There will be an Ascension Day service on Thursday 26th May at 7pm at St. James’ Church.
Articles by Alison Whiteley
Jubilee celebrations
The Big Village Plan for Sunday 5th June
The community day for the Jubilee
In the Village
Scarecrow Festival.
Makers/Farmers Market Bus Turning Circle 8 am to 2 pm.
Robert Ashton Park.
Party/ Picnic in the park. 10 to 4 pm.
To include in the park, trade / charity/community stalls.
Coffee (Bewdleys), Bar 3 Fiends, Ice Cream van poss. community led sports eg tug of war. Meltham Band 1.15 to 14.00.
The Parish’s role within this
St. James’ Church open all day toilets and a quiet space.
Parish providing family games eg big Jenga, Giant Snakes and Ladders plus we will aim to make some e.g. Tin Can Alley, Beat the Bell, Splat the Rat. Other ideas welcome.
Selling Hot Dogs.
Encourage people to write their prayers on red, white and blue strips of paper which will then be clipped together to make a prayer paper chain for the Jubilee service.
Encourage children to either bring or draw at the time A4 Royal/Queen pictures these will be displayed in church.
Fall back plan if day is rained off: St James’ will be open from 10 to 4 for tea coffee cakes etc plus indoor craft type activities for children.
4pm St James’ team will run a Family Jubilee Celebration service.
About 30 minutes.
People encouraged to wear red, white and blue. Children encouraged to wear home -made crowns etc.
No morning service at St. James’.
Help we need from now .
Please give your names and what you can offer to Mike.
Collect your tin cans labels off washed out. For tin can alley. Need at least 60. Need to be bake bean type cans not aluminum drink cans.
Help to make games paint signs posters etc.
We need about 100 small boxes / cans etc. wrapped with Queen type jobs stuck to them.
2 adult sized crowns made.
Saturday morning 4th June.
Help to decorate church/ bunting etc. Help to plan. Set up some dry runs so we know what we are doing on Sunday morning. (iron out problems etc)
Sunday 5th June.
From 8 am help to set up.
From 10.00 through day:
- People to be in church.
- Help with cooking hot dogs
- Encouraging use of games.
- Encouraging children to do drawings to display in church.
- Encourage people to write prayers on ribbon paper.
- Most of all to be friendly and talk to people inviting them to Jubilee service.
- 5 PM help to clear up.
Quiet Garden
My husband (Colin) and I are Christians. We live in Meltham and worship at Milnsbridge Baptist Church. We would like to let you know about our garden, which is affiliated to the Quiet Garden Movement (Home – Quiet Garden Movement), which helps organisations and individuals to offer a space for prayer and peace. Our garden (Riverside) is available, by appointment, to adults, and to children over the age of 11 if they are supervised. We are now open again after the winter. Riverside is a quiet space for anyone who’d like somewhere to sit, relax and/ or reflect, either by themselves or as part of a small group. We also welcome groups who would like to have their own lead activity.
Painted stones (bible verses) and beaded butterflies have been put in various corners of the garden. They can be used as an aid to thinking, or as a fun project (try to find all eight butterflies or all the elements of the fruit of the Spirit).
The house will be open for toilets and for shelter if it rains (essential in Yorkshire!) and there will be refreshments and some Christian Bible text colouring books available there as well.
We have completed a Risk Assessment and both this and our Safeguarding Policy can be viewed on request.
I have put a couple of links about our garden below.
In Christ
Jane Weaver
Riverside Garden, Meltham
Riverside Garden | Facebook
Riverside – Quiet Garden Movement
Churchyard Working Party
Holy Week
Reminder
National Prayer Vigil – Tues 1st March 6pm @ St Bartholomew’s – Meltham
In line with the request from the Archbishops to hold a national prayer vigil, St. Bartholomew’s in Meltham will be open at 6pm on Tuesday 1st March.
It follows a call from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to set aside this Sunday as a day of prayer.
The Church of England has made prayer resources available online.
On Thursday, both Archbishops issued a pastoral letter to the clergy and people of the Church of England, calling on them to pray for peace in Ukraine.
They wrote: “This attack is an act of evil, imperilling as it does the relative peace and security that Europe has enjoyed for so long.
“The attack by one nation on a free, democratic country has rightly provoked outrage, sanctions, and condemnation.
“We lament with the people of Ukraine, and we pray for the innocent, the frightened and those who have lost loved ones, homes, and family.
“We continue to call for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces as well as wide-ranging efforts to ensure peace, stability and security.”
The Church of England’s Bishop in Europe, Robert Innes, has also recorded a message urging people to pray.
In a video he recorded in Brussels, Bishop Robert spoke of the Church of England congregation of Christ Church, Kyiv, Ukraine.
“Our little church in Kyiv are right at the centre of this crisis,” he explained.
“Some of them have fled the city by car, others are still there.
“These are our people, our brothers and sisters, and of course we are very concerned for their wellbeing and safety.
“In the face of military action and aggression, we feel powerless. What can we do? One thing that we can all do is pray.”
