St Andrew's, Dearnley and Smithy Bridge

St Andrew's, Dearnley and Smithy Bridge

We are doing our best at St Andrew's, the parish church of Dearnley and Smithy Bridge, to spread the news to deaf people in the area of the forthcoming visit to Church by the Rev Cathy Nightingale, who is chaplain to the deaf community in Manchester.

Cathy will be at our 10am Sung Eucharist service on Sunday week, January 27 and she will be here to celebrate the Eucharist in sign and to generally help with the service for the specific benefit of deaf people or those who are hard of hearing.

We extend a special invitation to anyone who is deaf and who would like to take this opportunity of taking part in the Eucharist and sharing it with Cathy, with other deaf friends and with the wider congregation at St Andrew's.

We are attempting to make contact with organisations locally which cater for the needs of the deaf, but if anyone out there knows of anybody who might be interested in Cathy's visit please pass on the information.

The service is at 10am on Sunday, January 27 and we are at St Andrew's Church, Arm Road, Littleborough OL15 8NJ.

Many of our regular worshippers were in Manchester Cathedral last Sunday night to support Sharon when she was one of three clergy from around the diocese to be collated and installed as an Honorary Canon of the Cathedral.

Bishop Nigel, who has now retired, spoke of each new Honorary Canon and said of Sharon: "I do believe we first met in prison" - a reference to that part of her ministry which she spent as a prison chaplain.

He went on to outline how she had involved herself in social issues surrounding prison life and also spoke of her missionary work in Kenya and, more recently, her work in Namibia as well as the excellent progress she was making in her 'day job' as priest-in-charge at St Andrew's.

A packed Cathdedral celebrated Evensong, led by Bishop Nigel, but also involving the Very Rev Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester.

Civic dignitaries from the around the diocese were present, including the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor James Gartside, and Councillor Ashley Dearnley, a lifelong worshipper at St Andrew's.

The Church is heavily involved in supporting Rochdale Foodbank and one of its keenest supporters from St Andrew's, Pam Paterson, would like it to be known how best the parish can help in terms of donating food for those people in and around Rochdale who desperately need help.

Pam intends to place a container in the parish room, into which people can place their donations. She points out that Foodbank is extremely grateful for the huge donations of tin beans and soups which are already in, but is now more in need of other items such as sugar, tinned sponge puddings, brown and red sauces and items which do not spring to mind as readily as beans and soups.

Please speak to Pam in Church if you are able to help in this regard.

Services this Sunday, January 20, are Eucharist at 8am and Sung Eucharist at 10am. 

Parish rota: Lay assistant, C Cook; readers, P Shrigley, J Mills; Intercessions, S Knight; sidespersons, E Burrow, J Ainsworth; refreshments, Elizabeth, Gillian J, Sheila.

St Andrew's contact information:

Rev Sharon Jones

01706 378466

dearnleyvicarage@yahoo.com

www.standrewsdearnley.co.uk