Journey In Faith
If you want to know more about yourself and your Christian faith, then sign up for the Journey In Faith Course beginning with an introductory session on Saturday 24th September.
Bell Celebration Weekend
What a wonderful time we had at the weekend and thank you to everyone who played a part in the celebrations.
We were pleased that Graham from the Whites Bellfoundry was able to attend for the ‘rope ceremony’. This is the traditional way to mark the end of the restoration project when a new bell rope is passed over to the Church.
There was a perfect start to the weekend celebrations with a successful peal on Saturday morning and an ‘open church’ event later that afternoon with a wonderful display of photographs documenting the restoration project. Thanks were also offered to Mr Marc Wainwright, one of our ringers, who has been ringing at St Leonard’s tower for over fifty years.
There was a special ‘Ringers Service’ at 9.30am on Trinity Sunday and the bell rope was used as an interesting illustration of three in one. The bells were rung in the middle of the service as part of our act of worship which was an especially poingnant moment for our band of ringers and many of the congregation did too.
Bluebell Service 2022
After a two year absence, it was a real joy to gather in Swithland Woods for our annual Bluebell Service.
The service was led by our Acting-Rector, Revd Colin Resch and the Bible Reading given by the Deputy Mayor of Charnwood, Cllr Jenni Tillotson. It was a beautifully warm and sunny afternoon and members of the Syston Band (pictured above) and a few of our choir members led the singing of our hymns. There was a fabulous turnout and people generously donated £190 to the work of The Children’s Society for which we are truly grateful.
The first Bluebell Service was held in Swithland woods on 20th May 1928 and has continued annually ever since.
St Leonard’s Annual Meeting
St Leonard’s Church will be holding its annual meeting on Wednesday 4th May at 7pm. The meeting will be held in the Church. At this meeting, parishioners will elect two Churchwardens and three members to serve on the St Leonard’s Parochial Church Council (PCC) for three years. We will also receive the annual report and answer any questions you may have about the life of our Church here in Swithland.
Nomination forms for Churchwarden and PCC membership are available in the Church, by request or on the following links: churchwarden nomination form / pcc nomination form. Completed forms should be returned to Revd Colin Resch before the start of the meeting. If you would like an informal chat about the role of Churchwarden or PCC member, please contact Revd Colin Resch on 0116 429 9946.
NOTICE OF REVISION OF CHURCH ELECTORAL ROLL
Parish of St Leonard’s. Swithland
Notice is given that the Church Electoral Roll of the above parish will be revised by the Parochial Church Council, beginning on the 6th day of April 2022 and ending on the 19th day of April 2022.
After the revision, a copy of the Roll will be published by the Parochial Church Council and placed on the main door of St Leonard’s Church for at least 14 days and a copy of the Roll will be available for inspection on a reasonable request being made to the Council.
Under the Church Representation Rules, a lay person is entitled to have his or her name entered on the roll if the person –
(a) Is baptised,
(b) Is aged 16 or over, and
(c) Has made one of the following three declarations and duly applied for enrolment.
The first declaration is that the person is a member of the Church of England or of a Church in communion with it and is resident in the parish.
The second declaration is that the person is a member of the Church of England or of a Church in communion with it, is not resident in the parish, but has habitually attended public worship in the parish during the preceding six months.
The third declaration is that the person is a member in good standing of a Church which is not in communion with the Church of England but subscribes to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and is also a member of the Church of England and has habitually attended public worship in the parish during the preceding six months.
Application Forms for enrolment can be obtained from this link or from the Church Electoral Roll Officer. In order for a person to be entitled to attend the annual parochial church meeting and to take part in its proceedings, an Application Form for enrolment must be returned by the date shown above for the ending of the revision of the Church Electoral Roll by the Parochial Church Council.
Any error discovered in the Roll should at once be reported to the Church Electoral Roll Officer.
Dated this 6th day of April 2022
A.Wright. Church Electoral Roll Officer
First wedding of 2022
It was a delight hearing the wedding bells ring out as we welcomed our first wedding couple of 2022 to the wonderful setting of St Leonard’s Church and we offer our congratulations to Mark & Faye as they embark on the rest of their lives together as man and wife.
The service was conducted by our Acting Rector, Revd Colin Resch. The organist was Mr Paul Wilcox.
Parish Praise
Shaped By God Together – an update
Following the feedback given by our parish and those across the Diocese of Leicester, the Diocesan Synod will be meeting on Saturday 9 October to vote on the way forward. You can find out more about the proposals to be put to synod in this short vido presented by Bishop Martyn. I would ask you to pray for our synod members as they meet.
Christians in the forest bible study group
Who Are We?
An assortment of Christians from the Charnwood Forest area of Leicestershire. We are from a number of different church types (“Denominations”) though some have no particular Church affiliation. Some have been Christians for many years while others have just started to explore the teachings of Christ. Our meetings, which are informal, include prayer and study of the Bible with discussions about our faith and how it informs our daily lives.
We have no written constitution and no explicit geographical limits!
We meet at the Baptist Church, Woodhouse Eaves, the Methodist Church, Woodhouse Eaves and St Leonard’s Church, Swithland,
The Autumn Course runs from September 28th each Tuesday night the course will be Acts 13-28 “To the ends of the Earth!” By Christine Platt.
We welcome old and new members, so if you would like to join us please contact Gary Lee by email on garyhlee87@gmail.com for further information.
Open church
Join us for Open Church
We are delighted to confirm that St Leonard’s
will be open on the following
SATURDAY AFTERNOONS from 2pm to 4pm
October 9th
Please come along and encourage others
to visit us to share a cup of tea and slice of cake
and to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of our
lovely church and churchyard.
A selection of second-hand books will also be available for purchase.