St Mary Magdalene, Winton

The Bishop of Manchester visited the parish of St Mary Magdalene in Winton on Wednesday April 28th, 2010.

After praying with the Priest-in-charge and members of the church, the bishop visited the Westwood Community Centre where he met Community Worker John Matthews, and heard about a number of local community projects. The bishop also paid a visit to a new sports project currently being developed.

The bishop joined Fr Ian Hall to take Holy Communion to parishioners Joan Greaves & Patricia Axford.

Returning to church for a reception organised by the church council, the bishop met guests including Cllr Margaret Morris and representatives of Greater Manchester Police, who helped the bishop try on a set of very non-episcopal cuffs.

The reception was followed by a special Pilgrimage Service in church. A wide age-range of locals spoke during the service of their personal journeys to faith and their journey to St Mary Magdalene, as well as sharing their hopes for the future. Among those who spoke in the service were recently confirmed Georgia Sinclair, school teacher, Sarah Zott, a new member of the church, and church wardens, Richard Miller, who is also a server, and Anne Croft, a worshipper at St Mary' for many years.

Mrs Croft, a tireless worker for the church and community, also handed the special Run the Race baton back to the Bishop at the end of the service.

Reflecting on the bishop's visit, Father Ian Hall said: "As a church we are trying to reach out into the community to meet the needs of the

Photos from this Run the race Bishop's pilgrimage

people of Winton, from a spiritual perspective - but also from a social side. We are building up good relations with the local community groups so that we can work with them to meet the needs of Winton people.

"This we hope to do in particular by refurbishing the church hall to provide facilities which the other community buildings cannot - including indoor sports courts. The Bishop's visit has  underlined what we are trying to do here in reaching out to our community."