Provincial Assembly of Lancashire and Cheshire.

The Provincial Assembly Annual General Meeting was held on 21st February at Knutsford. It was quite well attended although there is always room for improvement. The Provincial Assembly covers a wide area with forty nine congregations and four districts, from Kendal to Newcastle Staffs and Liverpool to Macclesfield, covering all the North West. It is the oldest Unitarian group in the country.

Knutsford welcomed us warmly. The service in the beautiful old Chapel was led by Encompass, a group of lay preachers. Afterwards the business of the A.G.M. took place in the schoolroom when Sylvia Spencer was installed as the new President. Lunch was a time for catching up with friends not seen so regularly. The subject of the afternoon was “The Unitarian Miscellany”- a Cornucopia of Unitarian Societies, and that it certainly was.

Speakers included Rev.Tony McNeile for N.U.F. John Hewerdine for the Foy Society, Jo Rogers for the Earth Spirit Network. Rev.Stephen Lingwood for BUYAN. Sue Woolley for the Unitarian Association for Lay Ministry, Rev.Penny Johnson for the Womens League and the Rev.Alex Bradley for the Unitarian Christian Association. Whew! And there are more besides not represented on this occasion!

All the speakers were of interest and to a newcomer must have seemed quite mind boggling. It was a lovely meeting with a good warm feel to it. The event closed at around tea time with a vote of thanks to our hosts

M.N.

One World Centre

On the 26th March our regular Thursday lunches ceased to be. They have been a feature of Chapel life since 1994. First with Clarice and Marian, then with Margaret and Marian. They were started not really as a fund raiser, just to give us something to do while we awaited customers to the Traidcraft shop. However, they really took off and because all the food for the lunches was donated by the organisers, the money realised over the years meant we were able to give £16,652 to various world wide causes. Mostly third world engendered small enterprises, also to many Unitarian supported charities of a similar nature and of course to the desperate emergency crises which have occurred worldwide.

In addition, Clarice’s friends, colleagues and fellow Unitarians countrywide raised £3000 for a well in her memory. Clarice’s well is at Ngong near Nairobi. We had the pleasure of going out to see the well in action in November 2003. Margaret and Marian would like to thank all those past and present, not least our College friends, for their support over the years and hope they share our feelings of achievement for what we have been able to accomplish. Many thanks.

M.N.

Manchester District

The Annual General Meeting of the Manchester District of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches was held at Wilbraham Road, Chorlton on April 25th The church was looking most inviting having been newly decorated and the thirty or so people gathered, received a very warm welcome.

Diane Rutter was responsible for the opening devotions which included readings from Tom Owen-Towle’s “Growing a Beloved Community” and a meditation - Prayer for Trust from Awakened from the Forest - Lawrence E.McGinty.

The A.G.M. followed, during which our present Treasurer Ken Johnson accepted a leaving gift from all the district in recognition of his fifteen years of unstinting service. Our new Treasurer Martin West and President Rev.Alex Bradley along with three newly appointed members of the Executive, Aled Jones, Rev.Dr.Vernon Marshall and Derek McAuley were welcomed.

Geoffrey Head gave a vote of thanks to the out going President. The new President was installed and his first act was to present a beautiful bouquet of flowers to me. They are lovely.

After a lovely lunch prepared by our Chorlton friends we heard a presentation from Dawn Buckle on “Future Ministry” Dawn bombarded us with statistics outlining the state of ministry within the Unitarian movement at the present time. She also offered some suggestions for solutions to the problem. One of which was collaborative ministries which involves the congregations being far more pro-active together in many ways, both financial and work-a- day. This would be very hard work and would not be successful unless everyone was fully committed. A lot for us to think about.

The meeting closed with devotions from our newly installed President the Rev. Alex Bradley.

M.N.

General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
Chester - 15 to 18 April 2009

I attended GA for the first time last month. I found it quite bewildering and left trying to clarify what being a Unitarian means for me as an individual and for us collectively. The theme for me was identity and I don't think it was GA's intention for that to be a theme; it just became so as the meeting(s) developed. As you'll gather there was a lot of navel-gazing going on and, confusingly for a newcomer, a lot of organisations and societies doing it - the IARF, URG, ICUU, UALM (formerly UALL), UCA, NUF, UWG. Confused? Yes, I was too Identity cropped up often in GA debates; on motions concerning a shorter title for ourselves, the compilation of a set of behavioural principles for ourselves, the appointment of a paid Social Justice Officer, the appointment of a paid Information Officer and in sessions on growth.

It's easy to say who or what we aren't (Anglican, Methodist, happy-clappy, trinitarian, dogmatic etc.) but a lot harder to say who we are or what we hold as shared core beliefs. Given our diversity, any nationally agreed statement would inevitably be anodyne and wishy-washy. Perhaps core beliefs are shaped by individuals and congregations more effectively? Do we need to define ourselves anyway? Is it not enough to be a place and a community where people can exchange ideas and explore the spiritual together?

Do we need a national decision-making body and a national Executive Committee even? Perhaps we need a national organisation to support and foster congregations and produce ministers; but do we need a centralised organisation telling congregations what to believe as core and what social issues to campaign on. Cannot individuals and congregations decide their own priorities as they often do now?

I was also unsure about the division of power in our national body. Is it the GA which mandates the Executive Committee to carry out its wishes (i.e. simply execute them) or does the Executive see itself as being the decision-maker too? Does the tail want to wag the dog?

It was definitely a rewarding experience meeting fellow Unitarians and exchanging ideas, as well as being able to put faces to names. I sat at meals with the Reverend Cliff Reed on three occasions, purely by chance; I wouldn't have blamed him for thinking I was following him around. Early morning worship was also a moving and meaningful start to the day for me on the two mornings I was there (I did beat the 'snooze' button eventually after three attempts!). Reverend Jane Dwinnell, from the USA, gave practical advice on growing a congregation in a session on growth, and made me feel better by pointing out that being a small congregation is not necessarily bad! The Anniversary Service, in which Reverend Margaret Kirk preached, was also inspiring. Her sermon is reproduced in the current edition of The Inquirer.

T.C.

Summer

I couldn’t find anything better than these words to describe the rich fullness of summer. They are often sung as a round - when a second singer follows the first a bar behind. They are believed to have been written in the 13th century in Middle English (Wessex dialect).

Sumer is icumen in,
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweþ sed and bloweþ med
And springþ þe wde nu,
Sing cuccu!
Awe bleteþ after lomb,
Lhouþ after calue cu.
Bulluc sterteþ, bucke uerteþ,
Murie sing cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu, wel singes þu cuccu;
Ne swik þu nauer nu.
Sing cuccu nu. Sing cuccu.
Sing cuccu. Sing cuccu nu!

Modern English translation:

Summer is a-coming in,
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
The seed grows and the meadow blooms
And the wood springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!
The ewe bleats after the lamb
The cow lows after the calf.
The bullock stirs, the stag blows,
Merrily sing, Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing, cuckoo;
Don't you ever stop now,
Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.
Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now

[I’ve edited out a word from line 8 and edited in ‘blows’ instead. I didn’t want to risk offending anyone! Ed.]

Dukinfield Pantomime 2009

After the excitement of Christmas and the celebrations of New Year, we at Oldham know that there is yet another annual event to look forward to. Once January is over and February begins it can mean only one thing ........ the pantomime at Old Chapel, Dukinfield is about to begin!

This year we were to be treated to ‘Humpty Dumpty’ and what a treat it was. It was of its usual high standard with excellent scenery and stunning costumes.

The cast worked incredibly hard with some of the younger actors taking a more central role. Special mention must be given, yet again, to Ken Howard of Stalybridge who, once he has donned a dress and applied the greasepaint, takes over the stage and delights in leading the singalong and making everyone laugh.

So it is with assurance that we know that next year’s offering will again be one that we can look forward to with great anticipation.

C.H.

Oldham Unitarian Chapel founded in 1813

is open to all who wish to worship with an open mind,
in a spirit of freedom, reason and tolerance.

We do not all hold the same beliefs, rather each person is encouraged
'to develop his or her faith in a continuing search for truth.'

President: Mr T. Clarke
Treasurer: Mrs K.M. Pearson
Secretary: Mrs C. Hall

Unitarian Chapel
Connaught Street / King Street
Oldham
OL8 1 EB
Tel: 0161 620 1810

Lettings Officer: Mrs M. Nuttall – Tel: 0161 287 3371

Registered Charity No. 1111295