St Andrew's, Dearnley and Smithy Bridge

St Andrew's, Dearnley and Smithy Bridge

A reminder that the luncheon club at St Andrew's, the parish church of Dearnley and Smithy Bridge, meets once a month on Fridays. In recent times we have been running pretty much to capacity on a regular basis, but we are now able to accommodate newcomers, who would be warmly welcomed.

We offer a three-course lunch, plus coffee, for £4.50, starting at 12.30pm and catering for the over-60s. Everyone is welcome, particularly those who may be in need of company, a friendly ear, or just a chat over a wholesome meal.

The next lunch is on Friday, September 30 and the other dates to the end of the year (all Fridays) are October 28, November 25 and December 16.

If you would love to have a meal made for you and share it with friends, new or otherwise, please join us. All we ask is that you ring Elizabeth first on 07939491545 to confirm your attendance for catering purposes etc.

We have two major events coming up next weekend --- the 'Lancashire Night' on Saturday, September 24, with the Wigan-based band 'Gifted', followed the next day by our active involvement in Back-to-Church Sunday, featuring a Family Eucharist at 10am which will include a guest appearance of the celebrated St Andrew's puppets.

We specially invite anyone who might be new to churchgoing, or who may not have been to church for a long time, and we ask regular members of our congregation to bring along a friend, work colleague, neighbour or family member who might otherwise find going to church on their own a little daunting.

Tickets for the 'Lancashire Night' are selling fast at £10 including hot-pot supper (children free) and licensed pay bar, so if you still need tickets we recommend an asap call to Sheila Moore on 07946269840.

The date for our trip to Gorton Monastery, for a guided tour followed by tea, is Monday, November 21, so please sign up for this in the parish room or speak to Jean Townshend if you require more detail.

Thanks go to the many volunteers who worked hard last Saturday morning with spades and gardening forks to clear a large area of land behind church which was desperately in need of some TLC . . . as were the workers after their marathon stint! Thanks also to Sheila for providing lunch. Never was refreshment more appreciated!

The Wider Welcome Project Team hopes to complete phase 3 this autumn, namely by the installation of a ramp and safety rail and modification of the doors (leading from the porch into the parish room) to automatic operation.

In year 2 the team will endeavour to raise sufficient funds to complete phase 4 --- the provision of disabled toilets and a sliding glass partition between the parish room and the Worship areas, or Nave.

Says project chairman Peter Shrigley in his first-year report: "We are keen to maintain the momentum. We have laid plans to celebrate the success of our first year and to carry us forward to an even more successful year ahead.

"We look to the congregation to continue to lend its support and we will redouble our efforts, largely through the indefatigable Stuart Carmichael, to gain significant donations from various charitable bodies.

"We also intend to reach out to as many folk as possible living in Dearnley and Smithy Bridge to ascertain how we may extend a Wider Welcome to them."

The ultimate vision, or phase 5, would see the installation of a first-floor community room, but that's one for the future; over the course of the next 12 months the target is to complete phases 3 and 4.

The parish rota tomorrow (8am Eucharist, 10am Sung Eucharist) is: lay assistants, S Carmichael, C Cook; readers, H Holland, A Fitton; intercessions, C Cook; sidespersons, C Giles, R Hawkins.

Diary dates: Saturday, Sep 24, Lancashire Night in church with Wigan-based band, 'Gifted' (proceeds to Wider Welcome); Sunday, September 25, Back-to-Church Sunday; October 1, Deanery Quiet Day at St Mary, Prestwich; Also, Pamper Day (Wider Welcome fund-raiser); Sunday, October 9, Harvest Thanksgiving; Monday, November 21, trip to Gorton Monastery, with guided tour and tea.