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Gales nearly brought disaster to St Peter's Newbold when high winds brought a stained glass window crashing to the floor where parishioners were preparing the church just days before the Bishop of Manchester's visit. "It seems like a miracle no one was hurt." said churchwarden, Mary Price.
Church Organist Olwyn Hewitt had been standing directly below the window, but was pulled out of the way moments before the glass fell.
The window was temporarily repaired and the cleaning group finished their job without injury in time for the bishop's visit on Sunday March 29, 2009, where he led and preached at a special Pilgrimage Service of celebration and commissioning.
" There was lots of cleaning-up after the roof restoration; lots of painting and cleaning to get done." continued Mrs Price, "We really worked hard to get the church ready. St Peter's is a listed building, and maybe, In the world's eyes perhaps we should be shut down--but we're still here against all the odds; a small and diverse community; not rich in financial terms; but we're not standing still.
The service was attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Rochdale, together with local councillors and the head-teacher of the local school. 'Lots of local businesses and people from the community joined us for the service and the buffet lunch and 'community chat' that followed.' continued Mary. The bishop also met some worshippers who came to St Peter's having been invited for Back to Church Sunday came on the day - and stayed
The service reflected the vision of the church to be a welcoming place, open to all, to become a base for work in the community and to begin to address the many needs of the
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