On Sunday 10th May the parish held its Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM). During this meeting, Wardens, Officers and PCC members for the coming year were elected. They are:
- Wardens: David McConville, Laurel Avery
- Assistant Wardens (St Margaret’s): Norman Eskine, Lynda Horridge
- Deputy Wardens (St George’s): Vacant
- Deanery Synod: Gillian McConville, Diane Hill
- PPC Secretary: Joan Evans
- PCC Treasurer: Janet Dalton
- PCC Members: June Thompson, Andrew Ginn, Carol Pieroni, Anne Orrell
- St George’s PCC representatives: Carol Knaggs, Joan Knott
The full make-up of our PCC and Ministry teams is given on our website here.
Statutory reports to the APCM follow over the coming days. Non-statutory reports from our parish organizations follow next month. We begin with the Vicar’s Report:
“Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15.58). Paul writes from the perspective of Christ rising from the dead. Nothing is wasted in God’s eyes. What we do counts. It makes a real difference in the lives of the people we meet and serve. We need your support and involvement. Behind every line of the balance-sheet is a life with which we have engaged.
Our website declares: “Our mission statement is to worship God, follow Jesus, serve our neighbour and welcome all, which can be summarised as WELCOME, WORSHIP, FELLOWSHIP, SERVICE.”
Our Welcome is expressed Sunday by Sunday by our dedicated team of Sidespeople, the first to greet us on our arrival to worship. Our thanks to everyone who gives themselves so wholeheartedly to this ministry. And I never take for granted the sterling work of our ordained team – the St Margaret’s Focal Minister, Associate Priest Revd Sue, Assistant Curate Revd Helen, and St George’s Focal Minister (and Assistant Curate) Revd Christine, who was ordained Priest on 28 June, and celebrated her first eucharist, at St George’s, on Sunday 29 June, with Canon Debby Plummer returning to preach.
An essential part of St Margaret’s and St George’s ministry are the Authorised Lay Ministers that we have – Andrew Ginn (who was recommissioned on 20 September), Carol Olive and Carol Porter. To our delight, Norman Erskine volunteered and was nominated for training as the year drew to an end – and we look forward to his commissioning in 2026.
We need two new volunteers to take on the co-ordinating role of Warden and one new Deputy. For the first time in the church’s history, these roles have been left vacant for the last twelve months. We have been most fortunate to have the dedication and commitment of our previous Wardens, Laurel Avery and David McConville, and our Deputy Warden (with an eye on St George’s), Joan Knott, for the last year, in the Deputy roles they have fulfilled so conscientiously. We are also fortunate to have a congregation with so many people who have the capacity to contribute their skills to the running of this parish church. There are many here who can offer their support and experience for newcomers to these roles. There has never been a better time to step forward! We are also deeply indebted to our PCC Secretary, Joan Evans, and our Honorary Treasurer, Janet Dalton, the evidence of whose work also runs throughout this Report. Our Child Protection Officer, Jacqui Jackson, also has a key role of responsibility, which we are very grateful to her for fulfilling.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4.23) Worship is the heart of our life. We give thanks for all who help us to prepare: our Musicians, Carol Porter our Director of Music, Tom Dalton our organist, Maggie’s Music Makers; our Sacristans, Ray and Pat Coleman: our Sanctuary Team, led by Judith Murphy. Maggie’s Music Makers enjoyed being part of BBC Radio 4’s Daily Service Christmas Choir in December which has now resulted in three services to be broadcast on Radio 4 Extra in 2026. Remember, too, our regular ministry of Wholeness and Healing within the context of Worship, with thanks to Carol Olive; Home Communions, with thanks to Andrew Ginn. The Retreats at Foxhill and Parcevall Hall remain special moments in our Calendar. We are encouraged by the number of young people who continue to engage with our worshipping life, through monthly Messy Church at Lady Wilton Hall and monthly Sunday Club.
Fellowship nourishes and sustains our community. We give thanks for all who help us to meet regularly together in such creative ways – to study (with our Advent and Lent Group), to serve (our special events: our Plant Sale, our Christmas Fair), to eat (our Lenten and Harvest lunches, and Young at Heart Christmas Tea), and to meet (our frequent trips out, and the regular Tea-Pot Time in Simister).
Service is our calling. We do this through regular ministries, such as Rhyme Time among pre-school children, and the knitting of Prayer Blankets; charitable giving, such as our regular gifts to Porch Boxes, Christian Aid, Leprosy Mission, Children’s Society, our annual Macmillan Coffee Morning and the donation of foreign and redundant coins to Mary’s Meals; and the nurture and encouragement of others through our buildings and institutions – especially Church House (the home of Cherry Trees Nursery and many other community activities); and St Margaret’s Youth and Community Centre (the home of Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts as well as a local authority youth club and popular youth martial arts).
Yes, we have had new Heating Systems ordered for St Margaret’s and St George’s, new Windows installed in Lady Wilton Hall, a new front door for St Margaret’s Church House, and new plans for our Churchyard and a new Garden of Remembrance. But these are all to promote the Kingdom of God in WELCOME, WORSHIP, FELLOWSHIP & SERVICE.
An essential part of our presence in our local community is, of course, St Margaret’s Primary School. Our role among the Governors is especially significant. Carol Porter runs their choir. We host the whole school regularly for worship in church. Please continue to remember Governors, Staff, Parents and Children in your prayers.
“Now to God who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3.20, 21)
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 