Shaun's Letter – May
May I thank everyone who contributed so much to the Holy
Week and Easter celebrations that are central to the life of our parish and the
Church.
We've re-committed ourselves to
our Risen Lord and Saviour, and have renewed our resolve to witness to and
spread his Gospel message by the words and actions of our lives.
We had our annual PCC AGM last month.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed so much
to the life of the parish over the past twelve months.
I am grateful to those parishioners who have
agreed to give of their time and effort to the parish by committing themselves
to the work of the PCC, and to everyone else who will contribute so much to the
many areas of parish life and ministry over the coming twelve months.
I look forward to working alongside you all.
Please pray for Lisa and Derek when they are sworn in as Church Wardens at the
Archdeacon's Visitation in Pilling on 1st May.
We're all aware that the pressing area of concern for our
parish is the church roof and the urgent need to replace it. We know that the church is the great body of
people who gather together to worship God, but the place where we gather - our
church building - is so important to us and to our local community. That's why we're committed to raising the
money to replace the roof in order to ensure that the church building remains a
place where people can gather both now and in years to come. There's going to be a variety of ways that we
raise the money, from personal donations and pledges, to parish and community
based events. We must remember the FUN that can be had in FUNdraising! It's an opportunity to bring people together,
gives us a chance showcase all the great things that happen in and around St
James, and allows us to invite people to join us.
Therefore the parishioners of St James invite all present
and past residents, and friends of Stalmine to help them raise the funds that
are needed to replace the parish church roof. After all, it is the parish church for
everyone in Stalmine, regardless, and you never know when you'll need it!
The envelope that distributed with the Parish News is an
invitation to you to buy a slate for the roof. (If you haven’t got one, there are plenty more
at church. Please contact any of the
church officials who will make sure that you receive one.) Any donation you make will be gratefully
received. Please Gift Aid your donation
if you pay tax as this will increase your donation by the tax man giving us
some of his money!
I am happy to report that since I wrote to you last month,
members of the PCC have had a very positive meeting with officials from the
Diocese. The way St James manages its
limited resources and honours its financial commitments has not gone unnoticed,
and will hopefully work in our favour in respect of any loans or grants that
may be available from the Diocese. PCC
has commissioned an architect to oversee the church roof project on our behalf.
He is making initial investigations into
the true state of the roof, and we await with some trepidation his professional
estimate of the cost of the work. We
hope that the work will begin in August. The church will be closed whilst the work is
undertaken and we hope to have our Sunday Services in the Village Hall during
this time. My previous experience of
congregations moving to a temporary home has been positive, and when the time
comes we should make the most of having a temporary place of worship.
Our Over Wyre parishes are providing two Mayors this coming
year. Councillor Don Lawrenson from St
John the Baptist, Pilling will be elected Mayor of Wyre Borough Council on 10th
May, and Councillor Chris Lamb from St Oswald's, Preesall will be elected Mayor
of Preesall Town Council on 14th May. This
office bears great responsibility and we hold Don and Chris in our prayers. Both have asked me to be their Chaplain. Any ideas about what I should say to the
captive audience of Town and Borough Councillors when I give my sermon at their
Civic Sunday services? ;-)
Finally, please pray
for the children and adults of our Over Wyre parishes who will be Confirmed by
Bishop Geoff on Pentecost Sunday (27th May) at 10.30am at St John the Baptist
Parish Church, Pilling. Grateful thanks
to everyone who has prepared them for this special day.
God Bless
Fr Shaun
