OASIS

Our next OASIS  day will take place on 30^th June, 10-00am – 2.30pm at St James Church.  if you wish to stay for lunch please bring with you a packed lunch.

For several years OASIS days have taken place at St James’ Church, Meltham Mills (the church by the Park) and another two have been planned for this year.

WHAT IS AN OASIS DAY? – It’s a day set apart which gives us the opportunity to listen to God and spend time in quiet reflection alongside other people.

So many people today comment on the pace of life and the difficulty of finding enough time to fit in all the tasks which seem to be demanded by our modern lifestyle.

Jesus knew, only too well, what it was like to be at everyone’s beck and call but there was one way that He could find the peace he needed. He would seek out a quiet place which gave him the opportunity for prayer and renewal.   If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to seek quiet and connection with God, how much more do we need to spend time apart in God’s presence.

Not everyone lives in the fast lane, of course.  There are others who live alone and crave for the companionship of fellow travellers but no matter what our circumstances it is always good to stop and have an opportunity to be still, to be reflective and to listen to what God might be saying to us.   

During an OASIS Day there will be a period of led Meditation accompanied by visuals and music, there will times of quiet for personal reflection, and the day will close with a short Holy Communion Service.   It is a day where everyone is free to come for as little or long as they wish.   For those staying the whole day, we stop at midday for our packed lunch.

Please note that this will be held at St. James’ Church

Come and enjoy a meal together followed by a discussion about faith.

Pizza church is back on Friday 24th April

The Parish Church Hall

Come and give it a try!

Sunday 26th April

6.30pm

St. Bartholomew’s church

A time to share in Prayer for our Parish.

Fellowship Fridays will continue during April in #Meltham, but due to the Easter holidays, both events will be pushed back by one week as follows:

Come & Dine Church will take place on Friday 17th April from 6pm onwards.
Pizza Church will take place on Friday 24th April from 6pm onwards.

Here’s a reminder of what these sessions are about. If you’ve not tried it yet, come along!

What are Fellowship Fridays?  Read on, and you’ll find out………………………

These are new sessions that will take place in the parish at #Meltham Church Hall between 18.00 and 19.30 on Friday evenings, aiming to provide a welcoming and comfortable environment for anyone who’d like to come and share food, socialise, explore and talk about their faith with friends. 

There is no cost to attend, although donations towards expenses will be gratefully accepted. 

There will be two different sessions………….

Come & Dine Church:

Come together to share a simple cooked meal—examples include shepherd’s pie or chicken casserole. Following the meal, there will be time to discuss and explore a biblical topic using a video to stimulate thinking, to pray together, and to enjoy each other’s company. While teenagers/young adults are welcome, there are no specific activities provided for children under 11. 

Pizza Church: 

Similar in spirit to the one above, Pizza Church will serve finger food such as pizza or hot dogs. In addition to discussion, prayer, and socialising for the adults, there will be a fun activity planned for children during the discussion time. However, please note that Pizza Church is not just for people who’ll bring children—anyone is welcome to attend. 

We hope that members from across the 4 churches will embrace this new initiative and come along to join together for fellowship in this new setting, and that it will quickly become a firm favourite on everyone’s monthly calendar.

TGI Friday!  See you there!

PS – Added bonus, you don’t need to think about what to make for dinner/tea at home!

A long standing tradition in #Meltham was that the choir of St Bartholomew’s would sing Stainer’s Crucifixion or Olivet to Calvary by J H Maunder. The choir is sadly no more, but we do however, have a recording from 2003 and 2004 which are available to listen to online.

The choice is yours! We know some people prefer one to the other. Hopefully you will enjoy either or both. There’s no need to login, you should just be able to press the play button.

Listen here to Stainer’s Crucifixion: (audio only file)
https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApUFY78M1xXegyu8Ui5y-9w6pId5?e=Bgkirq

Listen here to Olivet to Calvary by J H Maunder (audio only file)
https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApUFY78M1xXegxpvtZFFLH3JagmF?e=tb7wXq

We also have a powerpoint file containing images and the music for Olivet to Calvary. This will not work on all devices (you may get images but not audio), but if you wish to try it, the link is here. It is advisable to download the file first (approx 90MB) and then commence the slide show.

Listen here to Olivet to Calvary with images (powerpoint presentation file)
https://1drv.ms/p/s!ApUFY78M1xXegx5DVAiXjNwhq0ye?e=YfKIgL

We’d love you to come join us in #Meltham Parish on Easter Sunday to celebrate together that Jesus is Risen!

For those early birds, there is what we hope will be a glorious Sonrise @ Sunrise Service at the Cock Crowing Stone – Wessenden Head Rd – arrive earlier to ensure you don’t miss it! Join together for this very special time. It really is worth getting up for! Meet at 6:15am. A short reflection focused on the discovery of the empty tomb for about 20 minutes. Wrap up warm! Bacon butties and cereal will be served afterwards at the Church Hall in Meltham.

Joint services will take place in TWO of our four churches as follows:

10:00am St James’ – Meltham Mills (by the park)

11:15am St Mary’s – Wilshaw

PLEASE NOTE THERE WILL BE NO SERVICES AT ST BARTHOLOMEW’S – MELTHAM or CHRIST CHURCH – HELME.

Do join us as we worship and celebrate together at one of the other churches listed above.

ALL WELCOME

Hallelujah! Christ is Risen.

HE IS RISEN INDEED – HALLELUJAH!

EASTER TRAIL for all the family – Easter Saturday 4th April from 10am til 2pm

Follow the Easter Trail from the Turning Circle on the Meltham Greenway to St James’ Church by the park at Meltham Mills.

Updated for 2026, follow the clues along the way to learn about the Easter story told by those who lived it.

On completion, there’s a free Easter egg to the first 100 children to complete the trail. There’ll be refreshments at St James’ Church where the easter eggs can be collected.

We hope this will be a really enjoyable community event and hope you can come along – it’s perfect for all the family especially those children in Primary schools.

If you’re a facebook user, please share the event below to help spread the word or invite friends and family who may be interested. https://fb.me/e/6GaYZg3zT

Join us on Palm Sunday at St Bartholomew’s #Meltham for our joint Parish Communion service – Sunday 29th March @ 10:30am.

Everyone is invited to a buffet lunch and fellowship afterwards whether they have been in the service or not – ALL WELCOME! Please bring and share – can be dropped off at the church hall before the service.

NOTE! – there will be no services at the other churches in the Parish as we’ll be joining together as one.