A variety of helpful information has been given to the church recently.
In the foyer there are a number of leaflets from Age Concern entitled PRACTICAL SUPPORT SERVICES. They give information on how people over 50 can get help with various house cleaning tasks; running local errands or doing shopping. If this may be of help to you, please take a leaflet. (more…)
It was agreed at the last church council that donations received at the harvest (including monetary gifts) and during the Christmas Tree Festival this year will go to the Food Box scheme run by the Salvation Army in Preston to aid needy families in the Preston area.
Like most churches which don’t have their own church school, we now have very few children attending church on a Sunday morning. The old pattern where people attended church every Sunday except the odd holiday has long since disappeared and the irregular pattern of attendance is difficult to maintain unless you have really substantial numbers. Many churches are now attempting to provide mid-week services and activities aimed at children. One way of doing this is through uniformed organisations but Longridge is very well endowed with such facilities and so it would seem a waste of resources to try to compete. For some time now we have had a ‘Pram Service’ on one Wednesday morning each half term. Children from the Barnacre Road Nursery and Reception class together with their ‘buddies’ from Class 6 form the core of the congregation together with a number of mums with their babies and recently we have also been joined by the children and staff from 2to School which meets in our own church hall. This means we have regular contact with over 90 children under the age of 11. This has encouraged the Church Council to explore the possibilities of developing a more frequent midweek activity. One suggestion has been something called ‘Messy Church’ which is something like a combination of Family Service and Junior Church with craft activities, games and even snacks participated in by parents and children together. (more…)
The safety and wellbeing of everyone who is part of a church is of the utmost importance. Our safeguarding policy has been in place for many years now. It is a substantial document based on the policies of both our parent denominations and requires anyone in our church working with children to be CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checked. Everyone involved with children at the moment has CRB clearance and this is regularly updated. Anyone volunteering to help with any new provision (such as messy church) will also need to be cleared by the CRB. (more…)
….that was the number of Paracetamol tablets that were taken to the Nixon Methodist Hospital in Segbwema, Sierra Leone on my latest visit. Let me give you a little of the background. Christ Church has had links with Sierra Leone since 2006 when I first went to help build a Skills Training Centre in Kailahun. In conversation with Rev. Arnold Temple, the new President of the Methodist Church in Sierra Leone, he asked if it was at all possible to help with the Methodist Hospital in Segbwema only 50 miles from Kailahun and the nearest Hospital! During the winter, plans were made and in February 12 people from around the Lancashire District of the Methodist Church, with me as leader, set off. The team included 2 doctors, 5 nurses and 2 ministers (one of whom was Rev. Stephen Poxon- Chair of the District). (more…)
The Church Annual General Meeting was held on Sunday May 15th. About 25 people attended. Most of what was discussed will appear in various ways in the Messenger and the Church Notices in the coming weeks.
Helen gave a brief outline of her work as the minister of a joint pastorate. (more…)
This year Advent begins on the 29th of November. The evening service on December 6th will be led by Apples of Gold. The Park House service at 6.30pm on December 13th will be a Carol Service (All welcome). Following the pattern of recent years, the Church Carol Service will be Read more…
After trying to explain to a member of Junior Church why we say ‘dialling a number’ when we actually press buttons to use a telephone these days, reminded me of something I read recently. We Were Brung Up Proper! First we were born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while Read more…
On the morning of Sunday, 29th November, ADA, (Adults Disability Arts) will be bringing their latest play to Christ Church. This time, it is based on the Biblical account of the prophet Elijah who lived in the 9th century BC when Ahab was King of Israel. Now you may not Read more…
…in every corner sing” – and they certainly did in this particular corner. For four hours on a hot May Sunday in Kailahun, Sierra Leone, I joined with the members of the congregation to celebrate the life of Rev Victor Nabieu. Victor was the Methodist Minister in Kailahun when I Read more…