St Andrew's, Dearnley and Smithy Bridge

St Andrew's, Dearnley and Smithy Bridge

The Ash Wednesday service at St Andrew's, the parish church of Dearnley and Smithy Bridge, will take the form of Sung Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes, starting at 7.30pm and followed by a time of silent reflection, healing and laying on of hands in the Lady Chapel.

Earlier in the day, the children of St Andrew's Primary School will be in Church at 9.00am.

Writing in the February issue of our parish magazine, The Fisherman, our vicar, the Rev Sharon Jones, says: "Lent is a time to consider more than giving up chocolate and crisps - that is more about concern for our expanding waistlines than it is about meeting God.

"During Lent we could try giving up five minutes of each day to pray. We could reduce the amount of time we spend looking in the mirror, or reading magazines, and try instead to spend that time reading the Bible, or in silence."

Everyone is welcome at our Lent Groups, which cover 'Life Attitudes --- a five-week course exploring the Beatitudes' and, separately, 'Lent with the Celtic Saints'.

Broadly speaking, The Beatitudes are teachings by Jesus which appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke and which present a set of Christian ideals, focusing on love and humility.

These groups will be held during Lent on Tuesdays at 7.30pm in the Vicarage; on Wednesdays at 1.30pm at Barbara Gordon's home; and on Thursdays at 2pm at Jean Townshend's home.

'Lent with the Celtic Saints' is a four-part series with the Rev George Dobbs, which will be held in the parish room at 7.30pm on Thursdays February 21 and 28 and March 14 and 21. There will be a break on March 7.

Jo Dobbs is the driving force behind our active involvement with Fairtrade. We are now a Fairtrade Church, with a monthly fairtrade stall which offers, among other items, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, dried fruit, jams, muesli and cocoa.

Five per cent of money raised goes into church funds.

Jo first came across Fairtrade when she was working in El Salvador in 1996. It was a country recovering from civil war, with small-scale farmers whose product would never have reached a wider market without support.

She says: "Many countries throughout the world are still struggling, but we can help by supporting Fairtrade and Tradecraft who are fighting poverty world wide."

Meanwhile, we are urging as many people as possible to take part in our Smartie Challenge, which is raising funds for our Wider Welcome appeal.

All you have to do is pick up a tube of Smarties from the back of Church, enjoy them, then fill the empty tube with 20p pieces and return the full tubes to Peter Shrigley, Ken Harper or Debbie MacRae.

In Church on Sunday, February 10, we have Eucharist at 8am and Sung Eucharist at 10am. We would be pleased if anyone with Palm crosses from last year would bring them in then.

This week's parish rota is: lay assistants, S Moore, H Walker; readers, G Barlow, S Topham; Intercessions, R Polley; sidespersons, M Howarth, J Townshend; refreshments, Graham, Sandra, Ashley.