Rector: the Revd Derek a Baines Tel: 01772 641521; E-Mail s1

Church Officers Rector: The Revd Derek A Baines – Tel: 01772 641521; E-mail: [email protected] The Churchwardens Mr John Clarkson – Tel: 612855; E-mail: [email protected] Mr Eric Barker OBE JP – Tel: 614385; E-mail: [email protected] PCC Secretary Mrs Andrea Susnik – Tel: 615336; E-mail: [email protected] PCC Treasurer Mrs Barbara Wood – Tel: 617679: E-mail: [email protected] Deanery Synod Representatives Mrs Avril Wright, Mrs Jane Elphick Stewardship Recorder/Gift Aid Secretary Mr Philip Norton – Tel: 07970 798345; E-mail: [email protected] 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, 2nd and 3rd Sunday of the month Leader: Mrs Kathleen Leigh – Tel: 612196. Hoole Church Ladies’ Group – meets 7.30pm, 3rd Tuesday, in School. Leader: Mrs Erika Penrose – Tel 613816; E-mail: [email protected] St Michael’s Men’s Fellowship – meets 7.30pm, 2nd Tuesday in School. Secretary: Mr Ted Hopkins – Tel: 617002. Friends of St. Michael’s – Caring for the fabric of our ancient church Chairman: Mr Eric Barker – Tel 614385. Secretary: Mr David Turner – Tel 617485. Social Committee – Contact: Sheila Taylor, Tel: 616850 Hoole St Michael C E Primary School Head Teacher: Mrs Jo Duckworth – Tel: 613219. 1st St. Michael’s Hoole Scout and Guide Groups – Group Scout Leader: Mandy Clark – E-mail: [email protected] Church Web Site: www.hoolevillage.com and www.hooleparishchurch.com 1 The Rector’s Ramblings The church returns to a comparative calm after the busy time of the Easter celebrations and as you look around the Moss the countryside is beginning to do the same as the harrowing, raking & drilling has now ceased and fields begin to show either the yellow flowers of the oilseed rape or the faint haze of green as the new plants begin to grow. A moment of rest after a lot of hard work. And so it should be in all aspects of our lives. On our faith journey we have busy periods such as Easter, Harvest, All Souls, and Christmas and we have specific periods of quietness and reflection at Lent and Advent and the rest of the year trickles along quietly in church. But! Should this be the case? Jesus, at the end of Matthews Gospel tells us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” I would suggest that this means that we should not rest on our laurels but enjoy a short rest and then move on. We have a duty to make use of the quiet spells to think on this and make sure that God’s work through his church carries on in a constant fashion & not just on Sundays. During May the Ministry Team will meet (all are welcome to join us – see later in the magazine) and we will review the status of our church, our mission statement, our approachability and friendliness and then we will ascertain “what is our mission?” From then we can set a vision and a plan for the family of St Michael’s to encourage each other with an ‘internal’ mission and following this we can prayerfully move out into our communities bringing people to God. The church of St Michael’s is firmly rooted in the scriptures and as a family we should be looking at how we can improve our own prayer lives and spiritual journeys. Is our depth of understanding of the Bible and the love of God deep enough for us to sustain ourselves and to help us to recognise when we transgress and sin against God, our neighbour and ourselves? The springtime is a time of growth for the created world and so as we enter a new church season, Eastertide, followed by Pentecost when the Holy Spirit strengthens the Apostles; and that means us folks, we should look closely at ourselves and look to grow in faith and we should also look to help others to grow in faith. ( P3) 2 Here is a challenge in the year 2012 – how do we get people to meet Christ and become members of our church and so to help the light of Christ shine in the community? We continue our self examination, make sure that we are at peace with all around us and if we have wronged someone – say sorry! Then we can say to God “Forgive me my sins, I am truly sorry and plan to change my ways”. God always forgives and teaches us to love ourselves so that we recognise the things that God wants and we come to rely upon him for our growth. Our growth then should start within us as individuals and I will be investigating the feasibility of setting up an Emmaus Course for us to examine our journey of faith. A Cursillo taster morning to allow people to see what Christian renewal is about, and I shall be asking you whether a Thursday morning Communion service would be appreciated by those on shift work or simply for those who wish to attend a small service with the attendant quiet that this brings. Once we are firmly established in our own faith journey then we seek the strength to bring friends to Christ and perhaps have a “Return to Church” day along the lines of the Church of England “Back to church Sunday” planned for September. A lot to think about my friends but, as pilgrims walking along Jesus’ way, we need to share with one another and enjoy the love and forgiveness that is ours for the asking. Your brother pilgrim, Derek

Looking back, with a glance forward! April has been a busy month with Holy Week and Easter, The Confirmation service and the first of our 2012 weddings. The confirmation service was great, it went smoothly, the candidates enjoyed a lovely evening and what a spread!! (Shame the Rector is on a diet – and his wife was watching!) Thank you to the ladies who helped with teaching the children, the ladies & gentlemen who got the school hall ready and for all of you who provided food and sorted us out with drinks: once again a great effort by the church. Derek has attended mid-day prayer at St Mary’s Eccleston with the Revd Jayne Ward and the Revd David Reynolds, this will be a weekly activity and we will use time to discuss work ( P4) 3 between the 6 parishes in the group. Watch this magazine and notices for more info. We also shared our worship with our friends from the Methodist Church on 22nd April – what a lovely witness towards Christian unity. The Jazz in Church evening will have been held by the time that you read this. On 12th May we will hold our first meeting (from 9.30 to 12.30 in school) of the “new” Ministry Team & look forward to ideas for the future shape of St Michael’s. Transit planning is rushing on and the social events for spring & summer kick into action in May; do keep an eye out for the announcements in the magazine & in church. An omission and apology from Derek In the last magazine I talked about the cluster and failed to acknowledge The Revd Jayne Ward, Vicar of Eccleston, as the author of the document from which I had extracted a large proportion of my script. The 6 Villages Church grouping: For want of a better description – we have had the Rawstorne cluster, the Rawstorne Group, the Villages of Central Lancashire and so on – I will use the above to describe the ‘grouping’ work going on between Eccleston, Wrightington, Mawdesley, Croston, Bretherton and ourselves. Presently this has been prayer and meetings between the three clergy (The Rev Jayne Ward, Vicar of St Mary’s Eccleston, The Rev David Reynolds, Rector of Mawdesley, Croston and Bretherton and me {Wrightington is in vacancy at the moment}) and shortly we will be talking to the 12 Church wardens to look at what we have in common and try to determine a vision of our future church. The first phase is to look at our social activities and special events and for the month of May the following events are taking place: Eccleston Parish: 13th May 2.00 to 5.00 Wedding Fayre – exhibitors and catwalk show by Brides Gallery, in St Mary’s church and parish centre. 19th May 1.00 to 4.00 Pop in for a chat and refreshments in the Parish Centre Each month we will put the events of the other parishes in the magazine for you to visit if you so wish.

4 The Ministry Team I have invited a group of parishioners to join me in forming a ‘new’ Ministry Team. The morning is also open to any parishioner who feels that they would like to hear what is happening and to be able to contribute to the planning for our church’s future internal and external mission. We will meet on Saturday 12th May at 9.30 in school. The morning will begin with a Eucharist and then we will review the church, look at what we do well and then move into what we need and what we must do to act as God’s Apostles in the villages. We will finish by 12.30. If you have not been directly approached by me, please do not be offended as I am still getting to know you. If you would like to join us have a word with me or the churchwardens and you will be most welcome. Derek

Ladies’ Group We all enjoyed the talk by Angela Danby, a journalist who came to speak to us last month about her experiences as a reporter on the Southport Visiter. She kept us fully entertained with amusing anecdotes and also brought along some fascinating old copies of the newspaper, one of which dated back to the 1840s. This month we have Stanley Walmsley coming to talk to us about “Ringing the Changes”, about the history of bell ringing, on Tuesday 15th May at 7.30pm. Looking ahead to our Jubilee Garden Party on Saturday 30th June, we would be most grateful for raffle and tombola prizes. Either give these to one of our committee members, or Thelma Martland who is running the raffle, or Rose Brown/Joan Wilson/Helen Ross who are running the tombola; otherwise there is a box near the font in church to put these in. Many thanks. Our trip on Tuesday 19th June is to St Mary’s Church, Leyland. Sheila has started organising a transport list, so please let her know if you’d like to go (616850). All ladies are welcome to come along and try our group – we have a wonderful programme of speakers and events (see the church porch for the year’s activities). Meetings start at 7.30pm and are held at St Michael’s School, Liverpool Old Road. 5 Services for May: 6th May - 5th of Easter 9.00 BCP Holy Communion 10.30 CW Holy Communion 3.00 BCP Evening Prayer 4.00 Holy Communion (Old Mill Court)

13th May - 6th of Easter 9.00 BCP Holy Communion 10.30 Morning Prayer

20th May - 7th of Easter 9.00 BCP Holy Communion 10.30 CW Holy Communion 3.00 BCP Evening Prayer

27th May - PENTECOST 9.00 BCP Holy Communion 10.30 FAMILY PRAISE

3rd JUNE - TRINITY SUNDAY 9.00 BCP Holy Communion 10.30 CW Holy Communion 3.00 BCP Evening Prayer 4.00 Holy Communion (Old Mill Court)

Tea/Coffee Rota following the 10.30 services More volunteers would be welcomed. Please contact Eric if you need to change dates or would like to volunteer. 6th May - Beryl B, Rona 13th May - Erika & Althea 20th May - Carol B & Gill 27th May - Diana & Pauline 3rd June - Jean D Iris & Kath 10th June - Beryl & Rona 6 Prayer intentions During the month we pray for:

 Our mission and ministry to the villages. That God will guide us in our planning and action. For the Ministry Team that our ideas will enable us to be a beacon within the community.  Our church as we pray for unity and peace, for our Archbishops, our Bishops, especially Archbishop Rowan and Bishop Nicholas as they prepare for retirement.  We pray for every one of the congregation and those people we know best.  We pray for our Methodist brethren and ask that God blesses them with a new Minister this year.  We pray for the Retired Methodist Ministers who support our friends in Hoole Methodist Church.  We pray for the emergency services; Ambulance, Fire services, Police, Lifeboat crews, Helicopter pilots and mountain and cave rescue teams as we ask God to protect them in their work and strengthen them in their caring.  We pray for our NHS staff and those working in nursing and residential homes, for Therapists, Nurses, Doctors and all support staff as they care for those in need.  We pray for all who suffer illness or disability, especially the innocents caught up in war and especially the young men and women of our armed forces who suffer injury.  The world,  We pray for Christians in countries where they are persecuted for their faith.  We pray for the Bible Society as they share the words of the Gospel in far flung parts of the world.  We pray for the war torn parts of the world that peace may return and violence and terrorism become things of the past.  We pray for the young men and women fighting for our freedom that God protects them with his Love.  We pray for those who have been examples to us in our lives and our journeys of faith who have died.  Ourselves that we may find peace in our hearts and minds and know the forgiveness of God and we pray for our friends as we give thanks for friendship and companionship.

7 From the Parish Registers Holy Baptism “We welcome into the Lord’s Family” 25th March DAISY BAINES, daughter of John Baines and Jennifer Baines of Walmer Bridge 8th April MYLI-COCO HALLOWS, daughter of Dean Marc Hallows and Lisa Thomson of New Longton 8th April DEAN SMITH, son of Paul Smith and Amanda Smith of Walmer Bridge 22nd April ALFIE BROGDEN, son of Andrew Brogden & Kathleen Brogden of Much Hoole Holy Matrimony “Those whom God hath joined together” 14th April RICHARD JAMES BAKER to LEANE VICTORIA WAKE of Walmer Bridge 20th April MURRAY SMOKER to SAMANTHA ANNE SCHOLES of Burscough The Departed “Rest eternal grant unto them” 17th April NEIL JAMES KEMPLAY of Much Hoole 20th April KATHLEEN BAXTER SWINDON (formerly of Hoole) Confirmation “We turn to Christ” 18th April By The Right Revd John Goddard, Bishop of Burnley From our own Church: Annabel Kate Nicholson Amye Eve Richardson Anastasia Francesca Jones Ben Christopher Yates Chloe Frances Dalgliesh Sally Marie Dalgliesh From St Saviour’s, Bamber Bridge: Alex McCrone From the Register of Services Attendance Communicants Collections 25th March 168 141 £377.85 1st April 91 78 £432.35 8th April 258 181 £800.57 15th April 57 48 £292.50

8 Sidespersons’ Rota May 6th 9.00am Stuart Tighe 10.30am Robert Hawthornthwaite, John Aughton & Rona McClure 3.00pm Sylvia Douglas 13th 9.00am Rob McMurray 10.30am Elizabeth Hedley & Philip Wilson 20th 9.00am Brian Taylor 10.30am Paul Johnson & Richard McIlwain 27th 9.00am Henry Redshaw 10.30am Bill Carr, David Turner & Hazel Wright June 3rd 9.00am Jeremy Leigh 10.30am Robert Hawthornthwaite, John Aughton & Rona McClure 3.00pm Peter Smallwood Readers’ Rota 9.00am 10.30am May 6th --- R McClure Acts 8: 26-40 V Van Holsbeke G Slinger 1 John 4: 7-21 13th --- C Bamber Acts 10: 44-48 M Redshaw J Ashcroft 1 John 5: 1-6 20th --- J Elphick Acts 1: 15-17 & 21-26 J Wilson D Turner 1 John 5: 9-13 27th --- A Wright Acts 2: 1-21 S Tighe J Dewhurst Romans 8: 22-27 June 3rd --- E Hopkins Isaiah 6: 1-8 V Van Holsbeke B Wood Romans 8: 12-17

Church Flowers Date Arrangers Donor 6th May Mrs A Slater & Mrs E Kirkham Mrs A Slater 13th May Mrs M Clarkson & Mrs J Smallwood Ladies’ Group 20th May Mrs J Aughton & Mrs S Westell Mrs E Hedley 27th May Mrs L Redshaw Mrs H Evans 3rd June Mrs B Wignall & Mrs A Dalton Mrs K Ball 10th June Mrs H Johnson Mrs M Bowker

9 A letter from Tididiek-Okorom Primary School TIDIDIEK–OKOROM PRIMARY SCHOOL C/O BOX 127 NGORA (U) Date: 5/04/2012 To St. Michael and All Angels Church Much Hoole c/o Elizabeth Swarbrick.

Dear Friends at St. Michael’s I am Otilo Geoffrey the new Head teacher posted to the school to succeed Miss Sejja Elizabeth. On behalf of the school administration, the entire community of Okorom and of my school, I would like to greet you in the name of Jesus. I would like to thank you very much for your tireless effort which is clearly seen in the development and progress of the school. Tididiek–Okorom is a developing school and it is progressing steadily through the efforts of the school administration functional committees of school management, parents and Teachers Association and the entire community of Okorom. The school management committee is a governing body of the school while the Parents and Teachers Association is a body responsible for the development of the school. It embraces parents and teachers. The school has a total of 8 teachers paid by the government and yet the school needs 12 teachers to meet the population of 584 pupils enrolled this year. Last year 2011, 53 candidates sat for Primary Leaving Examination and 22 managed to join Secondary Schools. This year we have registered 51 candidates and it is our hope the performance will be better than that the performance will be better that of last year. I am quite grateful to have you as our link and as we continue corresponding, even visits shall be open to consolidate our relationship. Thanks very much and may the living God keep us alive till then. God bless you. Otilo Geoffrey, Head Teacher 10 Kids’ Corner Join the dots and colour the picture

Calvary Kids Pages www.calvarywilliamsport.com/kids-index 11 Something for kids and teenagers of all ages to try

Calvary Kids Pages www.calvarywilliamsport.com/kids-index

12 The following poem was given to John & Marion on their cruise just before Easter

Heaven's Grocery Store I was walking down life's highway a long time ago. One day, I saw a sign that said "Heaven's Grocery Store", As I got a little closer, the door came open wide, And when I came to myself, I was standing inside. I saw a host of ANGELS. They were standing everywhere. One handed me a basket and said, "My child shop with care". Everything a Christian needed was in the Grocery Store, And all you couldn't carry, you could come back the next day for more, First, I got some PATIENCE, LOVE was in the same row, Further down was UNDERSTANDING, you need that everywhere you go. I got a box or two of WISDOM, a bag or two of FAITH. I couldn't miss the HOLY GHOST for it was all over the place. I stopped to get some STRENGTH and COURAGE to help me run this race. By then my basket was getting full, but I remembered some GRACE. I didn't forget SALVATION for SALVATION is free, So I tried to get enough of that to save both you and me. Then I started up to the counter to pay my grocery bill, For I thought I had everything to do my MASTER'S will. As I went up the aisle I saw PRAYER and I just had to put that in, For I know when I stepped outside, I would run right into sin. PEACE and JOY were plentiful; they were on the last shelf. SONG and PRAISES were hanging near so I just helped myself. Then I said to the Angel, "Now, how much do I owe?" He just smiled and said, "Just take them everywhere you go". Again, I said, "How much do I really owe?" He smiled again and said: “MY CHILD, JESUS PAID YOUR BILL A LONG, LONG TIME AGO!"

What a wonderful message for us this Eastertide!

13 A Conversation with God A man was wandering around in a field, thinking about how good his wife had been to him, and how fortunate he was to have her. He asked God, "Why did you make her so kind hearted?" The Lord responded, "So you could love her, my son." "Why did you make her so good looking?" "So you could love her, my son." "Why did you make her such a good cook?" "So you could love her, my son." The man thought about this. Then he said, "I don't mean to seem ungrateful or anything, but why did you make her so stupid?" "So she could love you, my son."

Joke: “I was taking the wedding for a vicar who was indisposed. The Verger handed me a list of hymns but instead of 298 she had accidentally written 289, which I duly announced. So, instead of singing, “Praise my soul the King of Heaven…..” We launched with gusto (and to the consternation of the vicar’s wife) into, “Soon will you and I be lying/Each within our narrow bed…….” ……A selection from the funeral section of the hymnbook!”

And finally! One day a Pastor, a Vicar and an Atheist go on a fishing trip together. They are in the boat and the Pastor says," Oh! No! I left the paddles on shore!" So he proceeds to get out of the boat and walk on the water to the shore to get them. Once he had gotten back into the boat the Vicar says," Oh! No! I left the bait on shore too!" And like the Pastor the Vicar exits the boat and walks on the water to get the bait. When the Vicar climbs back into the boat the atheist yells," Well if you guys can do it so can I!!!" and proceeds to climb out of the boat, but he falls into the water. At this point the Pastor says," Do you think we should have told him where the rocks are?" Your contributions to these pages would be welcomed and will be inserted as space allows. 14 FOMO – The Friends of the Mulanje Orphans

You are invited to a Celebratory Party for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – Sunday 3rd June from 2.00pm at the home of Mary & Keith Woodworth, 29 Liverpool Old Road, Walmer Bridge, PR4 5QA. Food from around the Commonwealth will be on the menu and there is no admission charge, although donations for the work of FOMO in Malawi would be appreciated Water Aid The current total for Water Aid is £567.84, and the campaign is due to close at the end of April. It is believed there are some bottles still to come in so we will give the final in the June magazine but, if you are still collecting, please give your bottle in at church for a drop more!

Parish Diary Saturday 5th May Diamond Jubilee Race Night at Walmer Bridge Village Hall organised by the Men’s Fellowship Tuesday 8th May Men’s Fellowship – AGM Tuesday 15th May Ladies’ Group – speaker: Stanley Walmsley – “Ringing the Changes” at 7.30pm at the school Wednesday 23rd May Parish Amble organised by the Social Committee – see Sunday notice sheet for details Contributions to the June magazine would be welcomed and should be sent by Friday 18th June to me at [email protected] or handed to me. Many thanks, Erika

15 For notes and jottings