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The Newsletter of
A part of Little Hulton since 1662
Issue 8 :- August 2021
Price 50p (£6 per year)
Serving the Community for Over 350 years
________________________________________________________________________________
www.whartoncleggslane.church
www.facebook.com/whartoncleggslane
A Word from our Minister ......
Dear Friends,
I never was very good at sport when I was a child, but whenever I was involved in a sporting
activity I would always give the very best I could (even if that still meant I came in last!). I am
always in awe, therefore, when I watch Olympians compete in their various sports. The speed, the
agility, the focussed concentration, the dedication and the determination to achieve their goal is
inspiring. I'm sure many of you will have been watching the ‘2020’ Tokyo Olympics since they
started last weekend and would agree that it is turning out to be a wonderful spectacle of
sporting excellence and endurance. The competitors’ self-discipline and daily practice, year in
year out, is an inspiration. If you wanted to be an Olympian, what do you think your sport would
be? How often would you plan to train? This week Adam Peaty was described as Britain’s greatest
swimmer, after winning his 2nd Olympic Gold medal. Peaty is up at 5am each morning and follows a
brutal regime of swimming and gym work for up to 40 hours a week, the equivalent of a full-time
job in hard training! It is inspiring to see people working so hard work to achieve their goal.
In Philippians 3: 14 -15, St Paul writes a letter of encouragement to the Christians at Philippi,
urging them to persevere, and to press on towards their goal, straining forward to what lies
ahead. The goal that Paul describes in v.14 is the finishing line that all athletes focus on in order
to win the prize, but Paul elsewhere points out, that as Christians the goal we focus on is to strive
to be more like Christ in all we do. It is not a race that we compete in against others, but instead
is a race we take part in alongside others as we help one another to grow in our faith, our belief
and our understanding of Christ. Growing to be more like Christ, however, does not just happen on
its own. Like with athletes, building our faith takes self-discipline and daily practice as we learn
more about Christ and Christ's will for us through bible study, prayer and service. How much
energy do we put into growing to be more like Christ? The comparison can be rather embarrassing
and it should lead us to ask ourselves some heart-searching questions: Why is our service for
Christ sometimes performed in a half hearted manner? Why do other things come before our
time with the Lord? Why do we prepare more diligently for our responsibilities in the world than
we do our responsibilities in the church?
As Christians, our goal is to honor and glorify Christ in all we do. As we watch the Olympics and
witness again the dedication and commitment of the Olympians, how might we intentionally set
aside time to press on towards our goal, both as individuals and as a church? In this reading from
Philippians, Paul is encouraging us to do more than merely call ourselves Christians or think of
ourselves as Christians. He wants to know Christ and wants us to be real followers of Jesus too.
May God grant that you and I might want that too.
Every blessing,
Sarah
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Church News
Church services
Following the recent Government relaxation of restrictions, we have reviewed our own guidelines
for church services. It was strongly felt that removing all restrictions at this stage was a step
too far, a view supported by both the Methodist and URC churches. Below is a summary of how we
will manage church services for the next few weeks. This will be subject to review, dependent on
the latest information and advice issued by the Government and the church authorities.
• Chairs will be placed at one metre distance apart, rather than two metres previously.
There will still be a number of chairs which will be put together for couples. This will
increase our capacity to 50 people.
• A list of all people attending will be kept for track & trace purposes
• We request that everyone wears a face mask throughout the service, including during the
singing of hymns.
• Singing is now allowed. That is worth repeating - Singing is now allowed.
• Remain seated throughout the service.
• No formal collection will be taken during the service. Please place your offerings collection
in the box at the start or end of the service.
• Refreshments will not be served at the end of the service. We hope that we will be able to
offer refreshments from September.
We believe this is a sensible and practical approach and takes into consideration people's
understandable worries and concerns as we gradually try to move towards a degree of normality.
New Church - Major Jobs Update
It is nice to report some good progress with a number of jobs during July.
The perimeter fencing and gates to the car park and gardens have been completed.
The stained glass windows at the front of church have been fitted. The windows were designed by
one of our Junior Church teachers, Karen Hindle, and incorporate the words of the verse of the
popular hymn 'All things bright and beautiful', drawings of the old Wharton and Cleggs Lane
churches, the URC and Methodist church logos and the words 'Faith, Hope & Love' written on the
multi coloured road. The bottom windows contain a grapevine, which will also be the theme and the
name of the Community Cafe when it re-opens shortly. We plan to fit a plaque alongside one of
the windows with a list of donors whose contributions covered the cost of the windows. It is also
our intention to hold a special service to dedicate the windows, once all Covid restrictions have
been released.
The WW1 and WW2 war memorials which were displayed in the old Cleggs Lane chapel, have now
been fitted on the wall in the main hall, alongside the large wooden WW1 memorial from Wharton.
We are delighted that these important historic reminders of past sacrifice are now in place. A
big thank you goes to Stephen Fawcett, who carefully removed the marble memorial and re-built
it piece by piece in the new church.
There are photos of the stained glass windows and war memorials on pages 10 and 11 in this
newsletter.
Junior Church
Our Junior Church are taking a Summer break after 1st August. A date for the re-start will be
announced shortly.
3
Service of Celebration
The service of celebration to recognise the recent ordination of Rev Sarah Knebel was held in
church on 25th July. Rev Darren Garfield led the service, with Sarah giving a heartfelt
assessment of her journey to date and her hopes for the future. The congregation of over forty
people included friends from other churches in the Farnworth & Worsley Circuit.
This was also the first occasion where we have been able to sing properly which helped to make
the day even more special.
Light refreshments, provided by Margaret Rothwell after the service, gave everyone the
opportunity to chat and also have a look round the new church.
We Need Your Help
We have an extensive list of jobs which need to be carried out inside and outside of the new
church and we are short of volunteers to carry out these tasks. If you consider yourself to be a
'handyman' or 'handywoman' and think you may be able to help, please contact Gary Hindle
(0161 799 2944 or gary-hindle@sky.com)
Broken window
On the evening of Sunday 1st August a stone was thrown at the front office window at church,
shattering the window. Sadly, this is the 2nd incident of broken windows in our new church. Both
have been captured on the CCTV cameras and the details passed to the police for investigation.
The window has been replaced and a claim sent off to our insurance company.
On the same day that our Junior Church children had taken part in a wonderful church service
and the young people taking part in the NCS (National Citizens Service) course had done such a
great job in the gardens, sadly, another youngster found it necessary to be so destructive.
Future Events
As life very slowly begins to return to normality, following the challenges of the past 18 months,
it is important that we try to re-start some activities in our new building. The events committee
met recently to discuss what type of activities can be carried out practically and safely.
The following events are now in the diary:
Sunday 12th September - Immediately after the morning service, there will be a meal
with all proceeds going to the church.
Saturday 16th October - Coffee Morning in church at 10.30am
Saturday 27th November - Christmas Fair beginning at 11.00am
More information on the above events and any other activities will be published in the coming
weeks.
The formal opening and dedication service for the new church, together with other launch events
planned, has now been put back to 2022 - date still to be finalised. We feel that it is important
that there are no restrictions on numbers attending in order to give us the opportunity to
celebrate our achievement in a suitable way. We hope to confirm the date and what activities will
take place very soon.
4
Personal Page
New Arrival
Many congratulations to former Junior Church member Kieran Cox and Shannon on the birth of
their son Coby. Coby was born on 11th July, weighing a healthy 7 lb 10 oz.
Congratulations also to Rosalind Jarvis on her first great grandchild.
Surprise Visitors
During a short visit to the Bolton area to see family, Philip & Debs Brooks popped in to Wharton &
Cleggs Lane on 3rd August to see the new church for the first time. Several of the Elders and
Church Council were at church, together with volunteers from the Community Cafe and Gardening
Group. Both are looking really well and it was a lovely opportunity for a quick catch up before they
returned home to the south of England.
Golden Anniversary
Church Elder Irene James and her husband John (known to most of us as Jamie) celebrate their
50th wedding anniversary on 28th August.
Irene and Jamie were married at St Pauls Peel, Little Hulton way back in 1971 and honeymooned in
Edinburgh.
They will be marking their special occasion with a family meal.
Love and congratulations to you both from all at Wharton & Cleggs Lane.
Community & Circuit News
Community Cafe
Our cafe volunteers have been meeting at church in recent weeks to familiarise themselves with
the layout of the new kitchen, test out the equipment and agree procedures for when the cafe is
able to re-open.
They have had a couple of trial runs, providing lunch for all the volunteers involved in clearing the
area for the new BBC NW Community Garden and also for the Elders and Church Council, together
with the teenagers taking part in the NCS course.
We are still awaiting delivery of the new tables and chairs, and work is continuing in the entrance
area to make it a welcoming and attractive space to host the cafe.
We hope to be opening soon and will keep you updated.
Gardens Update
A tremendous amount of work has taken place in the past 3 months, which has transformed the
gardens around the church. From what, after two years of constructing the new church,
effectively looked like a building site, we now have raised beds containing a multitude of plants
and vegetables, tidy borders with shrubs and even a wildflower meadow.
The gardens are very much a long term project with much work still to do, but what has already
been achieved is nothing short of remarkable.
Thank you to everyone, including members of the Garden Group and Peel Patches and to all the
church members and friends, who have worked so hard. A huge thank you also to Andy Simpson
from the RHS. Andy is working very closely with the Garden Group providing great leadership and
advice.
5
BBC NW Community Garden
In last month's newsletter, we included an article about the BBC Community Garden which was
being displayed at the Tatton Park Flower Show which would be transported to Wharton & Cleggs
Lane once the show ended.
A working party, including several volunteers from the RHS, met in the church garden on 21st
July to clear and level the area where the new garden was to be installed. It was a blazing hot day
and all the volunteers worked tremendously hard all day to level the ground. Lunch and regular
drinks were provided by the volunteers in the Community Cafe which helped to keep us going.
The following week, a small team accompanied by staff from Liberty, went to Tatton Park to
dismantle the show garden and pack it on to lorries and trailers. When we arrived back at church,
the heavens opened as we unloaded the vehicles of all the wood and metal and literally hundreds
of plants.
Mike Dascombe and John Rothwell from the Garden Volunteers group have now begun to put the
new garden structure together and we hope to have some photos to show you shortly.
A massive thank you goes to everyone who helped out in any way with this very demanding task.
NCS Course
Thirteen teenagers, who are taking part in the NCS (National Citizens Service) course, spent
three days working in the church gardens at the beginning of August. They were accompanied by
three team leaders and also worked under the guidance of Andy Simpson from the RHS. The aim
of the course is to provide the youngsters with practical skills, teach them how to work both
independently and as a member of a team, gain new friends and to give them pride and confidence
in their work. They are also encouraged to make suggestions which will provide a benefit in the
area where they are working.
The course was a tremendous success and the young people can be proud of their achievements.
These include -
• Clearing and strimming the heavily overgrown areas behind the community room and at the
side of church, alongside the terraced houses.
• Painting the grey cement raised beds in a mixture of bright colours. What a difference
this has made.
• Making bird boxes and a 'hedgehog hotel'. From wooden offcuts, they also made two sets
of Jenga pieces which can be used by young children in the future.
• Completed a sponsored virtual bike ride to London on an exercise bike, which raised £406
which was donated to the Food Bank and church.
• Donated items to our Food Bank.
It is lovely to hear such a positive story about young people, rather than the negative side which
we read about so much. We look forward to next years NCS course with a new group of
teenagers.
Diary Dates
Sun 12 Sept approx 11.45 am Meal in church after church service
Tues 14 Sept at 7.30 pm Elders meeting
Wed 15 Sept at 7.30 pm Church Council meeting
Wed 22 Sept at 7.30 pm Joint Elders and Church Council meeting
Sat 16 Oct at 10.30 am Coffee Morning in church
Sat 27 Nov from 11.00 am Christmas Fair
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Regular Activities
Every Monday 7.00 - 8.00 pm Zumba class
Every Tuesday 10.30 am - 1.00 pm Food Bank
Every Tuesday 10.00 am - 1.00 pm Gardening Group
Every Tuesday 7.00 - 8.00 pm Mature Movers
Every Thursday 10.00 am - 1.00 pm Gardening Group
Every Thursday 12.30 - 4.00 pm Harbour CYP (19 Aug - 02 Sept)
Every Thursday 7.00 - 8.00 pm Zumba class
Church Services
Date In the Pulpit Worship Door Duty Kitchen Rota Stand
Group Flowers
1st Aug Junior Church Keith & Sarah n/a Karen & Gary
teachers & Dorinda Dickson Hindle
children
8th Aug Rev Sarah Karen & Gary Maurice n/a Dorinda &
Knebel - Holy Jarvis Keith Mann
Communion
15th Aug Graham Bone Irene & Karen n/a Vacant
Sarah D Jackson
22nd Aug Susan Coucill Margaret P & Margaret n/a Irene James
Joan Rothwell
29th Aug Rev Darren Keith & Margaret n/a Jennifer
Garfield Dorinda Parry Hindle
5th Sept Susan Holme Karen & Gary Dorinda Mann n/a Dorinda &
Keith Mann
All services at 10.45am unless otherwise stated.
Please note - No Junior Church during August. Re-start date to be announced.
If you are unable to cover your duty, please try to make arrangements for someone else to stand
in or swap with you. Thank you.
7
Photo Album
Photos of the new stained glass windows which have been installed at the front of the main hall
8
The war memorials from the old chapel have now been fitted to the wall in the main hall
A blaze of colour in the wild flower meadows alongside the church car park
9
Some of the drenched volunteers who transported the Tatton Park garden
Items made by teenagers on the NCS course
Side of church after clearance of undergrowth and brambles by young people on the NCS course
10'Before and after' pictures of the raised beds at church, painted by the lads and girls on the NCS
course
11You can also read
