Welcome to the parish of St. Peter’s Halliwell.
Rev Alan writes…
Make a Commitment this Advent!
I love a good old-fashioned Advent calendar, who’s with me on this? Not one of those chocolatey ones, or boozy ones, or those expensive ones that offer all sorts of smart gifts (sorry if you’ve got one!). But I love opening the little cardboard windows and looking at the picture depicting parts of the bible Christmas story each day. I was thrilled to spot that Heather Cox is selling them on the Isaiah 53 bookshop stall at the back of St Peter’s!
This got me thinking that it would be great to encourage us all to devote a few minutes each day of Advent to study God’s word and pray. Will you give it a go? Whether you’re a seasoned student or you don’t ordinarily bother with the bible. A daily devotion is a great antidote to the commercialism and chaos, and you might just arrive at Christmas with a fresh feeling of excitement and anticipation of the coming of Christ!
We’ll be giving away copies of Comfort & Joy book of devotions at some of our services and events and there are some fantastic bible reading plans available on-line or as apps. Here are links to 3 good examples from LICC, Lectio 365, and YouVersion:
https://licc.org.uk/ourresources/small-wonder-a-christmas-devotional-journey/
https://lectio365.com/
https://www.bible.com/reading-plans-collection/1769-christmas-plans?page=1
Read more in this week’s newsletter.
Christmas Services and Events 2025
For full details of our Christmas Services and Events across the parish
click to read the Christmas flyer!
Christmas Dinner on Jesus
Once again Urban Outreach in Bolton is preparing for Christmas Dinner on Jesus, where a full Christmas lunch is provided to families in need.
We have been asked to support this once again by providing one thousand Christmas puddings – the one pound size (400g) that would feed four people.
You can start buying puddings with your weekly shop (some stores sell them quite cheaply) and bring them to church, or you could donate money towards the purchase of more Christmas puddings. If you’d like to donate click here.
Whichever you choose you’ll be helping a family in need to enjoy Christmas in a way they hadn’t expected to do! Thank you!
Job Opportunity - Youth and Children's Ministry Lead
We are recruiting for a visionary, pioneering Youth and Children’s Ministry Lead who has a passion for engaging children and young people from the local area, as well as discipling those within our fellowship congregations.
Morning Service theme - Jesus with People
Jesus with People
During the autumn, we are looking at Jesus with People and exploring the examples of how Jesus interacted with people, particularly looking at how he understands our needs and helps us flourish in our lives.
- What did he say to them when they were afraid?
- How did he invite them into his mission?
- How did he respond to their limitations?
We will be instructed by Jesus, the master teacher, and seek to apply everything we learn. In addition, we will examine what Jesus did when the crowds thinned, and he was alone with his Father.
Our morning services from St. Peter’s Church are live-streamed and available to watch later on our YouTube channel.
Evening Sermon series - Why Follow?
Why Follow?
Our new sermon series focuses on the book of Ephesians. We ask an old question: “Why?” Why follow Jesus? With so many options to choose from concerning what we may follow in life, why choose to follow Jesus? The book of Ephesians lays out a compelling case for why following Jesus is the only appropriate response to God’s decisive action in the world. Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus can be divided into two parts. First, Paul makes sure his readers are certain of what God has done for them in Christ. Second, he moves to help his readers understand how their lives must be reordered to reflect the new foundation Christ offers. The two parts of Paul’s letters can be summed up like this: “You have been made alive in Christ; now live!”
Why follow Jesus? Because God has made you alive through Jesus and you now have the opportunity to truly live.
We meet every Sunday at 6.30pm in St. Peter’s Church and the reading and talk from this service is available on our YouTube channel.
Oasis
Oasis is our midweek service – a time of fellowship and friendship at St Peter’s!
Refreshments are served in the church lounge from 10.30am and at 11.30am there is a 30 minute service in church for those who would like to attend.
Do come and join us – everyone is very welcome for part or all of our time together.
Verse of the Year 2025
Joshua asked the Israelites, “Who are you going to serve?”.
He reminded them just how much God had done for them and encouraged them by his own words: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”
As we commit to serving the Lord this year, we pray together:
Lord Jesus, Thank you for the gift of the church as Jesus’ family on Jesus’ mission.
During 2025, help us to grow in our commitment to one another as your family here in St. Peter’s Parish.
Help us to grow in our commitment to your mission.
Give us strength, faith and wisdom throughout the year, to follow you and play our part in building your church and seeing your kingdom come on earth as in heaven.
Amen
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See the Newsletter for more details
Newsletter Archive
Read the Newsletter from the last few weeks:
23rd November
16th November
9th November
26th October
19th October
12th October
5th October
28th September
21st September
14th September
7th September
St. Peter's Church
Barrow Bridge Mission
Smithills Fellowship
St. Andrew's Church
Parish Centre
St. Peter’s parish church is an impressive Grade II listed building at the heart of the parish. In the 1980’s an extension provided a lounge, kitchen and toilets and more recently a welcoming entrance area has been created between this and the church.
Barrow Bridge Mission is situated in an important conservation area on the edge of Bolton. The attractive community is a former model community mill village and comprises former mill owner and worker cottages.
Smithills Fellowship meets in St. Peter’s Smithills Dean CE Primary School and Smithills Hall Chapel. The Chapel forms part of Smithills Hall and is leased from the council.
St. Andrew’s meets in the Hope Centre, which serves the Johnson Fold estate. The centre has been completely refurbished in the last 15 years, to better serve the needs of the surrounding community.
St. Peter’s Parish Centre is a hive of activity most days with church groups and other bookings.
It is also home to the administrative hub of the parish. The office is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am-3pm.
St. Peter's Church
St. Peter’s parish church is an impressive Grade II listed building at the heart of the parish. In the 1980’s an extension provided a lounge, kitchen and toilets and work is currently underway to provide a welcoming entrance area.
Barrow Bridge Mission
Barrow Bridge Mission is situated in an important conservation area on the edge of Bolton. The attractive community is a former model community mill village and comprises former mill owner and worker cottages.
Smithills Fellowship
Smithills Fellowship meets in St. Peter’s Smithills Dean CE Primary School and Smithills Hall Chapel. The Chapel forms part of Smithills Hall and is leased from the council.
St. Andrew's Church
St. Andrew’s meets in the Hope Centre, which serves the Johnson Fold estate. The centre has been completely refurbished in the last 15 years, to better serve the needs of the surrounding community.
Parish Centre
St. Peter’s Parish Centre is a hive of activity most days with church groups and other bookings.
It is also home to the administrative hub of the parish. The office is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am-3pm.
Safeguarding
At St. Peter’s Halliwell we work hard to maintain a safe environment for all. We are committed to implementing the House of Bishops’ safeguarding policies and good practice guidance.
If you have any concerns or enquiries regarding safeguarding, please visit our Safer Church page here for details of who to contact.