Dearnley Methodist Church, Littleborough

This morning I led worship at Dearnley Methodist Church in Littleborough near Rochdale. It’s always a bit risky for a Yorkshire man to cross the Pennines, but as expected I received a generous and warm welcome from friends old and new.

Anne and I lived near the church when we got married in 1989 and I worked at the local hospital as a junior doctor. When we moved to Leeds in 1994 we left a friendly, loving and supportive church, and so it was a delight to return today.

It was their harvest festival and the church was decorated with fruit and vegetables as well as a great window display done by the children and young people within the church.

During the service we focused on the vital work of the Methodist Relief and Development Fund around the world, the need for such work, both short term relief and longer term development work being all too evident with our minds focused on the devastation in Indonesia and the South Pacific this week.

We shared a faith lunch following the service, which gave me the opportunity to see how well the church has developed it’s premises, as well as to catch up on the news of old friends.We had been joined too by members from Smallbridge Methodist Church and it was good to meet them again too.