St Anne’s, Fulshaw

St Anne's is made up of a diverse and all-age group of people who believe that Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel has something powerful to say to them. We are from a variety of backgrounds – some of us have lived in Wilmslow all our lives, some have only recently moved into the area and many of us are parents at local schools.

We come to church for a whole variety of reasons – to experience some quiet space in an often busy life, to think and reflect on theological and spiritual issues, to think about how we can contribute to the church and world and how we can play our part in changing situations of injustice and suffering, to teach ourselves and our children the Bible stories and what it means to be a Christian. Sometimes we come because we feel we have reached a point in our lives when we want to reconnect with God and the spiritual side of us in some way.

We bring ourselves as we are – in joy, in weakness, with our struggles and our worries. We come to feel loved, to be stimulated and challenged, to focus on a power greater than ourselves and to experience, with our heads and our hearts, the energy and life of God's spirit in our life and in that of the world.

Each Sunday we meet together to worship God through song, prayer and sacrament. Every 3 rd Sunday we hold a shorter All-Age service which tries to be more interactive and has faith content for both our younger and older members. There is also a more tradition Book of Common Prayer service at 8.0am on the 1 st and 3 rd Sundays.

Sometimes we look at particular subjects – In January 2010 we did a 5-week course on different prayer techniques and experimented with them during the service. Last year we also held an Environmental Sunday where we campaigned on behalf of the 350 Campaign and looked at how we as a church can lessen our carbon footprint. We continue to be concerned about issues of justice – in May we will be supporting Christian Aid who raise money and awareness for the world's poorest and most broken communities. In June we will be holding another popular Pet Blessing service.

Many of our members visit each other regularly because we believe that we must be visible and tangible signs of God's love in our world. We love meeting together and are always seeking to find ways of including new members. Regular coffee mornings and social events are planned for our younger families and a successful meal out at a tapas restaurant has just happened. In July we celebrate St Anne's Day together with some kind of social. In November 2009 we held a joint social event with St Bartholomew's – a Wine-tasting – drawing on the expertise of two of our young Dads. We are hoping to increase these social events in the near future.

We have a lively and growing Sunday school (Please see our Children's page for more information on the Wilmslow parish website). Leadership and help are shared between the parents. All parents and helpers are CRB checked. The children learnt about prayer too when we looked at this in church and we are currently embarking on some of the Old Testament stories. We try to make Sunday School creative and imaginative for the children, often using Godley Play, giving them an opportunity to ask questions about God and belief. New children and families are always welcome and children are welcome from babies although if very young, parents are asked to remain with them.

We also have strong links with St Anne's School just opposite. The children come regularly each Thursday in term time for an assembly to connect the Christian and biblical stories with the subjects and themes they are learning about. Several parents at St Anne's are regular members of our church.

St Anne's is the daughter church of St Bartholomew's and so is part of the wider parish of Wilmslow. We are taking steps to enjoy more ventures together. One of these is the new Home Groups which are being set up at this present time. Home Groups are a smaller and more intimate way of exploring faith issues and enjoying time with other people of faith in a small group which meets in someone's home. If you are interested in being part of one please speak to Magdalen. Discipleship is becoming increasingly important as many people no longer know the stories of the Bible or Christian teaching. We want church to be an affirming and open environment in which to explore and learn about some of these things, to ask those big questions we all have about the world and how God works and so we regularly run explore groups such as “God for Grown ups” which will happen again this autumn.

St Anne’s history

The church came into being as Fulshaw Memorial Church and School in 1876. At the solicitation of the then Rector of Wilmslow, the Revd Emery Bates MA, it was built by Mr George Fox of Harefield, as a combined church and school in memory of his late wife Annie. Records show that George Fox bore the full expense of the building - £2,200. The building was erected on what was part of the garden of Mr Young's shoe shop.

The building was licensed on November 21st 1876, by the Lord Bishop of Chester, the Revd William Jacobson. The building scheme soon extended across Nursery Lane, where a school was built, allowing the Memorial building, after 14 years, to be exclusively a church.  Monday December 8th 1890 was described at the time as a "Red-Letter Day in the annals of Fulshaw" when the new school building, across the road from the Church, came into being.

On Wednesday July 26th 1950, the Lord Bishop of Chester, the Revd Douglas Crick, performed the dedication of the Fulshaw Memorial Church to St Anne.

Warden - Christina Theobald 01625 527591

Sunday School - Nicky Cathery 01625 529328

St Anne’s Hall

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