Church Officers
The Revd W Sloan – Tel: 01257 453665; E-mail:
The Churchwardens
Mr Robert Hawthornthwaite – Tel: 612952.
Mr John Clarkson – Tel: 612855; E-mail:
Licensed Lay Reader
Mr Stan Pickles – Tel: 615708; E-mail:
PCC Secretary
Mrs Margaret Clark – Tel: 616990; E-mail:
PCC Treasurer
Mrs Barbara Wood – Tel: 617679: E-mail:
Deanery Synod Representatives
Mr Bill Prescott, Mrs Avril Wright.
Stewardship Recorder/Gift Aid Secretary
Mrs Pearl Read.
Magazine Secretary
Mrs Elsie Kirkham – Tel: 615832.
Flower Secretaries
Mrs Althea Slater – Tel: 614966, and Mrs Marion Clarkson – Tel: 612855
Electoral Roll Secretary
Mrs Julie Tanham – Tel: 612992
Verger: Mrs Val Simpson – Tel: 614458.
Weekly Giving Envelopes: Please contact the Churchwardens.
Organisations
Sunday School – meets 10.30am in School.
Leader: Mrs Kathleen Leigh – Tel: 612196.
Youth Club for 9-13year olds – currently closed.
Leader: Mrs Mandy Hughes, MBE – Tel 611647.
E-mail:
Hoole Church Ladies’ Group – meets 7.30pm, 3rd Tuesday, in School.
Leader: Mrs Joan Wilson – Tel 613063; E-mail:
St Michael’s Men’s Fellowship – meets 7.30pm, 2nd Tuesday in School.
Secretary: Mr Ted Hopkins – Tel: 617002.
Hoole St Michael C E Primary School
Head Teacher: Mrs Kathryn Melling – Tel: 613219.
1st St. Michael’s Hoole Scout and Guide Groups
Group Scout Leader: Julie Fenton 01772 451467.
Friends of St. Michael’s – Caring for the fabric of our ancient church.
Chairman: Eric Barker – Tel 614385. Secretary: David Turner – Tel 614192.
Church Web Site: www.hoolevillage.com and www.hooleparishchurch.com
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Calendar for April & May
Sunday 4th Easter Day
9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) (Rector)
10.45am Parish Communion (CW) (Rector /S Pickles)
3.00pm Evening Prayer (Rector/S Pickles)
4.00pm Holy Communion Old Mill Court. (S Pickles)
Sunday 11th The Second Sunday of Easter
9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) (Rector)
10.45am Parish Praise (Rector /S Pickles)
Sunday 18th The Third Sunday of Easter
9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) (Rector)
10.45am Parish Communion (CW) (Rector /S Pickles)
United Service with members from Hoole Methodist Church
3.00pm Evening Prayer (Rector /S Pickles)
Sunday 25th The Fourth Sunday of Easter
9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) (Rector)
10.45am Family Communion (Rector /S Pickles)
Sunday May 2nd The Fifth Sunday of Easter
9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) (Rector)
10.45am Parish Communion (CW) (Rector/S Pickles)
3.00pm Evening Prayer (S Pickles)
4.00pm Holy Communion by extension at Old Mill Court.
Sunday 9th The Sixth Sunday of Easter
9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) (Rector)
10.45am Parish Praise (Rector/S Pickles)
Thursday 13th Ascension Day
7.00pm Holy Communion (CW) (Rector)
As can be seen above, following the licensing of our new Rector, we are now falling into a pattern of services invariably being led by him with assistance from Stan, so in future designated leaders of services will only be published at times of change or holiday cover etc.
You will also notice other small changes in that the Family Worship service on the fourth Sunday is now Family Communion, thus making it easier for leaders of the various organisations and newly confirmed young members to participate in services of Holy Communion. Morning Praise, a non communion service has been modified just slightly, and bears the new title Parish Praise. This service is retained for the fifth Sunday of the month when that occurs.
Magazine material to Honey Penrose or Stan Pickles by April 18th.
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Follow me and I will make you fishers of men
I often wonder what those first disciples thought of Jesus when he uttered those words to them. What ever made the disciples follow Jesus? And what if anything did they understand by “Fishers of men?” When I hear this story read, my heart goes out to those first disciples. When they decided to follow Jesus they didn’t know the difficulties that would lie ahead and probably that was a really good thing. BUT, the important thing to remember is, they did follow Jesus.
Those first disciples would have been just like us. Similar in so many ways. They would have faced some ups and some downs. They would have worried about the future of their way of thinking and doing things, they would have been concerned about their families. Still they followed Jesus. We often think of Peter as the main disciple yet, he was weak and even denied Jesus.
Hoole St Michael’s working, praying and worshipping together has so much to offer to our community. But before we can be a positive force in our communities we really must ask ourselves, “Where is the Church?” Of course the answer should be, “Anywhere we find God.” As Christians we believe we find God everywhere and not only in our church building.
During the coming week and months think and reflect on “Where is the Church?” and “What is the Church for? Your thoughts may be different to another’s but that is as it should be. There is no right or wrong answer. But the answers we arrive at will be important.
Linda and I, and all our family of course, really appreciated the very warm welcome extended to us on Thursday 18th March. I think that date will be forever etched firmly on my mind. By the time you are reading this article, our ministry amongst you will be firmly underway and at this stage there are so many people I would like to thank. However, I will limit myself to Stan Pickles who has not only been such a wonderful support to the parish during the Interregnum but has also been a tremendous support and encouragement to me as I prepared to come to Hoole parish.
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Bishop John encouraged us all to think about our Christian ministry. I am sure you will have thought about yours many times. I thought I was going to be Ordained and remain as a Headteacher but it wasn’t to be. As God’s people we have to be obedient to his call and do what we think he wants us to do. Sometimes we can be really certain and other times we are less certain. Linda and I are really certain about St Michael’s Hoole and are eagerly looking forward to a long ministry with and among you.
When clergy talk about ministry people often think we are talking about ordained ministry. Not so. Within every Christian community God gives his people a variety of gifts to use for the body of Christ. Thankfully our gifts will be different although many will be similar. Sometimes our gifting from God leads us down unexpected paths but here I would stress it is obedience to God that matters not the path we travel. Hopefully our journey will be exciting, exhilarating and bring us closer to Christ.
If you feel God is or has been calling you to Reader ministry, Pastoral ministry or Ordained ministry, do speak to me. There are various people in Blackburn Diocese instructed by the Bishop to assist us all in discerning before God our Christian calling.
Our home telephone number will be in the parish magazine so please telephone at any time if you would like me to visit or indeed if you know of someone who is ill or in hospital. If Linda or I are not at home the answerphone will be switched on.
Yours in Christ
Bill
Service of Confirmation: Our service of Confirmation this year is to be taken by our Diocesan Bishop – Bishop Nicholas, and will be held on April 21st at 7.30pm. Last year the service proved to be one of the real special occasions for the year and we hope that this year will also prove to be very meaningful, for the fifteen young people and four adults taking this next step along their Christian journey and into full church membership. Please come along to offer them your support and welcome, on this their special occasion.
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Annual Church Meeting
The Annual Church meeting this year will be held in the school on Monday April 19th at 7.45pm. At this meeting the Church accounts for 2009 will be presented for acceptance, after which these accounts, which are fully inclusive of the financial status of all organisations within the church will be posted on the church notice board, individual copies are available by request.
There is a vacancy on the PCC this year for one new member, and we are also looking for volunteers to shadow both our secretary and treasurer, with a view for such persons to either take over the roles, or work as assistants in the future.
All church members may attend the annual meeting, and are entitled to vote if they are on the church electoral roll. Anyone who is uncertain as to whether or not they are on the roll should contact our Electoral Roll Secretary, Julie Tanham on 612992.
Social Committee Parish Amble - Wednesday 2nd June: 6.00pm onwards.
Following the success of these events in recent years the Social Committee are again arranging an evening amble, which will once again end with supper at a local venue. This is merely a preliminary notice in order to note the date and details of just where the amble will take us will be published next month. In the meantime look out for the notice requesting names in the church porch.
Church Stewards 2010. Once again we hope to have our church open to visitors on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons from 2.00pm to 4.00pm during the Summer months. We hope that those who acted as stewards last year will do so again this year, but we do also need newcomers to join the rota. Please confirm your availability for this year by contacting David Turner on 614192.
United Churches’ Garden Party: Whilst further information will follow next month, the United Churches are once again arranging a Garden Party to be held at the home of Carole and Colin Wilson, Gill Lane, Walmer Bridge, on Saturday May 15th. We are requesting donated raffle and tombola prizes, and if anyone feels they could organise a game or run a stall please let Carole or one of the Churchwardens know.
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FROM THE PARISH REGISTERS
Holy Baptism “We welcome into the Lord’s Family”
14th March ETHAN JAMES JONES son of
Rachel Clare Jones of Longton.
21st March LOGAN JOHN McGARRIE son of
Christopher Victor and Catherine Ann McGarrie of Leyland
Holy Matrimony “Those whom God hath joined together”
The Departed “Rest eternal grant unto them”
FROM THE REGISTER OF SERVICES
Attendance Communicants Collections
February 28th (Lent 2) 134 40 £ 480.25
March 7th (Lent 3) 125 103 £ 491.55
March 14th (Mothering Sun.) 198 38 £ 697.35
March 21st (Passiontide) 113 104 £ 673.55
Please note: The above figures of attendance and communicants also include the numbers at the midweek service on the preceding Tuesday, however collections are not taken at these services.
In addition on Thursday March 18th on the occasion of the licensing service for our new Rector, attendance was approximately 164 and there were 134 communicants. We were instructed that the collection at that service was to be forwarded to the Diocesan Bishops fund for the training of ordinands, as a result £352.80 was forwarded to this fund.
Men’s Fellowship
We were pleased to welcome so many members of the Ladies Group to our last meeting, when following the Lenten service in church we were taken on ‘Another Adventure’ by Pat Ascroft, her experiences were both enlightening and very entertaining. This month on April 13th we are to learn something of the history of Fylde villages, from local historian Revd. Bob Worswick. As usual the meeting begins at 7.30pm, and as progress has kept up to schedule, we hope to be back in school for this meeting in the re-furbished hall.
Following this on Saturday May 1st in Walmer Bridge Village Hall, we hold our ‘Annual Race Night’. As it is a family fun night we now start at 7.00pm with the first race at 7.30pm. Tickets costing £5.00 each or £12.50 per family are available from Men’s Fellowship members, and as usual a Hot Pot Supper is included. Finally our Annual General Meeting, when we plan the programme for next year, will be in school on Tuesday May 11th at 7.30pm; we would welcome suggestions for future speakers at this meeting.
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Sidespersons’ Rota (April/May)
4th 9.00am. Henry Redshaw
10.45am. Eric Barker John Aughton & Janet Tugman
3.00pm. Peter Smallwood
11th 9.00am. Val Van Holsbeke
10.45am. Gill Slinger Norman Skellorn & Tom Wignall
18th 9.00am. Rob McMurray
10.45am. Scott Eckersley Ted Hopkins & Wesley Clough
3.00pm. Sylvia Douglas
25th 9.00am. Brian Taylor
10.45am. Bill Prescott Elizabeth Hedley & Philip Wilson
(Assisted by newly confirmed members)
2nd 9.00am. Jeremy Leigh
10.45am. Eric Barker John Aughton & Janet Tugman
3.00pm. Clifford Orritt
9th 9.00am. Val Van Holsbeke
10.45am. Bill Carr David Turner & Olivia Graham
Readers’ Rota (April/May)
4th J Clarkson Acts Ch 10 vv 34-43.
J Elphick 1 Corinthians Ch 15 vv 19-26.
11th J Dewhurst Acts Ch 5 vv 27-32.
E Hopkins St John Ch 20 vv 19-end.
18th B Wood Acts Ch 9 vv 1-20.
Methodist member Revelation Ch 5 vv 11-end.
25th Newly Confirmed Members
2nd D Turner Acts Ch 11 vv 1-18.
C Bamber Revelation Ch 21 vv 1-6.
9th E Gilkes Acts Ch 16 vv 9-16.