Volume 108 October / November 2020 - Ainsworth Methodist ...

Volume 108 October / November 2020
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Contents
Page

 3     Editor’s Introduction
 4     Letter from the manse
 8     Member’s News
10 Useful information
12 Looking back                    Now this is our boast: Our
14 Fun Pages                       conscience testifies that
                                   we have conducted
16 Methodists                      ourselves in the world, and
                                   especially in our relations
18 Chapel centenary                with you, with integrity and
20 Lockdown story                  godly sincerity. We have
                                   done so, relying not on
21 Contacts                        worldly wisdom but on
                                   God’s grace.
22 Activities
                                   2 Corinthians Ch. 1 v. 12
23 Sunday Services

 Front cover from a painting by
            Dennis Firth
                                          Forward a
       4/12/1930 — 6/4/2020               copy to a
                                          friend or
                                         neighbour;
                                         to let them
                                        know about
                                        your church.

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Editor's Introduction
Welcome to the one Hundredth and eighth issue of ‘THROUGH THE
GATES’.

Hi All

Well here we are with another lockdown version of this magazine. I am
glad that there is good feedback for the on-line colour version and from
the self-printed colour version. It looks like we will be keeping these
magazine arrangements for a little longer!

The way we worship is going to remain the same a little longer too!. New
ways that had not been dreamt very long ago for
worship, fellowship, children’s work and
meetings are now the current norm.            The
lockdown situation has forced out some exciting
ideas that may not have happened but for the
unusual situation. For example, some people
that were housebound before the pandemic are
now worshiping for the first time in a long while
with others over internet via the likes Zoom.

Originations planning for the future are not taking for granted that things
will be done as they were before. For example, both workers and firms
have realised that it can be more efficient and enjoyable to work from
home.

                                  Churches have also discovered new
                                  ways of working that perhaps they
                                  would not have without the lockdown.
                                  The Bolton Methodist Circuit have
                                  found that they have shared skills
around the circuit For example, computer skills, radio production, youth
and children’s work, and pastoral caring from a distance.

This means that the circuit is planning for a future that involves Bolton
Methodist Churches in sharing resources to share a common vision.

                Please note the closing date for items for
              the next issue is the 22nd November for the
                    December / January issue.
              Just email them to pdf1@hotmail.co.uk

                                     3

Letter
Dear Friends,

Once upon a time, 20 years ago, late in the evening, I left a
hotel in New York. Now, it was not just any hotel, the
Millennium Hilton in Downtown Manhattan is a special hotel.
After you added in taxes, it was over $500 a night then. The
people who were arranging my trip forgot to book me a hotel
and then said the only hotel with rooms was this one. I think I
was supposed to say that I would stay on someone’s couch;
instead, I said – “I’ll take it”, just for
one night.

Note: this is modern picture of a room
that my memory says was like mine -
a one-bedroom King Suite with
Parlour taken from their website

As I looked out of the window in the lounge of my hotel suite, I
looked directly at the twin towers of the World Trade Centre
which got in the way of the view of the Brooklyn Bridge. A
simple room service meal of a burger and a milkshake was
going to cost a silly amount of money, and I felt bad about the
cost of the food, so I decided I would go out and eat in a
diner. I left the hotel, walked around the corner and started to
walk towards the back of the hotel, and as I walked past the
kitchens, there was a great big pile of bin bags. They moved.
That was when I realised that someone had taken the bags of
rubbish and fashioned them into a house for the night – like a
black plastic igloo. As I walked to the back of the hotel, I
found people sleeping in doorways and shells of shops that
were derelict, all within shouting distance of some of the most
expensive real estate in the world. I came upon a church, St.
Paul’s Chapel. It was shut, but it looked a little out of place, a
chapel, with a graveyard at the back, in the middle of
Downtown. I kept on going around the outside of the church,
down the side and ended up at the Stage Door Diner. I went

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from the Manse
in and had a Pastrami and Rye, mainly because it is a cliché –
and I wanted to. I sat on a stool, talked to the other people
eating in the diner, and wandered back to my hotel bed which
was so wide I could sleep sideways across it. I did, just to say I
had.

The following day I worked on Wall St, got on a plane and flew
back to the UK.

Twelve months later, I sat in my office in
Maidenhead during my final week of
working before I went to Wesley College
to train as a minister. I had five screens
on my desk, and on them, I watched the
feeds of planes flying into the Twin
Towers. My great friend Irfan and I were
desperately phoning friends. Dhimant was
across the river and safe. Brijesh was in
Twin Towers, but only on the third floor,
he ran outside, watched people jumping
from the 89th floor and ran. As he turned
around after running, he saw the first
tower fall and realised that many of his
colleagues at JP Morgan were still back
there.

Another friend was late for work at the Pentagon. The plane that
hit the Pentagon went through his desk; if he had been on time,
he would have been sat at it.
             “
The world changed. When I went back to work in IT the first
Christmas I was at college it was like everything was different.
At the end of that holiday, I quit, and I have never been back.

In 2004, I went back to New York, to Manhattan, to
Downtown and the Millenium Hilton. The Twin

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Letter from the Manse
 Towers had gone. As I stood and gazed into the hole where
they used to me, the lady next to me looked at a photo book
with pictures of faces in it, and then a photo of the plane as it
hit.

There were guards on the doors of the hotel now and barbed
wire!! I was not allowed in. I then did what I had come to do,
and I began to walk around the side, to see what remained of
my walk. There were no houses made of bin bags. But there
were and are rough sleepers. Many of these will have been
killed on 9/11 – I have never heard it mentioned. I walked
around the side and then the back. I walked up to St. Paul’s
and went inside, to see all the banners from the fire crews
who had fought the blaze on that fateful day. I walked to the
Stage Door Diner – rebuilt.

It was all very strange. The hubbub
of Manhattan, the traffic noise, the
people, there was simply no peace
in that place, no peace for me, no
peace for the lady with her
photobook.

You see, the problem was not the damage, which was
terrible, or the sadness, which was palpable. The problem
was not even that there was so much building and rebuilding
going on. My issue was, and is, how they rebuilt it. Not the
architecture, but the inequality.

In the rebuilt Church Street of Downtown Manhattan, they
rebuilt the inequality that was there before. The luxury hotel
with its $500 a night rooms is still there, and the rough
sleepers are still round the back, only without houses of
rubbish. The divide between rich and poor is still there, and in
fact, in the way that they rebuilt things, they almost reinforced

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Letter from the Manse
the divide. They had the chance to rebuild a better place,
and they chose to simply make a less-destructible version of
the old one.

Disasters are terrible things. The loss of any life is a tragedy.
The loss of thousands is still a tragedy, even though it can
be seen as a statistic. But the greatest tragedy is not to learn
from a disaster and to rebuild what was there before. And
the greatest loss is not to take the opportunity to put in place
something better than what went before.

A friend of a friend was one of the people who wrestled down
one of the attackers on the Philadelphia Flight (United
Airlines Flight 93). In the weeks that followed as I talked to
her, she kept telling me, “they say he is a hero. I don’t want
him to be a hero – I just want him back” - such a senseless
loss of life, and such an evil act.

It will take us decades to rebuild from the
pandemic. When it gets round to rebuilding,
please can we not simply put back what was
there before, and instead, can we build better,
build fairer and build in a way that all are included
rather than cementing in divisions. Because if we
                                      don’t do this, then the
                                      opportunities that we
                                      have will have been
                                      squandered, and this
                                      opportunity for change
                                      that we have prayed for,
                                      will pass us by.

                                     God Bless

                                      Ian

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Member’s News

I just want to pass on my personal
thanks to all those who worked
tirelessly to give Mum (Joy Bentley) the
very best send off under restrictive
circumstances.

Firstly to Rev Ian who took the time
and dedication to compose the most
wonderful service. I have been
inundated with messages from
attendees saying what a moving and
very personal service it was. Ian, you
are indeed a master craftsmen (your
new job title!)

Thanks also to the 'Domestic Goddesses' who made Chapel a
clean and safe place to be. I realise a lot of time and energy went
into doing that.

Thanks also to the 'Ground force Team' for attending to the
gardens, lawns and moss. It was nice to see the path again!!

Thanks to Anne and Lorraine for their readings, to Mike for his
skills on the sound deck and for the speakers and to Janet for the
stunning alter flowers.

Thanks to those who attended both in Chapel and outside, despite
the weather.

Earlier this afternoon I took Mum's floral tribute to Bury Hospice so
they can continue to be admired.

I have tried to think of all the individuals and teams to thank so do
please excuse me if I have omitted anyone.

God bless all.

Lindy x

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Member’s News

Phil is now safely back home
and settling in nicely. It's
great to have him back on
the road to recovery. Thank
you all for your prayers, love
and support over the past
few months.

Lots of love

Fiona Belli

                 Bolton’s Humanitarian Food Hub
                   on weekdays between 10am and 4pm.
Bolton’s Humanitarian Food Hub led by Bolton Council and supported by
many organisations including Urban Outreach, Bolton at Home, Seddon’s
and Bolton CVS are still feeding many families each week so they are
continually in need of many food items. Please would you
be able to support by providing food donations of these
items:
                       Items needed
Tinned meat, veg, chopped tomatoes, fruit, 500g boxes of
breakfast cereal, Cordial, Long life milk, Custard powder,
1kg bags of rice, Pasta (500g), Baked beans, Tinned
soup, Jars of pasta sauce, Tinned pulses, Tinned
vegetables (sweetcorn, peas, carrots and potatoes), Biscuits, Tinned fish,
Tea, jars of baby food (different ages), Incontinence pads, Male toiletries,
Nappies, Wipes.
If you are able to purchase any of these items please take it to Unit 4, Trinity
Retail Park, Bradford Street, Springfield, Haulgh, Bolton, BL2 1HY (in the
old ‘Staples’ unit at the bottom on the far right opposite where Toys R Us
used to be) on weekdays between 10am and 4pm. if you’d like to give a
monetary donation or For further information please contact Sam
Bagley at samuel.bagley@urbanoutreach.co.uk

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Useful info

                                         Phoneline
                     A FREE phone service to hear
                     prayers and news from the
                     Methodist Church has been
                     launched.
     Listen to a prayer:     0808 281 2514
     Listen to news:         0808 281 2478
Content is updated weekly on Thursday evening

                  Ainsworth Macmillan Coffee Morning
                  Joint with our Christ Church friends.
Due to the uncertainty about social distancing, serving food etc, we have
reluctantly decided to delay holding the Coffee Morning until Spring, when
hopefully the situation will have improved. Obviously, in the meantime, you
can donate to Macmillan directly and we would encourage you to do so

                                    10

Useful info

    11

Looking Back Special

                       Looking
                        Back
                       Special

                           “I think most of
                          us would like to
                           remember this
                           day, not solely
                          because you are
                           opening a new
                             building but
                          because you are
                             carrying the
                             Gospel one
                            stage nearer
                                home”

        12

Sunday School Building opening

                In 1930 a new Sunday
               School was designed by
               architects Byrom Clark
                       and Co.
              It was opened in 1934 by
              the Mayor of Bolton who
                commented that there
                was not a better built
                 Sunday School in the
                whole of Lancashire !

              13

Fun Pages

   14

Fun Pages

My husband
purchased a world
map...gave me a
dart and said
"throw this and
wherever it lands
I’m taking you for
a holiday
when this             For those who can’t work
pandemic is over".    out social distancing . This
                      is two Meters apart
Turns out I am
spending two
weeks
behind the fridge

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Methodists

   The Local Church
Do you not think that the secret of the extraordinary hold of
Methodism upon the English poor lies in the strict and
intimate communion which forms so essential a part of it?
Methodism is eminently social…
Dora Greenwell

Local Methodist churches are
congregations based on the
original Methodist 'societies' that
met within the Church of England.
These met initially in people's
homes for worship, fellowship,
prayer and instruction.

When they began to gather in larger buildings, Methodists
continued the practice of meeting in small groups or
'classes' for Bible study, prayer and Christian conversation.
These intimate support groups were very effective at
building commitment and a sense of belonging

Methodist membership is still
held in the 'society' in a certain
place - it is locally based. All
members        belong     to     a
'class' (which may or may not
meet). Many other people are
associated      with    Methodist
churches, through attending worship and participating in
clubs and fellowship groups.

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Methodists

Local churches manage their own affairs (including church
property) through lay volunteers called church stewards. But
they are connected to others in the circuit, and more widely
to the district and the Methodist Connexion.

In some places, Methodists
have entered into a Local
Ecumenical Partnership with
one or more churches of
another denomination.

Worship in the local church may be led by the minister who
has pastoral charge of the church, but will frequently be
conducted by a local preacher, who is a trained lay person.

There is considerable
interest in developing
new ways of gathering
as    Christians    and
'being church' that are
more appropriate and
attractive    in    the
contemporary world.
Some          Methodist
churches are moving
to a 'cell church' concept, which once more highlights the
crucial importance of the dynamic and holistic small group in
developing Christian discipleship

From www.methodist.org.uk

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Reminiscence of Chapel Centenary Year 1992

Celebrations started in August 1992, with one event each month
leading to the final events on the weekend of December 5th and
6th.marking the actual date of the opening of the Chapel in the
December of 1892.

Saturday August 15th.
Display and Festival celebrating all sections of the Church and
Sunday School. The very first minute book was borrowed from
Bolton Library and copies of the first wedding and baptism held in
the new church were also on show.

Sunday August 16th.
Family Service and the Evening Service was a Songs of Praise with
members selecting the hymns. (The service was recorded. It is nice
to listen to on CD and hear friends who are no longer with us.)
Sunday September 13th.
Harvest Sunday. The fruit was received by Mrs Joyce Street one of
our oldest members.
Saturday October 10th.
An illustrated talk was given by Mr Cedric Robinson The Queen´s
Guide across Morecambe Bay Sands.
Sunday November 15th.
The morning service preacher was Rev Brian Baker from Leeds a
former minister in the Bolton Circuit.
Saturday November 24th.
An Evening of Organ Music. In the Chair was Mr John Brooks from
London who was the first child to be baptised in the new chapel.
Organists were:
•     Mr Alan Ogden who was the organist at Jumbo Methodist Church
      Middleton Junction where our organ came from.

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from David Earnshaw
•     Mr Alan Wilson who played our organ for many years on
      Sermons day so Miss Eveline Brooks, who was both choir leader
      and organist, could conduct the choir. Alan´s father had done that
      before him.
•     Michael Bainbridge kindly stepped in at the last minute because
      own minister Rev Peter Hughes should have been next on the
      organ bench but unfortunately he was taken ill
•     Last but by no means at all least was our own organist John Mills
      who week by week filled our building with beautiful music. He
      played classical pieces and a selection from the musicals.

Saturday December 5th.

Presentation of the musical ‘Alternativity.’
The Mayor of Bolton spoke very highly of the
performance saying he got about to lots of
professional shows but had not seen anything
to compare with what he had watched this
evening. Then he and Miss Minnie Walker,
our eldest member, cut the celebration cake.
Our minister Rev Peter Hughes gave us the
sad news that Mrs Edna Jones had passed
away that morning and said how hard she had
worked on all the events.

Sunday December 6th.
The morning service was led by own minister Rev Peter Hughes
and the evening service by Rev Chris Hughes Smith and after the
service the new benches in the chapel yard were dedicated.
Then into the hall for refreshments.

During all these events we gave especial thanks in our prayer for
the faith and foresight of our forefathers who made it possible for
us to worship in this building ,which some oldies like me still call
The Chapel.
David Earnshaw.
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Lockdown story
Good things still happen in lockdown.
A story from Spotland Methodist Church - Rochdale.
As a Church we have been able to help a local young man. This
gentleman due to circumstances found himself living in a hostel
earlier this year with very little. When a flat became available things
started to look up. The only problem being it was unfurnished we
were in lockdown and he had very little money. I had been asked if
there was any way we could help. Well of course we could. So off I
went to church (for the usual flushing of toilets, running taps,
collecting post and checking the building) and sourced all sorts.
It's amazing what we have been
donated over the years…plates,
cups, cutlery, bedding, pots and
pans, dish cloths, washing up liquid,
I even emptied the Meet and Eat
cupboard of food as it would most
likely be out of date when we get
back. Some of the items had been
donated for the summer fair and I
hope you will forgive me for using some of that, but this felt like the
right thing to do. I even managed to source a table! One of our
church members donated some money to help which was greatly
appreciated.
Well the feedback I got from this gentleman was wonderful. I received
a message from the volunteer who passed the items over saying she
had not seen a grown man cry like that before. He was overwhelmed
and so very thankful.
I later received a photograph showing a microwave and second hand
sofa that changes into a bed which he had bought with the money. I
have since been told that this gentleman’s outlook on life is so much
better, he is getting so much better, getting help and hoping to have
his children move in with him very soon.
I can only go into so much detail due to confidentiality but I thank you
all as a Church and thank God that we were able to help and could.
Leonie O'Donoghue
Church and Community Lay worker Rochdale and Littleborough
Circuit.

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Contacts
      Bolton Methodist circuit contacts:

            Rev’d Hilary Howarth
         01204 291698 / 0793 3724411

              Rev’d Ian Smart
        01204 315304 / 0787 5569225

          Rev’d Carolyn Lawrance
        01204 227377 / 779 - 0072912

            Pastor Sue Snowden
               01204 534036

            Pastor Chris Holmes
               01204 460514

Items for email distribution to church members
                 (virtual notices);
         Mike—mail@mbainbridge.co.uk
          Items for the next magazine;
            Peter—pdf1@hotmail.co.uk

               Ainsworth Methodist is
               a FAIRTRADE church

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Activities

MINISTER;           CHURCH STEWARDS
See back page       Daniel Bainbridge, Eileen Burns.
TREASURER;          Hilda Keenan.
John Mills          VESTRY STEWARDS
CHURCH COUNCIL      Fiona Belli, Anne Bainbridge,
                    Kathleen Lodmore, Ian Taylor
SECRETARY;
                    PROPERTY SECRETARY;
Mike Bainbridge
                    Vacant
ORGANIST;
                    SAFEGUARDING OFFICER
John Mills
                    Linda Binns
DEPUTY ORGANIST
                    EVENTS SECRETARY;
Gloria Jackson
                    Ruth Merrick

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Sunday Services
Morning - On Local radio
Ainsworth Edgworth Harwood Hawkshaw

Sunday Morning Worship is broadcast live on Bolton FM (96.5FM)
and online at www.boltonfm.com. It is also available on your smart
speaker and digitally via TuneIn.

Rev. Ian Smart and Sue Snowdon present this inspirational
programme each Sunday at 11am and it will feature a different
“preacher” each week

A handout of worship material and a reflection is produced every
week. This is either emailed, or printed and delivered to those who
have requested it. It is also available on Facebook on the Harwood
Methodist Church Sunday School page.

Evening - On the internet

Bolton Circuit Service
We are all invited to join the evening service at 6 p.m. with Rev Ian
Smart. This is a varied diet of traditional service, Bible Study,
Special Services (e.g. Harvest) and Praise times.

You can join us on Zoom, Facebook, YouTube or dial in The
links are below.

Zoom https://www.zoom.us/j/7875569225
Facebook The link will be on Ian Smart’s Facebook timeline
YouTube Search for Ian Smart’s livestream or go to
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClr7H3eYc7KOVl6aQebhbLQ/
featured?view_as=public
Dial in on a landline phone 0203 4815240 You will be asked for
the Meeting ID which is 7875569225 and to press the "hash" key
(#). It will be a national phone call in terms of charges.

The service is available on YouTube after the event.

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“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving“
               Psalm 100:4

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