Welcome to the Enews for February 8

The latest resources, news and more.

Click on headlines or pictures for more details.  

Contact [email protected] with your news. 

Racial Justice Sunday on February 11 is for all churches to reflect and give thanks for the gifts and beauty of human diversity, and to commit to end racism and acts of discrimination, says Bishop Smitha. In a videoed invitation to join in this ecumenical event, The Rt Revd Smitha Prasadam, Bishop of Huddersfield explains: “Justice is at the heart of God and a Kingdom value we're all called to embrace." Read more here

Our bishops will be leading retreats across the diocese this Lent as part of our Rhythm of Life initiative, helping us to pray, reflect and learn together in the season. Five retreats are happening in different areas in the diocese, including in Bradford, Ripon, Mirfield, Dewsbury and Leeds. Read more here

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell joined in conversations at Wakefield Cathedral with the local business community during a special visit to the Episcopal Area. Archbishop Stephen started his visit by taking part the monthly breakfast meeting for Wakefield’s business and community leaders, which is hosted by the Rt Revd Tony Robinson, Bishop of Wakefield. Read more here

The Diocese of Leeds has opened its first funding round of our Diocesan Church Buildings Grant Scheme. This funding aims to support churches with maintaining and improving their church buildings as vital centres of worship, community, and mission. Read more here

A service of Thanksgiving for the life and ministry of the Rt Revd Colin Buchanan, Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Leeds, was held at Bradford Cathedral on Saturday, January 27. The service was led by the Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines. Read more here

Halifax Minster has launched a new annual, outward-facing Festival of Faith in a bid to make the traditional festival of Lent as accessible to as many people as possible. The new festival will run from Ash Wednesday through to Easter Day and include a wide variety of genres including film, live music, concerts and visiting preachers in conversation and poetry as well as the traditional scripture, services and prayers. Read more here

One of our churches with a thriving congregation from Hong Kong is helping run the first ever Lunar New Year market to be held at Leeds Minster. All are welcome to the celebration of Chinese and Hong Kong culture on Saturday, February 10 from 11am to 2.30pm, said Dave Ho Young, vicar of St Barnabas, Alwoodley. Read more here

It is with great sadness that the death of the Rt Revd David Smith, former Bishop of Bradford, has been announced. Born in Hertfordshire in 1935, he was ordained in 1959 and served the former Diocese of Bradford from 1992 until his retirement in 2002, when he was succeeded by Bishop David James. Read more here

“50 Faces of the Holy Land” is a photographic exhibition that focuses on the history, diversity, joy and suffering of that region and which will be at Wakefield Cathedral from Friday. Each face tells a story in the special project by Marcin Mazur, which was commissioned by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales and aims to highlight and promote the lives of the faithful in Israel, Gaza and Palestine. Read more here

Seedbed - online training delivered by key practitioners for lay people exploring church planting or resourcing mission.

Church Planting Track - for starting new Christian communities. Delivered weekly on Thursday evenings online. Starts at the end of January 2024, costs £85 for 24 sessions.

Resourcing Mission Track - for leading mission in the church. Delivered monthly on Saturday mornings online. Starts at the beginning of February 2024, costs £70 for 9 sessions. 

Our vision is to equip a thousand leaders to play their part in church planting and resourcing mission. Is God calling you? 

For more information or to register for this online course, find out more here.

During the 50 days from Easter to Pentecost, you can subscribe to receive a daily devotion to help mark the 10^th Anniversary of the Diocese. Each day a reflection, written by a different member of our diocese, will be emailed to you. As we journey through the Book of Acts, every reflection will be linked to one of the areas of focus in our Rhythm of Life initiative: encourage, share, create, pray, rest, celebrate, reflect. There will also be ideas for activities and links to good news stories.

To sign up, click here. For more on the Rhythm of Life initiative, click here.

What does it look like to invest in an intern over a year? What would the church need to commit to? How do we find interns? Come and find out about the Diocesan Internship programme, how we can support you with finding and recruiting potential interns and hear stories

of different interns' journeys. To join the conversation and for a Zoom link, please email [email protected].

A time to pause and reflect on the rhythms of our lives. Each retreat will be led/hosted by one of our Area Bishops.

• Bradford EA – Saturday, February 17, 10am - 1pm (Bradford Cathedral)
• Ripon EA – Saturday, February 24, 10am - 2pm (Ripon Cathedral)
• Huddersfield EA – Saturday, March 2, 10am - 1pm (Dewsbury Minster)
• Wakefield EA – Saturday, March 9, 10am - 3pm (Community of the Resurrection, Mirfield)
• Leeds EA – Saturday, March 9, 10am - 3pm (Leeds Minster)

Please click on the individual events in the listing here for further details and booking information.

With the help of Scripture and other sources of inspiration, we journey deeper into Lent to follow Jesus on the way to the cross. This session offers an opportunity to reflect, pray and practice christian meditation. Find out more here.

A day for anyone aged 18 to 30 considering ministry in the Church of England. There will be time for worship, prayer and Bible study; an opportunity to find out what being ordained is really like – its highs and lows; space to look at your own experience and what God might be calling you to in the future; and the chance to discover how the selection process and ordination training programmes work. Find out more here.

The Invitation Pack documents may be downloaded here (scroll down the page to the 'Taking this further' box). The deadline for initial enquiry forms is Friday, March 1, 2024. The application pack will only be sent out after your initial enquiry form has been received – so the earlier you express your interest, the earlier you will get the application pack. Expressing interest via the Initial Enquiry form does not commit you to applying.

More details and the Application Timeline can be found here from which the initial enquiry form for 2024 may be downloaded (scroll down to the Taking this further box).

A 12 session journey looking at the Christian faith, your own faith journey and developing theological skills. All students will be encouraged to create a portfolio showcasing their new skills. Attending an ITT course is a pre-requirement for Licensed Lay Ministry training. Potential LLM candidates need to submit a complete portfolio for review by Friday, June 21, 2024. This date is compatible with applying to start LLM training in September 2024. If you are successful at a selection interview for LLM training, a conditional place will be offered subject to a review of your portfolio. 

Further information and the booking link can be found here: Summer 2024

The intention of this retreat is to respond to Jesus’ invitation: ‘Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ There will be space to rest and to receive from God, and opportunities to be nurtured by Scripture, other spiritual resources and prayer. The retreat will spiritually nurture those who need a short break from the busyness and stresses of life. Led by Henriette Howarth. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Find out more here.

The historic churchyard will have a wonderful natural display of snowdrops for people to enjoy, as well as stalls and refreshments.

Come and enjoy the snowdrops at St Helen’s Denton, with refreshments in the morning. All are most welcome!

Whose Line is it Anyway meets Coronation Street in a ridiculous night of comedy improvisation. Join Yorkshire’s own Fool(ish) as they take your suggestions and cobble together a sensationally shambolic show inspired by you - our audience. Fool(ish) are Yorkshire based improvisers trained by some of Chicago’s best teachers. They will be coming to Bradford to bring a flavour of American long-form comedy with a uniquely Yorkshire twist. So, help us handcraft some joyful nonsense by offering your ideas... Let's see what we can create together. Tickets from here or the church (£5).

There is to be a Snowdrop Walk near Bedale around Hornby Castle, with tea & cake at St Mary's Church. Parking is available at Hornby Castle the cost for adults is £5, and children go free.

Contemplation and creativity for all! Including indoor and outdoor: mindful activities, treasure hunt, friendship and fun, refreshments. To book, please call 07428 155738. Click here to find out more.

Come and join a friendly, ecumenical Lent course, based on the book 'How to Hear God' by Pete Grieg. More details and booking information can be found here. If you require any specific help or information, please do contact us at [email protected].

Please bring your own lunch. Everyone is welcome. Please bring your own robes. New members will be most welcome. Please let us know if you wish to be admitted at any of these services. If you need any further information, please contact Secretary Sue Middleditch on 0113 2643946 or 07976 209127, or [email protected].

A half-day event to raise awareness of Modern Slavery in its various forms, to give you confidence to spot the signs and know what action to take and what further training and resources are available to support you and your colleagues. Free - lunch will be served at the end of the event. Please book your place here.

Lunch will be provided. Everyone is welcome. Please bring your own robes. New members will be most welcome. Please let us know if you wish to be admitted at any of these services. If you need any further information, please contact Secretary Sue Middleditch on 0113 2643946 or 07976 209127, or [email protected].

When Jesus calls us to follow him, he is inviting us into a lifelong journey of transformation and renewal. How are we living that out as disciples of Christ? On Fire Mission is inviting you to come as you are and join us at OFM onsite 2024 for a time away to recharge, to discover fresh perspectives and insights, and to become part of a Spirit-filled, creative, sacramental community; equipping Christians to become agents of renewal in their local context. We will be joined by a host of great contributors, from across the OFM network and beyond, offering great teaching, inspiring workshops, dynamic worship and much more. Find out more here

As we talk about Parish Share in 2024, hear a message from Bishop Nick giving a big thank you to all those who give their money generously, individually and through their parishes, which pays the Parish Share.

Watch the video here.

Hear from the Rt Revd Smith Prasadam, Bishop of Huddersfield and chair of the Anglican Minority Ethnic Network (AMEN), as she asks churches to take part in Racial Justice Sunday, which takes place on Sunday, February 11.

Watch the video here.

We are looking for a gifted, experienced and skilled coordinator to take an operational and administrative lead on the new project Every Good Work: Reaching Children, Youth and Young Adults in Wakefield. The project coordinator will be based at St Catherine’s Belle Vue and will work across all three churches and with a variety of other stakeholders including local schools. The post is critical to enable the growth of the project and facilitate the delivery of its vision to develop young disciples in the city of Wakefield. The post holder will be expected to provide creative and strategic insight, problem solving skills and information tracking for the project. Find out more about this role here

We are looking for someone to become the new Chair of the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches (DAC). The Chair will be joining at a moment where the diocese is working to drive forward Barnabas: Encouraging Confidence, its vehicle to support churches to move forward in mission, ministry and sustainability. Ensuring the DAC aligns with this will be central in the coming period. 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 February 22. Area news stories to [email protected]