This article was written for the April 2025 issues of our parish magazine: I have written before about Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah” (September 2024), but this version has new lyrics, written by Kelly Mooney: A crown of thorns placed on His head, He knew that He would soon be dead, He said did you forget … More Hallelujah! (Cohen, arr. Rickley)
Alleluia Christ is Risen. He is Risen indeed. Alleluia!! That first announcement of the Resurrection of Jesus at the Easter vigil. Jesus is dead, he’s descended into hell. Everything he promised and all the hope he brought has died with him. His followers are despondent and broken hearted, his mother and some other women are … More May Letter to the Parish
Rev Sue preached this sermon on Sunday 27 April. Here it is for you again: It’s the evening of the first Easter Sunday. That morning, Mary Magdalene and then Peter and John — had seen the empty tomb for themselves. Mary had also encountered the Risen Christ in the garden. Though she had shared this … More Encountering the Risen Christ
Somehow we missed giving you this beautiful anthem by Ralph Vaughan Williams on Passion Sunday! we’re truly in the Easter season now, but the revelatory words of Revelation 22 are still appropriate: St Margaret’s Church Prestwich holds CCLI licences CCL 79250, MRL 775231 and 466111 for music streaming and One Licence M-40120 for music streaming. … More Lenten Anthems
Hallelujah! He is risen! Our parish choir sings for you the words of James F Rickley, setting the Easter story to Leonard Cohen’s timeless classic, “Hallelujah” St Margaret’s Church Prestwich holds CCLI licences CCL 79250, MRL 775231 and 466111 for music streaming and One Licence M-40120 for music streaming. • Hallelujah (Easter lyrics) © 1985 … More Music for Easter Monday
He is Risen! Hallelujah! Our choir celebrates by singing “Risen Lord”: St Margaret’s Church Prestwich holds CCLI licences CCL 79250, MRL 775231 and 466111 for music streaming and One Licence M-40120 for music streaming.
Rev Helen gave this sermon on Wednesday 16 April 2025: It’s Holy Week, this is a week of high drama, there is a lot happening but it’s a good story to tell, it’s an epic tale. The story from Palm Sunday to Jesus being in the tomb the twists and turns, high rejoicing, epic lows … More The Epic of Holy Week
This month’s letter comes from Rev Sue: Harold Wilson famously said, “A week is a long time in politics,” meaning that someone might be popular in the polls today, but things could be very different a week later. That was certainly true for Jesus. Only four days after he rode into Jerusalem to shouts of … More April Letter from the Clergy
There was once a mirror-maker whose greatest desire was to create a mirror that would reflect his image perfectly. He experimented with different materials, tin, silver, mercury, crystal rock, and after weeks of hard work, he finally perfected the formula for a wonderfully accurate looking glass in which he could see a clear reflection of himself. One night an envious neighbour broke into the workshop, took his mirror and threw it on the floor … More Pentecost at St George’s 2024
How do you get up in the morning?
I used to get up at 4.30 on a Sunday morning to get into a local radio station for 5.30, ready to present a religious breakfast show that I was also responsible for producing. I did this for eight years. So it was important for me to have an early waking-up routine: something I could rely upon when I was drowsy and bleary-eyed … More Pentecost 2024
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 