Author: Geoffrey G

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Sunday’s Harvest Service

The Harvest service this morning was led by Mrs Pamela Sewart, a long time serving member of the Church and Local Preacher. The service was based on articles from All We Can, the Methodist charity, with Pamela including such ‘old time’ favourites as, ‘We plough the fields and scatter’ and ‘All things bright and beautiful’. Produce donated will be taken to the Lighthouse Project and a further collection next week will be sent to All We Can for their relief work. We thank Pamela for leading the worship today.

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Harvest Celebrations

The Church was open this morning to start the Harvest Celebration.  Beverages, biscuits and cake, were served from 10.30am followed by a potato pie /cheese pie lunch (no charge) for all who entered. The chancel steps were decorated, others sat and chatted, while some stood and talked or helped with the craftwork. Thank you to all the helpers.

 

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HODs Day 5 and Final Day

Art Exhibition with original work by Edgar Wood, Frederick W Jackson and Dame Laura Knight, James W Booth and G A E Schwabe (Bertie)
A sketching workshop with local artist, Steve Whitworth and music by the ‘Friday Ensemble’. Video

A successful final afternoon for HODs 2024, with over 450 visitors across the five days .

A big thank you also, to all who helped to make the event so rewarding for the visitors. This includes paintings on loan from private collections, Touchstones On Tour, drop in Art Workshops with Erica Matthews, stewards and helpers from the Edgar Wood Society and Greater Manchester Building Preservation Trust for hosting the event in their Grade 2* listed building.

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HODs Day 4

There was an added treat to the HODs weekend, with an excellent lecture by Dr. Anne Anderson. on Friday evening. This led into today’s busy and successful event, in  addition to the exhibition, Erica Matthews was running her second drop in Art Workshop and the Touchstones Community staff had brought their Collections on Tour Exhibition.

Thank you once again to all who helped to make the day so informative and pleasurable for the many visitors.

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HODs Day 3

Today, in  addition to our art exhibition, Shakra from the Local Studies section of Touchstones (Rochdale Museum and Arts service), brought along a display about Edgar Wood and Frederick Jackson.  She has been combing the digital newspaper archives for references to Edgar Wood which gave us some interesting new findings. Rachel  and Bryan, also from Touchstones, came along to help.

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HODs Day Two

Yesterday was full on, today was even busier. Why is Sunday a more popular day?

Local artist Steve Whitworth held a drop in sketching session where inspiration had to be gained from the building.

Members of the Edgar Wood Society led a walk around the Conservation Area  and EW’s buildings, while others greeted, informed and brewed up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Open for HODs 2024

The first day of HODs was full on, with thanks to all the hard work by volunteers in the preparation of the Art exhibition and stewarding by members of the Edgar Wood Society.

Among the visitors it was good to see the MP for Heywood and Middleton North, Elsie Blundell. Also visiting were Middleton Councillors, Elizabeth Atewologun and Katherine Bromfield. 

Today’s activities included a drop in Art session led by Erica Matthews of Creative Health and tomorrow’s event is, sketching with local artist Steve Whitworth.

Elsie Blundell, MP for Heywood & Middleton North.
Erica Matthews of Creative Health with Moira Stevenson a Trustee of GMBPT looking on.
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Community Open House-Church

On Saturday afternoon 23rd March, the Church hosted a community event with over 60 adults and children attending. Catering was for 50, but as with the loaves and fishes, there was plenty of food, and a lot left over.  Various activities were on offer, face painting, bead threading, jig saws, quizzes to name but a few. Thank you to all who made this such a good afternoon and not a play station in sight!

 

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The Macmillan Coffee Morning Raised £250

Coffee and tea is normally served after the Sunday service, but on 10 Sept. there was an extra special coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Coffee (or tea) was vailable with a selection of cakes and various sweet delights.  Thank you to Margaret and David for organising the event and all those for supporting the Macmillan Nurses.

Margaret and David in charge of the coffee
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Meet Local Artist Steve Whitworth

To coincide with the Heritage Open days, we are pleased to have Steve with us to exhibit his artwork in the Church. Come along and look at this Edgar Wood building and Steve’s work. Have a chat to him over a cup of tea/coffee or he may even be sketching. Bring a cheque book just in case something takes your liking.                                                                        Opening Times are: 1.00 to 4.00pm Saturday and Sunday 9, 10, 16, 17 Sept. and Wednesday 13 Sept.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

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Heritage Open Days: 9th to 17th September

The Long Street Methodist Church and Schoolrooms are open for visitors between 1 and 4pm on the following dates in September:

Saturday 9th , Sunday 10th , Wednesday 13th , Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th

‘The chapel is a knockout’ says the latest Pevsner Guide. Designed by architect Edgar Wood and completed in 1901 it is an Arts and Crafts delight, with aspects of Gothic, Art Nouveau and Modernism intertwined. A walking guide to other Edgar Wood buildings nearby is available from the church.

You can park 3 hours for free at nearby Market Place car park M24 6AE but must display a ticket from the machine with your arrival time.

More details are available on the Heritage Open web site www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visit click on visit and enter the post code M24 6UN

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The Crumpsall History Society Visit

The Crumpsall History Society visited the Church followed by a tour of the Conservation Area and the Edgar Wood houses. They had previously booked a talk  about ‘that remarkable Manchester architect’, but there is nothing better than seeing things first hand. Their visit also gave the gardener a welcome break, unfortunately there were no offers of help!

If any groups would like to visit the Church and School Rooms or have  a guided tour of the local EW properties email: edgarwood society.org for further information.

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The Edgar Wood Society Give a Helping Hand

Members of the Edgar Wood Society spent the morning Cleaning and Gardening at the Church and School Rooms today. This contribution to the up keep of the building is greatly appreciated by the Trustees of the Greater Manchester Building Preservation Trust.

A big thank you to all the volunteers.

 

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Memorial Service on 6th Nov. 2022

A Memorial Service was held in the Church today at 4.00pm. The service was for the bereaved relatives and friends of those who had died during and since the start of the pandemic. This is usually an annual service, but owing to covid it has not taken place since 2019. It was a quiet and reflective service and members of the congregation were invited to light candles in memory of their loved ones.

Thank you Sharon

The Rev. Sharon Read conducted the service
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Harvest Service

The Harvest Service took place today, led by our minister, the Rev. Sharon Read. The Church supported two charities with their gifts, dried and canned food for the Food Bank in Middleton.

 

A sample basket from Binga

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second cause was for money donations to the Methodist charity, All We Can. All We Can support a group of Tonga people who live in the Binga district in the Zambezi valley and were forcibly displaced by the creation of Lake Kariba by the colonial government. With the  support of All We Can, a group of ladies have been helped to deveope weaving skills and access markets to sell their baskets. As a result children are able to go to school, and goats can be bought for additional family income.

 

 

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The Banner is Taken Down for 2022

The banner for this year’s Heritage Open Days was taken down at 4.00pm today after another successful year of opening to the public. The Church and School Rooms opened for five afternoon sessions during the designated period of HODs.

Thank you to the members of the Edgar Wood Society for organising and stewarding the open days, without whose help this event would not have take place.

 

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It’s September Again and Heritage Open Days

The Church and School Rooms will be open to visitors on:                                        Saturday and Sunday 10 and 11 Sept. 1-4pm                                                          Wednesday 14 Sept. 1 – 4pm                                                                                         Saturday and Sunday 17 and 18 Sept. 1 – 4pm                                                                      Members of the Edgar Wood Society will be on site to assist and help to make your visit worthwhile and memorable.

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John and Kate Chamberlain joined the congregation today

If you were in the Scouts, Guides or Youth Club in the 70’s at Long Street Methodist Church you may well rememberJohn Chamberlain and Katherine ….?

They were down from Yorkshire attending a reunion of the above and joined the morning service,talked about the ‘old ‘times, friends and had a walk around the building, remembering as it was and surprised about the changes following the restoration.

Thank you for coming and sharing your memories of time at Long Street.

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Victorian Society in America Summer School Visit

On Monday afternoon 4th July, twenty two members of the Victorian Society in American Summer School visited the Church and Schools Rooms. This was their third venue of the day, following a hard hat tour of the Manchester Town Hall and the Victoria Baths.

They were relieved to soak in the atmosphere of the church and enjoy refrehments before looking around the building and learning about importance of the architecture of Edgar Wood.

The email received following their visit is as follows:

Many thanks to you and your colleagues at Long Street for hosting today’s visit for the Victorian Society in America, and also for your warm hospitality. The visit was greatly appreciated, and it was an eye-opener for the whole group to see such a masterpiece. They had not heard of Edgar Wood before, but now they will be spreading his fame. While I have visited the building before it is always such a delight to experience . What a wonderful architect he was!
With thanks and best wishes,
Ken