St Peter, Westleigh

The Bishop of Manchester, the Right Revd. Nigel McCulloch visited the parish of St Peter, Westleigh on Tuesday 27th November 2007.
The visit began with prayer in church, for which the bishop was joined by a number of church members who weren't able to attend the service in the evening.
Priest in charge of St Peter's Westleigh, Fr Stephen Pollard then took Bishop Nigel to St Peter's Junior and Infants' schools, where they met the schools' headteachers Claire Garner and Pat Jolley, and visited after-school clubs, bringing with them, much to the delight and interest of the children, the Commonwealth Games baton that has accompanied the bishop through his pilgrimage.
Changing the pace of the afternoon, the bishop's next visit was to Moss Bank sheltered accommodation where he presided at a short service of holy communion for fifteen residents assisted by Fr Stephen, who regularly takes services there.
A reception for the local community was held  in the infants school hall. Westleigh schools, the Mothers' Union, Brownies and Church Council all produced exhibitions of their activities. Guests included local councillors, Diocesan Director of Education, Maurice Smith and local rugby legend Tommy Sale, who, in addition to having been a celebrated player with and honorary chairman of Leigh Centurions, is also a former headmaster of St Peter's C of E school in Westleigh.
The Service that followed focussed on the Commonwealth Games baton which was placed at the beginning of the service on top of a cairn of stones, symbolising both Saint Peter, (named 'the Rock' by Jesus in the Bible) and also the living stones of the church community today.

Photos from this Run the race Bishop's pilgrimage

During the service, three age groups representing older members of the church, younger adults, and young people and children,spoke about what their faith and St Peter's has meant to them. As each group finished, they symbolically passed the baton to the next age-group.
The service (which was described as 'splendid' and 'uplifting') ended with the challenge, 'who will we pass this baton of faith on to next?'
Priest-in-charge, Fr Stephen Pollard said, 'The most moving part for me was the anointing; it was really moving to see who came forward and the look on people's faces as they walked up.'



Fr Stephen continued, 'the visit went extremely well; regular churchgoers were very impressed by meeting the bishop and the local community was bowled over by the quality and depth of the hospitality, the bishop's message and the service itself.'
'We've received several cards thanking the PCC for the event.'