St Peter, Belmont

The Bishop of Manchester heard stories of Belmont's past, present (and future) from young and old when he visited Belmont on Tuesday 2nd June 2009 - part of his ongoing 'Run the Race' pilgrimage.

After meeting with members of the church to pray, the bishop's first port-of-call was Belmont Country Primary School, where he met headteacher, Chris Hoddle, and signed the visitors' book. Next to the school is a children's activity park, and there the bishop met parish councillor Sharon Core and a number of mums and toddlers who regularly use the park.

The bishop then visited veteran, Ron Ashmore, one of Belmont's oldest residents. Ron welcomed the bishop into his home and showed the bishop some of his treasured mementos, including medals and photographs of his military service. The bishop also visited former postmistress , Anne Miller, and wandered down the hill with local historian Jack Peet, who discussed Belmont's history with the bishop.

Sadly a planned visit to the old Dye Works, now the focus of a local business regeneration scheme. Instead, the bishop went straight to a community reception hosted by the church. Guests included the Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen, and representatives of local groups and businesses, together with local residents of all ages including village school children and parents.

During the Pilgrimage Service, which followed, the bishop dedicated new flags for the Beaver colony and heard a ten-minute presentation by St Peter's Sunday School on "Running the Race for Jesus". The baton, which has accompanied the bishop on his pilgrimage was returned by Lucas Cook, a Sunday School member together with Ron Ashmore.                                                                                                                       

Photos from this Run the race Bishop's pilgrimage

Vicar, Revd. David Jones  said, "the village has a strong history of working together to celebrate important occasions. For the local community, the bishop's visit was an opportunity to celebrate all that's good about our shared life - and an expression of our unity in Jesus Christ our Saviour."

He continued: "We pulled out all the stops, and a number of people were very busy with preparations beforehand. But we're certain that we got more out of the experience than we put in! We were particularly delighted by the number of young people in church for the pilgrimage service. These kind of occasions are important for a village like ours; and like Harvest and Christmas, services like this draw people in - we hope we can build on the experience in the future.

"We've had very positive feedback - people admired the bishop's energy and his ability to communicate across all sections of the community."