RUN  THE  RACE

On Tuesday 26th February 2008, the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt.Rev’d Nigel McCullough, came to St.Hilda’s Parish as part of his pilgrimage to all 350 churches in the Diocese.  He arrived at 4.00 p.m. with Canon Roger Hill, and after meeting some church members, led a short service before embarking on a tour of local shops and St.Clement’s Court with Fr.Croft.   Returning to the church at 6.00 p.m. there was a reception with a buffet for some 80 people, some from the church, and others who had been invited from the wider community.

At 7.00 p.m. the Bishop led the people in ‘A Service of Pilgrimage’, which began with the hymn, ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind’ during which the Bishop processed in with the Commonwealth Games baton.  After the opening prayers, the baton was handed to Fr.Croft as part of the welcome, then placed on its stand for the duration of the service.

Then it was the turn of the Parish to tell ‘Our Story – God’s Story’, which began with Churchwarden Ken Savage, telling the story of how the church came to be built there (see more on the History of the Church link), followed by Louisa Montes de Oca, who told how she came to St.Hilda’s, and about her work with our Sunday School.  The next hymn was ‘Father, hear the prayer we offer’, and a reading from St.Matthew 28:16-20, by Churchwarden Maryrose Greenwood.

In his sermon, Bishop Nigel told us how much he had enjoyed his visit, and what a treasure we have in Fr.Croft who is so well known and loved in the community. The Bishop went on to tell us how important it was as disciples to show our faith and witness to the community.  He spoke about the baton and how the race being run, as mentioned in Hebrews, is a relay race, and we are all part of the team.  He encouraged us to remain strong in the faith against a hostile world and to show love, the love of Christ in our lives.

The third hymn, ‘Thou whose almighty word’, was followed by the invitation to the congregation to come up to the Altar rail for a blessing from the Bishop with anointing.  On the way back to their seats, the people were presented with ‘gifts’, a booklet about the Diocese and the Pilgrimage, with a Prayer Card in the back, and also a badge with the ‘Run the Race’ symbol which includes a cross on the race track pathway. 

The baton was handed back to the Bishop by Andrew Teather, an ordinand from the parish, and during the final hymn, ‘Fight the good fight’, the Bishop processed to the back of church with the baton, where the blessing was given.  The Bishop was then able to say goodbye to everyone as they left and then, after photographs, retired to the vestry for a welcome glass with Fr.Croft.