Welcome to Enews Events for October 15

What's going on across the diocese and beyond.

Contact communications@leeds.anglican.org with your events. 

Parcevall Hall are running a variety of retreats.

To find out more about them and to book please click here.

Deep and Diverse Prayer Retreat (Friday, October 23 to Sunday, October 25) led by Revd Henriette Howarth, and Revd Paul and Karen Wheelhouse 

If you long to pray more and experience the divine Love more deeply, this retreat is for you. Finding our inspiration in the scriptures and Christian tradition, we will practice different ways of prayer including silence, contemplation and the Ignatian way, with the assistance of music, nature and images. Henriette, Paul and Karen together bring experience from ordained and lay ministry. 

Cost: £198 

Inwardly Digest - Reading Retreat (Friday, November 20 to Sunday, November 22) led by Dr Helen Reid, Director of Parcevall Hall 

This retreat is for people who love reading and talking about books. There will be time to read in quiet and conducive surroundings, as well as to share your thoughts and theological reflections on your reading with others. This is a retreat to experience grace through words at a perfect time of year for staying indoors and reading. 

Cost: £198 

Singing Through Advent Retreat (Monday, November 30 to Thursday, December 3) led by Revd Mike Leigh 

Come for a relaxing time at the beginning of Advent when Mike will lead an exploration of the themes of Advent through music and reflections. During the retreat, there will be teaching, rest, and a chance to sing Advent songs old and new. There will be worship services each day as we prepare for the great festival of Christmas. 

Cost: £315 

Christmas Houseparty and Retreat (Wednesday, December 23 to Sunday, December 27) 

Spend a traditional Christmas in the warm and welcoming surroundings of Parcevall Hall. There will be home-cooked food, traditional games, times for reflection and services in the chapel, all shared in good company to help us truly celebrate Christmas. 

Cost: £460 

Parishes from across the diocese are invited to book a visit to Ripon Cathedral for a Treasures Untold Pilgrimage within the cathedral building for up to 20 people. The pilgrimages will begin with refreshments at 9.30am. There will then be a reflective and prayerful tour around the Cathedral exploring how the historical features of the fabric of the building hep us to express our faith. The pilgrimage will conclude with a Celebration of Holy Communion which will begin at 12pm. The cost of the pilgrimage is £10 per head. All participants will receive a colour brochure of Treasures Untold.

To book please contact governanceofficer@riponcathedral.org.uk.

It may be possible to arrange the Treasures Untold Pilgrimage on other dates to suit. To explore the possibilities please contact Canon Matthew on canonmatthew@riponcathedral.org.uk.

The Revd Sarah Hobbs (ordained Deacon in June 2026) will be asking the Revd Andrew Howorth (nearing retirement) what wisdom he can give her as she picks up the baton of parish ministry. Come and join the conversation.

Tea and coffee will be provided.

Find out more here.

Hear from the Rt Revd Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn, about how we can support others to share the Good News of Jesus.

To find out more and to book please click here.

Discover the rich, uplifting power of live choral music with in a varied concert of a cappella masterpieces from the St Peter's Singers in the historic setting of St Mary's Church, Whitkirk.

Perfect for both long-time classical enthusiasts and anyone curious to experience choral music for the first time, this performance brings together a beautiful mix of secular and sacred pieces. The evening highlights the soaring melodies and poignant harmonies of English and German Romantic traditions, featuring the accessible warmth of Vaughan Williams’ Linden Lea and Stanford’s The Blue Bird, alongside the stirring passion of Brahms and Hubert Parry’s deeply moving Songs of Farewell. Completed by the serene devotions of Bruckner and Déodat de Séverac, this concert offers an inviting and deeply rewarding musical experience for every listener.

Find out more and book here.

This year's Church Action on Poverty Sunday will take place on Sunday 18th October, with a theme of "Food, faith and fellowship".

A record number of churches took part last year, and interested churches are encouraged to register now.

Resource packs will be sent out over the summer, containing bring & share lunch ideas, worship materials, prayer cards, Scriptural reflections, activity sheets, and inspirational stories of churches already doing great work through food. 

To sign up, visit here.

LoveRural is a national gathering for anyone passionate about seeing rural churches and communities flourish.

Hosted by a partnership of denominations and mission agencies, the conference brings together clergy, lay leaders, pioneers, chaplains, church members and rural mission practitioners from across the UK to learn, pray, encourage one another and share practical ideas for mission in the countryside.

Over two inspiring days, delegates will:

• Hear stories and insights from those serving in rural ministry.
• Explore fresh approaches to disciple-making and church planting.
• Connect with others engaged in rural mission across different denominations.
• Be encouraged through worship, prayer and shared learning.

Find out more and sign up here.

A one day guided retreat exploring a familiar bible story from unfamiliar angles. There will be time together, followed by a choice of time to reflect on your own or with others, both inside and around the grounds.

Message Chris at copsterbarn@gmail.com to enquire about booking, or find out more here.

Difference and diversity abound, and yet we all experience pressure to conform to a non-existent ‘normal’. Having spent many years hiding from his own physical and neurological differences Craig has come to see difference as something to be celebrated and affirmed. Craig will be sharing something of his own journey, alongside insights from the life of Jesus and reflections on the writings of Paul. There will also be plenty of opportunity to reflect and bring your questions to the whole group. Craig Millward is an ordained Baptist minister, a practical theologian and an associate of the Northumbrian Collective.

Find out more and sign up here.

Following a fabulous weekend back in July, another opportunity to join together with other women in meeting with God in the riotous beauty of his creation, through activities such as archery, star gazing, pyrography, sun printing, walking, landscape art.

We hope to be outside as much as possible, sharing stories, talking of faith, reflecting on Scripture, singing, laughing, eating and drinking around a woodland fire.

Take some time for yourself, find space to breathe.

Some activities will require a reasonable level of fitness, but all will be optional.

Led by Annie Naish, Ruth Meyer & the Scargill Community.

Find out more and sign up here.

We are delighted to invite the Revd Emma Walters to deliver October’s Seminar on forgiveness.

Emma is a local member of clergy, based at St Mark’s, who is studying forgiveness as a part of her MA in Theology.

Find out more and sign up here.

Spend a day exploring the Enneagram - a transformational personality tool that helps you identify and observe your instinctive and unconscious patterns of behaviour and offers a compassionate path towards personal growth.

Message Chris at copsterbarn@gmail.com to enquire about booking, or find out more here.

When a baby is lost, whether during pregnancy, at birth or in infancy, it is a devastating experience for the parents and the extended family.

The Saying Goodbye services are the first international set of remembrance services, for people who have suffered the loss of a baby at any stage, and whether that be recently or decades ago. They provide a time and place to acknowledge and remember your baby, whilst collectively "saying goodbye'.

The services are for people of any faith or no faith, are free to attend, no tickets need to be booked, and people are invited to bring family, friends and children with them.

Techno Mass, is a Eucharistic Service, but instead of traditional hymns, there will be Christian Techno Music, predominantly from Padre Guilherme, the Pope's official DJ.

It will be a celebration of music, dance and the Eucharist.

A charity fundraising exhibition of icon paintings from Ukraine, to bring humanitarian aid to those affected by the war in Ukraine. Free entry and donations welcome.

The challenge of the Great Commission is that we are supposed to "Make Disciples" but that is so much easier said than done. So why not come with your staff / key volunteers or others invested in deepending the life of faith in your church to a day of input where we will be exploring what it means to make disciples? With inspiring teaching from practitioners, we'll explore what it means to be a leader who leads in such a way that discipleship happens. 

• What does discipleship really mean?
• How can we make disciples that make disciples?
• How can we lead churches that go deeper to go wider? 

Expect kingdom-centred teaching, honest stories from the frontlines of leadership, and fresh perspective for the road ahead. You'll walk away encouraged in your faith, with some practical tools to apply, and fuel in the tank — ready to lead your church family into all God is calling them to.

Find out more and book here.

We'll celebrate the positive impact of opening our homes and building connections across different cultures, faiths and experiences. You will hear first-hand from Rachel, a host of more than ten years, and have the opportunity to ask questions about what hosting is really like.

Register here.

A retreat for people aged 18 -35 at Scargill House.

Relaxed worship, great food, space to be still, honest conversation board games and log fires.

Come expectant, leave strengthened in what it means to be a follower of Jesus in our complex world.

Find out more and sign up here.

The Oasis of Silence programme at St Hilda´s Priory offers space and stillness to seek God with loving awareness in the present moment. It offers a variety of opportunities to make retreats of different lengths in a peaceful and welcoming environment, away from our busy everyday lives.

It is for everyone seeking stillness and silence and who is interested in getting to know or to deepening the practice of contemplative prayer.

Find out more here.

St Hild is offering three short courses, in person or online, starting in September 2026 or January 2027. Click the links in the course title for more information and/or to register:

• Mission & Ministry in an Urban Context - six sessions in Sheffield at STC on Mondays, 1.45pm - 4.30pm, starting in October.
• Rural Mission and Ministry - 10 sessions online or a hybrid option in Lincoln, 6.30pm - 9 pm on Thursdays starting January 2027.  

For more information, please click here.

We are seeking volunteer Records Officers to support parishes across the Diocese by advising on the care, storage and archiving of parish records. This is a rewarding volunteer opportunity to use your organisational skills and attention to detail while contributing to the preservation of the Church's rich history. Find out more about this role here

Please contact the Communications Team with your news and events for future editions. The next edition of Enews will be sent out on October 29, and the next edition of Enews Events will be sent out on November 12. Please send stories and events to communications@leeds.anglican.org. Many thanks!