Monthly Magazine and Events

Dear Friends

Get ready for the next few weeks – it’s usually a busy time of year after the quieter holiday months:

September 1st, Wednesday,     7.30 pm: Mothers’ Union Deanery Festival at

                                                         St Anne’s, Royton.

                         Saturday 11th,      10 am – 4 pm: Heritage Open Day and ‘Ride and

                                                          Stride.’

                         Sunday 12th,       10.30: Service for Wholeness and Healing.

                         Thursday 16th,     7.30 pm: Diocesan Mothers’ Union

                                                          Festival, Cathedral.

                         Sunday 26th          10.30: Baptism of Ross Taylor

October 3rd, Sunday,                    10.30: Harvest Thanksgiving

                         Sunday 10th ,         10.30: Special service of Prayer.

11th and 12th September are Heritage Open Days throughout the country and we are taking part on the Saturday.  Not many have yet discovered the wonders of ST Thomas’ – its site carefully chosen to be visible from all directions, its windows and carved furnishings, its baptistery and its great organ.  But those who do find us are usually enthusiastic.

 “We shape our buildings and they shape us.”Winston Churchill.  Heritage Open Days believes in the power of the built environment to bring people and communities together. As individuals and communities develop the built environment to suit their particular needs, buildings can also create and unite communities. Sometimes places and spaces bring us together physically, as in the squares and greens of our cities and villages. Sometimes they bring us together in appreciation, when we admire the buildings that surround us, be they tiny historic gems or modern state-of-the-art grand designs. And sometimes they bring us together in argument, because buildings have the power to inspire strong feelings of both love and hate.

In order for buildings to bring people together, we need to be able to explore and understand them. That’s why, with thousands of properties of all types opening their doors free of charge each year, Heritage Open Days is such a vitally important event.

It particularly offers the opportunity for young people to develop an understanding and enthusiasm for their local built environment. We aim to inspire a new generation of citizens to be involved and to play an active role in promoting, preserving and celebrating their community’s environment.

Lawrence E. Jones, a great expert on church buildings, has written:

‘Our glorious churches are of great historic interest and beauty, but they are not just show pieces.  Each is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven in our villages and towns.  The church with its tower or spire dominates the English scene; pointing upwards to heaven, it advertises both the fact and the purpose of its existence.

‘These old churches are today still sermons in stone and living witnesses of the Faith for which they were built, and it is our privilege to use them and preserve them for posterity.  Let's do so to the greater glory of God, and thereby also fulfil the true purpose of human life – to love, serve and praise God.’

Yours sincerely

Andrew Dawson

Residents urged to keep homes secure

The police in Oldham are asking residents to turn the heat up on burglars.
During the summer months many people will be leaving windows and doors open, however, residents are being reminded to ensure rooms are secured when leaving them unoccupied.

Sergeant Lewis Hughes said: “During warm weather many people will be leaving windows open and doors unlocked as they do their gardening or so that children can get into the house if they are playing outside.
Unfortunately, opportunist thieves will see this as an invitation to gain access and steal from people’s homes and this has contributed to a number of recent burglaries in Oldham. In order to deter would-be burglars residents should keep doors and windows locked when they are occupying a different part of the house.”

A third of burglaries in Greater Manchester occur where homes have been left insecure.

With this in mind there are a number of simple, but effective, ways to deter burglars from trying to enter your home.

These include:
· Ensure all ground floor windows are closed when going upstairs to bed
· Keeping ground floor windows locked or fit restrictors so they can only be slightly opened
· Keep doors locked even when you are at home
· Have a three point locking mechanism on external doors at the bottom, middle and top of the door
· Use timer switches on lights when you are out to give the impression someone is at home.

To report crime call police on 0161 872 5050 or for more information visit www.gmp.police.uk.

You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously with information about crime on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity that will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.

Words of wisdom from the Coppice Homewatch Newsletter

Unsolicited phone calls?  Register with the Telephone Preference Service at www.mpsonline.org.uk/tpsor phone 0845 070 0707.

Suspicious callers on the phone?  Never give your name and number when you answer a call – simply say ‘Hello’.  If it is a wrong number, never give the caller your name or phone number – ask the caller what number they want and then confirm it if they have got it wrong. Train children to be careful in that way.

Do you have jobs around the house that are too complex to do yourself but don’t know who to call?  OldhamTrading standards could help.  The ‘Tradesafe’ scheme has been set up to give both residents and traders a free and reliable list of Traders who have met strict standards and demonstrate that they comply with the law, provide good customer service and have good business practices.  Anyone wanting a trader who is signed up to Tradesafe should call Oldham Trading Standards on 0161 770 3470.

Current priorities of St Thomas’- as agreed by Church Council, September  2004

1.  Evangelism/Church Growth out of love for people and because we need new members.

2.  Worship, including Sunday School, Healing, Prayer and Music.

3.  Witness to Asians through individual friendships and through shared work with the community.

4.  Presence, that is letting people know that C of E Christians live and/or worship on the Coppice.

5.  Working with St Paul’s, as we have been requested by the Diocese.