Bishop’s blessing for new church

A NEW church has opened in Chadderton with the blessing of the Bishop of Manchester.

The Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch was in the area as part of his pilgrimage around every parish in the Diocese. He called in at St Saviour’s Church, Chadderton, for a reception, before moving on to Kent Avenue on the Crossley Estate. There he opened the Crossley Christian Centre (CCC), based in a former shop storeroom, which has been transformed into a community facility.

A variety of organisations hold drop-in sessions there where visitors can use the Internet, brush up on numeracy, literacy and IT skills or pop in for advice.

It is hoped that it will eventually be replaced by a new community centre.

The Bishop is pictured (left) with the Mayor and Mayoress of Oldham, Councillor Shoab Akhtar and Mrs Shafeena Kausar, and the vicar, the Rev John Simmons