Living, loving, serving and growing together with God.

Loving and serving our local community is at the heart of our vision, along with an exploration of what it means to live an abundant, rich, full and meaningful life. We seek to follow Jesus Christ and to share the good news of God’s love revealed in his life, death and resurrection.

Thanks to our large church hall, St. Paul’s is a community hub, and activities go on throughout the week, not just on Sundays. Our worship is based on Common Worship, with a variety of styles to suit different ages and needs. Our robed choir leads the music under the direction of our Director of Music, Daniel Tonks, giving the congregation the confidence to join in with the sung elements of our Holy Communion services.

Young people and their families are at the centre of our mission. We run a Youth Church (11 – 16 yrs) on the 1st Sunday of each month, and Junior Church (3 – 10 yrs) each Sunday except the 2nd, when all ages worship together, with presentations, readings and prayers led by members of the Uniformed Groups. Fun@4 is an activity-based session for all the family based each month around a theme, with stories and treasure hunts, finishing up with a freshly prepared hot meal.

Pattern of worship:

1st Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Parish Communion & Youth Church

2nd Sunday: 10.30 a.m. All Age Service & Uniformed Groups parade

3rd Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Parish Communion; 4.00 p.m. Fun@4 (Messy Church)

4th Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship; 6.30 p.m. Celtic Communion

5th Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Parish Communion

Every Wednesday: 10.00 a.m. Holy Communion in the Parish Centre

Three Home Groups meet fortnightly on a Wednesday evening for Bible study and fellowship. Contact the Vicar if you would like to join in.

Prayer Group meets every Monday afternoon at 4.30 p.m. in church. A prayer basket for prayer requests is located at the front of church by the vestry.

There is a full programme of events throughout the week for young people as well as seniors.

An important feature of life at St. Paul’s is the extent to which members are involved in leading and delivering activities. There are three ‘Mission’ Groups – Worship, Community & Refurbishment – each with a lay chair. Home Groups are lay-led, as are Fun@4 (Messy Church), Pastimes and Luncheon Club. Ideas for new initiatives are encouraged, especially amongst young people, whose development as leaders of tomorrow is taken extremely seriously. Six Uniformed Groups meet every week in the Parish Centre during term-time and each group leads a service at least once a year.

There are excellent relationships with two local schools, with regular services, assemblies and special visits throughout the school year.

Revd Dr Michael FoxPriest in Charge

Michael was ordained in 2014 and came to St. Paul’s in 2016 as part-time Priest in Charge (2 days per week) after serving his curacy in Bollington. In his previous career he was a theatre & opera director, BBC drama producer, writer, and founder of the Commonwealth Film Festival. Since training for ministry he has completed a doctorate in theology and drama. Until March 2019 he served as research chaplain to Bishop Libby Lane. He continues to serve as an Assistant Diocesan Director of Vocations in the Chester Diocese. Married with two children, Michael lives in Rainow. He loves walking and trail-running, theatre, poetry and music.

Meet the team:

Emma DennehyParish Administrator / Families & Community Co-ordinator

Emma prepares weekly liturgy, runs the church office and works closely with Joan on pastoral matters. In addition she acts as Families and Community Engagement Co-ordinator, seeking to ensure that St Paul’s is effective in carrying out its mission to engage with local families and with those in need. Emma also leads Fun@4 (Messy Church). She also runs the weekly Pastimes Coffee Morning. Emma is married to Karl and they have 3 children.
In her spare time she is Brown Owl of a local Brownie Unit and enjoys making crafts, watching motor racing with the family, Saturday family game nights and walking her dog.

Joan MottersheadPastoral Assistant

Joan ensures that the pastoral care team, led by the Vicar, is aware of the pastoral needs of the congregation and wider parish. She is part of the baptism team, conducting home visits. She has worshipped and served at St. Paul’s for most of her life and acts as our collective memory, aided by illegible notes on small pieces of paper! In 2018 Joan was honoured to receive Maundy Money from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at a ceremony in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. In her spare time she enjoys gardening.

Jean BennettChurchwarden

Jean works hard behind the scenes to make sure things happen when they need to.

Matthew CooperChurchwarden

Matthew works closely with Michael & Jean to ensure that the church’s ministry is effective. His responsibilities include Health & Safety, maintenance and managing parish centre bookings. He works in a local school and what little spare time he has is spent running.

Malcolm BrownTreasurer

Malcolm is a skilful diplomat who ensures that the church finances remain on track. He works closely with the vicar to prepare budgets and reports for the PCC. He is a keen supporter of Manchester United, travelling to away games across the world. Recently while supporting his team in Kazakhstan he combined his passion with a spot of ice-skating.

Ann HarrisSafeguarding Officer

Ann is responsible for co-ordinating all matters regarding safeguarding. She ensures that our policies are up-to-date and properly communicated, that appropriate training has been undertaken by church officers and other church members, and logs and reports any safeguarding concerns. Ann is a keen runner, a very active grandmother and also finds time to chair the Board of Governors of a local primary school.