Welcome to the parish of St. Peter’s Halliwell
Rev Alan writes…
It’s Holy Week! On Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem when the crowds shouted ‘Hosanna’, which means ‘He saves’. But it wasn’t long until the shouting changed to ‘Crucify him’ and triumph turned to tragedy as Jesus is arrested, flogged and killed on a Roman cross. But 3 days later, he is resurrected from the dead and wins a mighty victory over death and sin. So, we join with a new shout of ‘Halleluiah, He is risen!’ on Easter Sunday, the greatest day in history.
Read more in this week’s newsletter.
Morning Service series - Catalyst for Movement
Our overarching morning sermon theme for 2026 is Movement.
We will start with the theme of Prayer as a Catalyst for Movement. During Lent we will consider prayer as a catalyst to all spiritual movements by studying Jesus’ prayers in the Gospels and his experience in the wilderness.
Prayer is a virtually universal human behaviour. It fulfils a desire within us all to connect with something larger than ourselves. It gives us access to the wisdom of the Almighty. It offers a place to whisper what we dare not tell another soul, or, in frustration, to cry out before God. Prayer is the starting point for every great spiritual movement. Yet, few people know how to pray. Most people know how important prayer is, but few people can honestly say they have a fruitful prayer life.
In this series we will examine the prayers of Jesus. We will learn how Jesus approached prayer, what he prayed and how he instructs us to pray. If we are going to discern Jesus’ will for our church movement then deep and abiding prayer is essential. This Lent season, let us look to the prayer life of our risen Saviour as we embrace the resurrected life He offers each day through prayer.
Our morning services from St. Peter’s Church are live-streamed (slides and audio, no live images) and are available to watch later on our YouTube channel.
Evening Sermon series - Pressure Points - The Book of James
Pressure is nothing new. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote to Jewish Christians in the first century who faced intense pressure. They had been dispersed because of persecution, and they faced increasing pressure to let faith live only in their heads instead of being evidenced in their lives. James beckoned these first believers to let pressure push them deeper in their journey with Jesus. Today, James invites believers to open their lives to the truth of God’s Word and learn how to deal positively with pressure points.
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 2026
Rev Alan says:
We’ve been on a journey in our sermons in our morning services as a parish since I started as Vicar just over three years ago.
• Year 1: we focused on the Kingdom of God
• Year 2: we focused on the church as Jesus’ Family on Jesus’ Mission
• Year 3: we focused on Jesus, how we should fix our eyes on him and learn from his example.
In 2026 (Year 4): I want us to focus on learning more about and loving our neighbours, which of course should flow out from giving our whole selves in our love of God and our commitment to his church as Jesus’ Family on Jesus’ Mission.
For details of all our Easter services click the yellow image to the left.
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Newsletter Archive
Read the Newsletter from the last few weeks:
22nd March
15th March
8th March
1st March
22nd February
15th February
8th February
1st February
25th January
18th January
11th January
Christmas 2025
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.