Dear Friends
The season of Lent will soon be upon us, starting on Ash Wednesday 14 February this year. I wonder what Lent means to you? A time to give things up (chocolate, alcohol, cake perhaps)? A time to take things on – helping others, studying our bibles, praying more? Lent can be an appropriate time to think of both those things – giving things up and taking things on.
As I mentioned in my last letter, we will be having a focus on giving this Lent at St. Mary’s in order to help pay for our new church extension. What could you give up this Lent, or even maybe this year, in order to play your part in funding this important work? As I write, we don’t currently know how much money we need to raise as we will not receive a tender report from the architect until early February. But it is likely to be a substantial amount and we can only raise that sort of money with your sacrificial giving, and indeed the help of our church fundraiser who will be applying for grants on our behalf. So please do think and pray carefully about this and respond generously to our Gift Day on Easter Sunday 31st March. All being well, we will start the work in early April, and this will be completed before the end of the year.
I’m pleased to say that the church clock has now been fixed thanks to the support of both Great Sankey and Penketh parish councils, and the lighting for the church tower has now been sorted as well. We are in the process of receiving quotes to change our non-LED lights (internal and external) with LED ones, again all thanks to the generosity of the Co-op. And in the spring, we will be having the area around the altar and the bell room repainted.
So, hopefully, things will be looking very different at St. Mary’s over the course of the next few months, indeed the next year, aided by the work of our gardening team as usual. Do come and join them on Thursday morning if you can. Could you take on a weekly or monthly commitment to help keep the front of the churchyard looking beautiful this year? And don’t forget to begin Lent with one of our services of holy communion on Ash Wednesday at either 10 am or 6.30 p.m. And why not follow the season through by joining one of our Churches Together Lent groups as well.
Wishing you a joyful Lent.
Jeremy Tear
Pioneer Team Rector
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