Do they know its Christmas?

Best Kept Secrets

It doesn’t feel like Christmas does it? The decorations are up in shops filled to over brimming with Christmas presents waiting to be wrapped. The northern streets of Preston are grey, dank, and cold. It gets dark at 3.30pm but no sign of Christmas. Of course I mean the real spirit of Christmas.

There plenty of evidence of Preston Christmas underworld at works. One of our local churches in Ashton had lead stripped from the roof the hall is flooded and will not be in use for Christmas. And to boot their Christmas Panto is now homeless ………

Right on Festive

The local council free newspaper (Preston) a pillar of political correctness reviews some of the main world religion festive events. And of course mentions Christmas. The focus of several articles about the 'festive season' being more on commerce, and the town than on the fundamentals of Christmas and the Christian Bit of Christmas . However a nice even handed editorial comment on other religions which did a fair job of explaining them and key facts .

However - bear in mind this is the town where the Council Officials ban Christmas carols in the market square because it might disturb the nearby Council workers at their desks! (see the local paper - Lancashire Evening Post
read the article

The lords Blessings to all of faiths and of now faith at this
Festive time may we seek and bring peace to one another.


Meanwhile back at my Church we quietly get on with advent.

This week the lovely 'redhead' and I attended a lovely Deanery Advent mass at our Daughter Church - St Josephs. - More about at: Visit our Church .

This was a great service and the music was 5 stars with a great blending of voices, guitars, and brass!

The Homily given by Fr Luiz Ruscillo from St Mary’s Hornby (Lune Valley) and responsible for the Catholic Education Service, he is also know for that famous quote when asked about bus and access to his Church said something like:

’ no problem they all arrive in four wheel drive vehicles - they don't need a bus!”


Dodging around from pulpit to the locked box - the aumbry? (at the back of the Church) where the Chrism oils are kept he delivered 15 minutes of challenging and thoughtful entertainment! He also left us gasping at his energy and fitness levels.

His sermon had five main points (that I picked up on)

1. Allow god to work through you and in your body, including a holy cave story some nice links to the Imaculate conception and the links between Mary feeding child and Jesus feeding us and us feeding the world , and that all in the opening five minutes .........

2. See how you have Christ written through the middle of you like stick of rock, - wherever you cut it you should see the word ‘Christ’ - good analogy (he held up a stick of rock!),

3. Remember your baptism (he had us thinking of 'us' when we were babies - don't go there!) and what it means to be saved by Christ, from the outset - lovely imagery,

4. Work together to solve problems trusting one another and through prayer seeking change.

5. Lets make Christ as visible in this world - as we do wearing football team shirts that proclaim our support - saying - Get your “ I believe “ t shirt here in Jan 2008'.

Fr Luiz is a talented young (handsome so the the women behind says) Priest who uses the full use of the ‘stage and props ‘ to provide a deeply thoughtful, and entertaining homily. He tells a great story and manages punch lines well. I’ve heard two of his homilies now and can recommend them.

TOP TIP 1: Visit St Josephs its a great Church inside and full of wonderful local people !

Home Grown Priest

Fortunately we are blessed in St Augustine’s (Preston) with our own Priest (Fr Michael Murphy) who combines thoughtful insight, prayer with challenging homilies. However we need a good mix of Priest and Religious Leaders - Vicars, Ministers etc) to make Gods Word jump out and speak to us.

TOP TIP 2: My tip for Bishop Patrick (and other leaders) will be to include drama training in formation for current and new Christian leaders!

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Open for Christmas

And finally a prayer for those who have strayed from the Christian faith

Almighty God, through the intercession of Saint Anthony, patron of lost souls, we pray for those who have wandered from the practice of faith in God, or who have never known it. Restore them to your Family here today, that we may come to know and love them as you know and love them. Help us to witness your love sensitively and make them feel welcome in Your Body. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Please feel free to come back for Christmas .... more information on how you will be welcome at our Church .

A special BEAUTY promotion for women at Christmas

At Christmas we sometimes think of beauty and being beautiful this is short movie with some beauty tips

Audrey Hepburn's advice on staying beautiful but be prepared to to be uplifted .

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Chummley - move on up

Time is a changing in the Chummley - household as we open new vistas in different lands. It looks like 2008 will continue to be exciting and bring new opportunities. We won’t want to repeat some things though (annus horribilis 2007) and need space now to grow and think as a family with new challenges A taste our adventure will be coming soon as we launch a new blog setting out our first exploring steps.
Peace and Best wishes to our readers

The Chummley Family

May the love of Christ travel with you each day

Todays feature is about Belthorn

BELTHORN Richard Ainsworth's History
The following article first appeared on the 19th June, 1920 in the Accrington Observer and Times.

BELTHORN is situated at the summit of that wild stretch of country lying between Oswaldtwistle, Darwen, and Haslingden. The group of grey old homesteads which constitute the village, appear to have grown with the landscape, and out of it, like the thorn-bushes, the rocks and the rough-coated acres of moorland that seem to isolate them. These old homesteads have brought forth a sturdy race, who have shown their love of home by clinging to these high moorlands, and wrestling with nature in all her moods. These hills and moors possess a spell which is difficult to define. The rushes, the heather, and the soft spring turf; the sigh and the rustle of the herbage, as it is stirred by the wind; the ever varying colours, the brown and the purple, the rich green of the moss; the freedom that encircles, the silence that reigns, all go to make up the glory of these moorland heights in the summer time.

ORIGINS OF BELTHORN

The origin of Belthorn, like many other places in our land, is lost in the dim and distant past. Centuries ago much of the lower land in our district was either forest or vast morasses, in which streams flowed and caused vast areas to be nothing but quaking bogland. The hill tops were the safest places for man, the best way of getting from one place to another. Growing civilisation has drained the marshes and lowlands, while the people have betaken themselves to the warmer valleys. Now the hill tops and ridges are left comparatively lonely, as they never were in the old days, but this isolation has preserved to us traces of the life of other days. There is no doubt of Belthorn's early origin, but very conflicting are the theories of how it got it's name. One of the most imaginative and fascinating theories is that Belthorn is a corruption of Beltane or Beltein, a festival connected with sun worship. This carries us back to the days of the Druids and has a biblical connection with the worship of Baal. This festival was held on the 21st June, during which fires were kindled on the tops of the hills, to which the people gathered, and various ceremonies were gone through in the worship of the sun. Another and more commonplace theory is that a bell was fastened to a thorn. The fierce winds that blow upon this hill top, caused the bell to ring. This was in order to give travellers a knowledge of their whereabouts. A more reasonable idea is that its name is derived from the thorns which grew hereabouts. 'Thorn' is frequently used, with a distinguishing prefix, in local placenames, such as Gaulkthorn in Oswaldtwistle.

OLD ROADS OF THE DISTRICT

The old roads of a district are a very interesting study, and none more so than in this locality. The ancient Roman road from Manchester to Ribchester was within sight of Belthorn heights. The present highway from Bury to Blackburn keeps very near the Roman way, in many places, and is identical with it in some stretches. As Watling Street it passes over the height of Affetside, then on towards Blackburn. The most interesting stretch of this Roman road is that at Blackamoor, near Lower Darwen. It is known as Roman Road near Blackamoor Church. Vestiges have been traced near Daisyfield Brow. A few years ago a portion of the original pavement was laid bare when some sewerage excavations took place. The road was about twenty feet in width, and was discovered at a depth of four feet below the present road. The stones comprising the pavement were large, and the upper sides were worn smooth by the traffic which passed over them whilst the Roman road continued in use. The stones were unsquared, rough hewn out of some neighbouring quarry, and are of millstone grit, probably from Revidge. Traces of a cross road of lighter construction, at about the same level as the main Roman road, on either side under the existing branch road to Guide and Oswaldtwistle eastward, and to the valley of the Darwen river westward, were also discovered. Probably that road occupies the line of a vicinal way, or Roman by-way running in those directions. The present highway through Belthorn follows closely the line of a very old road, from Haslingden Grane to Blackburn. In medieval times there were a number of stone crosses alongside this road. The base of one, the Holden cross, which stood near Holden Hall, is preserved in Haslingden Park. Then there were the Higher Abbey, and Lower Abbey crosses, but all traces of these have disappeared. A stone cross two feet high, with some Roman coins under it, was found near Guide in 1865. There were several old tracks and pack horse roads; a good example is to be seen passing by Quaker Fold.

Josh's bigger day

Wow you turn around and its nearly half a year since you blogged here but of course all those projects are keeping us busy...

www.witchend.blogspot.com for example

Josh's bigger day ...

He appears on stage at the guild hall on THURSDAY 24 MAY AT 7.15PM at the
Preston Schools Music Festival. He has been practising for months .
Josh is also lead is the Catherine Vandmome mini production in June.

Sabbys birthdays is coming soon and she wants .......ghd whatever they are ...."silly dad"
and of course Preston has its day...

Radio 1's Big Weekend
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend took place in Preston's Moor Park on 19/20 May 2007 . See all the latest pictures and videos....http://www.preston.gov.uk/

Dads days
Pip is working on a new project whcih takes him to the Fylde Coast and of course Blackpool !!
As he arrives at work he hears the sound of donkeys braying as they are led on to the beach for a days rides.....




Preston a few of our favourite photos





and some of our frendz....