Thanks to the sterling work of many, & despite the rain, Altrincham Primary School was sent off to enjoy their summer holidays!We started off on a very bittersweet note - both celebrating all that Year 6 had given to the school, all the ways that they had grown over the years, and also sending their off to pastures new! The pupils helped to plan the service - so it included their favourite songs, TSP (Teaspoon) prayers and their choice of a reading too. We were delighted to be joined by Rev Aled who came back from his new church to help leave the service, hand out Bibles to each pupil and (much to the relief of Rev Claire (!)) lead all the action songs - something he does very well! Mrs Watkins surpassed herself with both a montage of photos over the years, and a film of all the children dancing along to the most recent craze! (So recent and so cool it is, that Rev Claire can't remember its name!). Finally, Mrs Chrysler came up and gave us all some pearls of wisdom and encouragement as the next stage of Life's Adventures continue! After a few tears and lots of hugs, Year 6 disappeared ready for a well-earned break before starting anew in Year 7 - we will miss you all very much!It was then a quick turnaround as we got ready for the next service - the end of Year Service for the rest of the school. It was lovely to see the palpable excitement so many had at the prospect of such a long holiday - songs were sung, prayers were said and finally the Year 3s moved us all to tears by collectively reading a poem together - they had spent the last term learning their lines, practising speaking on their own and together, and the results were tremendous! Well done!
After a long search, we are delighted to be able to announce that Russell Medley is to be our new Organist and Musical Director.We met Russell by chance; Russell is the Director of Sale Choral Society, and he came to play a funeral of a much loved member. He and Rev. Claire got chatting about our plans to revitalise our musical tradition in the hope that he might know someone who knew someone! However, in the course of the conversation, Russell was hooked and the rest is history!Russell has an impressive CV, and is currently a Senior Vocal Coach/Repetiteur at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester. He is also the Musical Director of the Sale Choral Society, and has been the Musical Director of the Lindow Singers and the Northern England Chorale. He specialises in the organ, piano, double bass, composition and conducting. He has performed around the world, and spent many years as an examiner for the Associate Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). He has also been the Assistant Chorus Master of the Halle Chorus, and has worked with young people at Moreton Hall School in Shropshire and the Centre of Young Musicians in The Hague, alongside establishing a thriving private teaching and coaching practice too.The really exciting thing about Russell's appointment are our plans to start two new choirs. Many of us at St George's may not be musical, but we have musical children! This has been because someone has taken an interest in them and given them top quality lessons which means that a whole musical world has been opened up. We are keen to do the same for as many as possible.So, working in partnership with Altrincham CE Primary School, from September 2023 we're going to start a new Children's Choir - Altrincham Trebles!Aimed at KS2 to begin with, this choir will be held weekly after school and will be a fun and a fantastic community.Our choir will be focused on teaching our pupils how to sing properly, how to read music and for those that want it, they will be fully prepared to sit the relevant ABRSM exams—setting them up for any musical adventure that they want to peruse in secondary school.In other words, we’ll be able to offer free musical tuition that will last your child a lifetime. But it won't just be children that we are providing choral experiences for!We are keen to revitalise our adult choir too, and build an exciting community with a strong repetoire which will encompass experienced choral singers alongside people keen to learn to a new skill too. So why not come along and be part of it?!Alongside all of this, we also want to say a HUGE thank you to Professor Barry Cooper who, after initially saying he'd do a few months for us by stepping in when our previous organist moved jobs, ended up covering for a number of years! Barry has been nothing short of outstanding - deeply talented, generous and kind, we could not have been better served. Barry is looking forward to having a bit more free time (!), alongside being a member of the choir.
We started off by giving thanks, and then saying goodbye to the much respected and much loved Fr David and his wife Claudia. They have been part of St George’s for nine years, faithfully ministering to everyone, and playing a significant role during the interregnum (the time when one Vicar leaves and the church appoints the next). Fr David’s kind, warm manner alongside a curious and expansive mind have been such a gift to so many, and we wish them well as they take a step back from regular ministry to concentrate on family and work commitments.From there we moved onto our Pet Service – it has been a frustrating weekend as we had anxiously consulted numerous weather apps trying to work out when the predicted storms would fall. Eventually, we decided to cancel the Dog’s Delight led by Perfect Paws in the Park, and moved the Pet Service into church where we could shelter from the heat or the storms! We were joined by the RSPCA alongside the charity Karen’s Kitties who were able to share about some of the work that they do. It was wonderful to see lots of dog’s make the church their home, and hear the excited shrieks of children as they attempted to keep them calm! Ricky the donkey turned out to be Pascal the donkey (!) who acquitted himself with aplomb and received lots of attention. We also heard from Paul Buchannan – a local vet who has recently retired, and so had lots of insights and stories to share!
The sun was shining, the rain stayed away and there was a lovely wind to aid us on our way! It was also lovely to have chance to stop and spot things we often miss – the small stream, the canal boat moorings, as well as catch up with the history of some of our new estates.Joined by colleagues and church members from Partington, Timperley and Broadheath we prayed for our businesses, those living within our Parishes, those in our schools and all our neighbouring churches too. There was a small hiccup when we needed to cross a canal but realised that we had slightly overestimated how close the bridge was (!) but other than that, all went smoothly and it was lovely stopping and chatting to people along the way.If you’d like prayer, do let us know here – it is always a privilege to pray for you, your friends and family, and your work too.
