Welcome to the parish of St. Peter’s Halliwell.
Rev Alan writes…
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas and welcome to our Christmas special edition newsletter, the last until Sun 11 Jan, as our staff team take a well-deserved Christmas and New Year break. It’s exciting to see how we have moved forward in so many ways as we have grown in our commitment to be Jesus’ Family on Jesus’ Mission throughout this year. I’m sure by now that you’ll be familiar with our verse for the year: “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 25:15).
I am so encouraged to see how many have stepped up in commitment to serve in the ministry and mission across our parish. We will be launching our verse for 2026 at all our services on Sun 11 Jan. We will celebrate Epiphany on Sun 4 Jan when Jesus was revealed to the world through the visit of the wise men – our reading will be Matthew 2:1-12.
I am full of excitement and expectation for 2026 and believe it will be a significant year in the life of St Peter’s Parish. God is building us up and preparing us for greater things. We are growing stronger, we are better equipped, and more deeply committed to play our part in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ across Bolton through our words and actions.
Read more in this week’s newsletter.
Andy Kind event
Andy Kind is a Christian preacher and comedian – a “promedian”. He’s coming to Bolton to entertain us on Saturday 31st January, at the Old Links Golf Club at 7pm. He won’t be preaching, but his comedy is funny and clean. To read more about Andy head to his website at www.andykind.co.uk
Tickets cost £15 and include food. They are available from the parish office (at St. Peter’s Parish Centre) or you can pay online using the details below. If you pay online you won’t get or need an actual ticket – we’ll have a record of payments on the night.
To buy your ticket online by bank transfer please use these details:
Account name: St Peter’s Halliwell
Account Number: 00030623
Sort Code: 40 52 40
Reference: Andy Kind
Christmas Day Collection 2025
The 2025 Christmas Day Collection at St Peter’s will be used to support the work of Oasis Children’s Home in Kampala, Uganda. This is an NGO that envisions the improvement of the life of orphans and other vulnerable children. Rev Alan has previously visited this orphanage. Please prayerfully consider how you can support this collection. To give directly into the parish bank account by bank transfer please use these details:
Account name: St Peter’s Church Halliwell Missionary Account
Account Number: 10370535
Sort Code: 16 00 06
Reference: Christmas Collection
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
Christmas Day Collection
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Newsletter Archive
Read the Newsletter from the last few weeks:
14th December
7th December
30th November
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.