Bishop of Burnley Trekking for Fundraising
The Bishop of Burnley, Rt Revd Philip North, will be pulling on his walking boots this Friday and trekking east to west across the County of Lancashire … raising money towards the reopening of a redundant church hall as a community hub in one of the most income deprived parishes in the country.
The Bishop will step out from St Bartholomew’s Church, Chipping in the Forest of Bowland to walk 53km to the Freedom Church on the Mereside Estate in Blackpool on Friday, June 18 and the event has been appropriately titled ‘Chip-in to Mereside’!
Bishop Philip’s long day will begin with an early morning mass at Chipping St Bartholomew’s and end with a ‘chip butty’ celebration on the Fylde Coast with butties courtesy of the local ‘Mereside Chippy’. The two parishes have built a mutual friendship over time, hence the route chosen, which will see the Bishop calling in at 10 other churches along the way for prayers.
- The Bishop’s route from Chipping to Mereside will take in Longridge, Grimsargh, Goosnargh, Broughton, Woodplumpton, Treales, Kirkham, Wesham, Wrea Green and Weeton.
The walk will raise cash towards the refurbishment of the ex-St Wilfrid’s Parish Hall on Langdale Road in Blackpool. This will enable it to be re-opened as ‘The Freedom Centre’ serving the residents of Mereside Estate through practical service … as well as being a reinvigorated venue for the congregation of Freedom Church to worship in.
“So, I have decided to do my bit, walking a distance from Chipping to Mereside – that is more than the length of a marathon—to support this marathon fundraising push! This will be more than a fundraiser. It will be a way to demonstrate how parishes in our Diocese feel a responsibility for each other and are all part of the same family.”
