on the number of Synods that they hold. This year’s Synod, to be held in early June, is called “You are my Witnesses”. High on the agenda is Mission and the Diocesan Vision dated 2009 (clearly the starting point) There will also be a discussion on marriage, talk about spiritual renewal in the Church and an emerging relationship with indigenous peoples. The final item on the agenda is vocations.

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In 2013, the Anglicans and Lutherans signed a joint agreement to work together to safeguard the environment, to respond to human need by loving service, to seek to transform unjust structures in society and be in mission together. They went on to highlight two areas for immediate action, namely homelessness and affordable housing and responsible resource extraction.

The Anglican Church of Canada faces much soul-searching in the months to come. They had already started a process to permit same-sex marriage before the Primates’ Conference (see page 19). Given the sanctions imposed on the Episcopal Church in the USA, they now have to weigh the pros and cons in a new light. Whichever way they choose to go, it will mean pain for some people and groups within the Church in Canada, and probably further afield. Perhaps it is an opportune time for the whole Anglican Communion to be holding them in prayer.

Sunday 14th February: The Church of the Province of Central Africa

The Province includes Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The first Anglican missionary to Malawi was Bishop Charles Mackenzie, who arrived with David Livingstone in 1861. The Province was inaugurated in 1955 and has a movable bishopric. The countries forming the Province are very different. Zambia and Botswana suffer the difficulties of rapid industrialization, along with underdeveloped, thinly populated areas. In Malawi, 30 per cent of the adult males are away as migrant labourers in other countries at any given time. Zimbabwe is experiencing problems of social adjustment after independence.

The Province has a population of nearly 32 million people of whom around 600,000 are practicing Anglicans. The Province is divided into fifteen dioceses and has 250 congregations served by around four hundred priests.

Sunday 21st February: Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de America (The Anglican Church in Central America)

The Province, one of the newest in the Anglican Communion, is made up of the dioceses of Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. With the

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exception of Costa Rica, all had been part of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America. The Church was introduced by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel when England administered two colonies in Central America, Belize (1783-1982) and Miskitia (1740-1894). In later years Afro-Antillean people brought their Anglican Christianity with them. The Province is multicultural and multiracial and is committed to evangelization, social outreach, and community development.

There are five dioceses in the Region, one each for the five countries that together make up the Province. Membership is relatively small: there are about 35,000 members in a population of thirty million. Being a Spanish speaking region, worship is normally conducted in that language.

Sunday 28th February: Province de L'Eglise Anglicane Du Congo (The Anglican Church in the Congo)

Ugandan evangelist Apolo Kivebulaya established the Anglican presence in Zaire in 1896. The Church reached the Shaba region in 1955, but evangelization did not progress on a large scale until the 1970s. Following independence, the Church expanded and formed dioceses as part of the Province of Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Boa-Zaire. The new Province was inaugurated in 1992 and changed its name in 1997.

The Most Rev. Henri Isingoma was elected the third Archbishop of the Congo on April 28, 2009. Most of the Congolese Anglicans lives in the eastern Swahili speaking region of the country, the most damaged part of Congo due to two civil wars. The Diocese of Kinshasa, one of nine dioceses within the Province, also includes part of the Republic of the Congo

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

The week from 18th – 25th January (the Feast of the Conversion o0f St Paul) is widely recognized around the world, though there is an option of celebrating it at any other suitable time according to local needs and customs. For that reason, we celebrate the Week of Prayer in the week leading up to Pentecost, the ‘birth-day’ of the Church.

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Reading about the Churches that make up the Anglican Communion, we begin to realize the enormity of the Church and offer our prayers for its unity.

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Holy Baptism:

31st January Stephen Brown

Communicants and Collections: 2016 Sunday

CommunicantsMidweek

CommunicantsLoose

Collections £PlannedGiving £

3rd Jan 28 17 7.90 66.29 10th Jan 28 10 25.35 331.83 17th Jan 30 11 0.00 196.00 24th Jan 32 9 7.00 129.39 31st Jan 43 9 9.80 270.78

Donations

We would like to thank everyone who has made a gift or donation to our various funds recently. Our special thanks go to:

General Fund Initial Giving – thank you for those extra envelopes In memory of Margaret Dunbobbin from Irene Appleton and family Mary Scargill In loving memory of Margaret Dunbobbin from a friend of Matt

Flower Fund In loving memory of Tommy Crozier from Joyce and family (with

apologies – omitted from last month’s magazine)

Winners of the Phoenix Club Draw Sunday 31st January

From the Registers

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First prize: 124 R. BairdSecond prize: 129 D. CrozierThird prize: 133 F. Butler

Elle and EsseHair and Beauty Lodge

Unisex Hair SalonLYNETTE and SUELodge Lane, Bewsey

Warrington

Tel: 01925 232282

HMQ90Churches have been encouraged to partner with their local council as they plan festivals, special services or exhibitions over the weekend of 11th and 12th June as part of the national celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th Birthday.

Sir Tony Baldry, Chair of the Church Buildings Council said, ‘The Church of England is a presence in every community, Her Majesty is the head of our Church and so it makes perfect sense that celebrations in the local church should be at the heart of wider community plans.

This is a great opportunity for partnership between church and local government to pool resources and ideas to create really special events that will bring people of all faiths and none together to give thanks for the decades of service she has given us and to celebrate this special birthday.’

Councils have begun to advertise community celebrations on their websites and some have indicated that road closures will be possible for residents planning street parties.

Church of England schools are holding a competition to design a logo that churches will be able to use for their events which will be available to download from the Church Care website.

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Prayer Intentions for February

Mon 1st Ullswater Avenue Mission Aviation FellowshipTue 2nd Cheviot Avenue Bishop RichardWed 3rd Kendal Avenue NepalThu 4th Oxenham Road Our Scout GroupFri 5th Long Lane Church of the Ascension/TransfigurationSat 6th Ennerdale Avenue Local shops

Sun 7th THE SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE LENTMon 8th Toll Bar Road Mersey Mission to SeafarersTue 9th Brandwood Avenue GPs and their staffWed 10th Poplars Avenue The United Nations OrganisationThu 11th McKee Avenue John, Archbishop of YorkFri 12th Appleby Road St Ann, WarringtonSat 13th Wansfell Place Flood victims in this country

Sun 14th THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENTMon 15th Gough Avenue Church Urban Fund projectsTue 16th Bentham Avenue Our Choir and OrganistWed 17th Locker Avenue Christians in ChinaThu 18th Foxfield Close The FoodbankFri 19th Northway St Barnabas, WarringtonSat 20th Sandy Lane Residents’ Associations

Sun 21st THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENTMon 22nd Poole Crescent Our School – its staff and pupilsTue 23rd Ajax Avenue Archdeacon RogerWed 24th Winwick Road Those fleeing from SyriaThu 25th Elm Road Our ecumenical partnersFri 26th Fisher Avenue Holy Trinity, WarringtonSat 27th Eskdale Avenue

Sun 28th THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENTMon 29th Mendip Avenue Guild of Church Braillists

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