The Benefice office of the Rural Daneside Churches has been relocated from the Vicarage to new premises.The address is: Colshaw Heath FarmColshaw LaneSiddingtonMacclesfieldCheshireSK11 9LZThe office will usually be open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.To contact the benefice administrator, during her working hours of Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, the number is 07443 902 191.The dedicated number for christenings, baptisms, weddings and funerals is 07410 223386.The vicarage landline will continue to be monitored during the week.
Help is needed please, to keep our lovely old churchyard at Siddington looking fabulous. We need to keep the setting for our 500+ year old church in its pristine condition as always. Mowing and general tidying, to have the approach and surrounds attractive, is all required. A few hours to aid the current team is now necessary.If you feel able to help, please contact Andrew Venables on 01260 224214.
Metanoia: Let your mind be renewedDo come and join us for one or more of the special Lent services that will be held on Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm in six churches in the locality. It is the opportunity to come together with people from other parishes to take time out of a busy week and reflect on the season. Lent is a period of preparation for Easter beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending at sunset on the day before Easter Sunday. It gives us 40 days to express sorrow at the wrong things we have done and provides for a 40-day fast (Sundays are excluded), in imitation of Jesus Christ's fasting in the wilderness before he began his public ministry.The dates are:22nd February (Ash Wednesday) at Marton Church During the service, the minister places the ashes on a worshipper's forehead in the shape of a cross. The ceremony shows that a person belongs to Jesus Christ, and it also represents a person's grief and mourning for their sins — the same sins that Christians believe Jesus Christ gave his life for when he died on the cross.1st March Evensong at Eaton8th March Evensong - Birtles 15th March Evensong at Siddington22nd March Evensong - Hulme Walfield29th March Holy Communion at SwettenhamAfter each service, Lenten refreshments will be served.
A great deal has happened over the last month locally in support of Ukrainian refugees. As we go to press (mid-May), around 50 Ukrainian visitors have arrived in our area. What was the “Marton Area Ukraine Support Network” is now the “Congleton Area Ukraine Support Network”, and the Congleton area has been growing! Many from our parishes have been active not only in hosting Ukrainian guests, but in helping others to navigate the hosting process, in liaising with other organisations and with local government and MPs, and in many other areas. A pop-up boutique has been providing clothing, a house has been fully furnished, bikes and computers donated. While there would have been advantages of the government taking full responsibility for refugees, the current (volunteer driven) system has allowed the generosity of our local community to be expressed to fully welcome our visitors into the community. There are many more Ukrainians in the visa process, and homes being offered. You can find out more, and get involved, through a new website: causn.com.