From the Wardens

As we move into September it’s great to be back for a new season of worship and fellowship at church. I’m pleased to report that the new wardens team are settling in well, and they are a pleasure to work with.

Church life is increasingly busy, and recently there have been a number of new people, including families, attending church. As a result our Operations Manager, Stephanie Osman, has put together new welcome packs for the Welcome Team to distribute. There will also be a pack at the back of the Welcome Area if any of the congregation would like to see one. If you are new to All Saints do please speak to one of the Welcome Team, or any of the congregation if you need any help.

On Sunday 24th September we have the joyous occasion of welcoming Roland and Caroline’s family and friends to celebrate the Baptism of their daughter, Zoe. Then in the afternoon Rosie is running messy church in the Halls, and this is a great opportunity to invite younger members of church to attend.

Richard, Sue, Rob and Lynne.

From the Children's Minister

Greetings from the children’s ministry department.  The new academic year brings a lot of change and new beginnings for children and their families.  One new beginning I am delighted about is the appointment of our new Toddler assistant, Joanna Teh. 

Jo has previously attended our Toddler groups as a mum, she is a teacher and a volunteer helper with the pre-school group on Sunday mornings at The Well.  Jo was overjoyed to have been offered the position and said that when she attended the group she really appreciated the wonderful, caring environment she experienced, that she made some lovely friends and was looking forward to giving the same experience to others who come. Please do pray for Jo as she takes on this role.  I think she is a wonderful addition to our staff team and look forward to how God is going to use her to help some of our Toddler families know Jesus. 

As wonderful as it is to have Jo, we do still need people to help with refreshments so that Jo and I can run the sessions and form positive relationships with those who come.  Please do consider whether you could help occasionally.  If you want to know more about what is involved, please ask someone who already helps, they will be able to share their knowledge and stories of what a difference someone making a hot drink makes to tired parents and grandparents! The rota with the names of our wonderful volunteers is on the children and youth board in the Welcome Area at church. 

Wishing you God’s peace and blessing, 

Rosie Blackett
Children’s Minister

From the Operations Manager

The office will be a hive of activity today as we pull together the final preparations for tomorrow’s Church Away Day at Home! The Ops team have been working on layout plans, the programme of events, bookings, ordering, admin, risk assessments and a multitude of other things, working in partnership with volunteers and lay leaders, to pull together a fun and engaging day. We are so grateful for those who have offered their time to support the day and provide entertainment and activities and hope you are as excited as we are about attending!

 Thank you also to Ruth who has completed her first official week as our Church Administrator, it has been great to have her join the team, and to Olivia who has given so much of her time this summer to support the office and church activities in a range of different ways!  

 Looking forward we hope you can join us for the Heritage Open Days next week, perhaps come along for a mid-week bible study group and, or maybe the next of our Friendly Stop recitals, there are a lot of ways to join us and encourage others to come along, the door is always open.

Stephanie Osman
Operations Manager

From the Vicar

Dear Friends,

A quarter of the way through the year of our annual theme “behold I set before you an open door” seems a fitting occasion to be underlining the wonderful fact that God is always beckoning us to find ways Christ can be both welcomed into his church and He can direct her. I am the Lord’s servant and so is the Church which is Christ’s. To what is he calling us now? Where does he want us to express his life now? These are key questions whenever we are tempted to look back or be anxious about the future. The opportunities and the challenges are the Lord’s and we are His church and seek obediently to follow.

Prayer – thank you for some informal feedback of how the prayer triplets are being used. This month there are times to invigorate and inform our public intercessors. Please don’t feel this is for the brave few - do pop along to the times we have fixed this month to brief others – perhaps your gift of leading prayers for others can be shared more widely? If appropriate any answers to prayer or encouragement in prayer triplets can be shared more widely on Sunday.

Church Away at Home – thank you for those who have felt able to contribute on this day. If you have had to wait for another time (All Saints has many creative people!) – thank you, we hope there will be other occasions to gather. May I underline that whilst this day is our church at home it is also by your invitation a place that others can be invited along too. Pray that the Spirit will move in our midst that visitors will be compelled to come back. I shall be sharing a word from the Lord accessible I trust to visitors in the evening.

Children – we pray for young people and children as they commence their school terms. We pray too for Rosie, Cam and their volunteers that they would see stability and increasing numbers of families supporting this vital area of our churches life. Many of us are looking back with thanksgiving at so much that has been accomplished recently - not least in the Holiday Club. The staff team are especially mindful of all the work done by Kate Gerrish our safeguarding officer. Kate finishes this role at the end of October. She has served the All Saints family with great distinction and diligence in ensuring the PCC is discharging its formal responsibility for the safe care of children and vulnerable adults. I and many of us have been privileged to have witnessed Kate’s caring, thorough and spiritual attention to this area of responsibility within Church life. Kate we are grateful for your love in the Lord and the sharing of your gifts. Do pray with me that the Lord would call one or two people into this Safeguarding role.

May God himself cause the sleeping giant of his church to be awake to his call!

The Revd Canon Mark Brown

From the Youth Minister

We have enjoyed the summer socials in the Youth Ministry this summer and I am really looking forward to everything restarting in the summer alongside some new things. Our Abide group will be taking a step in a new direction, as we seek to implement new variations to provide space for deepened discipleship and outreach opportunities.

We will also reconvene our Encounter groups and be starting a couple more this September so I look forward to seeing God at work in our young people's lives!

This September will also mark a new beginning in my work with our local schools, including Silverdale and High Storrs so please be praying for wide open doors, God's guidance and evangelistic opportunities. 

God bless

Cam Catto
Youth Minister

From the Children’s Minister

I am writing this three days into Holiday Club week and am feeling blessed and full of thanksgiving. God has so faithfully answered our prayers, even the weather has been perfect for us! Seeing the way all the volunteers are serving and the joy and excitement in the children is a wonder. The atmosphere has been wonderful and we’ve had some incredible conversations with some of the children. Monsters Stink was chosen as a theme because when I was praying about what to do this year, I felt a real burden to help equip the children for when they have to face some of the “monsters” of life. With 1:6 children experiencing mental health difficulties, with anxiety being the most common, I wanted to help share the difference knowing Jesus can make but also some of the ways we can look after ourselves and others when we or they are struggling.

Today, we thought about Elijah and how God provided him with water, bread and rest and then gave him a long walk in the outdoors when Elijah wanted to give up. We looked at how God spoke gently to Elijah and reminded him that he was not alone and we talked about the importance of looking for help when we feel low, asking others to pray for us and watching out for others who might be struggling.

Although quite tired, I am excited for what the last couple of days will bring and how God is going to be at work in these precious children. I thank God for each of them and for all the amazing volunteers who have made this week happen.

Rosie Blackett
Children’s Minister

From the Associate Vicar

The beginning of holiday club is only moments away so I encourage us all in the church to be praying. Here are just a few things that you can be praying for:

1. Give thanks for all the preparations that Rosie and her team have been doing over many months to get us to this point.

2. Pray for all the children coming and their families that they would encounter the love of Jesus and have loads of fun as well.

3. Pray for Gods spirit to rest on all the volunteers helping at the holiday club that they would reflect the love of God to everyone that they meet over the coming week.

We look forward to telling you how God has been at work at the Sunday services in a weeks’ time! You can also keep track of how Holiday Club is going by visiting Holiday Club 2023.

Revd Roland Slade

From the Wardens

Summer is here – yes I know the weather hasn’t quite taken this on board. But for many in the church family it brings breaks from school, children home from university, trips to and visits from family. It brings some extra “busyness” and also a break from our usual routine. But God stays constant in all that is happening. Can we use this time to change our prayer pattern, spending more time with God.

Can we pause and take stock? We pray for the upcoming holiday club, for the children attending, their families, for Rosie, Simon and all the helpers. We hope it will be a blessing to everyone connected with it.

Can we pray that God will bless summer for each of us, reminding us of His blessings and His goodness. We have so much to thank Him for.

Richard, Sue, Rob and Lynne