Bury Unitarian Church

MY VICE-PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES

Since my installation, on April 18th, I have conveyed greetings from the GA, at Bury, twice (once during the GA Feedback Service); at Wakefield, after their burglary; at Plymouth; at Evesham; and at Padiham, where Rev. Jim Corrigall was conducting his last service before his retirement. I attended the launch of Ann Peart's new book, at Luther King House; I wrote the review of this for The Unitarian; I attended the Summer Meeting of the Manchester District Women's League, at Stand. I acted as the Authorised Person for our first same-sex wedding at church---the very first such wedding in Bury! I emailed Fran Pickering, to offer commiserations and thanks, as she ends her time as editor of The Unitarian; I also emailed Natasha Stanley, to enquire about the future of this magazine. I visited Essex Hall, met some of the staff there, and enjoyed a positive discussion with the new Chief Officer, Liz Slade.

On June 15th, I attended the AGM of the North West Provincial Assembly, at Monton; this was preceded by a service, at which I presented the greetings of the GA to those present. On June 16th, I conducted the service at Bank Street Bolton, which was followed by an agape lunch. In the late afternoon, I attended an Interfaith Service and Peace Pole planting, at Rawtenstall, organised by the Lancashire Collaborative Ministry. On June 21st, I was invited to attend the Annual Dinner of The Hibbert Trust, which was held at Luther King House, in Manchester, where I gave the after-dinner speech.

July has been a less busy month---fortunately, because I have needed time to gather material for services later this year. On July 11th and 12th, I attended the 60th Anniversary Celebrations at The Derby School, Bury, where I was a pupil, from its inception, in 1959, until 1965. I was invited in my official capacity, and met and conversed with Lord Derby, the nephew of the school's founder, and with The Mayor and Mayoress of Bury, Councillor Trevor Holt, and his wife, Evelyn; I also spoke at length with the school's Head and Deputy Head. On July 13th, I attended the Formal Welcome of Rev. Shammy Webster, at Stand Unitarian Chapel, Whitefield, where I presented the greetings of The General Assembly to the congregation and offered some thoughts on Ministry, both of which were very well-received. The Mayor and Mayoress were also in attendance, on that occasion. On July 28th, I conducted a Flower Celebration Service at Bury, which was successful; footage of the service was filmed for inclusion on the special DVD, which is being compiled as a record of our 300th Anniversary events. During July, I have attended two funerals at Bury and one at Bank Street Bolton; all three services paid tribute to active members, who will be greatly missed.

August and September have been busy for me, not only in the execution of my duties, but in preparation for future events. Roger and I attended the service at Bank Street Bolton, on August 4th; lead had been stolen from part of their church-roof, and two rooms were badly-damaged by leaks; we went to sympathise and were made very welcome. On August 6th, I represented the church at the funeral of Daniel, our cleaner Aggie's son---a poignant occasion; the family has greatly appreciated the support given by our church. The following Sunday found me conducting the service at Rochdale, which went well, despite the pianist missing two lines of music out of the first verse of one of the hymns! I acted as the Authorised Person at the wedding of Lorraine and Peter Hunter, on August 25th, on a beautiful late summer day, and a wonderful occasion it was. A NELUM Forum was held at Walmsley Chapel, on August 31st, and I was present; there is a clear mood for change, but this will need to be translated into action in order to succeed. September 1st involved conducting two services---at Ainsworth in the morning, and Rawtenstall in the afternoon; both were well-received, and it was a pleasure to spend time with both congregations. On the following Friday, I attended a Film Evening, at Rawtenstall, and thought it most enjoyable. September 15th brings services to conduct at Hale, and at Dean Row, in the morning; later in the afternoon, I shall attend an Interfaith Service at Rawtenstall; these are held once every two months and are becoming increasingly popular. I will be paying an official visit to Bury, on September 20th, on the first of our Heritage Open Days, and am looking forward to all the material to be displayed then. The month ends on September 29th, when I have been invited to conduct the Anniversary Service at our church in Aberdeen; this visit will be combined with a holiday, which will reduce the travelling somewhat. In my spare time(!) I continue my routine duties at Bury, which are many and varied.

Picking up from where I left off, last month, I can report now on my visit to our churches at Hale Barns and Dean Row, in Cheshire, on September 15th. Since the first service began at 9.30 a.m; this occasioned a very early start for Roger and me! However, both services that I conducted went very well, and I returned home with beautiful flowers from both congregations; we were made extremely welcome. Rev. Jeff Gould kindly invited us to lunch, and it was good to chat and catch up with his news; he is nicely-settled in his new apartment and happy in his ministries; he sends good wishes to everyone at Bury who remembers him. Now---two services in one day sound like enough, but we also attended Rawtenstall's Interfaith Service, at 5 p.m. These services are becoming well-established, and friendships are being forged; I am in touch with a lady at St. Gregory's R. C. Church, in Chorley, and we intend to visit each other's churches there, in due course. Two members of Rawtenstall's Spiritualist Church were present for the first time, on this occasion, and very pleasant and interesting we found them. On September 29th, I conducted Aberdeen Unitarians' 186th Anniversary Service; they are a very friendly, generous and hospitable congregation---a pleasure to be with! Their Chairman, Dr. John Robinson, asked me, specifically, to convey the greetings of the Aberdeen congregation to everyone at Bury, and I am very pleased to be able to do so. Rev. Dr. Ann Peart attended our Women's League Project Evening, on October 3rd, when she discussed her latest book, about eminent Unitarian women; as the reviewer of the book for "The Unitarian", I helped to entertain Ann. On October 5th, I attended Kate and Ade's wedding, where I acted as the Authorised Person. On the following day, I conducted Padiham's Harvest Service, which went very well, and was invited to lunch afterwards. In the afternoon, we attended Ainsworth's Harvest Festival, conducted by Rev. Lynne Readett; afternoon tea was served, afterwards, so the weekend comprised a great deal of eating. I have already been warned to buy a size bigger in clothes, in preparation for next year! My next duty will be to meet and greet our national President, Rev. Celia Cartwright, when she visits Bury to conduct our Harvest Festival, on October 13th. My calendar is already filling up with engagements for next year, so busy days are ahead!