Dear Friends

As we have entered the Advent season, our thoughts are no doubt very much turning towards Christmas and preparations being made in all our churches to celebrate the birth of Christ. But let’s not forget that Advent is not only a season to prepare for Jesus’ first coming as a baby at Bethlehem, but also a season to prepare for His second coming at the end of time. And hence in the Advent Sunday gospel, we were reminded to ‘Be always on the watch..that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man’ (Luke 21:36).

So how are we using this season of Advent, which so often gets overlooked in the rush towards Christmas? Perhaps you are reading a Christian book, making some extra time to pray or to study your bible, or to reflect upon your life, perhaps with the support of a fellow Christian. All of those are good Advent disciplines which basically means a practical way of exercising our discipleship. One of the things I am doing this year is to follow a daily Advent video series called ‘The Bethlehem Story which concerns the story of the little town in Palestine from the death of Rachel to the birth of Christ. As well as exploring the biblical references to Bethlehem, there are also Palestinian Christians telling their story about life there today. If you would like to follow the series, you can subscribe to the Unreached Network Youtube Channel, where all the previous days videos are available to watch as well. The series is presented by Andy McCullough, who is the teaching pastor at Reading Family Church, and is supported by Bethlehem Bible College and Sabeel-Kairos, a Christian human rights charity working for peace and justice in Israel/Palestine. I commend it to you.

On a separate note, it was good to join with folks at St.Philip’s on 21 November for a service to mark the ending of the partnership agreement between the Church of England and the Methodist Church. This agreement has been in place for the last 30 years since the church’s inception and it was good to be reminded of the many ways in which St.Philip’s has engaged in mission to its local community. Though the Methodist Church has now had to withdraw from the partnership, St.Philip’s (under Sarah’s leadership) will continue to look for ways of partnering with all Christians who wish to join with them in continuing to reach out to those in their locality. The ending of monthly Methodist input into St.Philip’s will now mean the team are adopting a new service pattern from January next year when the third Sunday will be designated a Team Sunday and the clergy move around our different churches. I hope this proves a blessing and that you will enjoy seeing more of our clergy across the team.

With my best wishes for a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Stay safe and take care.

Jeremy Tear, Pioneer Team Rector

Dear Friends

I hope this letter finds you well. Much has happened in the life of our team since my last letter two months ago.

The Living in Love and Faith courses concerning questions of human identity, relationships, marriage and sexuality were attended by 26 people in September and October. Many thanks to all who took part and to members of the core team who facilitated these. I do hope that these will have given us all a greater understanding of some of the issues surrounding these subjects and an awareness of the different points of view which Christians can hold. If you took part in a course and have not yet returned your feedback form, please do so as soon as possible as these will help to shape the General Synod’s thinking on these matters. Speaking of which, congratulations are due to Martin Thorpe who has been elected as one of the new diocesan representatives on that Synod.

At the end of October, we held the Team Memorial Service at St.Mary’s for those who have been bereaved in the past year. About 40 people came in person and a good number online as well. I hope this proved helpful for all who attended.

There have also been a number of mission activities going on across our team as things have begun to open up more after the summer. The Ark Experience at St.Paul’s was a fantastic event, very well attended, and I hope helped connect with many in our community. St.Philip’s has begun a ‘Muddy Church’ for youngsters, about 40 people attending the inaugural session. St.Mary’s has begun another Alpha course which 10 people have signed up for. St.James has restarted its ACE service for young families. For all of these things we can be thankful to God.
In terms of things opening up, I’m conscious that our churches are currently at different places with regards to Covid restrictions. Wherever our respective PCC’s have got to in their thinking, please do continue to be mindful of others who may be taking a more cautious approach than yourself in this matter. I think one of the signs of a Christian community is how we deal with difference and disagreeing well (as Justin Welby has reminded us) is vital, as is taking care of those whose health may not be as good as ours.

Later this month marks a significant moment in the life of St.Philip’s as its partnership with the Methodist Church comes to an end. There is much we can be thankful for in the way that our two denominations have worked together to serve and witness to the community in Westbrook over the past 30 years. I’m pleased to say that Bishop Paul will be coming for the final service of thanksgiving at St.Philip’s on Sunday 21 November at 3.00 p.m. Please let Sarah Peppiatt know if you would like to attend.

Take care and stay safe.

Jeremy Tear

Pioneer Team Rector

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)

Dear Friends

It’s nearly two months since I last wrote – how the year flies by! – and it’s good to know that we have a little more freedom in terms of coronavirus restrictions, albeit we still wait for the final unlocking. Having said all that, as you may be aware, Coronavirus rates are increasing again, particularly here in the North West and so the Government is advising those of us who live in Warrington to meet others outdoors if possible and to minimise travel in and out of the area, as well as to continue to be tested twice weekly with lateral flow tests (COVID-19) Coronavirus restrictions: what you can and cannot do – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) This yo-yo effect is difficult to deal with and I think many of us are struggling with restriction fatigue at present. The delay to the planned for unlocking on 21 June has also affected our plans as churches with the Ark experience at St.Paul’s and the Summer Fair at St.Mary’s both being postponed now until September. Whilst this is frustrating, I think we need to continue to be patient and vigilant, and to play our parts in helping to reduce the spread of the virus wherever possible.

Looking ahead to the autumn, we will be turning our attention to the Church of England’s Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process.  This is designed to enable churches to engage in deep listening, dialogue, and study about human identity, relationship, sexuality and marriage so that we might gain a deeper understanding of what it means to embody a Christian vision of living holy lives in love and faith. This in turn will be part of a process of discerning a way forward for the Church of England in relation to matters of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.

Bishop Bev, lead for Liverpool Diocese, said “Never before has the Church of England produced such a comprehensive and multi-disciplined teaching and learning resource.  It is hoped that every church will participate in the 5 session course with its suite of films, podcasts and journals, so that we may learn together, grow in our understanding and listen deeply, not only to one another and our own inner voice, but most importantly, to what God is saying to the Church”

Our West Warrington Team of core leaders (clergy, local missional leaders and ordinand) have been trialling the course the past five months and would now like to offer it to members of all our churches to participate in. We will begin the course week beginning 12 September 2021 and will be offering the course on 3 separate occasions each week, lead by two members of our core team from different churches. These will be Tuesday and Thursday evenings (all being well, in-person at 7.30 p.m.) and Wednesday afternoons at 3 p.m. on Zoom. Full details at the end of this letter.

If you would like to take part in the course (and I encourage you to do so!) please contact your clergy or local missional leaders, and let them know what day of the week you could attend asap so that we can order course booklets for those wishing to attend. For further information, please speak to them or look at the course introduction 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, 6 October, 13 October

(NB The session on 6 October may not go ahead in which case there will be an additional session on 20 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)

Dear Friends 

I do hope that you had a joyful time celebrating Easter, whether inside, outside or online this year! I visited the Prayer Stations at St.Paul’s on Good Friday and found this a very powerful experience, as I am sure others did both there and at St.Philip’s. I’m told St.James’ had a very good drive-in Easter service this year – far better than a drive in McDonalds for a message with a long lasting taste! At St.Mary’s, our worship was all indoors but it was great to welcome a good number of people, some new as well as old over the weekend. And perhaps you took part in one of the Churches Together Easter trails in various local parks as well, telling the Easter story in a child-friendly way using QR codes on your smartphone? 

Easter is, of course a season, in the Church’s year which begins on Easter Day and lasts for 50 days until the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, as promised by Jesus to his disciples. In recent years we have marked the last 10 days of the season by taking part in Thy Kingdom Come, a global prayer movement, initiated five years ago by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, to invite Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus. If you would like further details, please visit Thy Kingdom Come | Thy Kingdom Come. There’s a whole wealth of resources there including materials for children (using this year’s ‘The Cheeky Pandas’ series!) and an online prayer diary beautifully written by Stephen Cottrell (the Archbishop of York) which you can download to help you to pray for others. 

To provide a focus for our prayers this year, our Team are promoting three particular days of prayer: 

1. Ascension Day, Thursday 13 May – there will be a service of Holy Communion in St.Mary’s at 7.30 p.m. which is open to all. To register, please visit 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ascension-day-holy-communion-service-tickets-152571963851 

However, if you do not feel comfortable/are not able to join us in person, then we will be streaming the service via Zoom. Email stmarysofficesankey@gmail.com for the link and get online by 7.25 p.m. and please ensure you are on mute! 

2. Thursday 20 May – There will be another Prayer Walk across our benefice which we are opening up to other Christians through Churches Together in West Warrington. The day will start with prayer at Penketh Methodist Church at 10 am, then carry on to St.Mary’s for prayer at 11.30 a.m., followed by lunch and prayer at St.James at 1.00 p.m. before finally ending up at St.Philip’s for prayers at 3.00 p.m. Do join us for some or all of the day as you wish. 

3. Pentecost, Sunday 23 May – The 10 days will draw to a close with an online Team Pentecost event at 7.30 p.m. with the opportunity for worship, prayer and encouragement of each other. To access the event contact sarahp@westwarringtonchurch.uk for the Zoom link 

There will also be the opportunity for private prayer at St.Paul’s on both Thursdays 13th and 20th May from 10.30 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.. Just turn up and pray! 

My hope and prayer is that these days will prove to be a powerful 10 days in the life of our Team churches, and the wider churches of West Warrington, as we ask God for others to come to know the abundant life we have experienced in Jesus Christ ourselves. And please don’t forget that the Spirit’s work of drawing people closer to Jesus is sometimes a lifetime’s work, so don’t forget to keep praying for your 5 people (if need be!) after Thy Kingdom Come is over this year. 

With my prayers and best wishes 

Jeremy Tear 

Pioneer Team Rector