St Chad’s, Rochdale Parish Church

St Chads, Rochdale Parish Church

The Carol Service at St Chad’s on Sunday, 20 December, at 3.00pm will this year incorporate the Mayor’s Civic Carol Service.

Mayor Surinder Biant has asked for a joint service at the Parish Church, and he and the Mayoress, Cecile Biant, will head the Civic Party of community leaders.

The service, always the highlight of the year, will be the traditional candlelit service of Lessons and Carols, launched with a peal of bells, and the singing led by a full augmented choir.

Christmas Services

• Saturday, 19 December, 4.00pm: Christingle and Crib Service for families at St Mary in the Baum.
• The town’s children are invited, plus parents and grandparents and the youngsters will set up the Crib itself as the Nativity Story is told, with carols and prayers by candlelight.
• Sunday, 20 December, 3.00pm: Church-and-Town Carols at St Chad’s
• Christmas Eve, 11.30pm: Christmas Eve Choral Midnight Mass, St Chad’s
• Christmas Day: 8.00am Holy Communion (BCP) St Chad’s, 9.30am Christmas Holy Communion, St Mary in the Baum, 11.00am Christmas Day Festal Eucharist, St Chad’s 

Christmas Eve Lunch

Christmas Eve Lunch in church for the homeless, hungry and needy will be at St Chad’s again this year. A meeting to finalise arrangements with co-organisers Petrus and Rochdale MBC Homelessness team will be at Petrus Hub this coming week.

Sponsors for this second year will again be Ahmed Nadim and family.

The definition for qualifying diners is: ‘Homeless, those in housing need agencies working with the needy, will be available from Petrus.’

Carols at No 1 Riverside

The Town Centre Chaplaincy will have Carols at No 1 Riverside, the Council offices on Monday 21 December at 4.30pm, and ‘Carols Round the Tree’ there on Christmas Eve at 1.30pm.

The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre will have a Carol Service this coming Saturday
19 December from 3.00pm. The Wheatsheaf will also have an Angel Tree for shoppers to hang on an angel in memory of a loved one.

An ‘amazing’ £750

St Chad’s Christmas Fair made an “amazing” £750 last Saturday. “Amazing” is organiser Heather Williams’ word for it. Dreadful weather meant gale-driven heavy rain lashing straight into the church door.

The usual stalls did as well as could have been expected. An authentic Santa Claus with full-throated ‘Ho-Ho’s echoing from the Tower into the nave, convinced the children he would be on his way on Christmas Eve.

“Everybody rallied round, and for that I am very grateful,” says Heather.

Children Matter

Ten children were in church for last Sunday’s 11 o’clock service. “They matter,” says Mark, who plans a short meeting for parents and carers “to discuss how we can take things forward with our children’s work.” Thursday evening, 7 January, is the date, at the home of Helen Maguire. Please ask Helen or Mark for details if you would like to help.

A Maiden Sermon

Jane Hyde will preach her first sermon on Sunday 27 December, at St Mary’s 9.30am and at St Chad’s 11.00am.

Flag-Rope a Gonner

The disappeared St Chad’s tower flag story gets more serious. “The rope on the flag pole has snapped in the gales,” says Paul Bollington. “It will be difficult to thread a new one through the pulley at the top.”

St Swithun’s Challenge

St Chad’s St Swithun’s Challenge was one of six winners chosen from the 420 ideas entered in the contest organised by Ecclesiastical Insurance and Church Times. The aim was to find the most innovative project, easiest for other churches to copy. The cheque-presentation was at a lunch at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

This year’s Challenge raised a record £1,100, though the amount brought in by the idea was not one of the criteria for the contest. St Chad’s has supplied the organisers with a two-page How to Do It guide to be passed to others.

Feast of Song

Toad Lane Concerts director Dr Joe Dawson offers ‘a feast of song’ for the Concerts’ Christmas ‘special’ next Wednesday. The End of Year Concert Party will feature former graduates of the Concerts series, Amanda Eloise Kay (Cambridge University and Drama Studio, London) and Cora McGlinchey (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland).

They will join current regulars the Rev’d Lesley Reading and Joel Thetford, along with newcomers Kyra Ho and Isabelle Whiteley. “A feast of song, accompanied by their long-suffering teacher Dr Joe Dawson,” he promises. There will be a two-week Christmas break.

Find out more about our services: 

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/sites/saint-chad-rochdale-parish-church