The People and the Building – Page 7

Other meetings take place, each on its appointed day.

Front 1970sSunday: Services at 10.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. Sunday School is incorporated into the first part of the morning service after which the Scholars leave for lessons in their separate departments – Discoverers (young children), Juniors and Focus (older children). All remain in church for the whole of the Family Service on the first Sunday of each month. The Youth Fellowship meets at 7.45 p.m.

Monday: Care and Share Group (originally called House Fellowship Group) meets fortnightly, hosted in members’ homes, studying the application of Christ’s teaching in our everyday lives.
Meetings for Brownies and Guides in Sunday School. In addition to attending normal meetings the Brownies have made little gifts to sell to raise money for charities, e.g. a cheque was sent to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

Tuesday: Pushchair Club 9.30a.m. – 12 noon attended by very young children who play on a climbing frame and other such equipment. Mums stay for coffee and chat with each other. Orange juice is provided for the children. The Club is open to anybody, not only families of the Church and is regularly attended by upwards of 24. A second Care and Share Group meets fortnightly in the afternoon. In the evening the Ladies’ Fellowship meets fortnightly for a brief service, with a guest speaker, and a social hour.

back 1970sWednesday: Pushchair Club in the morning.
A third Care and Share Group meets in the evening, fortnightly.
Meeting Point is held in the afternoon, fortnightly. This consists of a group of Christian women, irrespective of age or family circumstances, coming together to offer friendship, to learn from each other and from outside sources and to become involved in the locality beyond the Church. The meeting opens with devotions, followed by a talk by a guest speaker-, or carrying out practical work such as mending chairs and hymn books. Blankets have been made for Oxfam and, through Tear Fund, help given to the “Feed a Child” programme.

Thursday: A fourth Care and Share Group meets fortnightly in the evening.

Friday: A Club for the 11 plus age group is held in the Sunday School.

Monday – Friday: Morning Playgroup for children of pre-school age established in 1976, as a Christian outreach by the Church into the Community. All pre-school children from the age of 2 years 9 months are welcome and the Playgroup has about 70 children attending during a week. It aims to help children to develop socially, physically and mentally in a happy, caring environment, and act as a stepping-stone between home and school.

Monthly: A House Fellowship meets for Bible Study, Prayers and Fellowship.

Monthly: A Communion Gift is made to charities nominated by members of the Church and congregation.

organThe following events have been planned for this year in celebration of the Centenary.

September 6th, 7th, 8th. Flower Festival

September 15th. Service – Preacher Rev. John A. Palmer

September 20th & 22nd. Holiday weekend at Saltburn.

October 5th and 6th. Craft Exhibition.

October 6th. Harvest Festival – Mr. Chris Taylor.

October 12th. British and Foreign Bible Society Conference.

October 13th. Rev. Dr. Donald English

October 20th. Overseas Missions.

October 27th. Service – Preacher Rev. M. J. Prowting.

November 3rd. Mrs. Janet Owens.

November 23rd. Concert Evening.

November 24th. Service – Preacher Rev. N. W. Wright

November 30th. Church Dance in Civic Hall.

December 1st. Church Anniversary- Rev. Fred Turner (Chairman of the District) with Centenary Lunch after the service.

Throughout the years there have been re-alignments of the Circuits, often made with a view to economy in the deployment of Ministers. In the beginning, Hawkshaw Lane and Holcombe Brook were linked to Patmos (Ramsbottom). 1932 brought the change of name to “Methodist Church” when Holcombe Brook was included in the old Primitive Methodist Bury and Ramsbottom Circuit, with Walmersley Road, Ramsbottom Patmos, Elton Wellington Street, lrwell Vale, Edenfield Rochdale Road and Summerseat Railway Street. We next became part of the Bury Union Street Circuit, when the Ministers were Rev. H. W. Stephenson, Rev. T. Laverick Wilson, Rev. S. Hills and Rev. C. Welch, who was our first Minister in the new Circuit.

 

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