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Parish Church of St. Mark the Evangelist
Rossendale Rd. Burnley Lancs. U.K.
Priest In Charge
Fr.Charlie Hill
A Forward In Faith Parish
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The World Wide Circle of Prayer
This is provided as a place where anyone can put the names of those whom they feel needs the help of prayer.
Send your prayer to williambates200@btinternet.com and it will be offered for you (and with you) in The Circle of Prayer .
Pray with us for:-
George Raymond Cooper--Age 5yrs--who is afflicted with Autism.
If you wish to make a Thank Offering to the Church.
Send it to:::
FATHER CHARLIE HILL
ST. MARK'S VICARAGE,
9 ROSSENDALE ROAD,
BURNLEY
LANCASHIRE.
BB11 5DQ
or
MR. WILLIAM BATES,
18, AYR GROVE
BURNLEY,
LANCASHIRE,
UK.
BB11 5JE
TRY THESE
ARTICLES IN VARIETY
Brief Church History
The first years were spent as a
Mission Church within the Parish of All Saints on the edge of Burnley. The first
temporary building on land at the corner of Liverpool Rd and Owen St. in
Rosegrove was dedicated in April 1908 but was extensively damaged by a fire on
January 25th 1909.After restoration and some additions, it was re-opened some
three months later.
During the First World War men from Saint Mark's served
in the armed forces and returned to find that house building in Rosegrove did
not continue nevertheless the church remained a viable proposition. The vision
of a permanent church remained amongst the congregation and there were
occasional activities to raise more money. It was these early activities that
first fired myself and others of my age with enthusiasm for the building of a
new Saint Mark's Church.
The Second World War again saw the men serving in
the armed forces but in spite of this the financial position of the church
improved. This was the time when Holy Communion began to take a more central
place in the worship. Saint Mark's still could not fully maintain itself however
and the link with All Saints remained important. Immediately following the war
there had apparently been almost enough money collected to start to build but
costs soared and efforts soon became concentrated on maintaining the existing
building. The development of Stoops and Bleak House housing estates meant that
Rosegrove was no longer the best place for a permanent church but it wasn't
until the Rev G.A.Williams became Vicar of All Saints that the ball began
rolling towards independence again and other options were considered. Saint
Mark's actually achieved the first step towards independence in 1950 but because
of legal constraints it was not until Jan.19th 1956 that The Rev. P.J.M.Bolt was
appointed and licensed as Priest in Charge. Further changes in the services were
made from now on, and a Sung Eucharist was introduced for the first time. I well
remember that the organist (yours truly) was required to do a great deal
of work with the choir during the first weeks of Rev.Phillip Bolt's reign.
To
simply write "the foundation stone for the new church was laid on the 14th of
April 1962", would be easy but this would be to ignore the dedicated work that
was required from 1956 to 1962 and in the years up to that time from 1907 and
there was indeed a LOT of work put into the project. The church was dedicated by
the Bishop of Burnley on Holy Saturday 1963 and The Rev. Phillip Bolt stayed on
until early in 1965 He was succeeded by The Rev.A.C.Taylor who, because a loan
of £6000 given by Mr.William Thompson, a retired mill owner, was made into a
gift, was able to be inducted as the first vicar of the new parish. An
appointment, which he held for the rest of his life.
Stewardship has been
important in the church's development. The first campaign (one of the first in
the deanery) and a subsequent follow up, were largely responsible for funding
Saint Mark's share of the building work. Afterwards, in the new church, a
campaign became a regular event every three years each one dedicated to some
special purpose. For example, the provision of a Church Hall and replacing the
electronic organ with a 'proper' church organ. The last stewardship campaign was
conducted around 1988 and although it certainly had the affect of stemming a
decreasing income it seems that the assets of time and talent and people
required to conduct these campaigns had become depleted and had not been
replaced. (Something which a number of churches in the area have also
experienced). Nevertheless the things added to the church by virtue of the
campaigns remain and there have been other improvements through gifts, which
make the church a wonderful place in which to worship and pray.
The
connection with Rosegrove remains and is cherished indeed there are still a
considerable number of people on the electoral roll who live in the Rosegrove
area. The motorway, which has caused problems of access for some of the Burnley
parishes because of the route it takes, has proved to make no difference to
St.Mark's parish. The main trunk road, which runs through the parish from one
end to, the other acts like a spinal column from which access roads branch off
into the various estates and Rosegrove simply becomes the last area on that
spine. Access to Rosegrove being achieved in exactly the same way it has always
been since the parish was formed. The work of the parish which started in
Rosegrove is now moving more and more into the other housing and industrial
estates with which Saint Mark's is surrounded--as it must---and indeed it
must also include as a priority work with the children and the teenagers in
all areas of this young parish which is only now itself just ' coming of
age' and is trying to survive (as the teenagers and children must
also try) in a world which seems to be less and less aware of the eternal
hope that is come into the world through and because of the work of Jesus
Christ.