Parish Church of St Luke Holmes Chapel
Come to Christ, Love to Learn, Learn to Love!
This week at St Luke’s Church, Holmes Chapel
see also: Diary – Link(Oct) – Daily readings
Sunday 2nd October – Harvest – Trinity 16
Readings today: Genesis 9: v1-3; John 15, v 5-8
9am – Harvest Holy Communion in church – traditional sung service in contemporary language following Common Worship, with classic hymns – PLEASE BRING AN ITEM OF NON-PERISHABLE FOOD AS A HARVEST CONTRIBUTION.
** NO GENESIS TODAY **
10.30am – Harvest Service for all ages in church- “no books” service celebrating Harvest with lively fellowship and a mixture of contemporary songs and classic hymns – PLEASE BRING A FAVOURITE VEGETABLE! – then join us afterwards for tea/coffee in the Church Hall.
COVID-19 precautions: many people locally continue to be ill with the virus and so please respect the wishes of those who feel vulnerable and wish to continue to wear a face-covering and maintain social distancing whilst in church.
Monday 3rd – Wednesday 5th October
9.00am – 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 5th October
10.30am – Midweek Holy Communion in church – 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.
Friday 7th October
7.00 – 9.00pm – Harvest Supper in the Church Hall
menu: Cottage Pie & Apple Pie (Veg options available) – entertainment includes a short Quiz and music by the Slipper Band
admission by ticket (or on the door): adults £8, children £3, family £20 – more information from Barbara Street HC 534745 or any Social Committee member
proceeds will support a Church project
Sunday 9th October – Trinity 16
Readings today: 2 Samuel 12: v1-13; Matthew 5: v13-16
9am – Holy Communion in church – traditional sung service in contemporary language following Common Worship, with classic hymns.
10am – Genesis meets in the Church Hall: continuing focus on the Lord’s Prayer
10.30am – Morning Worship in church – “no books” service with down to earth Bible readings, contemporary songs & classic hymns , followed by tea and coffee in the Church Hall.
6.30pm – Service of Confirmation in church – conducted by the Rt Revd Sam Corley, Bishop of Stockport.
August 2022 letter
Lots of things are getting back to normal, including church life, and lots of holidays, but that doesn’t mean we’re all feeling normal. Lots of us are feeling the effects of our recent two years of Covid disruption. We do well to happily embrace the resumption of relative normality and also to work through our continuing feelings of loss.
In church, we are pleased to have resumed the receiving of holy communion in both kinds.
July 22 letter
The Psalms in the Bible have played a big part in the life of many Christians. I remember how a couple once told me Psalm 91 had got them through World War 2; reading it together each evening had gone a long way to sustaining them through those dark days.
When we asked the congregations of St Luke’s which of the Psalms they would like to hear preached over the Summer, we were given a lot to chew on.
Top of the list came Psalm 121 ‘I lift up my eyes to the hills… from where does my help come?’. Equal second were Psalm 139 ‘O Lord you have searched me and known me’, and Psalm 150 ‘Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord’. And also in the long list of requests were Psalms 23, 27, 36, 46, 51, 66, 67, 86, 91, 96, 104, 105, 137, 143 and 145.
Community Choir again
St Luke’s Community choir meets weekly Wednesday evenings in the Church Hall from 7.30 – 8.45pm. Why not come along?
Pew cushion appeal
Pew cushion appeal – how you can help In his September letter, Rob mentioned that we are purchasing cushions for the pews following several requests from members of our congregation. The total cost for cushions for the ground floor pews will be around £5,300, each pew...
Contactless Giving at St Luke’s
Most donations to St Luke’s come from our regular church members through our Planned Giving Scheme by envelope or standing order. Regular giving is particularly helpful for budgeting purposes and if this is how you give to St Luke’s, please continue to donate in this way. However, our first contactless giving device is now installed at the back of the church allowing anyone to give by card etc. rather than by cash.
Barnabus van appeal
Can you help please? Barnabus urgently needs to replace its 20 year old van so that their work supporting people experiencing homelessness in Manchester can continue uninterrupted.
Photos for our publications
Photos for our publications - can you help? We are looking for colour photos of current events taken at and around St Luke's to include in our website or magazine to supplement the text. They don't have to be of professional standard or specially posed. Smartphone or...
Genesis – summer 2022
photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Genesis Into Summer Genesis now starts at the slightly later time of 10am, where learning and activities will take place in the Church Hall until 10.45am. Genesis will then join midway through the Church service in time to share their...
Prayer for peace in Ukraine
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have encouraged the Church of England to join with the Diocese in Europe in prayer for the chaplaincy in Kyiv and the other churches that serve Ukraine.
Praying together Lent 2022
Praying Together in Lent and Passiontide @St Lukes, Holmes Chapel.
Ash Wednesday Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God,
You hate nothing that you have made
And forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts
That we, worthily lamenting our sins
And acknowledging our wretchedness,
May receive from you, the God of all mercy,
Perfect remission and forgiveness;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Download the Prayersheet for printing below
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.
New history of St Luke’s
Take up of the newly published History of St Luke’s has been excellent. More copies have now been printed.
Please contact Peter Cotton by email: papscotton@sky.com or phone 01477 537491 to make sure of your copy!
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.