top of page
UPPERMILL METHODIST CHURCH
The Church in the Square at the Heart of the Community
"The Unity of Churches Together in Saddleworth is shown through the way that Christians from our various congregations and denominations work together, and alongside people in our community, on local initiatives and global projects."
One of the joint projects of CTiS is the Uppermill Street Pastors - read their latest report below:
A few weeks ago, we received the sad news of the death of Richard Darlington. Richard had been part of our SP team until his cancer diagnosis, which led to him leaving us for Devon where his daughter and family live. He was an enthusiastic patroller, very keen to engage with the young people and learn more about their lives.
Some of our other members have also had to resign because of illness or caring responsibilities, so we are now a team of 8 Street Pastors and 6 Prayer Pastors, thank you so much to those who have carried on.
We continue to patrol on Saturday evenings in Uppermill. It has by and large been a wet experience and we have ended many evenings looking like drowned rats, rather than "in control" Street Pastors. Of course, the rain meant that fewer people were out on the street, and it was more difficult to have meaningful conversations.
However, we remain a fixture and are usually well received. There have been several changes of personnel among the door staff teams and some of the gentlemen really do not want to talk to us. Dan and his team at the Con Club are always willing to chat and publicans are also friendly.
The High Street continues to evolve: the new Weaver and Wilde is due to open imminently; new Chinese Restaurant behind the takeaway next to The Granby; Karben is no more - Karl and Ben have given up the license. The landlord has begun some renovations and repairs and we wait to see what will happen next. The premises has had a very chequered history all the time we have been patrolling. The Garden Room has been granted a license to sell alcohol until 9pm - we haven't seen signs of life in the evenings yet.
We rarely see the police but there have ben three changes of local sergeant this year. Last week the team finally met the new Sgt i/c Saddleworth.
Finally, a personal story: One person who opened up about their problems and how they are seeking real meaning in their life had, worryingly dabbled in the occult and attended the spiritualist church in Uppermill. They had been led to experiment with divination (attempting to gain insight or secret knowledge into a question of situation by way of an occult, standardised process or ritual). This brought home to me the fact that we are in a spiritual battle, and we have no idea what some people are dabbling in, in their quest for meaning in their lives.
Prayers and support of CTIS is vital and we so appreciate all your encouragement and backing.
bottom of page