成人快手

That stalwart of church life, the Church magazine, the chronicler of jumble sales, brownie meetings and local parish news has reached the ripe old age of 150.

The Church of England reckons that the number of people regularly reading parish magazines is more than the circulation of several national newspapers and yet they often find themselves much maligned. Perhaps it is because they are not perceived as being very trendy or cutting edge, but then for many I suspect that their unchanging nature in a rapidly changing world is the main part of their appeal and charm.

The credit for inventing this bastion of British society goes to The Revd J Erskine Clarke, Vicar of St. Michael's in Derby whose Parish Magazine (1 January 1859) is said to mark the real start of the genre. Clearly a forward thinker he spotted the opportunity for a publication with a very clear objective as he aimed his magazine not at the committed in the parish "but at the other half".

Mike Hill

Incredibly this first magazine was not that dissimilar to what is on offer today, comprising as it did sixteen pages of general interest material but with an inevitable moral and religious flavour.

Erskine Clarke was also not without vision and ambition, offering his magazine to other parishes to include in their own covers and along with their own unique content. Initially it circulated in 54 parishes rising to 200. Many magazines to this day use widely available inserts as part of their own offerings.

My own first recollection of the church magazine goes back to my childhood in Redcar in the 1960s and 1970s where the magazine for Redcar and Kirkleatham parishes (the name now escapes me but my recollection is of a very professional publication for the time) was delivered by what I might euphemistically call door to door salesmen - in reality charming ladies for whom this was clearly something dear to their hearts.

That said the arrival of the monthly church magazine in my household was one of many regular such fixtures in my young world alongside such events as the visits of the pools collector, insurance man and of course the myriad tradesmen with their bread vans, fish vans and let us not forget ice cream vans (Lanny's, Mr Whippy....aah happy days!). But I digress.

The contents of the church magazine fascinated me then with the lists of services at the different churches in the parish, the bible stories often aimed at my age group and of course the titbits of parish and church news including the inevitable hatches, matches and dispatches.

Ironically I have now found them anew courtesy of my role on Sunday mornings at 成人快手 Tees, and you know they really haven't changed that much in the years in between despite the advent of all the computer industry can offer.

How long though I wonder before they go "online" or perhaps some already have! For myself they now represent a unique way of keeping in touch with some of the things happening across the 成人快手 Tees patch which might be relevant to my Sunday morning programme.

By way of example the church magazines sent to me in recent months have put me in touch with the Rev Preb G (aka George Moody from St Marks Marske) and the fascinating story of his "Great North Push" and they also led me to young curate Daniel Cooke (from St Mary's Acklam) and his lovely wife and daughter who came on the programme in January to tell me about the exciting events in their life over the past year.

I find in the church magazines I am sent each month fascinating stories, news and people which helps me to think of ideas for my Sunday shows. I'm very grateful to those who take the trouble to send them in and would like to receive more and from a broader area.

So set out below is a list of the magazines I currently receive regularly and which I will keep updated.

If yours isn't amongst them why not put that right and add me to your mailing list - believe me I read them all!

My address is Mike Hill, 成人快手 Tees, PO Box 95FM, Middlesbrough TS1 5DG.

You never know - something in your magazine might suggest an item for one Sunday morning!

• Stockton United Reformed Church

• St Peter's Church, Yarm Road, Stockton (courtesy Anne Morris and Ken Peacock)

• Norton Methodist Church

• St Mary Magdalene, Yarm Parish Church - Comet Magazine

• All Saints & St. Columba, Middlesbrough

• St John the Evangelist, South Bank

• Priority - Saint Nicholas Church, Guisborough

• St Cuthbert's, Ormesby

• Holy Trinity Church, North Ormesby (courtesy Joan Holdaway)

• The Messenger - St. Margaret's Church, Brookfield and Acklam

• The Link - for the churches in the Esk Valley

• St Mary's Church, West Acklam

• St. Mark's, Marske (courtesy Betty Johnson)

• St. Thomas a Becket, Hampsthwaite (courtesy Margaret Dowson)

• Insight - Guisborough Methodist Church

Also if you have any thoughts on church magazines why not share them with me.