Celebrating the joy of Christmas!
CANDLELIT CAROLS IN THE PARK
with Meltham & Meltham Mills Band featuring Meltham Community Choir and our local school children.
down at Robert Ashton Memorial Park
Sunday 30th November at 4pm.
Hot chocolate, mince pies and other goodies available in St James’ Church adjacent.
Bring a torch, possibly wellies!
Also collecting for Meltham Crossroads Foodbank
Please share our event or invite your friends to help spread the word.
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Come and see the Christmas Story told in Flowers!
Arrangements designed and put together by talented local flower arrangers will be on display in St Bartholomew’s Church – Meltham on Saturday 29th November from 11am onwards.
Please share our event and invite your friends to help us spread the word.
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Our popular annual Christmas Market will also be taking place at the same time in the Church Hall.
St Bartholomew’s Church Christmas Market and Santa’s Grotto – Saturday 29th November – 11am – 4pm.
Put on your Christmas Jumpers and join us at Meltham Church Hall to celebrate the start of the festive season and find something truly special whilst supporting our local traders. We ho-ho-hope to see you there!
There will be over 20 stalls selling a wide range of Christmas gifts.
FREE entry – DARKWOODS Coffee available for you to purchase whilst you browse.
For the kids, Santa can also be visited in his Grotto courtesy of Meltham Stage Company.
Over in the Church, come and see the Christmas Story told in Flowers! Displays and arrangements designed and put together by talented local flower arrangers.
Please share our Facebook event or invite your friends along too.
https://fb.me/e/3J0KZf1BY
The Meltham Christmas lights switch-on will start with carols around the tree from 4pm followed by the BIG SWITCH ON at 4:30pm by Meltham’s own international cricket star, Hollie Armitage. Afterwards, there will be an illuminated Tractor Run around the village.
Supporting the ‘CRISIS’ homeless charity, our popular annual Fundraising Morning is back again!
Featuring the usual array of fab craft and gift stalls, the brilliant silent auction and much more!
Sat 22nd Nov – 10am to 12 noon at St James’ Meltham Mills (the church by the park).
Please support us – there are so many good things to buy and your spending will support the ‘CRISIS’ charity which works with the homeless at Christmas and all year round.
FREE ENTRY! – oh, and there’s tea, coffee and CAKE!
If you’re a Facebook user, please help us spread the word by sharing our event and inviting your friends along: https://fb.me/e/8sKnfbvX6 or forward this email on.
The Royal British Legion service of Remembrance in Meltham will take place outdoors around the War Memorial at St Bartholomew’s Church on Sunday 9th November 2025.
The parade led by Meltham & Meltham Mills band will leave the Carlile Institute at 10:30am and arrive at the church for the service which will begin at 10:45am. Please gather in the vicinity of the church yard.
For those who feel unable to stay outside, it will still be possible to sit inside the church and take part in the service which will be shown on the tv screen. We aim to have improved sound inside in order to be able to hear the service outside.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/
Please note there will be no Remembrance Service at Wilshaw this year due to the ceiling being unsafe in the chapel area.
You are invited to our special memorial service on Sunday 2nd November – 4pm at St Bartholomew’s Church, Meltham.
This service offers an opportunity for anyone who would like some time and space to remember someone special to them who has passed away either recently or at any time in the past and to give thanks for their life and the memories they shared together. It is hoped that it will allow us an opportunity to celebrate the great legacy of treasured memories that we all hold onto.
There will be an opportunity during this service for anyone who wishes to do so, to light a candle in remembrance of those people.
Whether you wish to remember someone you lost recently, or a long time ago, please know that you will be welcome to come and join us.
Please share our event on Facebook if possible to help us make people aware:
MELTHAM TREAT FEST – FRIDAY 31ST OCTOBER
DROP IN ANY TIME BETWEEN 5:30PM and 7:00PM
AT THE CHURCH HALL.FOR ALL ACCOMPANIED CHILDREN UP TO AGE 11.
Come and join in the fun – there will be big games, little games, crafts and treats, marshmallow lollies and donut eating, and maybe more………….PLUS hot chocolate!
A night for fun – and light! – oh, and it’s FREE!
Please share our event if you’re on Facebook to help spread the word:
Hello! Autumn has definitely arrived in the Parish and I hope you are snuggled up in a blanket delaying turning up the heating for a little longer while reading what has been happening and what’s coming up. Some exciting news on ‘Eco Church’ on page 11 and what we are hoping to achieve. Take a look! Also Alpha is well and truly underway in the church hall on Wednesdays, but its ok you can still take part if you would like, turn to page 9 for more info.
Don’t forget to look out and put dates in your diary of all the exciting events coming up over the next 2 months.
Thank you for those who continue to support me and the magazine by sending submissions in. The deadline of the Dec/ Jan magazine will be earlier than usual:
Monday 17th November 2025. Please send submissions via email to: melthamparishmagazine@gmail.com or via the vicarage letterbox. (150 Huddersfield Rd, HD9 4AL)
Following the very well attended community meeting last month regarding the future of Helme Church, please find details below of the next steps which Rev’d John has sent out to those who left their email addresses at the meeting:
Dear All
Thank you for coming to the meeting regarding the future of Helme Church last week. It was a very positive meeting and gave me real optimism regarding the future of the Church building. During the meeting many people expressed a wish to be involved in the next steps and I suggested that a meeting with a smaller group of people would be helpful. It has been quite challenging to work out who best to invite to that meeting as there is a need to represent a broad group whilst keeping the numbers involved at a manageable level. I will therefore send a separate email inviting a smaller number of people to attend the next meeting. If you do not receive this further email, please do not consider this to suggest that your involvement is in any way unwanted or unneeded. I am aware that there were a great many skilled and gifted people present and I am grateful for all the offers of help. Many of those who have been invited to the next meeting have been asked to come because of their involvement with other community groups and activities. Whilst this means that their experience will be of great value at this stage it is likely that some of them will not be able to commit time and energy to this in the longer term. We will aim to keep you updated as things progress, including opportunities to help in the future.
Thank you and God bless
Reverend John
Further to this, we are delighted and excited to announce that the recently formed Marine Training Corps – Meltham have expressed a strong desire to use the church twice per week and hopefully make it their home, subject to the necessary agreements being put in place and permission granted from the PCC and Diocese etc. As their current temporary accommodation in Holmfirth was soon to no longer be an option, the timing is such that we have agreed that they can use the church from this week onwards whilst the finer details are worked on. This is a great start to what we hope can be one of many uses for the church building alongside being able to remain an option for occasional services, weddings, funerals, baptisms, school use etc. We shall continue to discuss with other interested groups and parties as we move forward.
If you attended the meeting and left your email address, but have not received an email as detailed above, please email revjohndracup@gmail.com and let him know, as some of the email addresses that he sent to were rejected and returned.
