Royton (formerly Westwood and Salem), Greater Manchester - July 2025
Our last update was February, we shared what we had been up to over the Christmas period, but we have been up to so much more since.
On Friday 7th March, the World Day of Prayer Service for the local area was held at our Church. The service had been prepared by a group of ecumenical women from the Cook Islands and was well-attended by many people from other local churches. The theme was taken from Psalm 139, v 14: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. The theme song, ‘Wonderfully Made’, written by Ruru Maeva, recurred throughout the service, which was full of joy and colour. Thanks to Sr Lesley Benedek for organising and leading this service.
On Sunday 6 April, we again joined our neighbours at Trinity Methodists for worship. We also shared in joint worship on a number of other occasions including Maundy Thursday with Fairfield and Dukinfield for a District Service of Holy Communion at Fairfield, led by Br Gubi. Sr Benedek led the Good Friday Service at Royton, and the congregation then joined other local churches for a service in Royton Precinct. Br Gubi led a joyful service on Easter Sunday, with Holy Communion.
Duncan Wood has updated and republished the history of Westwood Moravian Church, written by Br Ivor Packer when he was our minister in the 1960s. It is available from Amazon at a cost of £3.25, and any profits will go to The Moravian Church Royton so please purchase.
Some of the members of MWA attended the MWA day on Saturday 3rd May. It was a fantastic day in which we got to share in worship and workshops with women across the province. The day was also a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Moravian Women’s Association, originally the Moravian Women’s Auxiliary. Congregations brought cake to celebrate this and what a selection we had.
We continued MWA celebrations by having our sister’s breakfast on the Sunday. Our guest speaker this year was one of our own, Annie Geary. She shared memories of MWA that ranged from her first experience of it, to MWA’s existence after the war. It was interesting and enjoyed by all.
We also had a delayed celebration of VE day on Saturday 10th May. Songs were sung from the war period, poems and stories shared and of course we shared in a meal together. A quiz was carried out providing more information about facts of that time. I found it interesting how life was different back then and how going through similar experiences bonds people in deep and meaningful ways.
Other social events will be occurring throughout the year, and we will update you in due course.
Sr Hannah Coope and Sr Gail Holden
