COMING SOON!!! Duggie Dug Dug’s Amazing Bubble Show!
An exciting event that will leave the whole family smiling and amazed!
When: March 22nd 3-4pm
Where: St Oswald’s Church Hall, Preesall (plenty of parking available)
What: An incredible Bubble Show
Not your normal church event! There will be Giant Bubbles, Smoke Bubble, Soaring Bubbles, Bubble Sculptures, Bubbles in Bubbles and even Children in Bubbles!
If that isn’t enough there will be songs and puppets too! Come along to this party aimed at primary aged children and their families (other ages welcome too!)
This event is more than just a show – it’s an opportunity to gather with other families in the community, have fun, and celebrate the joy and wonder of God’s creation through the spectacle of bubbles!
Family-friendly snacks and drinks will be available after the show and each child will leave with a party bag to remember the show!
Bring your friends, neighbours, colleagues, school mates, anyone ready to have fun with bubbles!
Don’t miss out on this exciting event! Tickets available from the end of Jan…get them before they float away!
Follow our Facebook page and keep an eye out for more details!
Over Wyre Churches–CofE 📞Naomi: 07872056471 ✉️nhsbarraclough@gmail.com
February News 2025
Christmas Carol service at Hambleton
Over one hundred voices, both young and old came together to sing carols accompanied by Pilling Band at the annual Carol Service at Hambleton just before Christmas. The service was beautifully led by Linda Shipway and Elizabeth Noble. The lights were turned off as we listened to the wonderful passage from John’s gospel ” In the beginning was the Word”, read by candlelight. Following the service everyone enjoyed sherry and shortbread. A big thank you to Pilling Band, all who helped in any way and especially to all who came along.
Christmas Congratulations & Celebrations
Congratulations to our incredible team of clergy and lay leaders in all our churches for a remarkable week of end of term Christmas celebrations. All our village schools shared the Christmas story through word and music.
Well done everyone at our churches for providing such warm and generous hospitality.
Above all else, congratulations to the amazing staff and pupils at all our village schools who have been brilliant.
Festival of Nine Lessons with Carols at Stalmine on Advent 4
The Carol service is a firm favourite in the local Christmas calendar at St. James’. Short Bible readings told the story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah and the birth of Jesus interspersed with carols and choral music. The final reading unfolds the great mystery of the Incarnation.
The 2024 Christmas service marked the 34th Nine Lessons at St. James’ for Music Director, Paul Buckmaster. This year’s new carol was ‘A Tender Shoot’ (William Bartholomew/ Otto Goldschmidt) which was sung beautifully by the choir, enriched with new members and returning ones.
On the 5th day of Christmas
On the 5th day of Christmas our Benefice churches came together to sing lots of lovely carols! They shared familiar readings, laughed at heavenly drama, listened to some poems all read by representatives of each of our six churches. In-between it all, they had a great BIG SING! Thank you to St. Oswald’s for hosting it. Thank you to all readers, choirs, organist & organisers. Thank you to Fr. Peter for leading it. Thank you to EVERYONE who came & shared the morning.
The big reveal
Our young people gathered early in the New Year for an adventure finding God Outdoors led by Rev. Naomi. Based upon the theme of the Feast of Epiphany it was celebrated with great joy outdoors at Out Rawcliffe. There was light everywhere!
Twinkling lights in the Sunday Schoolroom, sparkling stars along the path, dazzling displays at the end of the obstacle course, a glittering starlight trail, flickering flame lights over the fire pits, bejewelled clay stars, star-shaped sweet treats, flashing lights of torches, moonlight and the bright planet of Jupiter. Crafting stars, toasting marshmallows, journeying along an obstacle course and stargazing with amazing telescopes brought the journey of the Magi, following the star to life.
It was indeed a star-studded night!
Thank you to all the stars who came on this Epiphany adventure.
Thank you to all the stars who made it happen.
Follow the stars!
The same weekend as God Outdoors there was another star-studded evening of crafting, chatting & stargazing at St. John’s Out Rawcliffe, this time for adults. Cocktails, nibbles and a reflective meditation made for an out of this world event.
Thank you Rev. Naomi for leading this adventure.
Thank you to all who joined in.
Thank you to all who made it possible.
Thank you to all who helped to plan-it. Well done to Rev Naomi, our own superstar!
New Year ~ new news!
On Wednesday 8th January, Fr. Peter and Adele joined members and friends of Pilling Mothers’ Union for a beautiful meal at the Royal Oak, Garstang.
Great food, lovely company and a warm, friendly atmosphere made for a fantastic Christmas celebration!
United Covenant
It was a great joy and privilege for the family of S. John to join our brothers and sisters at Pilling Methodist Chapel for their annual Covenant Service.
Fr. Peter was guest preacher, encouraging everyone to abide in Christ in the year ahead.
Thank you for the hospitality of friends across the denominations.
The Parish Priest’s Letter
The Vicarage
27 Little Tongues Lane
My dear friends
When I was first ordained, I worked in a Parish in Doncaster. My training Incumbent was incredibly supportive, and he was an excellent teacher,
but he would also like to ‘throw you in at the deep end;’ none more so than one evening at a town centre civic occasion. One night we had been invited to a civic dinner, the mayor and civic dignitaries were all present and suddenly, as the meal was about to begin, Fr Derek turned and said to me
“Would you say grace please, Father.” I mumbled something not terribly edifying and resolved to be ready next time!
“Would you say grace please Father?” is a question I have become incredibly familiar with, but actually the practice of saying Grace before a meal is something I warmly commend to you as we approach the season of Lent. Perhaps saying Grace could be your Lenten rule for this year.
It is a practice that is a daily part of the pattern of life in the Vicarage and it is something that we all should try and make part of our pattern of daily devotion.
The Christian roots of saying Grace probably goes back to a Jewish traditional prayer of gratitude before meals. Jesus practiced this type of prayer as recorded in John 6:11.
“Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.”
This practice of thanking God for food, either before or after the meal, was continued by the early church leaders such as Tertullian who wrote,
“We do not recline at a banquet before prayer be first tasted — in like manner prayer puts an end to the feast “
The word grace has the same roots as the word grateful. So, saying Grace is about giving thanks, specifically thanks to God, the Creator of the Universe.
But grace also refers to something that is not earned, not deserved, a gift freely given.
So, when we say Grace before a meal, we are remembering that what we have before us is something that is a gift and a blessing.
I am so incredibly conscious that I have food on my table, but others do not. They may have worked just as hard as I have, but do not receive a living wage, or live in a country where there is not easy access to food or have lost their job or a thousand other reasons that have led to there being no food on their table. Just because I have food doesn’t mean that I am more deserving of food, that I have done more to earn the right to have food.
In fact, I may have done little compared to others who are struggling daily for just a handful of rice.
In the winter of 2020, Adele and I were on holiday in the Cairngorms in Scotland. A great blizzard blew in overnight, and we were completely cut off in our cottage. The road was blocked and there was no way to travel. At first it was all rather exciting, and we happily built a snowman and Flora played in the snow. We came into the cottage at lunchtime and realised we had very little food in the fridge. All we had were two potatoes, half a loaf of bread and that was about it. We togged up in our winter clothes and trekked four miles through drifts of snow three feet deep to the nearest village, and the village shop. Just as we arrived the shop was about to shut, just a few minutes later we would have missed our chance of getting supplies. We quickly bought some provisions and began the long, cold trek back to the cottage. That night as we sat at table, we said grace with a deep gratitude. We realised this is the way of life for millions of people around the world.
Just a few shorts weeks later Covid plunged us all into lockdown. We had to get used to queuing outside the supermarket and discovering shops which had almost nothing on their shelves. From those few months until today Adele and I say Grace. We say Grace thinking of those who have no food. We say Grace as a reminder of our responsibility to share our food and wealth with others. We say Grace in gratitude for all that God has given us.
As we say Grace, we are filled with gratitude that what we have is a gift that comes from many hands. We are reminded that we are not entitled to this food but privileged to have it. And we are reminded that, as followers of Jesus, we are to share our food, generously, freely, lovingly.
This Lent I commend to you the saying of Grace that we may approach the Lord with humble, thankful hearts.
Here are just a few traditional Graces that are easy to learn by heart. Use them this Lent and realise how grateful we are for all that God has done for us.
Fr Peter
Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dear God, we thank you for the food before us, the family and friends beside us, and the love between us. Amen.
Bless, O Lord, this food to our use and us to thy service and keep us ever mindful of the needs of others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Good food, good meat, Good God, Let’s eat. Amen.