Dear Friends,

As I write, our extension has finally been completed! After many years of waiting, and 6 months of construction, this has now come into operation. I hope you will agree that it is a fine piece of work, to which our thanks go to GAC (our main contractor), the subcontractors, our architect (Bill Schafer), members of the PCC Building Team including our project managers (Andie Harper and Margaret Emsley), our grant funders, and to all who gave via the gift day last Easter as well as through our fundraising events. My thanks also go to those who helped with our recent transfer of items from the balcony (where they had been stored) into the extension, as well as sorting through items we no longer wished to keep. It was hard work but the balcony can now come into use again for services.

The extension will be being blessed by the Bishop of Liverpool on Sunday 9 February at 10 a.m. and there will also be an extension open afternoon between 2-4 pm that day. Do come and invite friends and neighbours to join us. In the meantime, we already have had our first external booking for the extension, and others are showing interest as well, just as we had hoped. In order to keep it looking good, we do need people to join a weekly cleaning rota, so if you can help, please sign the sheet at the back of church.

With the extension sorted, we are about to embark on the installation of LED light fittings inside and outside the church, courtesy of money received from the Co-op and the Church of England Quick Wins fund designed to support environmental improvements. By the time you read this magazine, hopefully the work will have taken place. After all that has been done, I hope we can have a breather from building work for a while, though there are still some outstanding quinquennial inspection items to be completed, including various stonework repairs and replacing of spalled bricks.

At the end of February, I am delighted that we will welcome to St.Mary’s Christian Stejskal, a Norwegian storyteller, photographer and violin player who will retell the story of the Upper Room, the place where Jesus spent that fateful night with his disciples prior to his arrest and crucifixion as recorded in John chapters 10-13. Tickets cost £10 and are available from Joan Rotheram. The performance will be on Wednesday 26 February at 7.30 p.m. Do come for what should be an inspiring evening.

Finally, as we look towards Easter, Lent begins with two Services of Holy Communion at St.Mary’s on Ash Wednesday 5 March at 10.00 a.m. and 7.30 p.m. respectively. For the evening service, we will be joined by others from across our West Warrington Team, as well as members of West Warrington Churches Together. Do come and join us as we make our journey to the cross once again.

With best wishes

Jeremy Tear
Pioneer Team Rector