Church events, social events, pictures and other items of interest to do with St John the Baptist Church, Hey, Oldham. We are at the junction of St John Street and Stamford Road OL4 3DS
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We all have our childhood memories and earlier this week my daughter told me about one of her younger sister’s childhood memories. The memory was brought back by the hearing the jingle-jangle music of the ice cream van which happened to stop outside her front door. It was the first time she had seen an ice cream van on her street and of course, it was the first time for my grandson, Archie too. So, we had a cone with all the trappings: flake, hundreds and thousands and raspberry sauce. The ice cream was the soft Mr Whippy type which was a particular favourite of Charlotte’s my youngest daughter. The only problem was it was very close to Archie’s teatime. Nana did the unthinkable and persuaded his mummy to let him have the ice cream before his tea, after all, what are nana’s for! Then came the familiar comment that parents often hear from their children “ you never let us do that, we always had to put the ice cream in the freezer to have after our tea” Apparently this was one of Charlotte’s bug-bears as she said once the ice cream came out of the freezer it was no longer soft like Mr Whippy. Now I understand why Charlotte always wanted hers before her tea.
I wonder what the bug-bears of your childhood were, perhaps you would like to share them.
And now for something beautiful and lovely
Archie and I saw this hanging from a tree on one of our walks. It is difficult to tell from the picture but is made from pipe cleaners, Such a simple but effective idea.
And finally, I think this one goes under the heading of improvisation. After finishing his ice cream, Archie decided to wash his hands in the watering can!
his reminded me we need to thank God each and every day for our water supply and pray for those who don't have that luxury.
As your Spirit moved
over the face of the water, bringing light and life to your creation,
pour out your Spirit
on us today that we may walk as children of light and by your grace reveal your
presence.Blessed be God, Father, Son
and Holy Spirit.
All Blessed be God for ever.
Hymn: Be still for the presence of the Lord
1 Bless the Lord,
O my soul, ♦
and all that is within
me bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord,
O my soul, ♦
and forget not all his
benefits;
3 Who forgives
all your sins ♦
and heals all your
infirmities;
4 Who redeems
your life from the Pit ♦
and crowns you with
faithful love and compassion;
5 Who satisfies
you with good things, ♦
so that your youth is
renewed like an eagle’s.
6 The Lord
executes righteousness ♦
and judgement for all
who are oppressed.
7 He made his
ways known to Moses ♦
and his works to the
children of Israel.
8 The Lord has
established his throne in heaven, ♦ and his kingdom has dominion over all.
When I first started this blog, I spoke about the beautiful and lovely walks I was having with my grandson Archie. The morning walks are continuing and this week it was a great pleasure to take Archie to feed the ducks both in Queens Park, Heywood and Hollingworth Lake. His little face lit up when I told him we were going to do this. This is something which Archie has really missed doing these last few months
A few days ago, a friend said to me “I have told you of all that I am going to do after lockdown but I never heard you say what you are going to do. My friend is an avid fan of a particular designer outlet store. When lockdown is over and it opens, to the public again, I know she will be the first in the queue. So, I have two questions for you this week, “What have you missed most during this lockdown and what is the first thing you are going to do when it is ended? As for myself, there is so much that I have missed, including seeing my two granddaughters, seeing them and spending time with them will be my highest priority.
Continuing with the theme of something beautiful and lovely, Edna has very kindly shared some pictures of the birds visiting their garden
Bullfinch eating forget-me-not seeds
A chaffinch eating at our bird feeder- one of lots of birds that eat outside our window and keep us entertained
A dunnock that likes to pick up all the dropped seed from under the feeders.
A blackbird enjoying his daily apple
Lilac weighed down with flowers and with a wonderful scent.
Edna goes on to say " the crow's eggs have hatched and we can occasionally see young stretching up to be fed"
Edna and David both realise how lucky they are that they have the garden with all the wildlife visiting. Edna has also heard the first swallows and swifts of the year flying over.
A service for Mental Health Awareness Week with a message from The Duke of Cambridge
The Duke of Cambridge is urging people who are concerned about their mental health or that of others to reach out and start a conversation, in this contribution to the Church of England’s national online service. Canterbury Cathedral is posting a number of services each week, including full Eucharist, you can see the list of services here
Join the global wave of prayer calling all Christians to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know the love and peace of Jesus Christ. May 21st - May 31st 2020. Find the link here on our Website
For Ascension Day, I wanted to record a video of Holy Communion in church. I also wanted you to be able to join in, so I have managed (with help) to combine short videos and a powerpoint presentation with a voice over. As usual, the communal parts are in bold type. David sent me this picture and the song that comes after the video, in the hope that I could incorporate them into the video. Sadly my technical skills haven't stretched that far yet, but I hope you enjoy seeing and hearing all that we have produced.
In last week’s blog I left you with a challenge and asked “What have you have created or improvised with” I think it might have been more appropriate to ask “how have you adapted to lockdown”
The church nationally and globally has adapted at a rapid speed using various methods of technology to broadcast services, hold meetings, and maintain contact with their congregations. YouTube, Facebook, Church websites, zoom meetings, WhatsApp, phoned have all proved very popular as churches strive to keep the word of God alive and meaningful.
St John the Baptist Hey is no exception.
The first thing that sprung to mind was this blog which I have created.There is nobody more surprised about this than myself. I usually refer to myself as a technological dinosaur, now I’m not so sure I can now continue to claim this title.Those of you who are technologically savvy will also have seen blogs that have been posted by Revd Lyn, Revd Sally and David Green. You may also have seen the weekly service that has been broadcast including hymns from YouTube.
I conducted a funeral last Thursday and just before the service began the funeral director ran inside the crematorium to switch the webcam on. Family from the south were going to view the service from home. I am sure this must have been very comforting for them.
Many of us have had to adapt the way in which we do our shopping. Never having tried grocery shopping online I decided to give click and collect a whirl. I have generally been very impressed. Click what you want online, choose a slot to collect, drive to the supermarket, give your name, shopping which is already packed is loaded into your car and of you go. It couldn’t be any simpler.
Revd Lyn has been very busy this week looking at ways in which the church can offer more support to those living in various care homes and sheltered accommodation in our communities. At the forefront of giving this support is an assessment of the technology available in these settings and hopefully getting some funding to improve this and the care we can offer as a church.
Continuing with something beautiful and lovely.
A hospital consultant met one of his young patients who has multiple health problems in the hospital car park so she would not be put at further risk by entering the hospital.
Leading on from Revd Lyn’s work with the various care settings there is nothing more beautiful and lovely than an answer to prayer. On a daily basis, Revd Lyn stands outside various care settings and prays for all who live and work there. After doing this at one particular care home Lyn was asked to speak to a resident who was very upset about the number of deaths relating to Covid-19. She was very tearful and was struggling to sleep as it brought back memories of the war years. Using WhatsApp Revd Lyn chatted with the lady and prayed for her. As Revd Lyn was praying with her, she fell asleep. A day or two later the home manager rang and said this lady had got her sparkle back and she was more like her old herself. Never underestimate the power of prayer.
During lockdown Lyn’s grandson, Robert celebrated his 18th birthday. Robert’s love of Liam Gallagher and the brit-pop era (hence the appearance of both ginger spice and baby spice) is what prompted the theme for his socially distancing birthday bash. In the words of Revd Lyn “It is so very beautiful and lovely that my daughter went to such great lengths to ensure my grandson was able to celebrate his birthday.
I do have to say the birthday cake looks very beautiful and lovely and might I add scrumptious.
And finally, on a completely different note, I learnt a very important lesson from my grandson this week, one should always wear one’s wellies when baking!!!
