This time of year in the Church’s calendar is a season of remembering – All Saints, All Souls and Remembrance Sunday. It’s good to remember those who have gone before us for to ‘re-member’ reminds us that we are connected to others, other members of the church and the wider human community.

This year All Saints Sunday falls on Sunday 30 October and in particular we remember those Christian saints, or heroes of the faith, who have gone before us. The same day, at our Team Memorial Service, we remember All Souls, those we have known and loved who have died. We specifically invite to this service the next of kin of those we have taken funeral services for across our team during the past year. However, all within our team churches are welcome to attend this service to remember a loved one who has died, whether in the past year or longer ago. The service is at 3 pm at St.Mary’s and various members of our core team will be involved with that.

As we then begin November, our season of remembering continues with our Remembrance Sunday Services on November 13th. For those in Penketh and Sankey, there will be the act of remembrance at 11am at St.Mary’s cemetery, whilst all four of our team churches will hold services at some point that day.

This season of remembering will I expect be especially poignant for us as a nation this year as we remember the life of our late monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Her 70 years of faithful service are something that I think many will want to remember and I suspect that we will see larger numbers than usual at our services.

However we may choose to remember this year, and that will be in different ways across our team churches, I hope and pray that you find this helpful.

With my prayers and best wishes.

Jeremy Tear, Pioneer Team Rector

Dear Friends

It seems a long time ago since the heat of mid-August when I last wrote! Autumn is most definitely with us, and we have now received some decent rain which we most certainly need. Whilst we might be tempted to complain about the weather (and I can certainly do that) let us not forget that for some in the world, it is a matter of life and death. For without the rain that is needed, crops fail to grow, people go hungry and for many in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda at present, life is very fragile indeed. So, as we celebrate our harvest services this year, let us remember to pray for those whose harvests have failed due to drought. You might also like to consider donating to Tearfund’s East Africa Crisis Appeal.

With the onset of autumn, we were no doubt affected in one way or another by the death of The Queen earlier this month. I think she was a tremendous example of someone who was willing to serve both God and her country. The outpouring of affection by the British public, as well as by many others across the globe, shows just how highly respected a person she was. May she rest in peace and rise in glory… And do pray for our new King, Charles, as he undertakes his duties as the monarch including of course being the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Team-wise, I am pleased to report that Marise Seville and June Dunning, our Local Missional Leaders (LML’s) at St. Paul’s and St. Philip’s, will be having their roles extended by the diocese for a further two years. They will be being re-commissioned in November and January respectively. Our third LML, Paul Smalley at St. James, was re-commissioned for his role this past year as well. If you have never thought about whether God might be calling you to exercise a ministry in this way, do speak to Sarah, Martin, or myself as clergy, or indeed to Marise, June or Paul. For more details, visit Being a Local Missional Leader is a real privilege.

The Team Growing Leaders course resumed after a break in August, and we have now completed the first part of it, focusing on firm foundations for leadership. We kick off part two, key skills for Christian leadership, with a day session on Saturday October 8. Do pray for those taking part and for Sarah and myself as we lead the course.

Finally, at the end of October, we have our annual Memorial Service once again, as we invite the next of kin of those we have taken funerals for across the team. The service takes place at St. Mary’s on Sunday 30 October at 3 pm and if you wish to attend to remember a loved one, you are very welcome to do so.

With my prayers and best wishes.

Jeremy Tear, Pioneer Team Rector

Earlier this year, the core team of leaders from our four churches chose the following verse to be our team bible verse for this year: ‘Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 3: 13b-14). When we chose that verse, we were thinking about how we might focus our attention on what God has in store for each of our churches and for us a team this year as we build back following the Covid pandemic. How are we getting on with doing that, I wonder? Have we been able to give time to pray to discern what God has in store for us?

I have been reminded of that verse in recent weeks as I have been part of the Faith and Wellbeing team operating at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. For when St. Paul wrote that verse, he was probably thinking of the athletes taking part in the Olympic or Isthmian Games, the latter of which were held every other year in Corinth. It was a great privilege to be involved in providing pastoral and spiritual support to those in the athletes’ villages, and as I reflect upon that time now, I am grateful for the ways in which we were able to encourage some to press on in their faith and to encourage others to think about faith as well.

Looking back over the past couple of months, it was great to have Rebecca Lloyd ordained as a self-supporting curate at St. James’ within the Team. Thankyou for your prayers for her son Theo, who is now much better. Please do continue to pray for Rebecca, and her family, as she and they settle into this new phase of her life. And many thanks too to those from our team who helped out with the Penketh Carnival on July 9th. It was a beautiful day and fantastic to be able to remind the local community that, with others, ‘We are the Church’ – still here for people. Do pray too for those from our team helping out with the local churches tent at the Creamfields Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend. If you can help, and haven’t yet signed up, the organisers are looking for people who can help with the 8am-4 pm shifts, especially on the Sunday 28 August, email wearethechurchatcreamfields@hotmail.com.

Finally, on a personal note, my Mum died on 22 July. She had not been well for a number of years and really struggling in more recent times. I am grateful for the faith that sustained her throughout her life (and which she encouraged me in). Her funeral is on August 15. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

With my prayers and best wishes.

Jeremy Tear, Pioneer Team Rector