New Mills Church

		Latest News ************ Churchyard News Attention grave owners! Together with the Council we are working to improve the churchyard and welcome the forthcoming safety checks to all the memorials as a significant step forward in the improvement programme. The work will be carried out by High Peak Borough Council, and the following is the text of the public notice about this work: Notice is hereby given that High Peak Borough Council will carry out safety checks to headstones in St George’s Churchyard during 2009. Notices will also be placed in local publications informing grave owners of the works. If you are a grave or memorial headstone owner you have a duty of care to maintain the memorial safely and abide by the churchyard regulations. If your memorial shows signs of instability (unsteadiness, lean, eroded or loose joints, eroded, loose or poor foundation etc.) and fails the safety test or has not been adequately maintained, warning notices may be placed on the memorial. If a notice is placed on your memorial please contact the Council immediately. Please do not remove the notice, try to move the memorial or attempt to repair it yourself as this may be hazardous or cause further damage. The notice acts as a warning notice to all visitors to the churchyard and allows grave owners to arrange for repairs, which must be carried out by a professional memorial stonemason to NAMM standards. The Council has a responsibility to maintain the churchyard safely, however it is not the responsibility of the Council or the Church to maintain private memorials. Safety work may however be carried out to unstable memorials in due course. This may involve removing, laying flat or re-erecting the memorial in a more stable, simple and permanent fashion (i.e. not as it was originally erected). It is therefore essential that memorial owners contact us if they are aware that their memorial is unsafe. Consequently, the Council will accept no responsibility if work is carried out to a memorial that is not to the liking of the grave owner, as ample warning has been given of the impending work and the necessity for memorial owners to contact the Council and arrange suitable repairs. The safety work will be carried out to ensure that the churchyard remains a safe and pleasant place to visit. Any grave owners or persons responsible for the upkeep of a memorial should contact the Council on 0845 129 7777, especially if you are aware that your memorial is unstable or is over ten years old, as we can then gather up-to-date contact details. *Please be aware that High Peak Borough Council is committed to providing an excellent cemetery service and that this work is necessary to ensure the safety of all visitors to St. George’s Church.* Sidesmen and Sideswomen Sidesmen and sideswomen are vitally important people at St George’s and St James’, with a worthwhile and necessary part to play in the life of the church. It is easy to assume that the duties are ‘just’ handing out service books to people as they arrive: but that is to sell the office short. Primarily, the role of the sidesmen and sideswomen is to be a Theologian! Whilst Thyra, Martin and Tom (and of course) myself as Vicar are the ministers, we don’t have the full responsibility for being the only ‘God Talkers’ in the congregation. Everything about the church, from the state of its cleanliness to the quality of the welcome people receive will all speak about God. People encountering church for the first time, or perhaps returning after a gap for whatever reason will quite rightly judge God by his people. How you and I respond to them, they have every right to assume that God is the same. Sidesmen and sideswomen have the opportunity to give the all important first impression, and to represent the love of God in a powerful way. After the AGM I will run, in conjunction with the Churchwardens, a short session (similar to the one for lesson readers and intercessors) to encourage you with the important tasks you do so wonderfully on behalf of the whole congregation for God. At the AGM we will also have the opportunity to enroll more sidesmen and sideswomen to join these worthwhile and important teams: please prayerfully consider whether you have the qualities needed and speak to the Churchwardens or myself to find out more. The more people we have on the teams, the less frequently you will be called to perform the duties. I’d also like to record my thanks to all those who, week by week, do so much to represent God so wonderfully: I thank you, and God thanks you! Fr John ________________________________________________________________________________________ Calling all internet shoppers have a look at www.easyfundraising.org.uk you can now raise funds for St. George's Church by shopping via this website. On the home page, click on ''Find a Cause'' - then click in ''N'', scroll down to New Mills St George's Church - High Peak - register as a supporter, and off you go. Happy Shopping _______________________________________________________________________