Back to School Service
We had a great Back-to-School service on Sunday 1st September. Mr Hunter, one of our churchwardens, is also a teaching assistant at All Saints’ C of E Primary School. In response to being asked about the joys and challenges of his job, he wrote the rather splendid poem below.
Mr Hunter’s Back-To-School Poem
A is for amazing each and every one.
B is for best, I hope that they have done.
C is for caring – I always try to be,
D is for dinnertime, I have to eat you see!
E is for encouragement– this is a must.
F is for friendship and someone you can trust.
G is for goodness, guidance and grace.
H is for happiness when I see a child’s smiling face.
I is to include everyone in work and at play.
J is for Jesus who is with me every day.
K is for kindness I always give out.
L is for love and to spread it all about.
M is for making each child feel good.
N is for never stop helping– I don’t think I could.
O is for openness all over the class.
P is for potential that every child has.
Q is for questions when hands they are raised.
R is for results – right or wrong that they are praised.
S is for sharing in that they all learn.
T is the teamwork and all taking a turn.
U is for understanding when they are concerned.
V is for very good feeling when house points they’ve earned.
W is for worship in school and in church.
X is for excellence for which I always search.
Y is for young which the children help me keep.
And Z is for ZZZs when I finally get to sleep!
‘Team Clean Up’ Sunday 9th June
We had a great morning on Sunday 9th June. After fab Family Time where we learned about the Holy Spirit and Pentecost, our church joined forces with Friends of All Saints’ Appley Bridge C of E Primary School for ‘Team Clean Up’. Children continued the Holy Spirit theme playing with bubbles and balloons while parents and church volunteers set to work gardening and tidying.
It was a lovely morning with church and community coming together. Many thanks to all involved.
Toilet Twinning
Thanks to all our lovely Family Time people who raised more than £65 on Sunday 12th May to fund our Toilet Twinning project. We also decided that we would be supporting hygienic sanitation in a community in Sierra Leone in Africa. We will let everyone know the location of the community in due course.
The Easter Experience
On 24thApril 2019, children from years 2 – 6 of All Saints C of E Primary School visited church for the Easter Experience. The sang praise songs, undertook a runaround quiz, watched role plays and a video and wrote beautiful prayers in response to the Easter Story.
Easter Decorations 2019
Easter Eve Family Service
Ian Hunter 
On 20th April 2019 we met to anticipate the joy of Easter. We enjoyed drinks and hot cross buns. We had a fire to remind us of when Peter was in the courtyard and he betrayed Jesus. The fire also reminded us of the Holy Spirit and of lighting the way forward. We remembered the Easter story, renewed our baptism vows and light candle to celebrate the coming of the resurrection light.
14 Stations by Kelvin Burgoyne
A moving piece of Art work by Kelvin Burgoyne, one of our parishioners, has been on display in our church in the run up to Easter 2019 and has been used as part of our services. It depicts Jesus’ journey to the cross.
It is now displayed in the Jesus Chapel of Blackburn Cathedral.
Confirmation March 2019
Congratulations to the 20 Year 6 pupils who were confirmed on Thursday 28th March by the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt. Rev’d. Julian Henderson, at Christ Church in Parbold. The Church was full of parents, grandparents, godparents, family and friends to witness the moving service. Assisting the Bishop were the Rev Sue Timmins, our parish priest, and Reader Diane Green, with music provided by the worship team at Christ Church and and All Saints’. It was a truly joyful occasion.
Welcoming Michelle and Paul…
OUR new member of the clergy team at All Saints and Christ Church, Michelle Plant, was licensed and welcomed to our church family by the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Rev Julian Henderson, at Christ Church on Sunday March 17th. We are looking forward to getting to know Michelle and her husband Paul.
Big Breakfast for Christian Aid, Saturday March 2nd 2019
BIG BREAKFAST UPDATE
Many thanks to the All Saints’ Brownies and Rainbows who have donated £18-00 into the BB coffers. We have also had a donation of £10-00 from a member of the church family, and that brings our total sent to Christian Aid to £693-00.
Many thanks to all those folk who joined us at our Big Breakfast for Christian Aid on Saturday March 2nd. Special thanks to Mrs Dunn and All Saints School for allowing the church to host the breakfast in the school hall, and to Shirley Southworth and Fur Clemt for serving up a great breakfast.
We also welcomed Linda Hill and her Traidcraft stall, Appley Bridge Community Association, Keeley Dalfen and The Brick, and Eileen and Brian Longmore from Eat Appley Bridge.
The colouring competition this year included a section for adults! As a result of more than 100 folk turning out for the bash, we have more than £400-00 in the pot which will purchase EIGHT fishing kits to help struggling coastal communities in the far reaches of the Philippine Islands. Thank you one and all, and we hope you enjoyed your breakfast!
Christmas Decorations 2018
The Gift by Kelvin Burgoyne
Christmas Fair 2018
Big thanks to everyone who helped with the Christmas Fair 2018. Great stalls, delicious food and fun for all the family. It was a Cracker!
Remembrance 2018
11th November 2018, members of our church joined the Appley Bridge community and our uniformed organisations to walk from Appley Bridge Village Hall to the War Memorial next to the Community Centre where wreaths were laid and we remembered those who gave their lives in armed conflicts in this centenary year of the ending of the First World War. Rev’d Sue Timmins and Rev’d John Hilton from The Vale Methodist Church led the village service in an Act of Remembrance.
All Saints’ C of E School Remembers
On Friday 9th November, Rev’d Sue and Diane visited All Saints’ C of E Primary School to see their stunning display of research and creative work related to the First World and to lead short services. Rev’d Sue accompanied KS2 to the village war memorial for their Act of Remembrance. KS1 and Little Acorns took part in an Act of Remembrance in the memorial garden in school at 11am with Reader Diane.
Remembrance Tea Room
On 4th November, Appley Bridge Community Association hosted an interesting afternoon to honour the 15 soldiers from the village who gave their lives in the Great War. Tea, period cakes, WW1 singalong and Appley Bridge Churches Together opened the event from the Chaplaincy Table, with prayer and commemoration.
There But Not There
Transparent seated military figures were in All Saints’ Church in early November. These silhouettes were part of the Appley Bridge Community’s Remembrance 2018 project, marking the centenary of the end of the 1914-1918 First World War. They are part of the There But Not There project and were visited by children from All Saints’ C of E Primary School.
There But Not There aims to place a representative figure for every name on local war memorials around the country, into their place of worship, their school, their workplace or wherever their absence was keenly felt. One of the transparent figures in our church , rather poignantly, caught the reflected image of Christ from the church’s stained glass window.