THE MAGAZINE OF THE HORWICH & RIVINGTON TEAM …...Beth Tomlin, the guitar and Becki Green provided...
Transcript of THE MAGAZINE OF THE HORWICH & RIVINGTON TEAM …...Beth Tomlin, the guitar and Becki Green provided...
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In this edition
Page two Directory
Page three Holy Week & Easter Services
Forthcoming Events
Page four Clergybit
New Chair of Probus
Pray One for Me
Page five Redefining Marriage?
Stipendiary Provision after Easter
Congratulations & Celebrations
Page six ‘Let Justice Prevail’ in Malaysia
FairTrade Follow Up!
Page seven From the Registers
Spring Festival
Olympic Torch will visit Horwich
Page eight The power of acting together
Mistacks are easily made!
Jubilee Flower Festival
May Issue
Deadline: April 15
Publication Date: April 29
April 2012 THE MAGAZINE OF THE HORWICH & RIVINGTON TEAM CHURCHES Price 50p
As I entered Holy Trinity on 4
th March, I
was delighted to see the church so full for the Youth service. As the wife of one of the CYFA leaders I knew how much time and effort had gone into the
preparation. I did not however know what a treat was in store.
The service was led entirely by the young people; they had planned it themselves and appropriately called it ‘Get Stuck In’. A group of very talented musicians provided all the music, a varied selection and including one of my favourites and a new one that I am sure will become a favourite. Joe Ruaux played the drums, Jonathan Kent the piano, Beth Tomlin, the guitar and Becki Green provided the vocal lead.
Toby Harley appears to be following in his father’s footsteps as he produced an excellent computerised sketch that was both entertaining and thought provoking. He then spoke about the calling of the disciples and challenged us all to remember that we too are called to be Disciples of Christ. I wondered if I had been fishing that day two thousand years ago and had been called, would I have left everything behind to follow Jesus? We were left in no doubt that Beth Wood has that courage as she spoke of her journey to Christ with such confidence. She talked of being brought to church as a child and how her faith had grown as she joined CYFA and started looking for answers herself. As someone who has worked with Pathfinders and CYFA in the past I was moved by the realization of the impact youth work has on young
lives. Her trip to Namibia had further deepened her faith and she is clearly now proud to be a Christian and more than able to cope with the peer pressure that young people face today. A disciple, I am sure Christ is very proud of.
Beth Tomlin and Becki Green performed a beautiful song they had written especially for the service. Becki led the vocals and Beth accompanied on the guitar as well as singing. It brought tears to many eyes and reminded us that God is always with us fighting our battles for us. I am sure we will hear much more of the girls’ work.
Jonathon Kent is another who appears to be following in his father’s footsteps as he preached confidently encouraging us to ‘get stuck in’ and follow the plan that God has for us knowing that we can trust that He will be with us along the way.
The prayers were introduced by Gabriel Jennings and were very personal. People could sit quietly in prayer or visit one of the four prayer stations. Ricardo Shirres manned the station where you could ask for forgiveness; you wrote your sin on a piece of foil and watched it wash away as you put it in water. There was also opportunity for quiet reflection in front of candles in the form of a cross and places where you could pray for people and situations close to your heart.
After the service as we chatted and shared refreshments it was commented what a shame it was, that this service wasn’t going to be covered on the news tonight, rather than the negative images we often see of our young people today. I think everybody in church was very proud of these young people in Horwich.
Pam Smith
OUR YOUNG PEOPLE GOT STUCK IN!
The Editor and Editorial Team would like to wish all our readers a very Happy and Blessed Easter.
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HOLY WEEK & EASTER ACROSS THE TEAM & MISSION PARTNERSHIP
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday (2nd, 3rd & 4th April)
7.30 pm at St. Katharine’s Blackrod
Holy Communion & Address with The Venerable David Bailey, Archdeacon of Bolton
Maundy Thursday (5th April)
7.30 pm at St. Catherine’s, Horwich Team Maundy Thursday Communion
7.30 pm at St Elizabeth’s, Horwich Passover Meal
7.30 pm at St. Katharine’s Blackrod Sung Eucharist & Address
Good Friday (6th April)
10.00 am at Rivington Church, Rivington Good Friday Reflections
10.30 am at St Catherine’s, Horwich Good Friday Reflections
10.00 am at St Elizabeth’s, Horwich Family Communion
11.15 am at St Elizabeth’s, Horwich Meditation
2.00 pm at Holy Trinity, Horwich Good Friday Reflections
2.00 pm at St Katharine’s, Blackrod Good Friday Liturgy & Address
Easter Eve (7th April)
8.00 pm at St Katharine’s, Blackrod The Easter Ceremonies & Address
Everyone is invited and welcome to attend any of the Holy Week Services
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH
presents
‘EASTER PRAISE’
on
Easter Sunday
8th April
6.30 pm Contemporary readings
and music
for the greatest day of the year
ALL WELCOME.
EASTER SUNDAY
Come and Celebrate the Risen Christ
at Communion services in all our Churches
10 am St Elizabeth’s
10 am St Katharine’s, Blackrod
10.30 am Holy Trinity
10.30 am St Catherine's
10.45 am Rivington
Holy Trinity Parish Church
and Horwich Art Society
present an
ART EXHIBITION at
Holy Trinity Church
Fri. 27th April 10.00am - 4pm
Sat. 28th April 10.00am - 4pm
Sun. 29th April 2.00pm - 4pm
Admission Free
10% of Sales to be donated
to Church Funds
Refreshments Available
34th BOLTON FESTIVAL
of
MALE VOICE PRAISE
in the Albert Hall,
Town Hall, Bolton
Saturday 14th April
6.45 pm
Speaker:
Canon Noel Proctor MBE
ADMISSION FREE
Tickets available in all churches
An Invitation to
2nd BOLTON PRAYER BREAKFAST
at Bolton Town Hall
27th April 7.30-9.15 am Cost £12.00
(includes full breakfast,
speakers expenses & room hire)
To pray for: the civic heart of the town To pray for:
the prosperity of the town and our business communities To uphold: vulnerable individuals and communities within the town
RSVP by 13th April to Susan Edmondson
0161 790 8289
Fit4Life Health & Exercise
for the over 50’s St Johns Methodist Church
Thursdays 10.15-11.15 am
Weekly class fee £4.00
Call Jenifer 01257 276471
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CLERGYBIT By Martyn Day
One of the earliest statements of
Christian belief was the phrase,
“Jesus is Lord”. It’s a creed that
can fall easily from our lips,
however do we not sometimes find
an uncomfortable tension between
that ancient confessional
declaration and the state of the
world? How is it that Jesus is the
“Prince of Peace” when nations
collide in theatres of war? We
wonder about the sovereignty of
Christ when despotic leaders still
hold sway. And what about Jesus
as the Just Judge when the richest
nations still refuse to cancel the
debt of poorer nations?
And up close and personal, do
we not feel a deep disappointment
when we call Jesus “Lord” of our
lives and yet still experience the
shame of bad habits that refuse to
be broken, and patterns of sin that
repeat? All of us know deep down,
if we are thoroughly honest, that
not all things about our lives are as
we would wish them to be. And
those who call themselves
Christians struggle particularly
because we feel it right to entertain
a hope that, somehow or other,
faith in Christ should break the
power of sin over us – yet it doesn’t
always appear to happen easily.
Is Jesus still Lord, when things
go wrong within and without us?
When we question the
legitimacy of the claim, “Jesus is
Lord”, because the world and our
lives seem not to change, we
need conviction that something
really has changed. It is in the
resurrection of Christ that we
celebrate this month, and only in
that event, that we receive the
conviction we need. The
resurrection proclaims that the
great enemy of the human race –
death – has been utterly
defeated. God’s new order of
creation has begun and the
Lordship of Christ has been
vindicated. Whatever we despair
of in the world or in our lives,
something significant has
changed. And if our trust is in
Christ, then our story has
become bound up in God’s story,
which is moving inexorably
towards a great hope for all his
creation. The New Testament
writers revelled to proclaim this
resurrection hope. So the ancient
creedal cry of the first Christians,
“Jesus is Lord”, is just as true
today as it was then. It’s in that
light that we live our lives.
A NEW CHAIRMAN! Horwich Probus has a new
chairman - David Griffiths one of
the honorary clergy of the Horwich
Team of churches and an
authorised Methodist Minister
helping at St John’s Methodist
Church.
Probus clubs are organizations
for those who have retired from
their profession or business and
want to maintain a social network
with others who have similar
interests. Philip Haworth is seen
here congratulating David on his
election at the recent annual
meeting. Probus meets on the
second and fourth Monday of each
month at the Old Links Golf Club.
Coffee at 10am Speaker at 10.30.
So far David has chaired a
speaker about the history of Uncle
Joe’s Mint Balls and Cliff Jones,
from Rivington Church, who has
been a professional safari guide,
broadcaster, journalist and
currently is a regular lecturer
aboard cruise ships talking about
natural history and global
warming. The full programme of
speakers for the year includes
Brian Halliwell on the Golden Age
of Comedy, David Leeming on
Alms Houses, Roy Sammons on
Advanced Motoring and many
other interesting topics. People
who may be interested in finding
out more about Horwich Probus
should contact Roger Freathy the
Secretary on 01204 403226.
The Bishop of Bolton launched
Pray One for Me, a Church of
England Facebook prayer site,
outside Bolton Town Hall, at the
beginning of Lent. They can be
found at www.facebook.com/
prayoneforme and the Website at
www.prayoneforme.org and offer
people the opportunity to post
prayer requests online. Churches
across the UK will be praying
prayers posted on the page.
Earlier prayer projects run by the
Church of England show that many
of the prayer requests will be for
family and friends, for healing and
worldwide
problems,
and thanking God. However, the
page will also encourage themed
prayers to focus prayer on some
of the life’s big events such as
Christian Aid week, the Queen’s
Jubilee, and the Olympics, and to
respond to events in the
news. The initiative is a reminder
of the importance for many of
prayer.
The Bishop of Bolton, Chris
Edmondson, said: “For many
people, there is a great desire to
seek spiritual engagement away
from what we might recognise as
the traditional faiths. Research
suggests that 20 million adults in
the country pray – that’s 42% of the
population. It is these facts that
have helped inspire Pray One for
Me. Many of these people are
those that the Church finds hard to
reach. So we are hoping they will
join in.”
http://www.facebook.com/prayoneformehttp://www.facebook.com/prayoneformehttp://www.prayoneforme.org/
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CELEBRATIONS & CONGRATULATIONS Susan and Jim Firth are celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary on 21st April. They have attended Rivington Church for many years, attended Holy Trinity in their youth and are well known within the Team Churches, We send our congratulations and best wishes to them
Objecting to this, the Archbishop
of York, John Sentamu who
opposes gay marriage, but
supports civil partnerships, which
he says have addressed the
injustices faced by same-sex
couples, said "I happen to believe
that to change the law would be
forcing an unjustified change." The
Catholic Archbishops Vincent
Nichols and Peter Smith, said, in a
letter read out in all Catholic
churches across England and
Wales that "Changing the legal
definition of marriage would be a
profoundly radical step. Its
consequences should be taken
seriously now." The Archbishop of
Canterbury Rowan Williams, has
said the law should not be used as
a tool to bring about social
changes such as gay marriage.
The Catholic Archbishops said
that "Our present law does not
discriminate unjustly when it
requires both a man and a
woman for marriage. It simply
recognises and protects the
distinctive nature of marriage."
They said “Understood as a
lifelong commitment between a
man and a woman, and for the
creation and upbringing of
children, marriage is an
expression of our fundamental
humanity. Its status in law is the
prudent fruit of experience, for
the good of the spouses and the
good of the family. In this way
society esteems the married
couple as the source and
guardians of the next generation.
As an institution marriage is at
the foundation of our society.
They went on: "A change in the law
would gradually and inevitably
transform society's understanding
of the purpose of marriage. It
would reduce it just to the
commitment of the two people
involved. There would be no
recognition of the complementarity
of male and female or that
marriage is intended for the
procreation and education of
children.”
The Archbishops have
commended the 'Coalition for
Marriage' (C4M), an ecumenical
initiative, which is petitioning the
Prime Minister to oppose any
attempt to re-define marriage. The
petition can be found at http://
c4m.org.uk/
Catholics and Anglicans united
in opposing re-defining Marriage The Government has just presented its 12 week consultation paper on a proposed change in the legal definition
of marriage by 2015 so as to open the institution of marriage to same-sex partnerships. The consultation
documents are available to view on the Home Office website and you can complete the consultation online there.
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/consultations/equal-civil-marriage
After Easter, when Rev Paul
Dever moves to his new post in
Cheam, his half-time Team Vicar’s
post here will not be replaced, so
discussions have been taking
place about who will take on that
responsibility from our remaining
stipendiary (paid) clergy. It was
announced at St. Elizabeth’s Vision
Day on Saturday 17th March that
Rev Michael Behrend will become
the stipendiary minister for both St.
Catherine’s and St. Elizabeth’s
churches, helped by Rev Terry
Litherland, Associate
Team OLM based at St.
Catherine’s, and Rev
Peter Harley, who
will be completing
his Curacy
training in the
summer and then become an
Associate Team OLM based at
St. Elizabeth’s. We hope to be
able to announce a service
welcoming Michael to his new
responsibility at St. Elizabeth’s
Church sometime in May.
With the arrival of our new
Team Curate, Kim Lafferty, in
July, St. Elizabeth’s Vicarage will
become our ‘Curacy
House’ but, although
living on site, plans will
be in place so that Kim will not
need to act as a ‘caretaker’ for the
Church building or Church Hall,
which is not her remit in this
training post.
Rev Stephen Fletcher will remain
as stipendiary minister responsible
for Holy Trinity and Rivington
Parish churches, but discussions
are continuing within the Mission
Partnership, in consultation with
the Diocese, which may see further
changes of responsibility following
the retirement of Canon
Roger Cooper as Area
Dean of Deane in May,
2012.
STIPENDIARY CLERGY CHANGES WITHIN OUR TEAM MINISTRY
& MISSION PARTNERSHIP
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/john-sentamuhttp://c4m.org.uk/http://c4m.org.uk/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/consultations/equal-civil-marriage
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I always feel privileged to
be a part of The Women’s
World Day of Prayer as it
is something my mum tells
me my much loved
paternal grandmother was
involved with, in York. The
origins date back to the
19th century when Christian
women in the USA and Canada
began a variety of cooperative
activities in support of women's
involvement in mission, at home
and abroad. Services started to
take place in the UK in the 1930s.
The service is written by a
different country each year and
that country then becomes the
focus of the world's prayers on the
day itself. The first service of the
day takes place on the Island of
Samoa and the last service takes
place on American Samoa.
This year’s service theme, written
by the Christian women of
preached on the reading taken
from the book of Habakkuk when
Habakkuk complains to the Lord of
injustice. We sang a variety of
hymns and songs, some modern
and some traditional.
I came away encouraged by the
Malaysian women who despite
their difficulties had put together a
beautiful service demonstrating
their great faith. I was also thankful
that I am free to live and worship
as I choose. Finally I was proud to
have been worshipping not just
with other Christians from Horwich
but all over the world as the songs
we sang and prayers we said
echoed those of others throughout
the day.
Next year’s service is at St Mary’s
on 1st March in the afternoon.
WOMENS WORLD DAY of PRAYER
by Pam Smith
Malaysia was ‘Let Justice
Prevail’.
Our Horwich service was held
at Horwich Evangelical
Church on 2nd of March. We
learned something of life in
Malaysia and particularly the
plight of women for whom there
have been some improvements
over the years. However,
despite this progress, women of
all races and classes still face
difficulties and discrimination at
all levels of society and even
today a girl child is seen as less
valuable than a boy and women
suffer violence without protest.
Some ladies put on Malaysian
costumes and told stories of
women who have fought for
better lives for all. Eric Kent
Thanks very much to everyone
who took part in our Horwich
Fairtrade Steps Coffee Mornings,
during Fairtrade Fortnight. Six
Churches hosted events which
varied greatly, so it was an exciting
journey around the town – so far
only two people have admitted to
getting to all six! As these were
the group chair and treasurer, we
are not sure whether this was
brought about by caffeine
dependency or a slightly
competitive edge! We know of
several people who managed four
venues, and many travelled
between at least two,
which was part of the
idea of “stepping out”.
The churches taking
part were: St
Elizabeth’s (gorgeous
cakes), St Catherine’s
(super stalls), St
Mary’s (enjoyed in a
lull whilst a service
was in progress),
Horwich Evangelical
Church (who agreed to join in the
project after the first list was
announced), Holy Trinity (busy
coffee bar with a great Fairtrade
stall), and last, but by no means
least, New Chapel (who combined
the event with their Spring Fair)
and, by continuing to 1pm, not only
allowed the group chair and
treasurer to get round in time, but
were serving soup too! Thanks also
to colleagues from Blackrod, who
staffed a stall at Horwich Resource
Centre on the first Saturday of
Fairtrade Fortnight.
To date, we know that £119.60
has been paid in donations to
various emergency funds. We are
trying to get a
rough estimate of
the number of
“Fairtrade Steps”
cards sent in –
hopefully Horwich
HOW MUCH COFFEE DID YOU DRINK?! FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT FOLLOW UP!
has made a
contribution to the
1.5million target for
2012!
We plan to publicise
Fairtrade and get
more Steps cards filled in at the
Festival of Racing, on June 17th
and Carnival, on June 24th.
The
next meeting of the Horwich
Fairtrade Group is 7.30pm on April
24th, at St John’s Methodist
Church, and the AGM at the same
venue at 7.30pm on May 16th.
Barbara Ronson (Chair)
Andrew Morley
(Treasurer)
Horwich
Fairtrade Group
Christine Cornes of St Catherine’s writes: For a change we were lucky to have a fine day for the FairTrade coffee morning. We had a steady stream of people coming through the door and I think everyone enjoyed the time to chat and sit down with refreshments. We all had a lovely morning and look forward to the next one.
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BAPTISMS
We welcome to the family of the Church: February 19 Rose Allman
February 26 Lily Watts
March 4 Archie James Noblett
March 11 Marcus Alan McKendrey
March 18 William Anthony Wynne
March 25 Henry Beck Wilson
March 25 Aimee-Rose Hope
WEDDINGS
We wish joy and happiness to: January 28 Simon Taylor & Emma Rayner (with apologies for ‘baptising’ them last month!)
February 24 Kristofer Arkwright & Leanne Clarkson
FUNERALS
We offer love and sympathy to the relatives and friends of: February 20 Thomas Monaghan, Wright Street, Horwich
February 23 Freda Muriel Cawley, Knightswood Care Home, Blackrod
February 23 Sheila Margaret Hart, Greenbank, Chorley New Road, Horwich
February 27 Lillian Whittle, Alexandra Road, Lostock
March 5 Margaret Elizabeth (Betty) Menzies, Hodgkinson’s Fold, Horwich
March 8 Derek Hine, Boardman Street, Blackrod
March 8 May Rudd, Vale House Care Home, Horwich
March 12 Leonard Krikken, Carwood Grove, Horwich
March 12 Jacqueline (Jackie) Howard, Pope’s Lane, Preston
March 30 Richard (Dick) Gregory, Hole Hose Farm, Heath Charnock
From the Registers
RIVINGTON
SPRING
FESTIVAL Friday, Saturday & Sunday
4th - 6th May
Friday 7.30 pm
Rivington
Music Society Concert
Saturday from 1 pm
Village Green Festival
with Brass band,
Morris Dancers, Stalls &
Afternoon Teas in the Hall
Sunday 10.45 am
Festival Service
Guest Preacher:
Rt. Rev. Chris Edmondson
Bishop of Bolton
OLYMPIC TORCH ROUTE TO HORWICH...
...BUT IT’S AN EARLY START! The London 2012 Olympic Torch features 8,000 small cut-out circles, representing the 8,000 inspirational people who will carry it on its journey around the UK. The circles run the length of the body of the Torch and offer a unique level of transparency. You can see to the heart of the Torch and view the burner system keeping the Olympic Flame alive. The triangular-shaped Torch was inspired by a series of 'threes', found in the history of the Olympic Games and the vision for the Olympic Movement:
The three Olympic values of respect, excellence and friendship;
The three words that make the Olympic motto – faster, higher, stronger;
The UK has hosted the Olympic Games in 1908, 1948 and 2012; and
The vision is to combine sport, education and culture. The torchbearers ages range from 11–100 and more than half will be young people, so the designers aimed to make the Torch as light as possible. The gold colour embraces the qualities of the Olympic Flame – the brightness and the warmth of the light that it shines. On Friday 1st June the torch will leave the Bolton Town Hall steps at 06.06, running along Deansgate, St George’s Road & Chorley New Road to Clevelands Prep school to catch the convoy to the Horwich Town sign at 06.42. Then running again along Chorley New Road to Dryfield Lane, where it will catch the convoy onto Chorley. Full details can be found at:- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/19_03_12_day14_bolton_liverpool.pdf
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With thanks to Easiprint, Crown Lane, Horwich for printing this magazine.
ELIZABETH
60 GLORIOUS YEARS
A Flower Festival is being held to
celebrate the Queen's Diamond
Jubilee. Designed to depict many
events in the life and reign of HM
The Queen. As well as flower
arrangements there will be
musical events held each day
throughout the day. Refreshments
available.
Parish Church of
St Mary the Virgin, Leigh 7 June - 10 June 10.00 - 18.00
Admission £3.00
For more
information contact
Trevor Bailey on
01942 259257
‘Now all our children eat two
meals a day all year round,
whereas before it was one. They
are growing well, and can learn
more at school; and they don’t cry
around me because of hunger’,
said Tenneh. But the effects of the
food production group the
Methodist Church started has been
more wide-ranging than this. The
support and encouragement that
farmers give to each other, has
shown how much can be achieved
when the community comes
together. Now they are no longer
limited by hunger, the people of
Gbap (pronounced Bap) have
successfully lobbied for a new
school and an agricultural work
centre for the community. They
have taken their future into their
own hands.
Christian Aid currently works with
507 partners in 47 countries in
Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin
America and the Caribbean helping
people to make changes like this
happen. The money raised during
Christian Aid week is vital to the
continuation of this work, and all
the donations made will be
multiplied many times over as
many small actions come
together to make huge changes
within communities.
But Christian Aid Week is
much more than a call to our
generosity. It is also a reminder
of Jesus’ command to love our
neighbour, and a call for our unity
– an invitation for churches
across Horwich to come together
to celebrate the possibility of
hope and life in parts of the world
where mere survival can be a
struggle; to witness together of
Christians’ concern for the poor
and of our determination to act
together with our neighbours both
at home and as far away as
Gbap to fight all that leads to
violence and separation.
During Christian
Aid week 13–19
May there will
be the usual house to house
collection. But there will also be
collections at Asda & Tesco
Middlebrook Monday 14th
to
Wednesday 16th, the Barn on
Sunday 19th
May and after
morning services, while many
churches will be hosting other
events. Please think about how
you can be a part of Christian Aid
Week this year, watch your news
sheets for more information about
the various events and contact your
Christian Aid organiser to
volunteer. Remember that through
your small actions, people like
Tenneh will have the tools to make
big changes happen.
Horwich & Rivington
Christian Aid
Committee.
In Sierra Leone, Tenneh Keimbay’s life was turned around when the Methodist Church started to work in her town, distributing tools and teaching farmers simple, more efficient food production techniques. By acting together and sharing their new skills her community is now able to grow more food.
THE POWER
OF ACTING TOGETHER
WE ALL MAKE MISTACKS…. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services: - the Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals. - remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you. - Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation. - for those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs. - Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days. - the church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility. - potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 pm - prayer and medication to follow. - the ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon. - the pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday. - Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 pm. Please use the back door. - the Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday: 'I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours.