Operation Christmas Child are holding a quiz night and supper on Friday 9 June, 7pm, at St. James Church Meltham Mills.
Please contact Judith Powell to reserve your ticket and pay on the night.
Tickets £7.50 includes supper and glass of wine or juice
Please contact Judith Powell 01484 859460
judithandpaul@ntlworld.com
CHURCH OPEN PLEASE HOLD THE PEOPLE OF MANCHESTER IN YOUR PRAYERS.
Manchester terror attack
Posted by Bishop Nick Baines
Yesterday my dad was 86 years old. Today at least 22 families will wake up to a world in which their own children will have found their life ended young. The loss can only be indescribable. Life will never be the same again; the sense of injustice will not be comprehended.
The cowardice of the perpetrator is striking. Isn’t it brave and principled to target unwitting children and young people?
The emergency services, along with ordinary people who responded heroically, represent the best of a society that refuses to regard such events as ‘normal’. It is shocking, a crime and a sin beyond words.
The words that haunt me come from a poem written three thousand years ago:
How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? (Psalm 13:2)
The depths of human perversion are evident. My prayer is that those whose lives have been torn apart by this atrocity will be drawn by a profound hope and not devastated by fear.
May the crucified and risen One shine light into this darkness and bring some peace.
So much has been achieved since the Diocese of Leeds was created just two and a half years ago. Bringing together three very different dioceses was a hugely complex procedure, but we are all now part of a large, coherent body, whose benefits are being increasingly revealed.
The bishops and archdeacons are working closely with their areas, and the combined spiritual wealth of 656 churches, over 240 church schools and three cathedrals has brought increased creative energy.
We now have a central office in Leeds (complete with a charitable coffee shop that’s open to all), a new parish share system, new governance and further delegation of authority from the diocesan bishop to the area bishops.
Some of the challenges we face include: getting the right balance between one diocese and the five episcopal areas, tackling the anticipated fall in clergy numbers, growing our churches and maintaining parish share. And it remains vital to reach children and young people with the Gospel in order to build future generations of strong Christians.
At the heart of all we do are the values captured in our diocesan strap line, ‘Loving, Living and Learning‘.
It’s a useful list to check against everything we do. What does that mean for you and your church?
+Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds
Loving, Living, Learning
We aim to:
Love God, the world and one another.
Live in the world as it is, but, drawn by a vision of something better,
we want to help individuals and communities flourish.
Learn when we get things wrong, by listening and growing together.
As in previous years our four Churches of the Parish of Christ the King have all had their own Paschal Candle (Easter Candle).
Traditionally in the Church the Paschal Candle is painted with a cross, the Alpha and Omega, the year of that Easter celebration and a symbol of the resurrection.
Again we would like to invite anyone who would like to have a go and paint their own Churches candle for 2017 to get in contact with either Revd Maureen or Revd Charlene for further details.
Painting the Paschal Candle is a good Lenten practice where the artist has scope to create something that is both beautiful and symbolic for the coming year.
Many blessings Charlene.
THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION (CONFESSION)
will be available in the morning of Ash Wednesday 10.30am -12.30pm
and the afternoon of Good Friday 2.00pm-3.30pm
at St Bartholomew’s Church Meltham.
I will also be available throughout Lent
for you to either make your confession at a convenient time
or if you would prefer to deepen your understanding of this sacrament
then please do come and talk with me.
God’s Blessing:
Revd Charlene: 01484 851334, charlene.smith1979@gmail.com
