Holy Trinity Parkfield
and All Saints & Martyrs, Langley

The Bishop of Manchester's Pilgrimage to Langley and Parkfield hit the air-waves of local station 'fusion fm' over the summer as youngsters interviewed Bishop Nigel during his visit to the Burnside Centre - the youth and community-work base of All Saints and Martyrs church in Langley.

After beginning his visit with prayers in church, Bishop Nigel met young people working with the Prince's Trust in renovating the Burnside Centre, which is very well-used by local community groups as diverse as a pre-school playgroup, a dance class, a drama workshop as well as Pride Media - who have created a radio station where local youngsters are trained  in all aspects of arts and media.

A buffet in the church hall gave the opportunity for the bishop to meet local politicians, representatives of local schools, church hall users and members of the local community - over 120 people in all.

Over 160 attended the pilgrimage service in church which concluded with almost everyone present coming forward to be anointed and commissioned. During the service, church members spoke of several encouraging signs of life; the new Sunday school at Holy Trinity and the ongoing work in schools and the community at All Saints & Martyrs, as well as the church's outreach through agencies such as Operation Christmas Child, the MU, and Christian Aid.

The Vicar, The Revd. Philip Miller was delighted with the way the visit had gone:

Photos from this Run the race Bishop's pilgrimage

"We showed ourselves we could stage something for the community and do it well. People came who would never usually come through the doors and never in a million years be anointed by a bishop - except they did!"

"The experience has given confidence to the church - it has affirmed our relationships with the local community - but it was just one day. We know that we need to build on the experience - we just need to work out how..."


" It was a heck of a lot of work to plan beforehand - but it was worth it: the bishop is so good with people, it was good to see him in action.

A local headteacher was very appreciative. Having stayed for the service he spoke of being "very moved" by the experience. Margaret, a local care home resident wrote about the experience in the home's newsletter: "we were anointed and presented with a badge. When the bishop let me hold the baton, I told him 'I'd like to run round the church with it - but you might think I was running off with it - but it shows I've still got a good strong heart beat!"