Welcome to the Enews for October 3

The latest resources, news and more.

Click on headlines or pictures for more details.  

Contact enews@leeds.anglican.org with your news. 

Fountains Church Bradford have completed the final phase of their building project, and celebrated with an evening sharing their space and story with the city and district of Bradford. Some 70 civic leaders, community representatives and other church leaders gathered in Fountains’ newly completed upper auditorium on the evening of Thursday, September 26, where they heard of the vision of Fountains Church and the journey the team have been on to get to this point. Read more here

Last week the diocese was pleased to welcome the Rt Revd George Okoth, Bishop of Mara in Tanzania, and his wife Janet for a visit to explore and solidify our links with the region. They arrived on Tuesday, September 24, and in the afternoon visited Christ Church Academy, Huddersfield. Read more here

The Diocese of Leeds is pleased to br commissioning a new Rural Change Enabler, who will be helping parishes and the wider diocese think about new ways of doing ministry in our rural areas. The Revd Caroline Pinchbeck will be the Interim Vicar in the Benefice of Aldbrough St John, Forcett and Melsonby, in our Ripon area, and will also be taking on the half time post of Rural Change Enabler. Read more here

In a month which celebrates the contributions of black people to British society, Huddersfield’s own internationally-acclaimed rapper, performance poet and playwright Testament has created two short films which are being promoted by the Church of England as part of their resources for Black History Month. These monologues encourage individuals and congregations to explore identity and sense of belonging. Read more here

A five hour music event to celebrate a new outdoor performance space beside Huddersfield Parish Church was a great hit last weekend. Ever-popular Huddersfield rock band Storm headlined at the new St Peter’s Performance Space in an evening that also featured musicians from Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra, Hade Ede Brass Band, and youngsters from Huddersfield’s Stagecoach. Read more here

Royal School of Church Music bronze, silver, and gold awards were recently presented to 10 choristers at Wakefield Cathedral. The awards were presented at a service of choral evensong on Sunday, September 22, by the Very Revd Simon Cowling, Dean of Wakefield, and the Rt Revd Smitha Prasadam, Bishop of Huddersfield. Read more here

The Diocese of Leeds is pleased to be offering five grants of up to £250 to help those who work with children and young people attend the National Youth Ministry Weekend. These matched-funded grants will help cover volunteer or paid worker expenses, and are available alongside five free tickets to the conference that have been provided by the Growing Faith Foundation, Vision & Strategy and Ministry Development teams. Read more here

Our Children, Young People and Families team were please to run an event with Engage Worship looking at how churches can worship all together using their whole space. ‘Whole Church and Outdoor Worship’ took place on Saturday, September 21, at St Stephen’s West Bowling in Bradford. Read more here

One of our Bradford area churches recently baptised 13 Christians in the River Wharfe. The 12 adults and one child from St John’s Bowling made the trip from Bowling to Burnsall with friends, family and supporters on Saturday, September 14. Read more here

Christian and Muslim women from across the diocese met in Chapel-le-Dale recently to focus on different ways of healing. It was the eighth time a weekend residential of this kind had been held, developing conversation and trust between Christian woman from the Ripon area of the diocese and Muslim women from Bradford, Keighley and Dewsbury. Read more here

Harrogate School of Theology and Mission are pleased to offer a new autumn programme of lectures, with speakers including Dr David Moffit, the Revd Dr Alan Garrow, the Rt Revd Arun Arora, Bishop of Leeds, and more. All lectures are offered in person, at St Mark’s Harrogate, starting promptly at 10am, but preceded by breakfast. The lectures are also available by live-stream (on Zoom) but you’ll have to make your own breakfast!

Find out more and book here.

A fantastic opportunity to take time out to think more deeply about God’s call on your life, with time and space in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. Is Vocation just something for ministers, monks and missionaries? How do we discover God’s purpose for our lives? What does the Bible have to say? Can we take the stories of the great Bible characters and apply them to our situation? Over the weekend, we’ll try to get some answers to these vital questions.

We’ll be led by Derek Walmsley, who was the Director of Ordinands and Vocations for the Diocese of Leeds.

Find out more here.

Hosted by Count Everyone In. Equipping churches in key word signing to be welcoming and accessible to adults with learning disabilities so that they can know Jesus and grow in their faith. Advance booking is essential as places are limited – £35 per person (bring your own lunch).

Find out more here.

A full day workshop exploring what we mean by silence and meditation with Dr Alison Woolley. Do you sometimes feel too busy and stretched too thin? Have you run out of words or given up trying to pray? Does your heart yearn for a deeper encounter with God, but feel abandoned when God seems silent or out of reach? If so, this experiential workshop may be for you! Cost: £17 - more details and booking information here.

Are you searching for peace and a deeper stillness in your life? Find out how meditation was rediscovered within the Christian tradition as a form of contemplative prayer and how it is practiced today by many Christians around the world. Each session will have a time of meditation.

Click here to find out more.

The topic is 'Helping Rural Churches Thrive'. Includes Holy Communion. Please RSVP governanceofficer@riponcathedral.org.uk by Friday, November 1 with any dietary requirements.

Now is the time to start exploring a vocation to Lay Ministry with your incumbent, your Episcopal Area Warden of Readers and/or the diocesan Vocations Team. 

Expressions of interest are invited for LLM training with a start date of September 2025.

Eligibility criteria, discernment information and details of the application process together with an Expression of Interest form have been sent to all incumbents, chaplaincy team leaders, PCC Secretaries and Churchwardens in September 2024. A reminder will be sent in early January 2025. The deadline for an expression of interest is Monday, March 3, 2025. 

Application/sponsor/referee forms are only sent out after an expression of interest has been received.

Click here to find out more.

If you require any specific help or information, please contact the Ministerial Development Administrator at shuna.hartley@leeds.anglican.org.

Ever wondered what theology means and how to study it? Need some guidance on how to dig a bit deeper? Don’t know where to start? This free and updated course is for you! Don’t miss out - sign up now for a March start.

Introduction to Theology (ITT): A 12-session journey looking at the Christian faith, thinking about your own faith journey and developing theological skills. This is a great place to start when considering where God is calling you. Attending this course is a pre-requirement for Licensed Lay Ministry training in the diocese of Leeds and is also useful for those considering any of our other Lay Ministry pathways.

Click here to find out more.

Booking deadline is Sunday, March 9, 2025.

If you require any specific help or information, please contact the Ministerial Development Administrator at shuna.hartley@leeds.anglican.org.

A series of five lectures at St.Cuthberts Church, Pateley Bridge, HG3 on Wednesday evenings at 6.30 for 7.00pm between September and January.

• The Problem of Evil - Wednesday, October 16, 2024
• Religious Experience - Wednesday, November 13, 2024
• Faith and Reason - Wednesday, December 11, 2024
• What is Christianity? - Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Whilst booking is not essential, due to high demand it would help if anyone who wants to attend could advise the Revd Darry Hall on horlix@aol.com.

Join us for an evening of singing - some favourite hymns with a few new songs thrown in! Music by local band Rufus Garside.

Admission free of charge on the door. Coffee, tea and cake will be served. Open to everyone!

Join us at St John's to hear local musicians of all ages making music for local people.

£5 per adult including refreshments. Children go free.

Tickets from the Parish Office:email office@stjohnmenston.org.uk, text 07440289248, or or leave a message at 01943 872433.

In aid of church funds.

This day will invite you to focus on a sculpture and see if you can relate it to a Bible theme or passage to create prayers. There will be 12 bronze sculptures to choose from. To book, please contact Fiona Hill on fiona@stbedes.org.uk.

The Friends of All Saints’ Ch urch, Kirkby Overblow present Ko's Magnificent Music. Come and listen to classic vinyl tracks played on amazing vintage sound equipment.

A show over two evenings in All Saints’ Church, Kirkby Overblow.

On Thursday, October 24 there is a Come and Listen Night, the opportunity to sit back and listen to Pink Floyd’s Masterpiece - Dark Side Of The Moon, from a rare ‘Master Pressing’! And the classic Genesis Studio Album – Foxtrot and some of their other hits. All introduced by Graham Chalmers of the Harrogate Advertiser.

Bar opens at 7.00pm . The Music starts at 7.30.

On Friday, October 25 there is a Social Evening, where all the music will be selected by you! Bring your favourite vinyl records and we will have a Juke Box Raffle!

Your DJ for the evening is our very own Lindsay McKenzie

Bar opens at 7.00pm with the show starting at 7.30.

Tickets are £12.50 per evening or £20.00 for both evenings.

To buy tickets please click here.

The events will be supporting: St Michael’s Hospice, Harrogate Community Radio and Friends.

Are we making disciples here?

As church leaders, we can be so busy worrying about the ABCs (attendance, buildings, and cash) that we lose sight of our main purpose: making disciples of Jesus. If that sounds familiar and you’d like to reinvigorate your disciplemaking ministry, this day is for you and your team. Discover what LICC has learnt about how to create a whole-life disciplemaking culture, and use our major new resource, Vital Signs, to put that wisdom into practice in your particular church.

‘Whole-life disciplemaking’ means equipping Christians to join in with what God’s doing in every part of their lives – at work, at home, in hobbies, pubs, clubs, and beyond. Because his mission goes far beyond our church-organised programmes, into the whole world. And so do our people. Vital Signs identifies 20 key ways you can put that kind of discipleship at the heart of your church culture.

The day will be led by LICC’s Ken Benjamin, former President of Baptists Together and author of the Vital Signs book, and Vaughan Pollard an Associate Speaker for LICC. Between them, they have decades of experience of both leading whole-life disciplemaking churches and equipping leaders to do the same.

Designed for anyone in any kind of church leadership, this day will be filled with practical advice, biblical insights, and opportunities to discuss with peers from other churches. It’s the perfect way to get equipped and inspired for whole-life ministry. Together, we will:

• Explore the biblical vision for whole-life disciplemaking
• Share principles and processes to make whole-life discipleship possible
• Introduce the 20 vital signs as a practical way to embed whole-life discipleship
• Show you how to make the most of the Vital Signs resources in your own context

Click here to find out more.

Join us for the 36th Joseph Winter Memorial Lecture, part of a long-standing tradition of distinguished speakers engaging with the ecumenical community. Everyone is warmly invited to attend.

For further details, contact Deacon Ronnie Aitchison. Phone: 07940 110793

Email: ronnie@raitchison.co.uk

Annual Subscriptions will be due & payable on this day. Please bring your own lunch. Everyone is welcome!

Please bring your own robes. New members can be admitted during the Eucharist Service.

If you need any further information, please contact

Chapter Secretary: Sue Middleditch

T: 0113 2643946 M: 07976 209127

E: middleditch@live.com

An invitation to enjoy singing wonderful traditional choral music in beautiful St Margaret's Church. Rehearsal at 3pm; refreshments at 4.15pm; evensong at 5pm. To book your place, contact Christopher Rathbone on saintmargaretschoirs@gmail.com, by Sunday, November 10. No experience needed!

With Philip Wilby on the organ. Highlights will include Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and popular organ favourites.

Entry £5 Donation (Children Free)

Proceeds in aid of Holy Trinity Church, Dacre Banks.

The Bishop of Leeds is looking for a gifted and experienced priest to join the leadership team of this unique diocese. Now ten years old, and still working at creating a new shape for the Church of England in this part of Yorkshire, this post demands an ability to work 'what is' while creating 'what might be'. An ability to pay attention to detail whilst holding the big picture is essential, especially as we face the challenges of the next few years. Find out more about this role here

The Chapter of Bradford Cathedral seeks a musician of the highest calibre and commitment to contribute to the fulfilment of the Cathedral’s vision through the activities of the Music Department. They will be an accomplished liturgical musician, an organist and choir trainer, who is willing to offer themselves to work with the resources available, and to experiment with new material and ideas to achieve the aims of our vision. The Music Department’s programme is ambitious, with projects including recording with the Black Dyke Band planned, and at least one choir tour each year. Find out more about this role here

Every Good Work is a project growing new young disciples across the city of Wakefield. The Project involves the Diocese of Leeds is working in partnership with three local churches who have a strong track record of serving their local communities. National funding has been made available for them to work together with other local partners to engage with young people in schools and other settings, to work with them in developing social justice projects, and to develop new worshipping communities that are shaped by and ultimately led by young people. It is intended that over 200 young new disciples will be involved in these new worshipping communities by 2028. In the first year of the project we have already connected with over a thousand young people. St George's are seeking a youth worker who will help them deliver this vision alongside committed church leaders and a broader support team. The youth worker will be based at a St George’s Church, Lupset and will work with the team to develop and deliver the project over five years. Find out more about this role here

Please contact the Communications Team with your news for future editions. The Enews is published twice a month. The next edition will be sent out on October 17. All news stories to communications@leeds.anglican.org. Many thanks!