News: July 2008

New Rector Announced!

On Sunday 6th July it was announced that the Revd Canon Sue Pinnington had been offered, and accepted, the role as our new rector. Rev Pinnington has been vicar of St Michael's in Cottingley, Yorkshire in the diocese of Bradford since 2000, and brings with her vast experience in working with young people.

The date of her induction has been announced as Wednesday 29th October, by which time we will be back in our newly re-ordered church building. We look forward to giving Rev Pinnington a warm welcome, and anticipate a long and fruitful partnership of faith as we all begin a new chapter at St Michael's in Houghton. Our prayers also go out to her parishioners in Cottingley who received the news that she was leaving the day it was announced she was coming to Houghton.

Prayer and Pledge Day

Our prayer & pledge day held on Sunday 29th June was an outstanding success. Not only did we raise over £20,000 in pledges as well as numerous standing orders covering the next 4 years, but those who spent time in quiet prayer and reflection spoke enthusiastically of the lift they received from it.

We would like to thank all those who supported the day and those who gave their time ensuring folk who came to pray received a warm welcome and an atmosphere conducive to seeking God in prayer.

Church Clean Up

On Saturday 26th July the church will be open for a major clean up at the end of the building phase of the re-ordering. After over 6 months of archaeology, excavations and extensive building work we expect to be ready to start the process of making St Michael's a place of worship again. Before this can happen, an accumulation of dust and dirt needs to be removed from the building, and a thorough clean from top to bottom needs to take place.

Your help is needed here, if you are prepared to assist us cleaning, dusting, washing and polishing, please come along any time after 9.30 am and we will be glad to give you the tools for the job.

StrawberryTeas

Saturday 5th July there will be strawberry teas served between 2.00pm & 6.00pm at the home of the Elsey family, 2 Thistlecroft, off Hetton Road, just behind the Bethany church. With raffles games and competitions and all proceeds going to the 'Next 900 Campaign' it will be an afternoon to mark in your diaries; bring your friends and enjoy the sunshine.

Bike Ride 2008

Ignore what other articles, say, if summer’s here, then the time is right for cycling in the streets; on Friday 13th June, 8 perfect physical specimens lined up, whilst elsewhere, 8 guys from St Michael’s posed for their photos in front of the arch before heading dahn sarf before 6 in the morning.

Starting out 8 miles North of Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire they mounted their rusty steeds sometime after 11.00am in possession of an all day breakfast apiece that would have choked a donkey, and near on choked half of them. The ‘Pack Horse Inn’ was the kicking off point and witnessed a late morning mass quick change as work-a-day garments were discarded in favour of Lycra, gortex and padded shorts.

The weather forecast was ‘changeable’, and that it was; it was hard to believe it could be so cold in the middle of June, but spurred on by words of spiritual encouragement from the church warden we struggled up hill and dale. After an initial hilly start we found our natural habitat, the canal bank where the terrain can best be described as ‘flat’ – just how we like it with lots of wildlife and no traffic. Being men of some resource and ingenuity, we are prepared for most things during our rides, over the years we have experienced, rain, wind, angry natives and on occasion, nettles. But this year we had a first, a snapped bicycle chain, and not just one, but two. Strange how you can go for eleven years with none, then have two in two days. There were a couple of punctures too, but they hardly even slow us down these days. John Lambton is being actively sought by Formula One teams for the speed of his tyre changes.

Having reluctantly left the canal banks behind us we rode through glorious countryside into Settle in Cumbria down a fearsome bank towards our first overnight stop in the Old Station Hotel. A warm welcome and a cold beer awaited us as we showered away the dirt and washed away the dust. The more energetic members engaging in some form of game with pointy sticks before an early night in preparation for an early start and a long day in the saddle.

Our next target was Appleby, some 62 miles over hard country roads and high passes. The ride up Dentdale was a long slog, but punctuated by moments of sheer magic as we watched a pair of Buzzards circling, a collie and shepherd rounding up sheep, the joy on the dogs face as it raced up and down the hill being in marked contrast to our expressions as we realised the crest of the road wasn’t ‘just around the corner’.

After a snatched bite in Dent we realised that maybe Appleby was a bit far for the day and reset our sites for Tebay. Having followed the delightful early stages of the river Dee we turned into Sedberg before following the contours of Howgill Fells prior to the final run to pick up the minibus and a short ride to our lodgings in Appleby. The delightful Courtfield hotel gave us a warm welcome and we once more cleaned ourselves up and sought out good food in town. Someone suggested a curry, but was denied the pleasure by some wag saying that after two days in the saddle his bum was on fire to start with and didn’t want to risk any further conflagrations. So we had to make do with steaks and sticky toffee puddings (with ice cream to cool things down) then off to our beds.

The following morning a number of the group sloped off with varying excuses such as going to cricket matches and even work, but the remaining four made the final leg to join the circle, and after 10 years complete the circle of England on their bikes. Our thanks to Derek Farthing for arranging the minibus and driving us around for 3 days, to the YMCA who loaned us the bus, John Lambton for preparing the route and arranging all the accomodation and our wives for a) letting us go, and b) getting up at an ungodly hour to see us off.

BBQ

May 31st was also the date for the annual church BBQ, this year held in aid of the 'Next 900 Campaign' fundraising. Always the most popular event of the summer, the evening was blessed with wonderful weather; good to see the clergy still have the inside track when it comes to getting us a little sunshine.

The usual crack team of chefs set about preparing a mountain of meat for the gathered crowd, who were fed in quick succession as the crew demonstrated fast food as it should be done.

Of course the cooking was only part of the big picture, our cheerful ladies team were inside ensuring no-one left hungry.

This years BBQ was accompanied by live music from a local band who were able to achieve that most difficult of feats of pleasing everyone. Of the close to 90 people present, from the youngest to the oldest everyone enjoyed their entertainment. They shall return!

Between eating, being entertained, talking and having the very occasional drink, the old favourite game of getting-the-50p-closest-to-the-bottle game re-surfaced. Playing for a very nice bottle of champagne, Jim Steele demonstrates his winning technique in the picture below.

Having won the 'Heads or Tails' game at our previous event, Jim is going to be the one to beat at future evenings. It wouldn't be a proper evening in the Kepier Hall with some dancing at the end of the night.

From the oldest to the youngest, the good folk of Houghton strutted their stuff for 2 hours as the witching hour approached.

Finally the lights went up and the hall was set up for the service the following morning. Another excellent evening was over, and as well as providing good value entertainment and superb food, the team had managed to raise almost £600 towards the church re-ordering. Our thanks to all who came and all who worked so hard both on the night and in the weeks leading up to the event.

Progress reports: Progress reports of the ongoing work inside the church can be read here.

Renovations

The work on the interior of the building has started, photographs and news can be seen here.

Donations

Our secure online giving facility has been set up and is now available here.

Behind the scenes