Worship and Dedication
Services are every Sunday morning at 10.30 am and evening at 6.30 pm.
The Minister conducts the morning service on the first and third Sundays
of the month and most evening services except for holidays or pulpit
exchange etc. The alternate Sunday morning services are conducted by a
member of our own congregation. Communion services are held at both the
morning and evening services quarterly. While the services have a
standard format, theme services are arranged directed mainly at the
children who attend in the morning; part way through, the children leave
and go to their own classes, doing creative work, and return for the
close of the main service. The Church is a member of the Churches
Together in Halliwell Group which holds regular ecumenical services in
each others’ churches.
Community Service and Fundraising Activities
The Church has always been aware of the needs of the community in the
local area, for it was here at Halliwell Road that the first Child
Welfare Clinic was set-up before the days of the N.H.S. Today, in
conjunction with Age Concern we run a Luncheon Club each Monday serving
thirty hot meals to elderly people. The headquarters of the Halliwell
Befriending Service is housed here; the H.B.S. arranges a "one to
one" service with lonely old people mainly living alone. Every
Wednesday we have an Afternoon Dance, and every other Saturday there is
a Book Sale and Exchange, fulfilling another need in the area. While
these provide income, two of our fundraising events are the sale of Bric
a Brac and Tombola Stall, and the Cake and Novelty Goods Stall at the
Victorian Street Market, both held in Bolton Town Hall Square. Money
raised from the sale of tea and coffee after every service has been
donated to a selection of charities; the Brazilian Street Children’s
Fund, Darian House Children’s Hospice, the Princess Anne Special Baby
Unit, and the Send a Child to Hucklow Fund have received sums
of £200 each..
Children
Numbers attending Sunday school vary from week to week and there is a
wide age range. The youngsters always enjoy participating in the North
East Lancs Unitarian Mission’s Arts and Games Festivals, displaying
their artwork and poems which they have created in their Sunday School
classes. At the Gift Weekend the children perform the opening ceremony.
At Christmas they take part in enacting the nativity play, which gives
pleasure to all of the congregation.
History
In December 1899 Halliwell Road Mission was established by members of
Bank Street Chapel Bolton, in three converted cottages on Halliwell
Road. In 1902 permission was given to change the name to Halliwell Road
Free Church. The present Church and school
buildings were opened in 1931. In December 1999 the congregation celebrated one
hundred years of service to the Unitarian cause in Halliwell. The Church
is an active member of N.E.L.U.M. (North East Lancs Unitarian Mission),
the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches and the
Unitarian Christian Association..
Minister
Rev. Desmond Hadden Porter accepted the invitation to become Minister of
the Halliwell Road/ Walmsley Joint Pastorate in 1993. Following
ministerial training at Belfast Presbyterian College he served as
Minister to the congregations of Newry, Warrenpoint and Banbridge from
1978 to 1993.
Church Officers
Hon. Church Secretary:
Mr F. Greenhalgh
33 Parkgate Drive
BOLTON
BL1 8SD
Tel: 01204 302519
Hon. Treasurers:
Mr E. Thommasson & M/s K. Diggle
Chairman:
Mr R. Locke
Tel: 01204 492450
Deputy Chairman:
Mr G.Pilling
Tel: 01204 532671
Joint Pastorate Secretary:
Mr R. Locke
Tel: 01204 492450
Email contact:
Address:
Halliwell Road Free Church (Unitarian), Halliwell Road, BOLTON, Lancs.
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