A Somewhat Special Sunday Sunday, June 29th, 2014 was a busy day for the people of St Faith's. There were happenings in the morning, the afternoon and the early evening, and the star of the show at two of them was our about-to-be ex-Director of Music. Daniel Rathbone is moving on to St Luke's Farnworth (a ten-minute Sunday stroll from his home rather than two train journeys!) and, following the morning Sung Eucharist, he was feted and thanked and given gifts and cards to mark his departure, as well as posing with some of our choir. The afternoon was an al fresco event. In Rick and Rosie's garden, a goodly crowd partook of a splendid Strawberry Tea. The strawberries, tea and scones were augmented by wine provided by her husband John  to mark his wife Mary's birthday that very day (age undisclosed!). Our hosts had spent a busy few hours the previous day mopping up the church after an ill-timed rainfall had poured into the church through the gaps left by the theft of large quantities of lead from the church roof. A couple of hours later, it was back to church for a splendid choral evensong, where our choir was joined by that of St Mary the Virgin, Walton, whose Rector preached to us. Daniel conducted the first public performance of his newly-composed anthem 'Tu es Petrus'. Following htis cathedral-style closing event, he took a final bow before moving to pastures new. Follow the links below to read his farewell and an announcement about the roof!              Words and pictures: Chris Price Daniel's farewell (on our music home page) Metal theft announcement and pictures