ST

CHRYSOSTOM’S CHURCH
PARISH OF VICTORIA PARK
MANCHESTER

CHURCH NEWSLETTER
March 2020

St Chrysostom’s is a welcoming,
inclusive and caring faith community
that embraces diversity and celebrates the joy of Christ
From the Rector

Lent is a special ,me for Chris,ans. It’s a ,me to explore our faith and
to encourage one another in doing so. From the First Day of Lent – Ash
Wednesday – through to Easter Day we journey together into the heart
of our faith. Let’s encourage one another to keep a holy Lent.

You’ll find informa,on about our Lent gatherings and worship here.
One special feature this year is the wide range of people being involved
in leading what we are doing. This is a developing trend at our Church
and I am very grateful to those who, in our St Chrysostom’s posi,ve
style – say ‘Yes’ to being involved in their church. Just as we find a wide
range leading let’s hope we find a wide variety of people taking part
too! This includes you!

A special event we’re looking forward to is the founding of a parish

branch of the Chi Rho movement. I am delighted that we have been
iden,fied as a parish to be a pilot in this ini,a,ve. The Chi Rho
movement is a special new ini,a,ve in the Church of England for lay
women and men. The movement aims to form branches in parishes
which will encourage church members to support one another in
friendship, serve those in need and help members grow in devo,on to
Our Lord Jesus Christ. Please do consider joining our branch – it will be
officially launched on Easter Day at 5pm Vespers – what beTer day for
this could there be!

Meanwhile as we enter Lent please pray for me and all my colleague

priests, and for one another, that we may grow in faith together this
Lent.

Ian
March 2020
SUNDAY WORSHIP

Parish Mass at 11am

Sunday Mass is our main act of worship and we invite all to a7end and
be a part, week by week. If for some reason you can’t make a Sunday
then there is, of course weekday worship.

Vespers at 5pm each Sunday. Led by a variety of people this is a quiet,

reflec,ve act of worship.

Weekday worship:
5pm Monday to Friday:
Vespers on Monday and Friday and Mass, Tuesday to Thursday.

Church is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday a[ernoons from 2pm

to the end of 5pm worship.

Lent 2020

Over the years at St Chrysostom’s we’ve come to a posi@on in Lent
which uses what we normally do and applies that appropriately to Lent.
This seems be7er than, say, having addi@onal weekday ac@vi@es.

Ash Wednesday 26th February: Mass at 12.05pm and 7pm.

‘Ashes on the Go’ at St Chrysostom’s School at 3.15pm

Sundays in Lent:
‘Second Cup’—a short mee,ng las,ng 10 minutes a[er Sunday Mass
on ‘Prayers we have chosen’— a different popular prayer each week
chosen by a variety of people of our church with an encouragement to
reflect upon it. The prayers will be from our different cultures and give
insight into ,mes when we can pray and words we may use.
Lent Sunday evening series: on aspects of Beauty and care for crea,on.
Lent 1: Interfaith Vespers: ecology evening—March 1st
Lent 2: African Vespers: Insights from Africa
on Ecology and faith (Admos and helpers) March 8th
Lent 3: Vespers Vespers: Food for Lent
(Mtr Kate and Paul share food on a vegetarian theme) March 15th
Lent 4: Floral Vespers:
Mary’s flowers (Fr Ian and Fr Michael Burgess) March 22nd
Lent 5: Eco Vespers and quick liTer pick (Eco group) March 29th
Lent 6: Palm Sunday devo,onal service with a crea,on theme (Parish
assistants guided by Fr Ian)

Fridays in Lent: 5pm Sta,ons of the Cross lead by different people

Weekday masses:
Tuesdays and Thursdays will include a short address;
Wednesday evening Mass will be a reflec,ve quiet mass with lots of
silence / gentle music.

25th March (Feast of the Annuncia@on): 8pm Compline followed by hot

chocolate.

Lent appeal: Jars will be given out to those who wish to put change in
them for Water Aid.
Lent book: #Live Lent: Care for God's CreaVon weekly themes and
prayers shaped around the first Genesis account of crea,on, it explores
the urgent need for humans to value and protect the abundance God
has created.
• The Adults' EdiVon offers a daily Bible reading, a short reflec,on
and an ac,on to help you live in greater harmony with God,
neighbour and nature. Suggest purchase 20 (£35) and sell at £1
• The Kids' ediVon provides a daily challenge to honour and
treasure the earth, weekly short prayers and Bible readings on
crea,on themes. Suggest purchase 10 and give to children.

A Statement on Radical Inclusion

The Church Council of St Chrysostom's, Manchester was very

disappointed to read the recently published statement from the House
of Bishops following the introduc@on of Civil Partnerships for
heterosexual couples. We have, however, been encouraged to read
some of the responses to that statement and in par@cular that issued
by Southwark Cathedral. In response the Church Council has
unanimously agreed the following:

At St Chrysostom's we have a long history of radical inclusion, faithful

to the generous catholic tradi,on which we con,nue to share and
celebrate today. Within this tradi,on, we wish to support and
encourage couples who freely enter loving, faithful and commiTed
rela,onships and who wish joyfully to celebrate their love for one
another. We will con,nue to offer a generous pastoral and liturgical
response to those who ask for the opportunity to come to church
around the ,me of their Civil Partnership or Marriage. We wish to
state clearly and unequivocally that we believe that all are loved by
God regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, ability or sexuality and it is our
desire and hope that St Chrysostom's will con,nue to shine a light of
welcome and hope for all who feel excluded by the church.
 The Bakhita IniVaVve

Our ministry to the survivors of human trafficking has grown and

developed over the years. Yes, language classes are a very important of
this work, but so too are the gatherings in church themselves when
volunteers and people who are survivors meet and talk together. This
helps so much to raise self esteem among those who have had dreadful
experiences. The work embraces not only those who are vic,ms of
trafficking but any who come for help and support which we can offer.
This can include those seeking asylum in our country and the homeless
of our area.
Alan, churchwarden, has done splendidly in coordina,ng this work.
Recently our Church Council established a small support group to help
develop and affirm this work, and also to seek funding for it.

We were keen to both recognise and honour what has been done and
to give the work its own name. The Church Council felt the name ‘The
Bakhita Ini,a,ve’ was a very appropriate one. St Josephine Bakhita is
the patron saint of survivors of trafficking and we have an icon of her in
the north aisle of Church.

The EcoGroup
• The group is suppor,ng Fr Chris with a mul,-faith event on the
first Sunday of Lent
• We are also hos,ng a themed Vespers and liTer-pick on the Fi[h
Sunday of Lent, 29th March. Local organisa,ons are being invited
to join in
• We are planning to have an ‘alterna,ve transport to Mass’ day in
April. This will involve encouraging cycling, walking, public
transport and car shares. It looks like BikeHive will be on hand,
doing free bicycle tuning and knowabout sessions outside before
and a[er.
• The crisps packet recycling is going well. We are sending our first
batch soon. Despite the early hiccoughs, looks like this is now a
success.
• We have ordered our first delivery for our Eco toilet paper trial
• Our council recycling bins are in opera,on.
 Kharis

Kharis meets on Sunday mornings, from the Gloria un,l the sign of
peace, when children join the worship. They meet in term ,me,
including half term. We currently have 7 leaders and 4 assistants. One
of our leaders is not available this term, and 2 assistants have become
leaders. The children are using material from ‘The Complete Children’s
Liturgy Book’ by Ka,e Thompson, which follows the lec,onary.

Sessions begin with a short liturgy of ligh,ng the candle to remind

those taking part of God’s presence and they say together “welcome to
Kharis”. Sessions end with interac,ve prayer, and the children say
together “thank you for Kharis”. The sessions offer opportuni,es for
the children to explore bible stories, with discussion and cra[.
The children re-join the service, sirng in the choir stalls. They ring
bells and use shakers during the consecra,on, enabling them to
par,cipate in the liturgy. Many of the children also join in with the
Angelus and enjoy ligh,ng candles. This format works well, providing
children with the opportunity to engage with the ministry of the word
through Kharis ac,vi,es and then re-joining the worship, learning how
to worship alongside their family and other church members.
 CHI RHO — a new lay movement
A new, inclusive, lay movement — the Chi Rho movement — is
beginning in the Anglican Church, guided by priests of the Society of
Catholic Priests.
Membership is open to all and is focussed on the Real Presence of
Christ in the Mass, and has key themes of mutual encouragement,
,me to reflect on our faith, and service to others, within and beyond
the church.
Members are asked to draw up a personal and simple Chi Rho rule of
life based on regular prayer, ,me for reflec,on on faith, and a
commitment to serve others. Help is given to do this and the rule will
be reviewed each year. Members agree to aTend the Chi Rho mee,ngs
and to support and encourage one another.
Service to others will be organised in conjunc,on with the church
pastoral team.
Our local branch will meet regularly (about six ,mes / year) at ,mes to
suit members for Mass or Benedic,on, discussion and fellowship, o[en
with food. We are hoping at least one mee,ng we will meet with Chi
Rho members of other churches.
We’ll ac@vely recruit to form a local branch during Lent 2020, with an
informa@on mee@ng on Sunday 23rd February aQer evening Vespers.
We will ‘launch’ our parish group, enrolling its first members on Easter
Day at 5pm.

 CHI RHO
A new inclusive lay movement open to all.
Key themes:
Encouraging
Members affirm, encourage, and pray for one another.
Meeting about 6 times a year for food, friendship,
fellowship, prayer and discussion.
Praying
Members pray regularly with a special focus on Mass
and the presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

Serving
Members commit to serve others in a particular way

Membership is renewed annually. Members draw up a

simple rule of membership based on the key themes

Associate membership is open to all who support the Chi Rho

Movement but do not feel able to become full members.
Associate members are welcome at all meetings
MARCH 2020 Observance Prayer Intention
1 Sun LENT 1 Our Parish and People
2 Mon St David, Patron of Wales Wales: People and Nation
3 Tue Our Parish Schools
4 Wed Victims of hunger
5 Thurs Votive Mass of Priesthood Society of Catholic Priests
6 Fri Women’s World Day of Prayer Women of the World
7 Sat Ss Perpetua and Felicity, V & M Persecuted Christians
8 Sun LENT II Our Parish and People
9 Mon Those who relieve need
10 Tue Those in prison
11 Wed Journalists and writers
12 Thurs Ministry of hospitality
13 Fri Those who teach faith
14 Sat For local charities
15 Sun LENT III Our Parish and People
16 Mon For missionaries
17 Tue St Patrick, Patron of Ireland Ireland: People and Nation
18 Wed Monthly Requiem The Departed
19 Thurs St Joseph Parents
20 Fri Priests and Bishops
21 Sat Peacemakers
22 Sun LENT IV Our Parish and People
23 Mon Children
24 Tue St Óscar Romero, Bp & M, O Church leaders
25 Wed Annunciation to Our Lady Vocations to ministry

26 Thurs The anxious and depressed

27 Fri Those in hospital
28 Sat The dying
29 Sun PASSION SUNDAY (LENT V) Our Parish and People
30 Mon Those who are enslaved

31 Tue Those who care for nature

 St Chrysostom’s Church Contacts

Church website: www.stchrysostoms.co.uk

Church blog: www.ourchurchblog.co.uk

Church Office 0161 225 2550
It is recommended that non urgent messages for the clergy
are leZ on the answerphone on this number, or e-mailed to
office@stchrysostoms.co.uk

Clergy
Canon Ian Gomersall 225 2550 (Rector) 07711 670225
Mtr Kim Wasey 07944 155772 (Associate Priest)
Fr Chris Hartley 232 0644 (Associate Priest)
Mtr Kate O’Sullivan 07854 598 269

Fr Julian Cam and Mtr Hilary Evans regularly assist at Church.

Parish Assistants: Kenson Li and Madison McCabe
Church Council Officers
Church Treasurer – Edward Moss 07764 331 527
Church Secretary – Sandra Palmer 248 7605
Churchwardens
Andrew Omokaro 07882 958660
Alan Beck 07748907236

Remember to follow what is going on at Church through

the Church facebook group and page, and through
TwiTer @StChrys.

St Chrysostom's Church welcomes new people. Anyone is welcome to

volunteer to read at worship, to serve at the altar or to help in other
ways at worship and in church work. Simply speak to one of the priests
or say ‘Yes!’ if asked!