Young parishioner, Brendan Ritchie, from St Michael and All Angels, Middlewich has recently won the senior category in the national Cranmer Awards held at Hampton Court Palace.
The Cranmer Awards are an annual competition run by the Prayer Book Society. Competitors memorise and recite up to five minutes of text from the Book of Common Prayer.
He came first among a total of ten regional finalists from around the country, who had each had to go through their own regional selection process to qualify for the national event. Brendan, a student at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School had previously competed in the Cranmer Awards and although he didn't win, wanted to try again. Brendan attributes his win to lots of practice and determination, but most of all, to someone from his church, called Christine, saying, "our weekly sessions really helped me out and if it wasn't for her I don't think I would have won".
Brendan chose to recite the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel for the First Sunday after Epiphany.
As part of his prize, Brendan was given £250 that he plans to put towards funding a university course but will spend fifty pounds on a few treats.