Andy Burnham to open Jigsaw Festival in Wigan

The event is free to attend, and doors open at 11am until 4pm at the church. Food and drink will be served and there are over 250 jigsaws to appreciate and purchase which will be restocked throughout the Festival.

St Peter’s Church, Hindley is one of 7 churches in the Parish of Wigan East, also known as Chapelfields. Over the past year, a dedicated group of volunteers have been working to raise the profile of the church as well as beginning to take Jesus to those who rarely come into the building.

Revd. Dot Gosling who leads Wigan East says “St Peter’s along with all the other churches in the parish are working hard on creative ways to reach out to the community, to help those who live around the various churches. The churches are committed to being active in the community and not just expect the community to go to the church.”

Assistant Churchwardens Ruth Killen and Philip Hurst hope to raise enough funds, through the festival and other events, to replaster and repaint the inside of the church with long term plans including creating a larger community space for Sunday Kids Club, Women’s Guild, Men’s Group and members of the public.

Speaking ahead of the fundraiser, Killen said: “After the recent success of our Kids Summer Festival day, we are now looking forward to our first ever Jigsaw Festival, which we hope will bring the whole community together.

“Our worshipping community has regrown after the pandemic. We now have a mixed age range, various teams and an active social life based on the church calendar. We embrace diversity, utilise the talents of our congregation and would welcome new people to join us.”

Hurst reiterated: “St Peter’s Church is at the heart of Hindley, and we want it to be a special place in the hearts of the people and the wider community. We are seeing increasing numbers of people coming into the church, but there is always room for more. Our church is a prominent and beautiful building, and we see this Festival as an opportunity for everyone to see inside the building and not just the outside”.

The seed of the idea came from Viv Purnell who is the organiser of the Jigsaw Festival. Viv has always loved jigsaws since childhood and says “Jigsaws are relaxing, fun, satisfying to complete and, of course, can be educational for children. It is a little unusual as a fundraiser for our church, but it has created so much buzz and activity both within and out of the church. We have hundreds of jigsaws for sale of various types including children’s, 500 and 1000 pieces, 3D and shaped ones, manufactured by famous names such as Gibsons, Falcon, Ravensburger and Wasgij.

“Jigsaws will be restocked throughout the day, so come along, entrance is free. Refreshments will be available, stay for lunch, browse and buy. Treat yourself, or dare I say it, buy a Christmas stocking filler. Bag yourself a bargain as puzzles start at just £1”.

Janice Jones, the church’s Assistant Treasurer, stated: “A great deal of hard work has gone into organising this event and we hope the whole community will support us. It costs us about £1,000 a week to keep the church open, with no funding apart from what the congregation give, and we are working hard now to raise funds to refurbish the interior of our lovely church. We have some great events coming up – a Barn Dance on 25th October at St. Peter’s Pavilion; our Christmas Fair on 30th November in Church, not forgetting our annual Carol Service on 15th December. Details of all our events can be obtained from church or from our Facebook page and we would love to see some new faces joining us. A very warm welcome awaits everyone at St Peter’s Church, Hindley.”

For further information – Viv Purnell, mobile 07742 571476 Email – [email protected]