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Pancake Tuesday – after school PARTY!

Join us for an after school PANCAKE PARTY at #Meltham Church Hall on Shrove Tuesday.

Everybody welcome to come along to help make, share and eat your pancake creations – and it’s all for free!

Pop in on Tuesday 4th March 2025 – 3:30pm to 5pm.

CHILDREN MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT (so they can join in the fun too!)

What will you have on yours?

Reminder

‘Oasis’ Quiet Day

Thursday 13th February

St. James’ Church (the one by the park)

Coffee available from 10.00am with the day beginning at 10.30am.

Please bring a packed lunch if you wish to stay all day.

There will be a short service of Holy Communion in the afternoon.

Everyone is very welcome to spend the amount of time as suits their day for taking the opportunity to rest, restore and refresh.

50TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION – Saturday 1st MARCH

Wishing our Vicar Rev’d John a very Happy 5️⃣0️⃣th Birthday today!

MANY HAPPY RETURNS JOHN🎉🥳🍾🎁🎈🍻🥂. HOPE YOU’RE HAVING A GREAT DAY!

As our Vicar and Organist have now officially reached a half century each, to celebrate this milestone of 100 years between them, we decided it would be a good excuse to have a joint 50/50 celebration for everyone to join together, have a good time and celebrate with them! It’d be rude not to! So………………………

EVERYONE IS INVITED TO THE
50/50
PARISH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

featuring
THE VICAR & THE ORGANIST
an excuse to celebrate their recent milestone birthdays – it’d be rude not to!

A FUN NIGHT FOR ALL AGES WITH QUIZ, GAMES & PIANO SING-ALONG!
SATURDAY 1ST MARCH – 5PM onwards
at the CHURCH HALL

BRING & SHARE BUFFET
Soft & Hot drinks provided but you’re welcome to bring your own favourite tipple.


NO PRESENTS PLEASE – JUST YOUR PRESENCE!

Everyone welcome. Please spread the word to others in your congregations as not everyone gets these emails. 🤗


New online group meeting: “The God Story” – Encounter the unfailing love of God in the unfolding narrative of scripture.

You’re invited to join us online via Zoom for a new group meeting where we shall study “The God Story” together. We shall meet together each Thursday at 8pm starting this week on 6th February. Don’t worry if you can’t join the first session, or make it every week – please join in when you can. ALL WELCOME!

Please join the meeting a couple of minutes before 8pm if you can.
Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87010239073?pwd=REpiVmV3VVV5L0ltU1ZLMGlGYmJrZz09 
Meeting ID: 870 1023 9073 Passcode: 639384

About the book: Encounter the unfailing love of God in the unfolding narrative of scripture.

Each one of our lives is a unique and unrepeatable creation. Each one of our stories is precious and worthy of being told, shared and experienced. Yet none of our stories make sense in isolation, disconnected from a wider plot. Our personal stories only truly find meaning when they are linked to the very source of our lives and the unfolding drama into which we were born.

The God Story is a compelling and creative retelling of the biblical story, looking at God’s overarching and awe-inspiring plans for humanity as laid out in Scripture.

More info can be found here:

https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/the-god-story/

IMPORTANT! – Changes to service times in the parish during the WINTER months – FEBRUARY 2025

Follow Jesus around the parish this Winter………

Similar to last year, primarily due to the continued high energy prices and in order to reduce heating costs, services will NOT take place in all four churches each Sunday during January, February and March 2025:

Everyone is encouraged to join together at one of the other churches if there is not a service at the one you would usually attend. Let’s stick together (and worship together) during these winter months and keep warm.

Services will be as follows for February:

SUN 2nd FEB
St Bartholomew’s Meltham (ALL AGE / FAMILY SERVICE) 9:30am
St Mary’s Wilshaw (HOLY COMMUNION) 11:15am

SUN 9th FEB
St James’s Meltham Mills (HOLY COMMUNION) 9:30am
St Mary’s Wilshaw (SERVICE of the WORD) 11:15am

SUN 16th FEB
St James’s Meltham Mills (HOLY COMMUNION) 9:30am
St Mary’s Wilshaw (SERVICE of the WORD) 11:15am

SUN 22nd FEB
Joint Parish Communion Service 10:30am, St Bartholomew’s Meltham.

Please Note:
– The first Sunday in the month (9:30am) will be a service suitable for ALL ages and all members of the family – young, old and all those inbetween!
– There will be no services taking place at Helme Church due to the lack of heating.
– The mid-week Wednesday service of Holy Communion at St Bartholomew’s will continue as normal each week at 10:30am.
– Toddler Church at St Bartholomew’s will continue as normal on Tuesday mornings each week 9am to 11am.

Parish Magazine – February / March 2025

Welcome to the #Meltham Parish Magazine first edition of 2025! Hope you enjoy this one! We have all the usual information that you expect to find as well as some new. Turn to page 8&9 to hear how wonderful Christmas 2024 was and see the pictures on the inside cover too. The centre pages will help keep you up to date with all the changes in services due to sharing more to save heating costs at all four churches every week. On the inside back cover Mike, Rev Judy and Kim were all given a spotlight, see if you can spot them!

Finally the return of my personal favourite, the Pancake Party, on 4th March. I enjoy seeing the exciting creations the children come up with.

Thank you for those who continue to support me and the magazine by sending submissions in. The deadline of the April / May magazine will be Thursday 20th March 2025. Please send submissions via email to:
melthamparishmagazine@gmail.com
or
via the vicarage letterbox.
(150 Huddersfield Rd, HD9 4AL)

God Bless,
Fiona.

‘Oasis’ Quiet Day

Thursday 13th February


For those who are unfamiliar with OASIS Days, they are held at St James’ Meltham Mills (the one by the park).
We begin in the Hall with coffee and biscuits served from 10.00am.
The Quiet Day then begins in the church promptly at 10.30am. There is a theme for the day to guide our thoughts.
It begins with a short Act of Worship using carefully selected music, readings and prayers.  After that, some people may choose to read, write, go for walk. Everyone is free to stay for as long as they wish. We know how busy life can be! 
We bring packed lunches and enjoy a time of fellowship from 12.00 – 1.00pm. After lunch we return to the church for a time of prayer followed by a simple service of Holy Communion in the Celtic tradition. We are always finished before 3.00pm 
This is just a brief outline- basically OASIS Days are a gift for everyone to press their ‘pause’ button and share in a time of rest and refreshment, a time of reflection, a time to be with God. 
More information from Jenny Mathers (jennymthrs@aol.com), Daphne Green, Hester Deacon, Christine Woods and Christine Rolls or the Parish magazine.

Prayer time

Sunday 26th January

6.30pm (for about 1 hour)

St. Bartholomew’s Church

You are invited to spend time in prayer for the Parish.

The plan is for this to take place on the last Sunday of every month. Please put February 23rd and March 30th in your diaries.

Joint Service at Meltham Methodist Church – Sun 19th January – 10:30am

Come along to the joint Covenant Service, an annual Methodist tradition which has become a favourite with all the Meltham Churches worshipping together.  This is a service at which we can celebrate together all that God has done for us and affirm that we give our lives and choices to God. A great opportunity for us to worship together and keep warm together.

Sunday 19th January – 10:30am – Meltham Methodist Church – Mill Moor Road – ALL WELCOME – Do join us!

The Methodist Covenant Prayer

A covenant with God

I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing,
put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you,
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you,
or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours. So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.’

More info can be found here:

https://www.methodist.org.uk/about-us/the-methodist-church/what-is-distinctive-about-methodism/a-covenant-with-god/the-covenant-service/

Please note that there will be no services at the other churches in the Parish except for a service at Wilshaw at 11:15am which can be joined online or using this zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86419029753?pwd=dEE4eXIrd3FiRFlvbnFjOVpkVjBIUT09

 Meeting ID: 864 1902 9753, Passcode: 638750