New from Church House

• Vacancy in See process - public consultation launches and new pray resources
• New improved online faculty system to be launched in October
• The Churchwarden's Yearbook 2026
• Churchwarden training sessions
• Resourcing and supporting parishes for children, young people and family ministry
• Exploring Vocation Together - Young Vocations
• HR Team update - HR support for clergy and parishes
• Introducing Cornerstone - July webinars
• Stripe and Give A Little update
• Extension to Return of Parish Finance submission deadline
• Open4Community grants database demonstration
• Money for Mission: Issue 71

Key Dates for 2025

Resources

Vacancies

Other Useful Links and Information

Vacancy in See process - public consultation launches and new prayer resources

The Diocese of Leeds has launched its public consultation looking for the views of all people across our region about the next Bishop of Leeds.

We are asking for people to answer three questions about our new bishop and the future of our diocese, which are:

• What are your three hopes for the future of the church in your community?
• What three words describe the main skills and qualities the next Bishop of Leeds needs to have, to help us grow in confidence as a diocese?
• What is the one thing you want to say to the next Bishop of Leeds?

These questions can be answered by filling in our online form, which can be found here, or by scanning the QR code.

As part of the consultation process, we have produced postcards with the questions on them which are being sent to every church, which can be filled in by hand and are pre-addressed to be posted back to Church House in Leeds. Alongside these we have produced and are sending a poster advertising the consultation to every church, with a QR code to access the online form on it. More of these are available on request.

Prayer remains vital to this process, so please do be praying for all involved in this work. Our first set of Vacancy in See Prayer Resources have been produced, and are are now available here.

Please do share these links, and the consultation postcards when they arrive. More on the Vacancy in See process can be found here.

New improved online faculty system to be launched in October

A new and improved faculty system is due to be launched in October 2025 after three years of development.

The new version has taken into account user feedback and is designed to fix some of the issues encountered with the original design of the current system.

Improvements include the ability to upload multiple files at once, as well as enhanced interface, making each stage of the application easier to understand and to complete the forms.

Further information, along with training opportunities will be provided ahead of the launch and more details are available here.

The Churchwarden's Yearbook 2026

The Churchwarden's Yearbook for 2026 is now available to order.

The Diary Section has: Advent 2025–Epiphany 2027, with additional pages for planning 2027; one-week-to-view; Common Worship readings for the Principal Eucharistic Service and Book of Common Prayer readings for Holy Communion for Sundays, Principal Feasts, Holy Days, Festivals and Lesser Festivals; liturgical colours for every day; Saints’ Days and Commemorations; flag days, church-related events, bank and public holidays, and other notable events; items of local, national, traditional and contemporary interest; phases of the moon, times of sunrise and sunset; four-year calendar and year planners for 2026 and 2027; extra pages for names, addresses, expenses and other notes.

The Reference Section has: Outline of churchwardens’ duties; recommended reading matter and websites; helpful organizations and sources of finance; contact details for key personnel in all Anglican dioceses in England, Wales and Europe; religious festivals of other faiths; Parochial Fees tables.

The price is £16.95 including free delivery direct from Churchwarden Publications.

Click here to find out more and to download the order form.

Churchwarden training sessions

Ecclesiastical Insurance are putting on some Training Sessions for Church Wardens in the Autumn. These will be on Zoom and will cover various topics. To book a place on any of these please contact carmel.dylak@leeds.anglican.org.

Fire Risk Management (Tuesday, September 9, 7pm)

All churches need to complete a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment to comply with legislation. Heather Ford, Church Support Manager with Ecclesiastical will lead this session and take you through the specialist resources they have to enable you to meet your fire risk management obligations

Climate Change & Net Zero (Wednesday, October 8, 7pm)

Churches can play a significant role in tackling the challenges faced by Climate Change. However this can involve complex considerations and planning. Heather Ford, Church Support Manager with Ecclesiastical will take you through some quick wins alongside the wider considerations for risk management and insurance when undertaking larger net zero projects.

Introduction to Fundraising (Wednesday, November 26, 7pm)

Do you have a church project in mind but don’t know where to start with fundraising ? Ecclesiastical have developed a Church Fundraising Hub to help churches with this.  Heather Ford, Church Support Manager with Ecclesiastical will lead the session and take you through their easy to follow resources to help you build a successful campaign

Resourcing and supporting parishes for children, young people and family ministry

Opportunities to connect

The Children, Young People and Families Team are offering a fortnightly drop in for anyone with any questions about children and youth ministry to book a slot and speak to one of our advisors. The sessions will be available on Tuesdays and you can book via this form for an online one hour appointment.

Large events

TEND 2025 (Saturday, September 6 at St George’s Lupset)

We had over 50 people together for the first of our 2025 TEND events, with a theme of Sharing Stories, and our second event is on Saturday, September 6. These events are about: Thanking you for your ministry to children, young people and their families; Encouraging and equipping you and those you serve to grow in faith; Networking with others and sharing experiences; Doing – making time and space to set you up for what you will do next. This year’s theme is “Sharing Stories” and the days will include workshops, speakers, worship, reflection and the opportunity to meet others involved in ministry with and to children, young people and families. Keynote speaker: Huw Thomas, Director of Education (Diocese of Sheffield) and author of In the Way of our Story. Full details, including booking can be found here.

In-person Workshops 

Ministry with Children and Young People (various dates and venues being added)

Whether you have been working with children and young people for a long time or you are just starting out, this course is designed to help you develop and refresh skills and knowledge so you can serve children and young people well. Full details and dates/venues can be found here.

Emergency First Aid Course for children and youth workers and volunteers (Thursday, September 18, Church House Leeds)

In the Church of England Safer Environment and Activities guidance, it recommends that at least one of the leaders in a group for children or vulnerable adults attends a recognised First Aid course, such as one-day Emergency First Aid Training. We are delighted to be able to offer such a course on 18th September at the cost of only £56.92 per person. Places are limited, so please do book early.

Additional Needs Learning Community (Thursday, September 25, Church House Leeds)

A chance to gather at Church House to discuss how church can be more welcoming and inclusive to children and young people with additional needs and their families.

Godly Play Core Training (Tuesday, November 18 to Thursday, November 20, Church House Leeds)

This three-day accredited course led by members of the College of Trainers of Godly Play UK is open to anyone, lay or ordained working with children or adults in church, school or at home. There is an early bird rate available for this training until Monday, August 18, 2025.

Online Opportunities

Employed Children and Youth Workers Gathering (Thursday, September 18)

An hour of input, catching up and praying ahead for those who are employed to work with children, young people and families.

Messy Church Learning Community (Tuesday, September 23)

If you are involved in a Messy Church Team who are seeking to reach people of all ages with the good news of Jesus, then this community could be for you. At this meeting we will be thinking a little deeper about Spiritual Styles. We will look at what they are and how we might choose activities and crafts to help people of all ages to engage with what we offer.

Toddler Teams Learning Community (Thursday, September 25)

A gathering to support and encourage all those involved in church toddler groups.

Staying Connected

If you would like to receive the Children, Young People and Family Team newsletter, please subscribe to the Digital Learning Platform here and be sure to tick the ‘Children & Youth’ and ‘Sign me up’ boxes! In addition we host a Facebook group for anyone involved in children, young people and family ministry where people share details of events, resources, activities and training and also ask questions, debate ideas and learn together. As always, if you require any specific help or information, please do contact us on childrenyouth@leeds.anglican.org.

Exploring Vocation Together - Young Vocations

Exploring Vocation Together - Young Vocations (Thursday, September 18, 7pm - 9pm, St Peter's Harrogate)

Did you know that you can be ordained at age 23? Before that comes training and discernment , so you are never too young to explore that sense of calling you might have. The future of the Church depends on the next generation responding in faith to Jesus and, from them, would be leaders responding to their call. Could that be you, or someone you know?

This next EVT event will provide an opportunity for you to hear from some younger clergy and what it might be like to be under 30 and called to ministry. Whatever your age it is sure to be a formative evening as we Explore Vocations Together.

The evening will be led by Revd Simon Walters, Diocesan Intern Leader and The Rt Revd Anna Eltringham, Bishop of Ripon.

We gather at 7pm and we will finish no later than 9pm. Tea and Coffee will be provided.

Please register your place here.

HR Team update - HR support for clergy and parishes

If you would like to receive our regular HR updates, which will include notifications of legislative changes and for parishes employing staff and updates to our resources, please complete the HR newsletter/updates sign up.

Please find a link here for a copy of the summary of information supplied to those parishes who have signed up for regular updates.

Introducing Cornerstone - July webinars

All parishes are invited to sign up to Cornerstone, a free, online learning platform designed to support you in growing generosity.

Cornerstone uses data from the annual parish returns to help suggest which of the many pathways you could focus on to develop in giving and generosity. Cornerstone includes a large grants database, regularly updated to show opportunities suited for churches. You can find out more about Cornerstone on our website here.

The Stewardship Team are holding two webinars to introduce the platform giving an overview of how everything works, and how your parish can sign up. Please use the links below to register for one of the webinars.

• Tuesday, July 15, 6.30pm - register here.
• Thursday, July 17, 1pm - register here.

Stripe and Give A Little update

From mid-June, the process to sign up to use Stripe alongside Give A Little has changed. This will impact those who have currently got a Stripe account linked to Give A Little. Over the next few months, churches will need to move across to the new Stripe account (by Friday, November 21) in order to keep using this mechanism. This will involve closing your current Stripe and creating a new one, following the guidance found on Parish Buying here.

This change means that churches will be able to use Stripe to take online and contactless donations, with a transaction rate of 1.58%. It will also allow usage of Give A Little Tap to Pay (for Android devices) and the new Give A Little Champion App. You can find out more about this new option for fundraising on the Give A Little website here.

If you are one of the churches impacted by this change, you should have received an email from Parish Buying on Thursday, July 3, outlining the changes and providing a thorough FAQ document. Do read through this email carefully and if you have any questions about it, do get in touch with the Stewardship team at resourcingparishes@leeds.anglican.org.

Diocesan Synod

• Saturday, October 18

General Synod

• Saturday, July 5 to Wednesday, July 9
• Tuesday, November 18 to Thursday, November 20

Great Yorkshire Show: Tuesday, July 8 to Friday, July 11

Season of Creation: Monday, September 1 to Saturday, October 4

First Sunday of Advent: Sunday, November 30

Christmas 2025: Thursday, December 25

Project Lead - St Giles' Pontefract Food Share and Pantry Club

The Parish of St Giles’ with St Mary’s have a very successful and well-established Food Share based on Chequerfield in Pontefract. Due to the retirement of the current project lead, we are now looking for someone to take this role. If you are someone who has a heart to make a difference in the community, and loves to work with like minded volunteers who want to help those in need, we want to hear from you. Find out more about this role here

Mission Apprentices - Bradford Episcopal Area

This role will give you the amazing opportunity to explore more of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and grow as a leader of mission in a local church. For two years we will give you skills that will equip you for life, work, mission and leadership, and the opportunity to use and develop them in a local church setting. It's a two-year long adventure giving you the experience of leadership and service, learning alongside a community of other Mission Apprentices. Find out more about this role here

The Revd Jon Berry, Self-Supporting Minister (SSM) in the parish of Keighley, will serve as Interim Team Vicar (0.5) of Keighley in the Bradford area for a further period of 7 months until Wednesday, December 31, 2025

The Revd Alastair Kirk, Team Vicar (0.5) in the parish of Keighley, will serve as full-time Interim Team Vicar of Keighley in the Bradford area for a further period of 7 months until Wednesday, December 31, 2025

The Revd David Paton-Williams has been appointed as Associate Priest (House for Duty) within the Ripon Cathedral Benefice, responsible for the Parish of Sharow with Copt Hewick and Marton le Moor

The Revd Claire Williams, has been appointed as Anglican Chaplain and Chaplaincy Co-Ordinator for the University of Bradford

The Revd Joanne Hustwick, currently serving as Clerk in Holy Orders, Vicar of the Benefice of Saint Cuthbert Birkby and Saint Philip the Apostle Birchencliffe, in the Huddersfield area, will be resigning on Tuesday, September 30.