God – Page 5 – St Margaret's Church Prestwich

Love is the Touch of Intangible Joy – Words Alison Robertson (b. 1940), Music John Bell (b. 1949)

March 11, 2025

Many commercial traders consider February to be the month in which we celebrate romantic love – although records show that the story of the real St Valentine have little to do with the chocolates, flowers and soppy greetings cards we are encouraged to buy. St Valentine lived in the third century, and as well as … More Love is the Touch of Intangible Joy – Words Alison Robertson (b. 1940), Music John Bell (b. 1949)

What it feels like to touch God

March 10, 2025

Rev Helen preached this sermon on Sunday 2 March 2025. Here it is for you again: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.’ I love this verse from Numbers, mainly because when my I was … More What it feels like to touch God

March Letter to the Parish

March 4, 2025

March has crept in slowly and we begin to look forwards to longer and warmer days after the wet, cold and windy ones we have been experiencing. A time when going for a walk without wellies on is more inviting. I’m lucky that I can often go into Heaton Park and my spirit always begins … More March Letter to the Parish

God brings order to chaos in ways we don’t understand

February 26, 2025

Rev Helen preached this sermon on Sunday 23 February. Here it is for you again: I’m going to start with a little quiz, no need to look so worried. What are the first few verses of the bible, right back to Genesis? In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth … More God brings order to chaos in ways we don’t understand

God keep us safe on our journey

February 25, 2025

Rev Helen preached this sermon on Wednesday 19 February 2025. Here it is for you again: What do you do when you get lost? How do you get on the right track and find your way? I mean today there are many different devices and gismos to help you but there have been many different … More God keep us safe on our journey

The Crown of Roses – words Pleshcheev (1825-93) tr. Drearmer, music Tchaikovsky (1840-93)

February 25, 2025

Did you know that carols, like puppies, are not just for Christmas? According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a carol is a song characteristically of religious joy, associated with a given season, with uniform stanzas or verses that may alternate with a refrain. The musical emphasis is on melody and rhythm rather than harmony. Interestingly, the … More The Crown of Roses – words Pleshcheev (1825-93) tr. Drearmer, music Tchaikovsky (1840-93)

We are all called by God

February 12, 2025

Rev Helen preached this sermon on Sunday 9 February 2025. Here it is for you again: I’m sure we’ve all been in this situation. When you try something different, something new, or unexpected. How does it make you feel? That last on is probably me, I don’t like the unexpected. I quite like to know … More We are all called by God

The Owl – Toby Young (b. 1990), text by Jennifer Thorpe (b. 1988)

February 11, 2025

Musicians planning repertoire for their ensembles are usually considerably ahead of the calendar. It was no surprise then that all the students on a conducting training weekend in June 2024 were set Christmas carols from a new publication, “Carols for Choirs 6”. We learned some fabulous new Christmas music that weekend, and most students programmed these carols for their choirs this Christmas – including Notability, the Whitefield choir that I practiced with ahead of the course … More The Owl – Toby Young (b. 1990), text by Jennifer Thorpe (b. 1988)

Candlemas 2025

February 4, 2025

Rev Sue preached this sermon at St Gabriel’s on Sunday 2 February, on which we celebrated the presentation of Christ at the temple, and blessed the candles to be used in church over the coming year. It’s no coincidence that in the last three months, the darkest of the year, we have been celebrating the … More Candlemas 2025

February Letter to the Parish