NEWS AND EVENTS APRIL 2018 PCC The PCC will meet on MONDAY 23rd APRIL at 7.30pm in order to pass the Annual Reports and Financial Statements. LONGTON ST ANDREW We give notice that THE ANNUAL VESTRY MEETING at which 2 Churchwardens are elected will be held in the Church Hall at 7.30pm on MONDAY 30 th APRIL, 2017, followed by THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE CHURCH at which members of the PCC and Sidespeople are elected, the Annual PCC report is presented, the Annual Statements of Income and Expenditure are presented and the Vicar presents his Annual Report. The Church Electoral Roll will be open from Sunday 25th March to Sunday 15th April for anyone to join forms are at the back of the Church Nomination forms for the Office of Churchwarden and for election to the PCC will be available The Vicar s Report will be available by Sunday 16th April any questions about the running of the Parish should be submitted to the Vicar in writing not later than Friday 27th April The PCC Report and the Annual Financial Statements will be available as soon as they have been passed by the PCC at the latest they will be available on Tuesday 24th April Please do try to make every effort to attend the meeting Andrew Parkinson - Vicar & Chair of the PCC
FROM THE REGISTERS: Holy Baptism: 4 March: Arthur George Jackson & Alexander Edward Jackson, sons of Robert & Rebecca Jackson, of 10, Stryands, Hutton. Funerals in Church: 14 March: Anne Elizabeth Williamson (with Burial in the Churhyard) Ashes interred in the Churchyard 19 February: Susan Georgina Holt MOTHERS UNION Our meeting this month will be held on the 19 th April in the Church Hall at 2.00pm. Our Speaker will be Mrs. Eileen Marsh. We will be visiting our housebound members on Thursday 5 th April, meeting at the Church Hall at 2.00pm. Tea will be served by Mrs. Julia Powis and Miss Ailsa Lyles. Silver Cleaning will be carried out by Mrs. Norma Richards and Mrs. Suzanne Richards. Note for your Diaries: Leyland Deanery Festival will now be held on Tuesday 15 th May in St. Leonard s Church, Walton-le-Dale commencing at 7.30pm. (not 16 th May) Two members will be required for the Choir, together with a Banner carrier. There will be a rehearsal for choir members and Banner carriers on Monday 14 th May at 7.30pm. If you would like to help with this, please let me know as soon as possible. Margaret Thompson. Branch Leader EVENING MOTHERS UNION GROUP The April meeting of the Evening Mothers' Union group will be held on Wednesday 25 April at 8pm in the Church Hall. This month we are Praying in Colour with an Easter theme using images from Mary Fleeson and the Lindesfarne Scriptorium. All are very welcome to join with us. OVER-FIFTIES LUNCH The Lunch will be held on THURSDAY 12 th April at 12.30pm, when a talk will be given by Colin Coulton on Alzheimer s Awareness. Please let Cath know by lunchtime on Wednesday 11 th if you hope to attend. (613500)
2ND LONGTON (ST ANDREW S) GUIDES On 1st April, 2018, Longton (St Andrew s) Guides will have been in existence for 80 years. As Easter falls on 1st April, followed by the school holidays, we are celebrating the event on FRIDAY 20th APRIL, and would like to invite any past Guides or persons with any past connection to join us and celebrate with the Guides of 2018. If anyone has any old photographs or memorabilia that they would be willing to loan to us for display, please contact Barbara Baller on 01772 611471. BIBLE STUDY GROUP This group meets at the home of our Reader, Jane Slinger, 10, Dudley Close, Longton, and will meet at 10.30am on Tuesdays 10 th & 24 th April. All will be very welcome. Further details from Jane tel: 614369 THE HOUSE GROUP The next meeting of the House Group will be held on Tuesday 3rd April, at 7.30pm, at 10, Dudley Close, Longton All are welcome to join the Group. Further details from Jane Slinger tel: 614369
CHRISTIAN AID & OTHER DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATIONS Thank you Thank you to all who came to meet Aba, the young lady from Christian Aid in Ghana who visited Longton on March 11th and 12th - and to those who contributed to the project, supported by Christian Aid, to help young women, teenage girls and people with disabilities to train for a job, find work and live independently. I am sorry that I had not mentioned Aba s visit to everyone who may have been interested but several of us were privileged to meet her and to see something of the very positive work done by Christian Aid and how the lives of many individuals are transformed by this support. Thank you so much for the kind donations. Hunger Lunch: Saturday April 28th - 12noon to 1.30pm in the Hall This year, the Hunger Lunch will be held on Saturday April 28th, two weeks before Christian Aid Week. The menu will consist of a choice of soup, a roll and butter, cheese and tea or coffee for 5.00 (or a donation for children). Please try to support this important event when we shall again be raising funds for the work in Ghana. Our Longton Area Committee has promised to raise 5,000 for this project by the end of 2019. This money will then be quadrupled by money from the EU, making 20,000 in total - so our contributions will be well worthwhile. Christian Aid Week Christian Aid Week starts on Sunday 13th May. As usual, we are organising the distribution and collection of envelopes in the area, a significant activity which helps raise the awareness of Christian action in the local community, as well as raising significant sums both locally and nationally for people living in extreme poverty. If you are able to help with the collection in any way I should be grateful indeed if you could contact me as soon as possible, please. Cath 01772-613500 Tools for Self-Reliance Tools for Self-Reliance, an organisations started by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, works with partner organisations in Africa to provide craftsmen and women with tools and skills training. Any tools are needed, please, for the following craftspeople: carpenters, blacksmiths, mechanics, builders and plumbers, shoemakers and metalworkers. Sewing machines are also very much appreciated. These can be collected from your home and refurbished by a voluntary group at Leyland United Reformed Church. They are then sent to African countries to fulfil specific requests.
Please contact Cath for further information. The Duke of Edinburgh s Award Scheme Anyone in Year 9 or above who may be interested in starting the Duke of Edinburgh s Award Scheme should contact me as soon as possible, please. Cath Irene Richard s Charity Fund The amount raised by Irene s Charity Fund was the amazing sum of 14,000 (ten times more than the 1400 printed in the March Magazine!). This was for St Catherine s Hospice and the Rosemere Cancer Foundation, Preston. Norma, Reg and all the family are very grateful indeed for all your support. MAY MAGAZINE Material for the May edition of the Magazine should be given to Cath Greenlees by Friday 13th April, or to the Vicar by Tuesday 17 th April. Material can be e-mailed to the Vicar: andrew.parkinson@talktalk.net STARTING IN MAY THE SIXTH SEASON OF ORGAN RECITALS AT ST. ANDREW S The Recitals, on Fridays, start at 7.30pm and last around an hour. Pay at the door on the evening. They are followed by refreshments and a chance to talk to the Organists. Each Organist will choose their own programme so there will be a wide range of music offered. 18th May : Daniel Mansfield Organ Scholar at Liverpool Cathedral 15th June: Alistair Mackenzie St Anne s Parish Church, St Anne s 20th July : Paul Gregson from Hawkshead 17th August: Dr Kevin Morgan FRCO Stonyhurst College 21 September: Sean Montgomery from Hebden Bridge 19 October: Michael Anthony from Bulwell Church in Nottingham Very many thanks to the Organists for coming to St Andrew ;s, and to all who organise, help at and support the Recitals
National and International Wave of Prayer 10th 20th May, 2018. This great movement, which began in the Church of England, to hold a Novena, nine days, of Prayer between the Ascension and Pentecost, has spread in a very short time to become a multi-denominational, national and international movement. Last year we encouraged all to take part to set just a few minutes a day aside for the period to join other Christians in praying for the Church, for the world, for others and ourselves. This year, once again, there will be resources. We hope to have some of the small Novena booklets, with prayers and illustrations, available, but they can be downloaded from from the movement website: www.thykingdomcome.global The great American Franciscan preacher and teacher, Fr Richard Rohr once wrote that if he could say one thing to the Pope, it would be to tell him to forget all his strategies and plans, and instead to teach the people of God to pray, moving beyond the repetition of familiar words and formulas to know the union with the divine. Further information will be given nearer the time, including the date of a Quiet Hour in the Church.