The Church in the Westlands

St Andrew’s St Peter’s Anglican Church Methodist Church

As the Church in the Westlands we are committed in the power of the Holy Spirit that our worship, service and witness will demonstrate to everyone the love of Jesus Christ ______A very warm welcome to anyone worshipping with us today for the first time.

St Andrew’s Church Sunday, 30th April St Peter’s Church 3rd Sunday of Easter

Holy Communion 8.00 am Revd Andrew Dawswell

United Confirmation Service 10.30 am Rt Revd Geoff Annas, & Revd Peter Barber, District Chair Luke 24:13-35 (p1066) Acts 2:14a, 36-41(p1096)

United Evening Prayer 6.30 pm Revd Andrew Dawswell

Collect

Almighty Father, who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples with the sight of the risen Lord: give us such knowledge of his presence with us, that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life and serve you continually in righteousness and truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Morning prayer will take place at 8.30 - 8.50 am on Monday (in church), and on Tuesday & Wednesday (at the Vicarage). All are welcome.

Tuesday, 2nd May Little Sparklers 10.00 am – 11.30 am Parish Room Yr 10-13 Group 7.30 pm – 9.00 pm Parish Room Home Group 8.00 pm 16 Rugby Close

Wednesday, 3rd May Home Group 10.30 am Parish Room Home Group 10.30 am 5 Friars Walk Youth & Children’s Leaders’ Meeting 7.30 pm Parish Room Home Group 8.00 pm 32 Beresford Crescent

Thursday, 4th May Local Election Polling All Day St Peter’s & St Andrew’s Halls Holy Communion 10.00 am St Andrew’s Church Blaze Youth Group 6.30 pm – 7.45 pm Parish Room Home Group 8.00 pm 48 Kingsway West

Saturday, 6th May Northern Men’s Convention 10.00 am – 4.45 pm Leyland

St Andrew’s Church Sunday, 7th May St Peter’s Church 4th Sunday of Easter

Stewardship Sunday – Time, Talents & Treasure Holy Communion 8.00 am Revd Andrew Dawswell

Holy Communion 10.30 am Holy Communion Dedication of Wardens & PCC Revd John Taylor Revd Andrew Dawswell 6.30 pm Day One Revd Leslie Siu

Pathfinders ... are welcome to join with Trailblazers or stay in for the Confirmation Service

Identity Course ... Who is God? Can I make contact with Him? Who are we? What is the purpose of life? We have run this course several times over the last couple of years and are beginning to think about doing so again. Each week includes a discussion starter on DVD, with opportunity for interaction and questions. Ideal for anyone wanting to know more about the Christian faith, or looking for a refresher course. It also forms the main part of the preparation course for adults who would like to think about being confirmed in a future year. More details from the Vicar.

St Andrew’s Pew Arrangement ... thank you to all who expressed their view about the current pew re-locations creating space at the back of church. Though a variety of views were reported and expressed to the PCC, a clear majority were in favour - though in a year or so time we will need to consider this again and decide whether to do anything with the excess pews.

Youth & Children’s Worker Post ... the management committee have again met and have now begun the process of advertising. We decided that the brief will remain broadly unchanged, with 3 key parts to the vision for the post: pioneer work with age 11-18’s; discipleship of 11-18’s who are already part of the church family. Please do pray for a good person to be willing to serve with us.

St Andrew's Annual Meeting ... duly elected David Morgan and Helen Dodds to continue as our wardens, We are grateful to them and to all who agreed to serve on the Deanery Synod and PCC. Copies of the Annual reports and accounts are still available at the back of church, or can be accessed on www.churchinthewestlands.org.uk

The Northern Men’s Convention is This Week! … on Saturday, 6th May at St Andrew’s, Leyland. A group is attending from St Andrew’s and transport will be arranged. Tickets can be purchased at the door for £15. If you would like to join us, we will need to leave around 8.00 am, and hope to be home soon after 6.00 pm. This is a great opportunity for the men in our congregations to get together, hear from well-known excellent speakers and enjoy singing rousing songs! Look out for flyers in St Andrew’s Church, and have a word with Alan.

St Andrew's Grass Cutting ... we are very grateful to those who have kept our grass mown in previous years, but now need one or two others to share in this role. If you might be able to help please speak to the Vicar or David Morgan.

Monday Group … the next meeting will be on Monday, 8th May at 7.30 pm in Room 2 at St Peter’s. The speaker will be David Fuller “A talk on Macular Disease” followed by a Music Quiz. Visitors welcome.

Afternoon Tea … you are invited to our next Afternoon Tea on Tuesday, 9th May, in St Andrew’s Church Hall, from 3.30 pm to about 5.00 pm. Enjoy the company of your friends and make some new ones. A light afternoon tea will be served. The cost will be £2.50. All welcome. If you would like to come, please contact Jenny.

TearFund Open Café.... is on Saturday, 13th May, 10.30 am – 12.00 noon in St Andrew’s Hall. Admission £1.00 for adults, free for children (includes refreshments). Stalls include:- plants, car wash, toys, cakes, games, bric-a-brac and books. All proceeds go to the Tearfund project ZOE for orphans in Zimbabwe. There will be boxes at the back of church for donations for the stalls. For further information, offers of help or collection please contact Gillian Moss.

St Peter’s Next Local Arrangement ... is on Sunday, 14th May at 10.30 am. If anyone has any themes or ideas they would like to share or would be willing to take part in anyway please contact Val, Marion or Joe.

Circuit Easter Offering Service ... will take place on Sunday, 14th May at 6.30 pm in St Peter’s. St Andrew’s evening congregation are encouraged to join in with this; the service of communion and prayers for healing will instead take place at 6.30 pm on Sunday, 21st May.

Summer Homegroups ... are starting this week, studying the 1st letter of Peter. New members are always welcome - you don't have to be an expert on the Bible to benefit from the study or the fellowship. There are groups meeting on Wednesday mornings, and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings on 2nd/3rd/4th May, 16th/17th/18th May, 6th/7th/8th June, 20th/21st/22nd June, and 4th/5th/6th July. Please sign the lists at the back of both churches.

St Andrew's Tea and Coffee Rota … we are in need of new helpers for our next quarterly rota. If you are able to either assist or lead a team please contact Lynne.

Coach Trip to The Cotswolds ... to include Bourton on the Water and Stow on the Wold etc on Saturday, 20th May, departing from outside St Andrew’s Church at 8.30 am. Tickets are £12 per person and need to be booked in advance (non-refundable). For more information on the itinerary and booking, please phone Jenny or Trevor.

News from the McKnights ... St Andrew’s have committed ourselves to supporting Kieran and Ashley financially If you would like to receive details either by mail or on paper, please sign the list at the back of church.

Shallowford House Event ... Friday, 16th June from 10.00 am – 4.00 pm. We are joining with other churches in sponsoring a day of Bible teaching and guided reflection. It will again be led by Jonathan Lamb, minister at large for the Keswick Convention. Cost £20, to include a BBQ lunch - please sign the list at the back of St Andrew’s. Shared transport will be available.

A Thanksgiving Service … for the former , the Right Revd Keith Sutton, will be held at at 12.30 pm on Wednesday, 10th May. Please email [email protected] if you are planning to attend to help with organisation.

Bible Training for Christian Ministry... we are pleased that there has been enough interest in the area to be able to firm up plans for the Northwest Partnership to put on an evening version of their one year ministry training course in North Staffs. Starting on 25th September, it will comprise three 10-week terms on Monday evenings from 7.00 pm - 9.30 pm in Audley, with around a couple of hours of personal study each week needed as well. The main leader throughout the course will be Justin Mote - an exceptional communicator (who was our speaker at this year's Explained and Proclaimed). The 3 strands covered would be: Biblical Theology – an overview of the whole Bible; Bible Exposition – after covering the tools of interpreting and applying the Bible passage there will be worked expositions through a number of Bible books; and Hands on Training – each week course members teaching the Bible to one another and receiving encouragement and feedback. Please speak to Andrew if you think that you might be interested or if you want to know more. The individual course fee is around £300 but some or all of this could be covered by the PCC for those currently involved in teaching ministries, or with the potential to develop in this direction- Ask Andrew for more details.

THANK YOU

Christian Aid Sponsored Walk … many thanks to all who supported the walk with donations. I was able to send off a cheque for £327.50 that will be increased through Gift Aid. Once all monies are in the walk should raise £35,000 and with other fund raising throughout the year we aim to make the £50,000 mark from North . It was a lovely day at Tittesworth Reservoir and it would be great to see more families from the Church in the Westlands next year on the 24th March, 2018! Chris Spicer

______Vicar Minister Revd Andrew Dawswell (Day Off: Friday Afternoon Revd John Taylor (Days Off: Friday & Tel: 619594 & Saturday) Monday) e-mail: [email protected] Tel: 909163 e-mail: [email protected]

Curate Revd Leslie Siu (Day Off: Friday & Sat afternoon) Tel 766116 e-mail: [email protected]

Secretary Michelle Bradbury [email protected] 01782 634389 (Thurs only) Same contact details (or St Peter’s letterbox which is on the wall next to the Pilkington Avenue door) for the next notice sheet (before 9 am on Thursday please). Rest of week for St Peter’s & Circuit Business: [email protected] 01782 612648. Church website – www.churchinthewestlands.org.uk