Parish Church of St Luke Holmes Chapel
Serving Christ in our local community
Christmas Services at St Luke’s
Sunday 18th December
10.30am: Nativity Service with Genesis Children’s Group
7pm: Candlelit Carol Service
Christmas Eve
3pm: Crib Service and Christingle
5pm: Crib Service and Christingle
11pm: Midnight Christmas Communion
Christmas Day
9am: Christmas Morning Holy Communion
10.30am: Christmas Morning Service for all ages
Christmas Crib in St Luke’s churchyard
image of last year’s Christmas Markets courtesy of Nigel Taylor
New Church Lighting ready for the Village Christmas Markets
When St Luke’s welcomes everyone for the Christmas Services this year, there will be a new internal lighting system.
The special Christmas Services on Sunday 18th December, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day will be even more special.
Thanks to generous giving by members of the congregations, and others from the village, the church lighting has been brought into the 21st Century, with energy-efficient solutions, and features using LED and dimmable bulbs. The design, by Lighting Dynamics UK, and the work, by AJ Electrics, has been coordinated for St Luke’s by recent churchwarden Alastair Cragg.
Some of the first to see the transformation of the inside of church will be the many visitors to the Christmas Markets this Sunday 4th December.
Now everyone can come to see, and what better opportunity than one of the Carol Services, Crib/Christingle Services and other special Christmas events in St Luke’s.
It’s time to celebrate the Light coming into the darkness, with new lights!
This week at St Luke’s Church, Holmes Chapel
see also: Notices ♦ Link ♦ Daily readings
Sunday 4th December – 2nd of Advent
Readings today: Revelation 21, v1-8; Luke 21, v29-38
9 am – Holy Communion in church – traditional sung service, following Common Worship in contemporary language
10 am – Genesis meets in the Church Hall – including practicing for the Nativity presentation
10.30 am – Morning Worship in church – less formal, “no books” service with songs and hymns; followed by coffee/tea refreshments in the Church Hall
3 pm to 7pm – the newly lit church will be open for visitors during the Village Christmas Markets with a varied progamme of music to enjoy
COVID-19: continuing precautions – please respect those who feel vulnerable and wish to continue wearing a face-covering and keep social distancing when in church.
Monday 5th to Wednesday 7th December
9 am – Morning Prayer on Zoom* (Rob’s account) – a shortened version with shared Bible readings
*Note: if you are local to Holmes Chapel and would like to join one of our short Zoom Morning Prayer services, please email comms@stlukesholmeschapel.uk and we will send you the access details.
Wednesday 7th December
10.30am – Midweek Holy Communion in the Church Hall – a short unsung service to enjoy peace and seek the Lord
7.30 – 8.45pm – St Luke’s Community Choir meets in the Church Hall
Thursday 8th December
12 noon – Funeral in church of Thelma Ashmore
November 22 letter
November is a month to remember. And we remember not to take things for granted. Not taking things for granted helps us have better focus, and better priorities in our life.
On Sunday 13th November at 10am it is the Remembrance Sunday service. This is a good opportunity to express publicly the much-needed intention not to take peace for granted. It is nearly 80 years since the end of World War Two. Psychologically many of the younger generations may be thinking such war will never visit us. We can all too easily take peace for granted.
The war resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine reminds us: don’t take peace for granted. Devastating war is closer than we think. And Remembrance Sunday helps us remember.
Barnabus & Brinnington – Sep 22
Autumn update on Barnabus and St Luke’s Brinnington and how we can help with donations of pre-loved clothing and non-perishable food items etc.
Confirmation update: 9th October 2022
On Harvest Sunday seven candidates from St Luke’s were confirmed by the Rt Revd Sam Corley, Bishop of Stockport, at a special service. We thank the Lord for a growing harvest of people to the Christian faith at St Luke’s.
Stephen Haigh London Marathon update
4:35:44... ..my official time to complete the London Marathon - 26.2 miles of energy, exhaustion and exhilaration! The course starts on Blackheath Common and then runs through residential areas and along the South Circular Road to Greenwich (look right for the Royal...
Genesis Autumn 2022
Genesis resumed after the Summer break in the Church Hall at 10am on Sunday 11th September. Read the letter to parents which includes a summary of Genesis Sunday sessions until Christmas.
Children’s Society
Personal collecting boxes: important notice – opening and counting delayed to the New Year.
Thank you!!
Thank you for those who helped with the floral decorations for Harvest and those who provided gifts of dry food which are now with the Congleton Storehouse Foodbank.
Thank you too from the Christian Aid Committee to all those attending the Coffee Morning on Saturday 1st Oct raising a fantastic total of £1150!
Prayers for our new King and late Queen
Everlasting God, we pray for our new King Charles.
Bless his reign and the life of our nation.
Help us to work together
so that truth and justice, harmony and fairness
flourish among us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Gracious God, we give thanks
for the life of your servant Queen Elizabeth,
for her faith and her dedication to duty.
Bless our nation as we mourn her death
and may her example continue to inspire us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Praying together in the weeks of Trinity
The Lord be with you
And also with you.
This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
whose judgements are true and just.
Praise our God, all you his servants,
All who fear him, both small and great.
The Lord our God, the Almighty reigns:
Let us rejoice and give him the glory.
For the marriage of the Lamb has come
And his bride has made herself ready.
Blessed are those who are invited
To the wedding banquet of the Lamb.
From Revelation 19
Praying Together
When sickness is near:
you can view or download this prayersheet here
God of compassion, be close to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation.
In their loneliness, be their consolation;
in their anxiety, be their hope;
in their darkness, be their light;
through him who suffered alone on the cross, but reigns with you in glory,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Merciful God, we entrust to your tender care those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens your everlasting arms are there to hold them safe.
Comfort and heal them, and restore them to health and strength; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
For hospital staff and medical researchers
Gracious God,
give skill, sympathy and resilience to all who are caring for the sick,
and your wisdom to those searching for a cure. Strengthen them with your Spirit,
that through their work many will be restored to health;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
From one who is ill or isolated
O God, help me to trust you,
help me to know that you are with me, help me to believe that nothing can separate me from your love
revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Pastoral letter – November 3rd 2020
We write because the latest announcements of the authorities mean there will be no services in church for the next four weeks (and maybe more!). This is disappointing news as our regular 9am Sunday and 10.30 Wednesday small services had been going well. People were positive. Numbers were averaging 30 on Sundays and 20 on Wednesdays. We have made the most of our window of opportunity since the end of July, and thank you for your responsible participation. We will write again when we are able to re-open church services in church.
Towards normality? Your views on worship again in church
The recent relaxation of the official virus restrictions to allow some limited services to start in churches under carefully controlled conditions is very welcome but poses real problems in small churches like St Luke’s. To guide discussion at the July meeting of the Church Council about how and when to resume the limited church services now permitted, we consulted our congregations through a short questionnaire. Read more for some of the statistics and findings which led to the PCC deciding to resume limited services in St Luke’s on a trial basis in August.
Well-being and the COVID-19 pandemic
The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis means life has changed for all of us. It may cause us to feel anxious, stressed, worried, sad, bored, lonely, or frustrated.
If you’re finding things hard emotionally right now, you’re not alone.