The Spire

The Spire

Friday 19 November 2010

‘My Year as High Sheriff’ Rosemary Hawley

On the evening of the 28 October 2010, Rosemary Hawley gave us a very personal insight into the role, trials and tribulations of being High Sheriff of Merseyside. Rosemary’s interests were very varied before she became High Sheriff but focussed mainly on offering practical help to those in need. However, she, in typical unassuming style was surprised, deeply honoured yet very anxious when the she, the Vicar of Kirkby’s wife was invited to become High Sheriff. Nevertheless, she accepted the duty, commissioned and helped design a wonderful dress to compliment the lace frills of office and started to plan her year.
She was appointed High Sheriff at a health centre in Kirkby with many children in attendance. Her chosen theme for the year was Safety, Health and Learning. Her journey led her through the five boroughs of Merseyside; driving along its roads, sailing up its rivers and canals and flying in our skies. She reminded us of the historic county’s five Boroughs: Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St. Helens and Wirral and explained the inherited closeness of Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside through the celebrated Duchy of Lancaster which is still very pertinent to the recruitment of our armed forces as well as toasts at Dinners of State.
Rosemary then turned her recollections to working with the judiciary. We were told that as High Sheriff she had sat, with High Court Judges on some high profile trials in Liverpool. After working with them all day, the High Sheriff entertained them at her home, in the Cathedral Close and took visiting judges to the Philharmonic Hall and local theatres.
Another part of the role of High Sheriff was to meet and greet royalty when they visited Merseyside. One of the royals she entertained was Prince Andrew. When visiting a school to lead an assembly on the work of the High Sheriff, one of our own princesses asked if she were the High Sheriff who was the Low Sheriff.
In the course of her year Rosemary was fortunate enough to have the use of the cathedral for functions as her husband Anthony is Dean to the Cathedral. The highlight she shared was the Judges’ Service where Dame Anne Owers DBE Chief Inspector of Prisons addressed the congregation in place of a sermon.
Her most treasured memories however, were related to her contribution to the Citizenship Ceremonies. It is now compulsory for those people accepting British Citizenship to formally declare their allegiance to our country in a public forum with a dignitary ptresent and sing the National Anthem. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool asked Rosemary to perform this duty on his behalf and she enjoyed it so much, she is still involved in this service today.

Rosemary not only enjoyed meeting people from all walks of life but more importantly being able to ensure the realisation of positive change to people’s day to day circumstances.
We finished up with a short question and answer session. One question was did she put any weight on due to the number of sumptuous events and banquets she attended; and the answer was no.
Rosemary was thanked for her most enjoyable memoirs and the evening ended with a cheese and wines supper, chat and merriment. The contribution made to the Building Fund from this evening was £225. A big thank you to all who contributed.
On the evening of the 28 October 2010, Rosemary Hawley gave us a very personal insight into the role, trials and tribulations of being High Sheriff of Merseyside. Rosemary’s interests were very varied before she became High Sheriff but focussed mainly on offering practical help to those in need. However, she, in typical unassuming style was surprised, deeply honoured yet very anxious when the she, the Vicar of Kirkby’s wife was invited to become High Sheriff. Nevertheless, she accepted the duty, commissioned and helped design a wonderful dress to compliment the lace frills of office and started to plan her year.
She was appointed High Sheriff at a health centre in Kirkby with many children in attendance. Her chosen theme for the year was Safety, Health and Learning. Her journey led her through the five boroughs of Merseyside; driving along its roads, sailing up its rivers and canals and flying in our skies. She reminded us of the historic county’s five Boroughs: Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St. Helens and Wirral and explained the inherited closeness of Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside through the celebrated Duchy of Lancaster which is still very pertinent to the recruitment of our armed forces as well as toasts at Dinners of State.
Rosemary then turned her recollections to working with the judiciary. We were told that as High Sheriff she had sat, with High Court Judges on some high profile trials in Liverpool. After working with them all day, the High Sheriff entertained them at her home, in the Cathedral Close and took visiting judges to the Philharmonic Hall and local theatres.
Another part of the role of High Sheriff was to meet and greet royalty when they visited Merseyside. One of the royals she entertained was Prince Andrew. When visiting a school to lead an assembly on the work of the High Sheriff, one of our own princesses asked if she were the High Sheriff who was the Low Sheriff.
In the course of her year Rosemary was fortunate enough to have the use of the cathedral for functions as her husband Anthony is Dean to the Cathedral. The highlight she shared was the Judges’ Service where Dame Anne Owers DBE Chief Inspector of Prisons addressed the congregation in place of a sermon.
Her most treasured memories however, were related to her contribution to the Citizenship Ceremonies. It is now compulsory for those people accepting British Citizenship to formally declare their allegiance to our country in a public forum with a dignitary ptresent and sing the National Anthem. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool asked Rosemary to perform this duty on his behalf and she enjoyed it so much, she is still involved in this service today.

Rosemary not only enjoyed meeting people from all walks of life but more importantly being able to ensure the realisation of positive change to people’s day to day circumstances.
We finished up with a short question and answer session. One question was did she put any weight on due to the number of sumptuous events and banquets she attended; and the answer was no.
Rosemary was thanked for her most enjoyable memoirs and the evening ended with a cheese and wines supper, chat and merriment. The contribution made to the Building Fund from this evening was £225. A big thank you to all who contributed.

Sunday 4 July 2010

Mid Summer's Bowls & BBQ

On 19th June we had a fun filled afternoon which included a Bowling Scramble and BBQ.

Over 35 people attended and 25 competed in the main event. Wally Needham won the Scramble Championship so many congratulations to him.

The BBQ was superb and everyone enjoyed the summer sunshine and a glass or two of wine! Thanks to the chef and the chief organiser, Jean Needham. Over £250 was raised so many thanks to all who showed such generosity.

Sunday 4 April 2010

The Lamb - William Blake

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed,
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee.
He is called by thy name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and He is mild;
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb,
We are called by His name.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!

GOD IS WORKING HIS PURPOSE OUT

When entering our great Capital City from the bowels of the Underground at Oxford Circus, if you are very fortunate you catch a glimpse of the Spire at All Souls Langham Place.

This church has an extraordinary history. Built in the early 19th Century, it was key to the Town Planning initiative instigated by Prince Regent. From the sky you can clearly see the church forming a pivot in the road from Regent's Park down to Piccadilly Circus that we know today as Regent Street.

All Souls is renowned as a progressive and evangelical church and lays claim to a plethora of great clergy and orators. Even today they have John Stott, Rico Tice of Christianity Explored fame and obviously the present incumbent, Hugh Palmer.

A couple of weeks ago I went along to the 11.30 service and was surprised to see that the theme for the service was 'Time to Build'. The lesson was Haggai 2 10-23. The book of Haggai is only a couple of chapters and was written in 520 BC. It is a book to encourage the discouraged Jews who were struggling to rebuild their temple after a long exile from Jerusalem.

The encouragement was neatly summarised by the preacher in four key statements:
  • Sort out your priorities and get on with working through the plan
  • Trust in a dependable God
  • Don't expect miracles overnight
  • Hold on to the big picture

As ever we dipped in and out of scripture to aid our understanding. It hit me that 'God's signet ring' mentioned throughout the bible is metaphor for the House and Lineage of David, which culminated in the birth of Jesus. The authority and dependability that we have as Christians, due to God's gift of Jesus, results in us having the purpose and strength to do His works.

It is our duty to listen to Haggai; to be encouraged as well as encourage others thereby preserving and progressing His Church here in Eccleston and throughout His lands.

Saturday 6 March 2010

Harmony Unlimited - Stephanie and Norman

Christ Church Eccleston presents an afternoon with
Harmony Unlimited - Stephanie and Norman

See you all in CHURCH on Wednesday 17th March 2pm-4pm

A retiring collection in aid of the Spire and Building Fund

Sunday 28 February 2010

The Barn Dance - A big thank you

The dust has now settled, cowboy boots, jeans and pretty skirts safely packed away so may we take a moment to reflect on last night's fun?
The caller was superb - Thank you David for your wonderful contribution
The Parr family gained a new 'Peace'ful ornament - Thank you for your most kind donation
The raffle prizes seemed mostly fixed on one table (just the way the cookie crumbles and next time that table could be yours), but thank you all for your most generous purchases of raffle tickets
- and the atmosphere was truly wonderful.

The youngest there was heard to remark that she hadn't expected the evening to be 'this much fun' and the venue perfectly suited the Barn Dance theme.

I so hope that everyone who came, as well as the few who sent apologies, thoroughly enjoyed the evening. It was a marvellous opportunity to share in a different sort of Christian fellowship, meet new folks and laugh and joke with old friends.

Also, may I announce that we made just over £1,200. Great job everyone. Thank you to Theresa at The Game Bird and to you all.

The Giants at our Sides

Do you remember trying to outrun the monster walking along with you when you were a child or changing the way he walked by altering your stride length or by picking up your feet?

The sun is very low and yet light intensity appears more powerful at this time of year. Our eyes are unfamiliar to its brightness and I bet you have reached for your sun glasses on more than one occasion when driving since the start of 2010. Over 2 million people in the UK suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) each Winter and most of us enjoy sunshine so we have personal as well as scientific evidence that sun light is beneficial.


We all understand the power of trees to be nature's air conditioners and something of how they can purify the air we breath but researchers have proven that some molecules change in Woodland light and this atmosphere appears to have beneficial effects on sufferers with certain life threatening conditions. I'm not sure if there are more good chemicals or how the molecules change, but there is a magic in the dappled haze of a woodland or orchard at any time of the year that we all can experience.

A few days ago the heavy winter sun was casting a shadow of the spire into our orchard. It seemed to go on forever. The quality of the light was different to that of a woodland, but it was awe inspiring.



I glanced up to the spire and my eyes reflected God's glory. It wasn't 'Ex Terra Lucem', but 'Out Of The Spire, Light'.

Monday 1 February 2010

Here we go - Let's Dosey do

Whether you enjoy Stripping the Willow, the Gay Gordons or simply Hot Pot we have the ideal evening waiting for you.

Our Spring Country Barn Dance is to be held on 27th February at The Game Bird on the East Lancs. The live caller is none other than our own David Anderton. We will sandwich our Hotpot Supper between dancing. The festivities start at 7.30 pm.

So get your glad rags on and join the fun.

We look forward to welcoming you and dancing the night away.

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Musing on Music and Appreciating Achievement

The place of God in creative brilliance entered my mind when listening to music by John Rutter over Christmas.

There are some who have the genius to compose, write or choreograph; others who have the genius to interpret and perform great works; still others who have the gift to appreciate perfection and finally the ones like me who struggle to create, deliver or appreciate. However one saving grace may be the ability to strive, commit and work hard.

As Winston Churchill said 'Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm'. So I guess it's OK to struggle and it's OK to fail. It was perseverance that mattered to the Greatest Briton of the last millennium.

As I’m sure you’ve seen the Christmas Appeal raised £2010, before 1st January 2010 and by 15th January we are at £2,307.29 before Gift Aid.

Carolling around the Pubs
Many thanks to the composers and authors; Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley, Christina Rossetti et al., the carollers and the pianist, the soloist and backing group and most of all the listeners and donors. The total collected was £510.05.

We also must say a huge thank you to the Stanley Pub Quiz Team who very kindly gave £170 to the Appeal. Take God’s word to the people and look at the marvellous effect.

The Christmas Box to the Spire
We can call the venture a resounding success as the amount raised is a staggering £1,627.24. This is truly awesome. We have achieved greatness here, due to people's creativity, their dedication at manning, or should we say womanning the Christmas stockings and the generosity of you the congregation. Very many thanks to you all and didn’t the porch look pretty!

We know that St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is being exemplified all over the world each and every day; just look at the team efforts that are saving lives in Haiti right now, but isn’t it differently wonderful when you feel it happening right on your doorstep? Our Building Fund is slowly and surely growing. People in Eccleston and St.Helens are talking about it and putting their hands in their pocket.

The message is out!

Tuesday 29 December 2009

Christmas Box for the Spire Final Numbers

The pounds and the pennies have been counted and the cheques have been cashed.

The grand total currently is a staggering £1,557.24 (excluding Gift Aid). We hope you agree that this is an awesome total, inspired by them above as well as us here on earth.

We have blown people's socks off with this venture, even Parishioners from Parish Church have been talking about it! And that's before the final figures came in. We'll be the talk of the town once this amount gets out.

May we thank so many people; those involved in the thinking and planning, the dedication of the ladies 'wo'manning the stockings and the generosity of you the Congregration. Very many thanks for your contributions.

Tuesday 22 December 2009

Preparing for Christmas

The snow flakes are falling outside and we are all struggling to complete our shopping lists for Christmas Day, rather like the soon to be mums preparing for the birth of their child. Have no fear, the Church is almost ready for the birth of Jesus. And what's more, we have Bootees, better known as Christmas Stockings at the back of church to receive your gifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

With a quick reckoning up, we are delighted to announce that the Christmas Box to the Spire Fund currently stands at £1049.12, with a whopping £678.00 received at last Sunday's Services.

The hampers are to be replenished for our Christmas Services with all manner of good things for all people.
Let's celebrate the Birth of the World's Greatest Gift together later this week.

Monday 21 December 2009

Reflection of Light on the 4th Sunday of Advent

On the 4th Sunday of Advent, let us reflect for one moment on the lit candles on our Advent wreath.

The first is for Hope - In late November, we were looking forward to Carolling around the Pubs and taking God's message out into the World to all His people.

The second is for Peace - In early December, we mused over the teachings of the Prophets. We will be walking through the darkness towards the light with our trusty lanterns in our hands.

The third is of Love - Our first week Carolling. As a choir we gave each other lifts, smiled, joked and hopefully shared our love with everyone we met.

The fourth is for Joy - We met on Friday and Sunday last. Patrons from the Game Bird, Steven Stars, the Griffin and the Stanley came and joined us. We aimed to share our Joy with the people of Eccleston.

The Committee thanks all the members of the Choir for their dedication, persistence and effort.We are delighted to announce that £255.14 was raised last weekend alone - meaning that the Grand Total over the Carolling fortnight was £510.05.

The fifth candle is for Jesus; The light of the World and as we follow Him, we will never walk in darkness, but will have the true light.

Eccleston - Thank you for acknowledging Jesus as the Light of the World and supporting Christ Church Building Works, especially our Spire.

Sunday 13 December 2009

Christmas Box for the Spire

Today the stockings were in the porch to remind the congregation of the Christmas Box for the Spire appeal at the 8am and the Nativity at 10.30am.

We are delighted to announce that the proceeds for today came to a whopping £352.12. All we can say is this is a truly awesome total and we can give thanks to God as well as to all his servants here on earth as well as the Aliens who crash landed into our spire earlier today.

Great job and a huge pat on the back to everyone who donated.

Thank you on the 3rd Sunday of Advent when we remember and give thanks for Mary and may we reflect for a moment on Bill's questions from this morning...

Is there just a little room for Jesus in our busy lives this Christmas?

Saturday 12 December 2009

Carolling on Saturday

We met at the Game Bird and after preparing in the 'Bar Humbug', designed for those not liking Christmas, we did our piece. The Assistant Manager was taking photos so hopefully we did you and the Spire proud.

Then on to the Stanley. Here we gave carol sheets to some of the diners, sang with a little boy, perhaps a future Kings College Choir Boy and drove the waitresses mad!

In summary a good time was had by all, especially Judith in her sparkly hat and Joyce Holland in her up hill struggle to get us to start at the same time and at the same pitch.

Furthermore, we can announce that over £100 was collected. THANK YOU to the Game Bird, the Stanley, the Singers and most importantly the Community.

The question is...
Can we beat this next week!

We may, but only with your help! So come on, let's pick up this gauntlet together.

Wednesday 9 December 2009

Carolling Dates for your Diary

Good Christians awake
Come sing with all your hearts,
Bring lanterns, Santa hats and muffs,
Children and Babes in arms.


It’s Christmas time so the more the merrier…
Please be one of our few, our happy few, our band of brothers.
Cry ‘God for Christmas, England and our Spire!’

Looking forward to seeing you in bright spirits and good voice.

12 12 2009
6.00 - 6.45pm Game Bird
7.00 pm The Stanley
18 12 2009
6.00 - 6.45pm Game Bird
7.00pm Seven Stars
Refreshments at the Coventry’s
9.00pm The Griffin
20 12 2009
1.15pm The Stanley

Monday 7 December 2009

Monday Lunchtime at the Stanley

At 1 o'clock this afternoon Christ Church Carollers met at the Stanley Arms to sing popular carols as requested by Sam and Kirby to remember Brian. The most touching moment was when the children were singing ‘Away in a Manger’ while the carollers and guests gently supported them. We thank everyone for their generous donations of £152.10 towards Christ Church's Spire and Building Fund.

Sunday 6 December 2009

Welcome...

First post, so welcome all to the Fundraising blog for Christ Church Eccleston's Spire and Building Development Programme.

The steeplejacks will be up the spire tomorrow ensuring the building and the parishioners are safe, while the happy many are singing their hearts out in The Stanley. All are welcome from 1.00 - 2.00pm.

Other dates for Carolling:
Saturday 12th December - Early evening
Game Bird, East Lancs Road
The Stanley, Gillars Lane

You are also asked to keep your diaries open and flexible for the following weekend. More information will be available on the Church’s Notice Sheet next Sunday as well as here.

We'll let you know about the marvels of Monday's Carolling on this fab piece of kit in case bush telegraph gets iced up... Keep warm and God Bless.