Welcome to the parish of St. Peter’s Halliwell
Rev Josh writes…
Hi everyone! Two weeks ago, Jess, the boys and I moved over to Markland Hill. We are so happy to finally be in Bolton and to be able to spend more time with you all. Thank you so much for all the kind cards and gifts you have given to welcome us here – we feel very blessed! We are nearly there with all the unpacking and furniture building; just my office, the spare room, and a garage clear-out remain!
Plans for the town centre church plant continue to progress and come together. Please keep praying for the team that is forming, for the space where we will gather as a worshipping community, and for all the people we hope to reach with the good news of Jesus in and around the town centre.
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Morning Service series - Movement on our Frontlines
Our overarching morning sermon theme for 2026 is Movement.
Throughout 2026 we are learning what it means for the church to be a movement rather than an institution.
We started with the theme of Prayer as a Catalyst for Movement.
During Lent, we considered prayer as a catalyst to all spiritual movements by studying Jesus’ prayers in the Gospels and his experience in the wilderness.
Serving a Movement.
In our next series, we examined the growth of the Jesus’ movement through the church in the book of Acts, to help us discern the role He is asking us, both as individuals and as a church family, to play in His movement today.
Movement on Our Frontlines.
This latest series is based on the LICC (London Institute for Contemporary Christianity) teaching resource called Fruitfulness on the Frontline. You can find more information on this on LICC’s website at https://licc.org.uk/ourresources/fruitfulness/. There is also a book available on this theme.
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 opening worship, 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.
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Newsletter Archive:
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.