(Note: the Newsletter can also be downloaded as a PDF.)
A warm welcome to
The Parish of Christ Church, Lancaster
for Sunday 8st March 2026 Third Sunday of Lent
Vicar: Revd Carol Backhouse 07857 449724
revcarolbackhouse@gmail.com 24 Wentworth Drive, Lancaster, LA1 3RJ
www.christchurchlancaster.org.uk Facebook:@ChristChurchLancaster
Everyone is welcome to join in prayer and worship this week:
Today
8.30am Holy Communion
10.30am Parish Eucharist with Children’s Church
5pm Lent Group
6pm Evening Prayer
Tuesday
5:30pm Choir Church sings at Blackburn Cathedral
Wednesday
5:30pm Meditation followed by
6pm Evening Prayer
6:30pm Lent Group
Friday
9:30am Eucharist
Sunday 15th March – Fourth Sunday of Lent/Mothering Sunday
8.30am Holy Communion
10.30am Parish Eucharist for Mothering Sunday
5pm Lent Group
6pm Evening Prayer
Gluten-free wafers available. Please ask the Stewards for directions and assistance.
Prayer for this week
Eternal God, give us insight to discern your will for us, to give up what harms us, and to seek the perfection we are promised in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Little Seedlings
Every Tuesday from 9am in the Church Hall for under 4s and their parents/carers.
Children’s Church
… is an important part of our church life, and one of the ways children learn more about Christian faith. If you can offer one Sunday morning each a month (or more if possible) please have a wor with Innes. An Enhanced DBS check will be arranged. All children need to be accompanied to church by a parent/guardian, please.
Messy Church – 22nd March
On the 4th Sunday of the month at 4pm in the Hall for KS1/2 children.
Youth Group – 27th March
Meets 3.30-5pm in the Hall for Year 6-9s, with food, fun, and space to chill out.
Please send items for inclusion in this newsletter to Jacqueline Stamper by Thursday lunchtime. Many thanks.
Scripture Readings for our Worship
Exodus 17.1-7
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Psalm 95
Refrain: Come, let us worship and bow down.
1 O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving and be glad in him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.
Refrain: Come, let us worship and bow down.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands have moulded the dry land.
6 Come, let us worship and bow down and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Refrain: Come, let us worship and bow down.
8 O that today you would listen to his voice: ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, on that day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 ‘When your forebears tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my works.
10 ‘Forty years long I detested that generation and said, “This people are wayward in their hearts; they do not know my ways.”
11 ‘So I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter into my rest.”’
Refrain: Come, let us worship and bow down.
Romans 5.1-11
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John 4.5-42
Glory to you, O Lord.
So Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’ Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Prayer after Communion
Merciful Lord, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.. Amen.
Please remember in your prayers:
Those who are sick: Youngblood McCray, Thomas Platt, Yan Connell, David Foster, Ron Holmes, Ann Boss, Geoffrey Heywood, Christine McCrann, Richard Jones, Marlene Phillips, Jenny Lowe, John Lyth, Freda Jackson, Julie Withers, Martin Johnson. – may God’s healing, wholeness and peace be with them.
Those who have died recently: Muriel Grice. – may they rest in peace and rise in glory.
In our parish, we ask God to bless and provide:
For those who live and work in Grizedale Road, Coniston Road, Scafell Road.
For the students and staff at the universities of Lancaster and Cumbria.
– may God’s loving kindness be found and shared.
Tuesday Evening Prayer
At 5pm most Tuesdays, the clergy say Evening Prayer over Zoom. If you’d like to join them to give thanks for the day past, read the Scriptures and pray, the details are: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81366929814?pwd=jTDuW7HO8lR7I0nQ9Jrm2BrMxjJqVS.1.
Children’s Church
… is an important part of our church life, and one of the ways children learn more about Christian faith. We’re looking for helpers for Children’s Church for the new term. If you can offer one Sunday morning each a month (or more if possible) please have a word with Innes. An Enhanced DBS check will be arranged. Please note that all children need to be accompanied to church by a parent/guardian.
Meeting up
The clergy are available for pastoral support and spiritual direction, please don’t hesitate to be in in contact. If you or someone you know is going through a difficult time or is seriously ill, please let us know as soon as possible, to arrange prayers, home communion, a hospital visit, or anointing of the sick. If you would like us to pray for you, or for someone you know, for any reason, please email your request to revcarolbackhouse@gmail.com. Please ask the person’s permission if you’d like them included in the weekly notices.
Sponsor a Hymn
If you’d like to suggest and sponsor a hymn, to be sung within the 10.30am Eucharist, please fill in one of the blue forms from the noticeboard.
Choir Church – Friday 20th March
Please join us at Christ Church Primary School for our next Choir Church Service (led by our children) at 3.15pm on Friday 20th March. We’ll be sharing an exciting performance of the Jonah Man Jazz!
Lent at Christ Church
Please take one of the free booklets from the back of church to accompany you through Lent. You may also like to join the Lent Course looking at Paula Gooder’s book, Women of Holy Week, led by Rev’d Kaarina on Wednesdays at 6:30pm or Sundays at 5pm
Mothering Sunday – 15th March
As part of our service on the 15th March, we will be taking a collection of toiletries for our local refuge. If you can bring shower gel, shampoo, sanitary towels, tampons, deodorant, soap and other pamper products, please give generously.
Welcome to our new Parish Administrator!
Kim Robinson has now started as our new parish administrator. Kim brings extensive experience from her previous role in the NHS and will be a blessing to Christ Church. Please keep her in your prayers as she takes up this role.
Chimney Tops and Spire Appeal
Urgent repairs are needed to our church chimney and spires to make the building watertight and safe – 170 year old mortar has washed out, causing damage inside the building. We need to raise £10,000 ourselves before we are eligible for grant funding. Please would you help? Pick up a flyer with details of how to donate, and if you have ideas for fundraising events please have a word with Rev’d Carol or the fundraising team. We’re getting closer to the target – can you help us get over the line? Thank you in advance.
Please pay your sponsorship for Susan varnishing the wooden floors
Susan Brooks has now kindly sanded and varnished the wooden floors in church. Please pay your sponsorship if you haven’t already done so? Thank you to Susan and sponsors.
Coffee with the Curate – Mondays from 9th March at the Gregson Come along and join Rev’d Kaarina for a brew (on her) and a chat on Mondays at the Gregson Centre, any time 10am-12 noon starting this Monday, 9th March. No booking needed..
Hall improvements – appeal for loan of decorating equipment
The new kitchen is very impressive, but has shown up the need for re-painting. We have volunteers to help with the work on 10th March, but if you could possibly help by lending paintbrushes, rollers, paint trays, or dust sheets, that would be great, thank you.
Help Needed!
On Saturday 14th March at 4.30pm in the Vestry, help is needed to make up the posies of flowers for Mothering Sunday – please can you spare an hour? We also need donations of flowering branches and leafy stems – so if you’re having a spring prune, please bring greenery and foliage to church. Thank you!
Thank you! – Table Top Sale
Thank you to all who helped with or came to the Table Top Sale yesterday, and special thanks to Clare Mumford for organising it. Another valuable contribution to the Chimney Tops and Spires Appeal, thank you!
Fairtrade Easter Eggs – coming soon!
The only Fairtrade Chocolate Easter egg on the market – The Real Easter Egg promises a fair deal for farmers, delicious chocolate, and an Easter Storybook too. Please sign up at the back to order yours – £6 each in milk or dark chocolate.
Save the Date!
On Friday 8th May, we’ll be holding an Auction of Promises to raise money for the Church Repair Fund. It’ll be a fund evening, with lots of food – held at Christ Church Primary School. Please consider what you might offer for auction: perhaps an hour’s gardening, a car wash, a month’s supply of baking? Please invite friends & family too!
Greetings from Barbara Johnson
Barbara sends warm wishes from Scotland to all who remember her. Sadly, Martin is far from well, but Barbara continues to care for him at home, with support from carers and family. We hold them all in our prayers.
Thought for the week
Even as diplomatic windows seem to slam shut, the Church must keep the doors of reconciliation open. We refuse to see our neighbours as enemies, whether they be in Tehran, Tel Aviv, or the military bases of the Gulf. Dr Hosam E Naoum, Archbishop of Jerusalem & the Middle East
Giggle (or Groan) of the week – suggestions welcome!
Patient: Doctor, doctor, what’s the best cure for water on the knee? Doctor: A tap on the ankle.
In Other News…
The Olive Branch Foodbank
The Olive Branch badly needs all kinds of long-life food and drink – please bring a tin or packet to church with you to leave in the collection crates. . You can also give money for them to buy what people need: https://www.the-olivebranch.org.uk/donate/
Eco-Group Thought/Action for the Week
From Genesis we learn that the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Can you help to care for creation this Lent? Prepare your own garden for spring visitors or perhaps join the church gardening team which meets the first Friday of each month?
Are you concerned about climate change, and caring for Creation?
If so, contact joycelynch1946@gmail.com to find out if our active Eco Group is something you’d like to be part of – it meets every six weeks at a member’s home.
Recycling at Christ Church – from the Eco-Group
On the first Sunday of the month, we collect medical blister packs and personal care items such as soft plastic tubes (e.g. for hand cream), wet wipe packaging and used make-up such as lipsticks, eyeshadow and mascara. Please look carefully at the information provided on and close to the collection boxes to ensure that you only bring in what can now be recycled volunteers. No bottle tops or dental products, please.
PCC
Our PCC meets on the 11th March. We’ll be looking at our website, the annual accounts, and many other aspects of life at Christ Church. Please do talk to your PCC reps about any aspect of life at Christ Church, and pray for the PCC in its work this year. You might want to use the following prayer:
Lord God, Together with you by our side, we can bring growth to our Church. Send your Holy Spirit to give us good planning, wise actions, joy in worship and our welcome, the right words when we speak to others. Help our Church grow in numbers, in Spiritual commitment to you, and in service to our local community, through Christ our Lord. Amen
Annual Meeting
Please save the date for Sunday 26th April, for our Annual Meeting, when we review the last year, discuss our finances, and elect our Church Council members. Please prayerfully consider offering your skills and time to share in this work.
Community at Christ Church:
Little Seedlings – Group for 0-4 year olds and their carers.
Our baby and toddler group, Little Seedlings, meets 9-10.30 every Tuesday in the Church Hall. If you know someone with a child 0-4 who would like to come along, please invite them. It’s free!
Choir
Our Choir rehearses on Thursdays 7-8:15 pm in Church. We’re a friendly and supportive bunch who welcome new singers. There’s lots of exciting music as we prepare for the Advent season, so please contact grahamtoft1@aol.com if you’d like to know more.
Hall for Hire – Don’t forget that the Hall is available for hire, especially at weekends and during the day. £24/first hour and £12 for each subsequent hour/part-hour. Please contact Jacqueline at hall@christchurchlancaster.org.uk 07808 765364 for more info.
Gardening Group
Our friendly gardening group meets on the first Friday of each month (6th March) between 12noon and 2pm to keep our church garden looking lovely. New members welcome, for all or part of the time – contact lippittjane@gmail.com. Please bring gloves & secateurs if you have them.
Book Group
The church book group normally meets on the first Friday of each month at 4 pm in the church hall (6th March). Anyone who enjoys reading and discussion is very welcome to join us. You can just turn up on the day, speak to Joyce, or send an email to joycelynch1946@gmail.com
Craft Group
…. meets in the Hall most Tuesdays at 11.30am. Everyone welcome – bring your own project, or share in one of the others on the go! No prior experience needed. Please talk to Julie Buckley if you’d like more info.
Would you welcome a ift to church? Why not join the FunBus?
Do you or does someone you know need a lift to church? If you’re finding it difficult to get to church services (perhaps especially in the winter months), we’re organising a “bus” to bring people to church. Please contact Rev’d Kaarina if you’re interested.
Youth Group
Innes has started a new group for Year 6 upwards, meeting on the last Friday of the month, 3:30-5 pm, in the hall. The next will be on 27th February. All are welcome. Please share this with any youngsters you know.
Promoting a Safer Church
If you believe that someone is at risk of immediate harm, please call emergency services on 999. Any safeguardingconcerns in a parish should be brought to the attention of your Parish Safeguarding Officers, Debbie Steele and Emma Muckalt, who can be contacted as above.
Concerns can also be raised directly with our Diocesan Team,Tel: 01254 503088 or email safeguarding@blackburn.anglican.org
Refreshments today!
All are welcome for refreshments after the service.
Receiving the notices by email
If you would like to receive these notices by email, please contact Jacqueline Stamper on the above address.
Supporting Christ Church
Fundraising – ideas, opportunities, and support needed!
We’re blessed to have received some generous grant funding for the work we need to do on the building, but we still need all the help we can get to raise the match funding we still need from our own resources. You’re welcome to send more ideas to buckleys@live.co.uk. if you’re able to send a financial contribution by using the QR code below, thank you. We’re getting closer to the target, so anything you can give would be much appreciated.
Church Repair Fund
Our Church Repair Fund helps keep our buildings in good condition so that they can continue to be used for ministry and outreach in the years to come. There are several big projects on the Porch, East Wall, and Hall, which are in need of urgent work.
If you’d like more details about what is going on, please pick up a leaflet – and if you are able to make a donation, there are envelopes available. You can also contribute online via the Give a Little website: https://givealittle.co/campaigns/1c7889a9-7ef8-4730-a84a-2d434726c909
Supporting Christ Church – One-off Gifts
If you would like to make a one-off donation to the church as an offering, to pay a fee, or as a gift to regular funds, you can give through our ‘Give a little’ page: https://givealittle.co/campaigns/f63a0655-b270-4d05-bf35-3994747785d0 This will also give you the option to Gift Aid your donation (if you pay tax in the UK), enabling the church to get an extra 25p back from the taxman for every £1 you give.
Supporting Christ Church – Regularly
Christ Church is now taking part in the Parish Giving Scheme, which enables you to give regularly by Direct Debit, and to to easily review how much you give depending on circumstances. Online at www.parishgiving.org.uk Or by telephone 0333 002 1271 Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm. For any of these methods our PGS code 030603240 ensures that your gift goes to our church.
EasyFundraising
Did you know you can support Christ Church when you shop online? Register using https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/, and the brand’s commission will be donated to the church.
Key contacts:
Vicar: … Rev’d Carol Backhouse revcarolbackhouse@gmail.com 07857 449724
Curate: … Rev’d Kaarina Leong curate@christchurchlancaster.org.uk 07749 489623
Children’s Ministry Leader… Innes Heron-Stamp children@christchurchlancaster.org.uk 07853791776
Church Warden: Greg Skelland churchwarden@christchurchlancaster.org.uk 07944 683847
Director of Music: Graham Toft grahamtoft1@aol.com
Notices: Ms Jacqueline Stamper j.stamper@btinternet.com 01524 64083
Parish Safeguarding Officer: … Mrs Emma Muckalt & Ms Debbie Steele safeguarding@christchurchlancaster.org 07547 717060
Parish Secretary: …Mrs Julie Buckley buckleys@live.co.uk 07717 824574
Hall Bookings: …hall@christchurchlancaster.org.uk 07808 765364
Christ Church School …Miss Emma Simpson 01524 60955
Promoting a Safer Church
Christ Church, Lancaster have adopted the House of Bishops’ ‘Promoting a Safer Church’ policy and the Parish Safeguarding Handbook. All those working with children and adults at risk have undergone safer recruitment and received safeguarding training. If you believe that someone is at risk of immediate harm please call emergency services on 999. Any safeguarding concerns in a parish should be brought to the attention of your Parish Safeguarding Officers, Debbie Steele and Emma Muckalt, who can be contacted as above. Concerns can also be raised directly with our Diocesan Team, Tel: 01254 503088 or email safeguarding@blackburn.anglican.org