Eco tip
Our black bins are now able to recycle a lot more plastics. Try to put your empty plastic packaging and food trays into the black bin. You will be surprised as to how empty your grey bin becomes!
Renewal of the Electoral Roll
This year’s Annual Parochial Church Meeting is to be held on Sunday 27th April, following the morning service. To be entitled to vote at that meeting, you have to be on the church’s Electoral Roll – and this year the Roll has to be completely re-written, so everybody who’s been on in the past must complete a form in order to be on again. The deadline for doing that will be Saturday 12th April.
Forms for application are available at the back of the church. To be eligible to join, you have to be happy to say that you are a member of the Church of England and either live in our parish, or have been worshipping with us regularly for at least the past six months.
Confirmation 2025
Our Mission Community Confirmation Service is to take place at St Mary’s Davyhulme on the evening of Sunday June 22nd. If anyone is interested in Confirmation, please speak to Rev Debra. Candidates should be aged 10 years or above – up to any age: you are never too old. If you have not ever been baptised in the Church of England it doesn’t matter, as baptism can be included in the service or arranged beforehand.
Rev Nick and Joanna move on
Congratulations to the Rev Nick Watson on his appointment as the next Archdeacon of Salop in Lichfield Diocese. Nick and his wife Joanna have been resident in the vicarage adjacent to St John’s since 2021, when he was appointed Area Dean of Manchester South and Stretford, and Nick has also been a member of the staff team at St John’s. We have been grateful for every occasion on which he’s been able to preach and lead worship here in addition to his many other duties.
Rev Nick will leave his current role in April, ahead of his licensing service at Lichfield Cathedral on Sunday, 4th May.
Safeguarding
There has recently been a lot of press regarding safeguarding. Safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone, following Jesus’ command to “Love your neighbour as yourself”. Our parish Safeguarding Officer is Andrea Lester and we are looking for someone to support her in this role. If anyone is interested in being Deputy Safeguarding Officer, please speak to Rev. Debra.
Donation to Francis House
The PCC (church council) has made a donation to Francis House Children’s Hospice in Didsbury of £600, using the proceeds of collections at our special Christmas services in 2024 as a guide. In line with our long-standing practice, those collections are used as the basis for the amount we send, with the total “rounded up” to a suitable figure.
Act now if you want to be at Scargill!
There may still be a chance to book a place on our church weekend at Scargill House in the Yorkshire Dales this summer (11th to 13th July). All the places already reserved for us are OK, but Scargill are taking bookings for another weekend activity that coincides with ours, so the remaining spaces MAY already have gone. If you are interested in joining our weekend, please speak to Robert Beale as soon as possible.
Drop-in to think about God’s call
There’s a drop-in Vocations Day at St Bride’s Church, Old Trafford, on Saturday 8th February, from 10am to 3pm.There will be a chance to join in workshops and meet those already doing various jobs and ministries in their churches. For more information or to register, please email Jamiemackenzie@manchester.anglican.org.
Please note . . .
Our Tuesday Tea, Coffee and Chat times continue on the first Tuesday of every month. Come along and bring others to this free social event.
Thursday Holy Communion services are to be held at St. John’s at 10.30am on 6th and 20th February and 6th March, and at St Michael’s Flixton at 10.15am on 13th and 27th February.
There will be a meeting for the JC squad leaders, helpers and anyone else interested in helping with our Junior Church on Sunday 23rd February after the morning service.
Messy Church for Easter will be held on Sunday 6th April, from 2.30pm to 4pm. If anyone wants to assist with organizing the crafts, please speak to Angela Easdon.
If you can help Francis House Children’s Hospice by knitting an Easter chick (or bunny), please see Michelle Byrne.
FACEBOOK PAGE
St. John’s in Flixton has a Facebook page – search St. John’s Flixton for regular Facebook updates on events and activities taking place in church. Please “like” the page and encourage neighbours, family and friends to do the same to help us grow our followers.
Licensing of Rev Debra Blair as Incumbent of St John's
The Rev Debra Blair was licensed as the Incumbent of St John's Flixton on Sunday 23rd October 2022, in a service at St John's led by the Bishop of Middleton, the Rt. Rev. Mark Davies, and the Archdeacon of Manchester, the Ven. Karen Lund. Guests were welcomed from both our parish and the wider church in our area for this special celebration of a new phase of ministry.
Join the JC Squad!
'The J C Squad' is the new name for our Sunday School, and it runs at 10.30am during morning service. Children rejoin their parents in church at the end of the main service and often share with the whole congregation something of what they've been doing that day.
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2024 was held on Sunday 16th April. The Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2023 are available here. The Churchwardens' Report is available here. The Deanery Synod Report is available here.