St Nicholas Parish Church Fleetwood. Week beginning 15th January 2023 We seek to be a church that lives by faith, is known by love and is a voice of hope to the community we serve. Website https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/11671 Sunday 15th January 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship on Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons Judith & Dorothy W. Reader - Elizabeth 4.00 pm Family & Co in the Broadway Rooms Tuesday 17th January 2.00 pm Holy Communion in Church Wednesday 18th January 7.30 pm Churches Together in Fleetwood – Christian Unity Service at Trinity Baptist Church Thursday 19th January 10.00 am Community Coffee Morning in the Jubilee Room 11.30 am Community Warm Hub in the Jubilee Room 12.30 pm Funeral of Victor Redman at Carleton Friday 20th January 9.00 am Little Gang in the Broadway Rooms 12.30 pm Funeral of Roger Moore at Carleton Sunday 22nd January 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship on Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons Karen & June. Reader - Joy 4.00 pm Family & Co in the Broadway Rooms Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an annual ecumenical celebration. Christians around the world are invited to pray for the unity of all Christians, to reflect on scripture together, to participate in jointly-organized ecumenical services, and to share fellowship. It is traditionally held every year between January 18th, the Feast of the Confession of Saint Peter and January 25th, the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. Why these two Feasts? St Paul’s conversion reminds us that we are all united in a call to proclaim Jesus among the nations, and St Peter who confessed “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” reminds us that we are united in proclaiming Jesus Christ, ‘the Son of the living God’. On Wednesday night, at Trinity Baptist Church, we are invited to join with Christians of all denominations in Fleetwood, to worship together and consider afresh how best to live out our unity in diversity. In the Gospel of John, Christ prays for his disciples before going to the cross. He asks that his followers “may all be one,” as he and the Father are one, “so that the world may believe” and have life in his name (John 17). Christian unity is central to the very being of the church and to its mission and witness. May 2023 be a year of dialogue, common action and relationship-building with all our brothers and sisters in Christ in Fleetwood. If you need a lift on Wednesday night, shout out! Lord Jesus, who prayed that we might all be one, we pray to you for the unity of Christians, according to your will, according to your means. May your Spirit enable us to experience the suffering caused by division, to see our sin and to hope beyond all hope. Amen. Please remember in your prayers – Rev Jane Everitt, Rev Martin Keighley, Elizabeth King, Ruth, Chris Kelsall, Michaela Jones, Kathryn Pendleton, Jean Wright, Cath Chambers, Emily Lowe, Carol Allcock & Mark Price. Please also remember the families of Victor Redman, Roger Moore, Mary Gregson, Charles Whiteside, Janet Smith and Davina Kennedy whose funerals are due to take place.
St Nicholas Parish Church Fleetwood. Week beginning 8th January 2023 We seek to be a church that lives by faith, is known by love and is a voice of hope to the community we serve. Website https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/11671 Sunday 8th January 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship on Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons Carole & Sandra. Reader - David 12.30 am Baptism of Ollie, Max and Jak Robinson 4.00 pm Family & Co in the Broadway Rooms Monday 9th January 1.30 pm Funeral of Joshua Morrissey in Church Tuesday 10th January 2.00 pm Holy Communion in Church Thursday 11th January 10.00 am Community Coffee Morning in the Jubilee Room 11.30 am Community Warm Hub in the Jubilee Room 7.00 pm Deanery Synod meets at St John’s Little Thornton Friday 12th January 9.00 am Little Gang in the Broadway Rooms Sunday 15th January 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship on Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sidespersons Judith & Dorothy W. Reader - Elizabeth 4.00 pm Family & Co in the Broadway Rooms * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Church Sitting: The church will open again from this Monday, each week day 11.00 am to 12.30 pm. We are so very grateful to Karen and her team of sitters who enable this important ministry of being open and available to our community. We are not inundated with visitors, but those who come really appreciate the quietness and holiness in their busy lives, that the church offers. As we start a new year together, please consider what you can offer in the way of helping out, be it church sitting or something else! Epiphany: Today we have a choice of celebrating Epiphany and/or the Baptism of Christ. The feast of the Epiphany is January 6th and the following Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. Sometimes, like this year, these two feast days sneak up on us when there is only one additional Sunday during the 12 days of Christmas. There is a good reason for the first Sunday after Epiphany to focus on Baptism. In fact, many churches will baptize children on this Sunday, as we will, as it is one of the most appropriate days for baptisms. The key here is that Baptism is all about beginning. Jesus began his ministry with his own baptism, and today Christians see Baptism as beginning a committed journey with Jesus. The season after Epiphany, as a whole, has much to do with beginnings: the beginning of Jesus’ life, the start of his ministry, the calling of the disciples, and his first miracle. Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1 Please remember in your prayers – Rev Jane Everitt, Rev Martin Keighley, Elizabeth King, Chris Kelsall, Michaela Jones, Kathryn Pendleton, Jean Wright, Cath Chambers, Emily Lowe, Carol Allcock & Mark Price. Please also remember the families of Joshua Morrissey, Victor Redman, Roger Moore, Mary Gregson, Charles Whiteside and Margaret Crawshaw whose funerals are due to take place.
St Nicholas Parish Church Fleetwood. Week beginning 1st January 2023 We seek to be a church that lives by faith, is known by love and is a voice of hope to the community we serve. Website https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/11671 Sunday 1st January 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sides persons Susan & Christine. Reader - Sandra Tuesday 3rd January 2.00 pm Holy Communion in Church Thursday 4th January 10.00 am Community Coffee Morning in the Jubilee Room Friday 6th January 9.00 am Little Gang in the Broadway Rooms * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the Vicar - If you are reading this, then you must have made it through 2022! It was the year we finally went back to normal…..sort of! Hugs were allowed, we had a proper Christmas and all the restrictions of the pandemic were lifted. But whilst it wasn’t Covid 19 dominating our news this year, there were plenty of other events that left us feeling a little bewildered. From the war in Ukraine to our Queen’s passing; to getting through three Prime Ministers; to eye watering inflation and rising energy prices and now to strikes galore. Add to that our own personal challenges, then I think you’ll agree 2022 has been quite a ride. According to the YouVersion Bible App, the most popular bible verse among global users in 2022 was Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” If this is the verse that we’ve been referring to and highlighting the most, it seems to me that we are still acutely aware of our need for God’s strength to equip us to make it through this journey we call life. However we’re feeling as the year draws to a close, we can take courage that God is present in our lives and in the world around us. Closer to home and at St Nic’s we can be encouraged with all that we have achieved in 2022, not least the completion of £50,000 worth of roof repairs made possible by your generous donations and the hard work that went in to all the fund-raising events throughout the year. We also ran a successful Alpha course and hosted the Living in Love and Faith deanery day conference. We had Phil licensed to us as a Lay Minister. We delivered Messy Church events at Easter, Harvest and Advent and launched our weekly Family Service. The PCC completed all safeguarding training and checks. We installed lights in the Car Park and a defibrator in memory of Ann Howarth and we gave away 5% of our income to help other people in need! This is just a snap shot, there are other examples of where God has guided and equipped us as his people in this place and we can take courage and start 2023 with renewed confidence. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.” Finally, I want to express my sincere thanks for the many cards and greetings that I received from so many of you over the Christmas period, and for your ongoing love, care and support. I hope you have had a peaceful and blessed Christmas and I pray that God will bless you and yours richly in the coming year. With love and continued prayers from Reverend Carolyn. 100 Club – This will begin for 2023 from today with 106 subscribers. If you wish to join, please see Ruth. Please remember in your prayers – Rev Jane Everitt, Rev Martin Keighley, Elizabeth King, Chris Kelsall, Michaela Jones, Kathryn Pendleton, Jean Wright, Cath Chambers, Emily Lowe, Carol Allcock & Mark Price. Please also remember the families of Joshua Morrissey, Victor Redman, Roger Moore and Margaret Crawshaw whose funerals are due to take place.
St Nicholas Parish Church Fleetwood. Week beginning 18th December 2022 We seek to be a church that lives by faith, is known by love and is a voice of hope to the community we serve. Website https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/11671 Sunday 18th December 8.30 am Holy Communion in Church 9.30 am Worship via Zoom 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church Sides persons Susan & Christine. Reader - Margaret 4.00 pm Family & Co in the Broadway Rooms 6.30 pm Nine Lessons and Carols with Thornton Cleveleys Band in Church Monday 19th December 12.30 pm Funeral of Audrey Ross in Church Tuesday 20th December 11.30 am Funeral of Annie Bates in Church 2.00 pm Holy Communion in Church Thursday 22nd December 10.00 am Community Christmas Coffee Morning, with carols in the Jubilee Room Christmas Eve 5.30 pm Crib Service in Church 11.30 pm Midnight Holy Communion Christmas Day 10.45 am Holy Communion in Church followed by mince pies and drinks at the Vicarage * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Here at St Nicholas, we’ve had a busy December with lots of different events and services which have brought the church family together with the community and the local schools. We have much to be grateful for, not least the band of volunteers who have given so freely of their time and resources to make these occasions happen. As we approach the end of year it’s natural to look back on 2022, recalling the joys and sadness’s of which there have been many, not just for us as individuals but for us as a nation and a world. One of those sad occasions was the passing of our Queen. This Christmas will be the first time since 1957 that Queen Elizabeth II will not be addressing the nation. Her first Christmas broadcast came from Sandringham House. It was an historic event, because this was the first time that the public could see and hear the queen thanks to what she described as the 'new medium' of television. As we journey through these final days of Advent in preparation for our Christmas celebrations it’s worth remembering some of the wise words she shared with us, in a public expression of her faith: *God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general … but a Saviour, with the power to forgive. Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. … It is my prayer that … we all might find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord. (2011) *Despite being displaced and persecuted throughout his short life, Christ’s unchanging message was not one of revenge or violence but simply that we should love one another. (2015) *Jesus Christ lived obscurely for most of his life, and never travelled far. He was maligned and rejected by many, though he had done no wrong. And yet, billions of people now follow his teaching and find in him the guiding light for their lives. I am one of them because Christ’s example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love, whoever does them and whatever they themselves believe. (2016) May the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Joseph and Mary, and the peace of the Christ-child be yours this Christmas. Christmas Wishes – Beryl Clarkson sends her good wishes to you at Christmas. Nancy Burr wishes the church family a happy Christmas and good health in 2023. Berny McCarthy sends her love and best wishes to you in this Holy season. Please remember in your prayers – Rev Jane Everitt, Tony Hardman, Rev Martin Keighley, Gillian & Elizabeth King, Chris Kelsall, Michaela Jones, Kathryn Pendleton, Jean Wright, Cath Chambers, Peter Keitch, Emily Lowe, Peter Hollier & Mark Price. Please also remember the families of Audrey Ross, Annie Bates, Jean Watson, Patricia Fallows and Margaret Crawshaw whose funerals are due to take place.
