Bury Unitarian Church

MY RECENT VICE-PRESIDENTIAL DIARY

August has kept me busy, in ways that I could not have expected; September should be quieter---on paper, at least---and arrangements in October are still to be negotiated. I led worship, by Zoom, at Padiham, and at Edinburgh, on August 9th and 16th, respectively, and the services proceeded smoothly, from a technical point of view, and were received with much appreciation by the congregations concerned; it is always very gratifying when positive comments are expressed, and good to know that one's hard work has not been wasted. Padiham had invited members of Cross Street Manchester to join their worship, on August 16th; as I was unable to be present, I recorded a message of greetings and welcome for them, on behalf of the Lancashire Collaborative Ministry, and of the General Assembly. Brighton Unitarians celebrate their Bicentenary, on August 23rd, and I shall again offer greetings and congratulations to them, on behalf of the GA. The Presidential Team, which consists of myself, Celia Cartwright, and Sue Woolley, have access to a special email account and are jointly responsible for dealing with messages sent there. My involvement in the event at Brighton arose from such an email, as did a message of condolence to the family of a member at Stockton: Edna Anderson. It has been suggested that the Presidential Team should offer assistance with services, in order to help ministers and worship-leaders who are feeling very overworked, at present. My invitation to Belper, mid-September, has been cancelled, but I have offered to conduct a Zoom service for them, if they wish, and I am booked for a Zoom service at Kendal, at the end of the month.

On Sundays, Roger and I quite often attend the service at Padiham; all their Zoom services have been recorded and can be accessed on You Tube, including mine from August 9th. There will be services from other Unitarian churches to be found on You Tube, as well. Simply select the You Tube icon on your home screen, and, once you reach You Tube, type in an appropriate title (for example, "Padiham Unitarian Church Services"). In fact, You Tube offers a great variety of different types of entertainment: music, drama, comedy, lectures; and it is easy to access, as long as you have a suitable device. I should mention here that, for the Zoom services that I lead, I need a recording-studio; I have to make sure that the camera-angles are right; a plain background is a necessity; and different levels are needed for the chalice-candle, my service-words, my computer---and a glass of water, of course. I have found cardboard boxes to be very useful, and my recipe-book holder is just right; so far, nothing has overbalanced! I have no plans for a career in the film-industry, however.

I extend my thanks to Kate, once more, for everything she is doing for Bury Unitarian Church. Each week, we are provided with a well-written, well-delivered, service, and one that is relevant to our current circumstances, as well as being interesting and thought-provoking. I can't always manage to read my service at home, at 11.15 on Sundays, but I make every effort to read and think about it, before Sunday is over. I do this in the belief that all our members are doing the same, and I sincerely hope that this is so. Our efforts towards reopening for worship, this month, have been substantial and have required time and thought, too. Kate has done a magnificent job with the documentation she has collected together and circulated, and in the meetings she has chaired. Ade, too, has been busy, not just as our technical supervisor, but also as our Property Manager; there has been a great deal of work to be done, in this capacity. He is being ably assisted by our HARP Team (Howard, Ade, Roger, Peter)! Thank you to all of them.

If all goes according to plan, this month will bring live services to Bury Unitarian Church, again; these will not be what we have been used to, and you may not find them very satisfying, but they will mean that, in a small way, we shall be able to meet together, once more. If anyone had told us, in March, that it would be six months before we were able to come together, we would not have believed them, and this was not naïvety; we simply had no idea what was in store for us. In the hope that I shall see many of you, in person, at some stage during this month, I send you all my love and very best wishes, and Roger joins me in these sentiments.

Click here to read all Anne's diary entries since her installation