Wigan Album

top of beech hill lane going up on the right next to school

St Annes Beech Hill Avenue

St Anne's Church, Beech Hill, Wigan

St Anne's Beech Hill

looks like St Annes, Beech Hill

Looks like St. Anne's Beech Hill.

St Annes Beech Hill.

Thanks everybody, I must have passed this Church many times and never really seen it!

I celebrated Communion there on Sunday. The appointment of a new Priest-in-Charge to both St Anne's and St Andrew's Springfield this coming Sunday (21st Feb 16), brings daughter and mother back together again.
The church was built in 1953, when John Lawton was its first Vicar. He had been appointed, as Curate of St Andrew's, as St Anne's Priest-in-Charge in 1940, becoming its Vicar when the new Parish was created out of St Andrew's Parish, in 1947.
He left in 1956, to go to St Luke, Southport, from which he moved to St Chad, Kirkby in 1960. There he built up a team of 13 clergy to serve the expanding new town. Exciting times for all (remember Z-Cars, which was set there?) - and he and the varied group of clergy he gathered together inspired my own vocation.
John eventually became Archdeacon of Warrington when Rector of Winwick.

I always thought that C of E were Vicars and RC were Priests. Has this changed??

Broady - both the Anglicans and the Roman Catholics share a common catholic inheritance (though the RCs think the Anglican claim is spurious), in which there are three Orders of ordained ministry - Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Those terms describe the authority each holds - briefly, Bishops can do everything a Priest can, but can also Confirm and Ordain; Priests can do everything a Deacon can, but can also Bless and Consecrate; and Deacons serve.
Both Anglican and RC Parishes are ministered to by the Parish Priest, but Anglican Parish Priests also have titles which describe their status within the CofE. The term Vicar describes one of the posts a priest may hold in the CofE - as the Incumbent of a Parish. A Rector is someone of the same status, but the word describes the Incumbent of an ancient Parish - such as Standish, Wigan, Winwick, Warrington, etc.. It's a bit too technical to go into all the circumstances here, but sometimes a Priest-in-Charge is appointed to run a Parish, rather than a Vicar or Rector. So the person running a Parish is always a Priest, and usually known simply as the Parish Priest in RC Parishes, but often has another title in the CofE.
A Curate is a priest who is in training - though (in the CofE) for their first year they are limited in their authority and are only ordained as Deacons (so cannot give Blessings, or Absolutions, or Consecrate at the Communion). They work under the Vicar/ Rector/ Priest-in-Charge.

Thank you.

You haven`t mentioned Father, Rev. David.

Sorry Ernest - you're right. Because the post of being the Parish Priest at St Anne's was combined with also being Chaplain to the Deanery High School, St Anne's hasn't had a Vicar for some years - but has had a series of Priests-in-Charge, the last two being women priests. St Anne's is one of the CofE Parishes where the Priest has traditionally been called Father - . The first woman priest at St Anne's carried on the tradition.
RC priests are usually called Father - , but only a minority of CofE High Church, or Anglo-Catholic, priests like to be addressed as Father.

It's not st Anne's beech hill by any chance is it??? Lol

Thank you, Rev.David.

As a chorister at the consecration of St Anne’s in 1954 I recall Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, laid the foundation stone in 1953.
What was the date of the consecration?