January Newsletter

Welcome... to January 2024's Newsletter

What a wonderful Christmas we had in our Church life! With a thousand people worshipping in Church on Christmas Eve and three thousand worshipping  across the Christmas period at St Peter's and St John's together, it was very busy. So first let's give thanks to God for his goodness and blessing. Secondly a huge thank you to everyone who made Christmas happen: wardens and welcomers; chair and stage movers; coffee servers and service leaders; lesson readers and holy dusters; choristers, singers, musicians; and particularly Andrew Burr our Head of Music Ministry. 
As you reflect on the services you attended or followed at home on the live stream, What was your favourite moment and what will you ponder over and treasure in your heart? Were there moments when you sensed God's presence in a new and deeper way, or where God spoke not with an Angelic messenger or in a dream but with a gentle whisper calling and nudging you in a particular way or direction. As we move into a New Year why not make saying 'yes' to God's whisper part of the possibilities for the year ahead?

In this month's newsletter

• Church News

• Services for January

• Community News

• Dates for the Diary

• Prayer Resources

• Closing Thoughts

Church News

Growing in faith

Whatever our stage of life or faith, there is always a need to grow and learn as life-long disciples. Over the coming year there will be a number of different opportunities to explore and grow in faith whether in small groups, courses, regular meetings, special events and worship services. This January we begin with:
 

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Exploring Scripture

Exploring Scripture is both the name for the new Service at 4.30pm on each fourth Sunday of the month and also the discussion group which will gather over refreshments afterwards. Exploring Scripture is a chance to listen and explore during the service and then if you wish, to opportunity to stay and have a conversation over refreshments in St Peter's Rooms. All welcome.

Exploring Faith

What is Christianity all about, does it still make sense, Is it something you learn and believe or something you do do and are?
Have you wondered about faith but don't know where to start or do you feel that signing up for something like confirmation is too big a step... then this is for YOU.
Exploring Faith is five chances to get together and explore belief and faith - but maybe not how you expect. Five Monday evenings beginning on 22 January at 7.30pm in St Peter's Rooms. We will be exploring Christianity in ways that connect with all learning and personality types, in a non-threatening, non-judgemental way and there may also be cake!

If you are interested in either of these or would like to know more please talk to Beverley Angier, email Beverley.angier@btinternet.com or chat with one of the ministry team.

Money Matters 2

Some things go up, and don’t come down…

Last month I talked about how 90% of the church’s money comes from collections and donations, and how using the Gift Aid scheme can increase their value. This is really important to the church at a time when everything seems to be going up in price.
Here’s some detail… The church’s costs amount to around £13,500 each month, and inflation, particularly on gas and electricity is hitting us hard. In 2021 the annual cost of gas and electricity was £7,200. Our new 12-month contract which started earlier this year is estimated at £19,000. That’s an extra £1,000 per month for gas and electric alone.
Other costs are also increasing, so if you are able to start giving to St Peter’s, or you could increase the amount you already give each month, it would really help us.
There are “Giving Packs” at the back of church, which include a monthly standing order and gift aid form. There is also a machine at the back of church where contactless payments can be made. If you are unsure on what to do, please see Steve Saunders the Treasurer, one of the wardens or Pauline Rhoades in the Parish Office.
Many thanks
Steve
 

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Mothers’ Union links with Styal Prison

Prestbury Mothers’ Union members have this Christmas generously donated many pairs of new socks and underwear to be given to prisoners when they are admitted to HMP Styal. Women very often arrive at the prison with only the clothes they are wearing, and frequently have no supportive family to bring them changes of clothing, so these are gratefully received.
Louise Annison, the Anglican Chaplain asked at the last minute whether MU could provide some Christmas wrapping paper. Mentors, who are themselves prisoners, were giving Christmas gifts to the young prisoners they were mentoring, and had nothing to wrap them in. Happily we were able to provide this as well, and it was my pleasure to visit the prison before Christmas, to give them our items and chat with Louise.
The Chaplaincy Team are encouraging prisoners to keep journals as a positive mental health exercise, and ask if we could collect blank exercise books – those with a bound spine are best (no staples or wire spiral binding please). You could bring these to a MU meeting or give to me anytime.
Please pray for the Chaplaincy Team at Styal Prison – for the challenging work they do and for the prisoners in their care.
Anne Stirling 

Mothers’ Union

Our friendly Mothers’ Union meetings take place on the second Monday of each month at 2.00pm. We start with worship, then have a speaker or activity, followed by refreshments.

• All for only £2 a session!
• Sometimes we have an additional collection for a charity that the speaker has nominated.
• We are always grateful for donations of sanitary products which are given to the Pantry at Upton Priory.
• Everyone is very welcome.
• You don’t need to be a member.
• You don’t need to be a mother (or even a woman!)

The meetings we have planned until Easter 2024 are as follows:

Monday 8 January 2.00pm	Valerie Jones: How We Bared All Remember Calendar Girls? Valerie will tell us about her real life home grown version! Collection in aid of Breast Cancer.
Monday 12 February 2.00pm	Fabienne Donbavand: Our Local Pantry – Upton Fabienne is the new manager at the Food Pantry. It will be so good to hear first hand about the challenges and rewards of her role, and how the Pantry is making a difference to the people at Upton Priory.
Monday 11 March 2.00pm	Chris Brooks: Silk A fascinating insight into the making of silk and its Macclesfield connections.

Holy Dusters

I hope you will agree that St Peter’s pretty much always looks beautiful and feels well loved and cared for. This is mostly down to the work of our lovely Holy Duster group. We meet weekly on a Thursday morning to dust, polish, hoover, mop and chase spiders. We empty bins, tidy bibles, replace candles, refresh flowers, swish out the loos and polish the glass and brass. When the time is right we mastermind the Christmas, Easter and Harvest decorations. And take them all down again afterwards.
You might be surprised to know that we do all this (well, not all of it every week) in just one hour, usually followed by about the same length of time catching up over tea and biscuits.
Do you fancy joining us? We have a good strong team, but new members are always welcome. Don’t worry if you are planning trips away, lots of us are. We can work round everyone’s availability and there is absolutely no pressure. If you are interested to know more, ask me.
Anne Stirling
07999 862 035
We usually meet at 9.30am on Thursdays, except on Pram Service Thursdays when it is 11.15am.

Praying for School

On Thursday 17 January after Community Worship, any school parents, grandparents or governors who would like to join us are invited to Meadowside (the Vicarage) to pray for our school. Meadowside is the right hand house of the two new build houses at the New Road end of Springfields Car Park.

CPR Awareness day

Following a personal near-tragedy, Sarah Knight, a  member of the St Peter's congregation, is on a mission to create awareness about life-saving CPR and equip more people with the knowledge and confidence to handle emergencies.
Sarah's motivation stems from a life-changing incident when her own life was saved by strangers after collapsing at a cinema in Didsbury earlier this year. Quick-thinking bystanders called emergency services, initiated CPR, and effectively utilized a defibrillator. Their prompt actions not only saved Sarah's life but also inspired her to ensure that others could be equally prepared in times of crisis. You can read more about her story here.
"I am forever grateful that those strangers knew what to do at the right time. Now, my goal is to empower as many individuals as possible with the life-saving skill of CPR," said Sarah.
Sarah aspires to expand her efforts by organizing further workshops across the wider Cheshire area. As part of this, Sarah has approached St Peter's about running a session (together with her sister who is a GP) after the service on Sunday 14 January to teach up to 25 members of the congregation crucial techniques that can be used to save lives in emergencies. Additionally, the event will raise awareness about the British Heart Foundation's innovative "Reviver" app, which can guide users through CPR procedures from the comfort of their own homes.
If you would like to sign up, please contact the Church Office.

Catriona reports on The World Scout Jamboree - South Korea 2023

This summer I had the adventure of a lifetime attending the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea. The World Scout Jamboree is an international scout festival that happens every 4 years, gathering up to 50,000 scouts from over 170 countries on one site! The actual event lasts between 10 and 12 days (consisting of hundreds of activities to get involved in) and the majority of countries spend time in a major city pre or post the jamboree, to sample more of the local culture.

I was lucky enough to be selected for the jamboree back in November 2021. For over 18 months I attended multiple training camps with my unit and together, with 9 other scouts who went from Macclesfield and Congleton, we fundraised the huge sum of £44,000. I went expecting the unexpected, but I can safely say I never expected the adventure we ended up having. Definitely a 3 weeks I’ll never forget!

Having returned from the jamboree and having had a few months to reflect, I’d like to share with you my jamboree experience.

It began in Seoul, my first memory is of walking out of the underground subway station and being met with the hottest heat I had ever felt! It was 11am in the morning and already 34 degrees with 90% humidity! We spent the next 4 days in Seoul, some personal highlights were: a visit to the national war museum; a traditional Korean BBQ meal; a trip up N-Seoul tower to see the city at night and getting to watch Seoul E-land Football club play one evening.

We then spent 5 nights on the jamboree site and although this was cut short by the UK contingent management team from our planned 12 days due to problems with heat and hygiene, we still made the most of our time. I met Scouts from all corners of the world, making friends with Australians, Taiwanese, Germans, Peruvians and many more. I made hundreds of swaps of badges, neckers, bags and T-shirts - my favourite being the Taiwanese contingent rucksack I got in return for my UK contingent one. My favourite night on camp was the final night where we had a party with our Australian neighbours.

We then returned to Seoul to hot showers, clean toilets, air con and an absence of bugs, all greatly appreciated by us! We spent 8 days exploring more of what Seoul and its surrounding area had to offer. We visited the Presidential house on a day when it was closed to the public for UK scouts only to visit. The Korean government offered us a trip to a different province, involving a visit to the Presidential villa, a lunch with the Governor of the province, a trip to a temple and a traditional Korean dance and music show - this was one of my favourite days of the whole trip. 4 days after we left the site we heard the news that a typhoon was due to hit Korea over the following days and consequently the whole site was now being closed and everyone left onsite would be evacuated! Luckily, already in Seoul, we spent the night of the typhoon watching movies till 1am! The Korean scout organisation managed to reorganise the closing ceremony for all 50,000 people. It was held at the world cup stadium and was absolutely amazing. There was a ceremony and a K-POP concert, but the best bit was having 50,000 scouts from all across the world in one place, something we all felt we'd missed out on due to leaving early- it was quite a sight! We also got to visit the Demilitarised Zone bordering North Korea. This was an extremely powerful experience as we got to look over into North Korea and went into a tunnel that once led through to North Korea.

This adventure, as they all do, came to an end and we flew home. 3 weeks of living with these people and creating memories was now over. After lots of hugs and tears we all went our separate ways, ready to tell our families about the adventure we'd had.

My 3 weeks in Korea are without a doubt some of my favourite weeks ever and have formed some of my happiest memories for me to look back on. Thank you so much to anyone who supported us along our journey to get there, we are very grateful. From the incredible things we were given the opportunity to do, to the general day to day goings on as a unit, it was the trip of a lifetime. We faced many challenges, but they were key in shaping our jamboree experience and forming the bonds we now have with each other. I wouldn’t change any of it.

Catriona

News from St John’s Adlington

 Looking Back - Looking Forward

It was a busy December at St John’s, Adlington. We were delighted by the attendance at the four seasonal services with regulars returning and new folks joining the crowds. It was a great team effort and my thanks go to all those who worked so hard to deliver worship, decorate the Church, prepare refreshments and provide the inspirational music we all enjoyed. Special mention here to Macclesfield Youth Brass Band and our very own St Peter’s Choir.

Looking forwards into the New Year

The building work is set to start later this month. We’re excitedly expecting spades (or diggers) to actually break the ground and our builders to commence construction around the middle of January.
So do hold the project in your prayers, or sneak a look over the fence as you drive past.
Watch this space and we’ll keep you posted with pictures and news  of the developments progress.
 Every Blessing
Steve Murphy 

Thank you

All the Ministry team would like to thank the congregation for their generosity, kindness and support in the cards, gifts and messages received and the prayers that have supported and upheld us at this busy but wonderful time.

Worship Services for January

St Peter's Church Services

 

			(with live-stream)
Date	8.30am	9.30am	10.30am	4.30pm
Sunday 7th	Holy Communion		Holy Communion	Sung Evensong
Sunday 14th	Holy Communion		Family Service	Choral Evensong
Sunday 21st	Holy Communion	Breakfast Church	Holy Communion	Choral Communion
Sunday 28th	Holy Communion		Morning Worship	Exploring Scripture Service (with livestream)

Mission Congregation's Services

	Sunday 7th	Sunday 14th	Sunday 21st	Sunday 28th
St John's Church, Adlington 11am		Morning Worship		Holy Communion
Church of the Resurrection, Upton Priory 10am	Holy Communion		Holy Communion

 

Mid-Week Worship

Day	Time	Service	Church
Monday	9.00am	Morning Prayer	St Peter's
Tuesday	9.00am	Morning Prayer	Zoom
Wednesday	10.30am	Holy Communion	St Peter's
Thursday	9.00am	School Community Worship	Church School
2nd & 4th Thursdays	10.15am	Pram Service	St Peter's & Rooms

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Community News

Yoga fund raiser

A local, fully accredited yoga teacher, Jeanette, who has been worshipping with us at St Peter's over recent weeks will be running a one-off yoga session in St Peter's Rooms on Tuesday 23 January at 10am. The session will last around 80 minutes and costs £10. All the money raised will go towards the church clock fund. There is no chanting or eastern religious content in the session, just an opportunity to stretch and de-stress post-Christmas. Wear loose clothing and bring an exercise mat. Please let the office know if you are interested.

Homelessness – How can we help?

In recent years the homelessness issue in and around Macclesfield has improved. Cheshire East now have enough beds for those who are homeless and the WHAM night shelter that operated through the winter months in Macclesfield is no longer needed.  All good news, but if any of you have travelled into Manchester you will be aware that homelessness is still a huge issue more widely. Manchester has some of the highest levels of homelessness in the UK – ranking third-highest in the country for people experiencing homelessness per capita, with around 7,407 people (one in 74 people) experiencing homelessness.
Often people think about people who are homeless on the street or rough sleeping, but this represents the smallest segment of the homeless population. Other circumstances include people who are in emergency shelters, temporary accommodation, sofa-surfing and unsafe/substandard housing. People become homeless for lots of different reasons. There are social causes of homelessness, such as a lack of affordable housing, poverty and unemployment. For many, life events like a relationship breaking down, losing a job, mental or physical health problems, or substance misuse push people into homelessness. Many women experiencing homelessness have escaped a violent or abusive relationship.  Evidence suggests that the longer someone is homeless, the more complex their problems become and the more difficult it can be to get back on their feet. Not having a home as a stable and secure base can make it harder for people to find a job, stay healthy and maintain relationships.
In Manchester, however, they are taking an innovative new approach to tackling these complex issues. The Manchester Homelessness Partnership (MHP) has been established and aims to unite people with personal experience of homelessness with organisations from different sectors, to co-produce solutions together to end homelessness. You can find out more about the MHPs approach at https://mhp.org.uk/ and it’s easy to get involved by joining one of their action groups. Please also think about whether you can support one of their charity partners, such as the Booth Centre, Barnabus, MACC or Shelter either by donating goods (a list of goods needed is available on each website) or by supporting them financially. Having a secure home can be the first step in so many peoples’ recovery – something we can all pray for as we start this New Year. 
Helen Howe
 

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Diary for January

Mondays:                          Morning Prayer 9.00am St Peter's Rooms
Monday 8th                     Mothers' Union at 2.00pm
Tuesdays:                          Morning Prayer at 9.00am Zoom Code 503 346 024 Passcode 793684   
Wednesdays:                    Holy Communion 10.30am                                     
                                             Bell Ringers 8.00pm
Thursdays                         Holy Dusters 11.30am (9.30am on a Pram Service Day)
Thursdays 11th & 25th  Pram Service at 10.15am St Peter's 
Fridays:                              Choir Practice 7.45pm in St Peter's Rooms

Prayer Resources

Prayer focus

A prayer to help focus on this months theme of new beginnings.

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
whose years never fail
and whose mercies are new each returning day:
let the radiance of your Spirit renew our lives,
warming our hearts and giving light to our minds;
that we may pass the coming year
in joyful obedience and firm faith;
through him who is the beginning and the end,
your Son, Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Those who have asked for prayer

Ray Excel
Mavis Lewis
Winnie Beaumont
Elizabeth Greening
Barrie Fawcett

Those who have died

Lily Ray Marron
John Roe
Pat Sym

Closing Thought

When did you last visit a library? Have you discovered we have a Church library with a wide range of Christian books? Why not visit it after worship or drop in to the Church Rooms when the office is open and pick something different from what you would normally read.

Newsletter Information

Information to be included in the monthly newsletter should be emailed to the Vicar by the last Wednesday of the month to be included in the following month's edition. To register for the newsletter please visit the church website at https://prestbury.churchinsight.com/ and click on the Register button then follow the instructions.
All images are from our in church photography team or our Shift Media Licence.
 

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