Dear Friends 

September sees the start of children beginning or returning to school, and young people going to college and university. It’s a time in the year when we think of things getting going again, and that is perhaps particularly true for us this year as a nation as we emerge out of the pandemic. It’s also true for us in our churches as we perhaps restart activities that have been on hold since the first lockdown. Our PCCs will also be in the process of relooking at their covid risk assessments and considering what might now be appropriate in terms of masks and social distancing. Do continue to pray for wisdom for them in this ongoing process. 

One of the things that will be starting this September is our Team ‘Living in Love and Faith’ courses, looking at issues of identity, human sexuality, relationships and marriage. We are running these as follows: 

Tuesdays, 7.30 p.m. at St.James’ Church (lead by Jeremy Tear and Rebecca Lloyd) 

Wednesdays, 3.00 p.m. on Zoom (led by Martin Thorpe) – link at end of this letter 

Thursdays, 7.30 p.m. at St.Philip’s Church (lead by Sarah Peppiatt and Paul Smalley) 

If you have not yet signed up to attend, we do have some spaces on Tuesday evenings or Wednesday afternoons. Do let me know asap if you wish to attend. For those who have already signed up, there will be a course booklet to collect from your home church this Sunday. 

Two other events that I wish to mention that are coming up are St.Mary’s Summer Fair and the Ark Experience at St.Paul’s. St.Mary’s Summer Fair was due to take place in June but as a result was rescheduled to Saturday 18 September, between 12 noon – 4 p.m. There will be a good range of stalls, lots of great food and drink, and a great opportunity to meet others, hopefully both outdoors and indoors on the day. You would be very welcome. The Ark Experience was another event that got delayed by restrictions, and this is now scheduled to take place between Monday 27 September – Saturday 2 October. Morning sessions have been arranged for local primary schools and afternoon sessions (between 1.30-5.30 p.m. plus the Saturday 9.30 a.m. – 5.30 p.m) are available to anyone. This free event will be accessible to all ages during which visitors will meet Mr Noah, play games, create things, watch audio-visual presentations, build, laugh, eat and drink, as well as think and consider what this biblical story can say to us today. Again, you would be most welcome to attend. 

Finally, I am pleased to say that following my request for a Team Treasurer in my last letter, we have had some interest. I hope to be able to give you more information in my next letter. 

With my prayers and best wishes 

Jeremy Tear 

Pioneer Team Rector 

LLF Course Dates 

Tuesday Evenings, 7.30 – 9.00 p.m., St.James’ Church 

14 September, 21 September, 28 September, 5 October, 12 October 

(NB The session on 5 October may not go ahead in which case there will be an additional session on 19 October) 

Wednesday Afternoons, 3.00 – 4.30 p.m., Zoom 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83256267809 

Meeting ID: 832 5626 7809 

15 September, 22 September, 29 September, 13 October, 20 October 

(NB No session on 6 October) 

Thursday Evenings, 7.30 – 9.00 p.m., St.Philip’s 

16 September, 23 September, 30 September, 21 October, 28 October 

(NB No sessions on 7 October and 14 October 

Dear Friends

Today has been dubbed ‘Freedom Day’ by some sections of the media. Whilst it is true that in theory most of our freedoms have been returned as we have reached step 4 of the unlocking process, in practice I think that is something different. For we are all being urged to continue to be cautious in the face of the ever-rising coronavirus infection rates, and also mask wearing is being expected and recommended by the government in crowded areas such as public transport. I think the key thing for me in all of this is that as Christians we should continue to be good neighbours to those around us, particularly those who may be fearful or cautious about this final stage of the roadmap. Sometimes, limiting our freedoms for the benefit of others is a sacrifice we are called to make.

How all of this translates into practice for our four team churches is being discussed by PCCs at present. Different PCCs may come to different conclusions. What Bishop Paul has constantly said throughout the pandemic is that local churches are best placed to make local decisions within the law but also that safety should come first. Please do pray for wisdom for our PCC members at this time.

One development within our team that I wish to share with you all concerns St. Philip’s. As most of you will probably be aware, we have been in a sharing agreement with the Methodist Church at St. Philip’s since its inception. This was a bold attempt some thirty years ago to create one church to cover the new housing that was springing up in the area following the closure of the Burtonwood air base. The agreement has worked well in many ways but increasingly the Methodist Church have found it difficult to resource this as their numbers of stipendiary clergy have fallen. Therefore, having consulted the church members, and both churches’ Mission and Pastoral Committees, the difficult decision has been made that the Methodists will withdraw from the partnership at the end of November. There will be a service to mark this on 21^st November at 3 p.m. The withdrawal of the Methodists will of course pose challenges for us as a team in terms of staffing all the services at St. Philip’s and the core team have already agreed a plan for dealing with this which means the stipendiary clergy will be working further across the team. Do please keep all at St. Philip’s in your prayers as they approach this transition time.

One other thing I would like to mention is a request for help for the post of Team Treasurer. This is a role which we have been seeking to fill for a number of years now without success. We are looking for someone who can give an hour of their time (on average) every week to look after the team finances. You don’t need to be a chartered accountant just have a basic numeracy and literacy, and be willing to learn! The role description can be found on the St. Mary’s website. Click here or further information: Team Treasurer | St Mary’s Great Sankey (stmarysgreatsankey.org.uk)

Finally, please may I encourage you to sign up for the Living in Love and Faith course which we are running as a team this autumn. Details are below and there are sign up sheets at the back of each church. Please sign up by the first week in September at the latest as we need to order course books for those wishing to take part. Click on this link for further information Living in Love and Faith | The Church of England.

With my prayers and best wishes

Jeremy Tear

 Pioneer Team Rector

LLF Course Dates

Tuesday Evenings, 7.30 – 9.00 p.m., In-person (Venue TBC)

14 September, 21 September, 28 September, 5 October, 12 October

(NB The session on 5 October may not go ahead in which case there will be an additional session on 19 October)

Wednesday Afternoons, 3.00 – 4.30 p.m., Zoom

15 September, 22 September, 29 September, 13 October, 20 October

(NB No session on 6 October)

Thursday Evenings, 7.30 – 9.00 p.m., In-Person (Venue TBC)

16 September, 23 September, 30 September, 21 October, 28 October

(NB No sessions on 7 October and 14 October)