grapevine
June
2006, Sandal Parish Magazine
Table
of Contents
Bretton
Hall students dance at the premiére performance of
‘Dignity’ during last month’s St.
Helen’s Festival. More photos on the back page.
Life
Giving Spirit
“Suddenly,
there was the sound of a mighty, rushing wind...”
May
has been a windy month, and kept us wrapped up and on our toes.
And yet , where would we be without the wind?
Without
the wind, we would be permanently shrouded in pollution.
Without
the wind, we would have no rain blown in off the oceans, to
grow crops and provide fresh
drinking water.
Without
the wind we would swelter in the summer heat.
Without
the wind, the trees would appear lifeless.
Without
the wind, it would be a very dull, dry, unexciting world.
Imagine
now a faith without the wind of the Holy Spirit to animate it.
The
Holy Spirit comes as God’s agent of moral and spiritual
change, to free us from the pollution of sin and the torpor of apathy,
to refresh us with God’s grace and to energise us with the
love and compassion of Jesus, to change lives and transform communities.
But
sometimes the mighty, rushing wind of the Spirit is awkward and
annoying. It ruffles feathers, disturbs complacency, motivates more
change, just when we thought we could relax. The wind of the Spirit
blows when and where it will and cannot be tamed or controlled.
Are
we, as people and as a church, open to the wind of the Spirit? Are we
open to change, and ready to see things from Jesus’ point of
view?
We
ignore the Holy Spirit at our peril. As any dinghy sailor will say, you
need to keep an eye out for the ripples of water that show when a gust
is going to hit you; a gust that can make you go faster, or, if
you’re unprepared, capsize you. Are we on the look-out for
the gusts of God’s Spirit as they move through our lives and
our church?
So
where is the Holy Spirit leading us at this moment? I believe that the
Holy Spirit is blowing strongly in several ways:
The
Holy Spirit is encouraging us to grow two congregations out of our
Sunday morning service in St Helen’s, beginning in September.
The
Holy Spirit is energising a new work of witness in Portobello, evident
in the work of the Portobello Community Forum, and in our Soul
Portobello week of events from 30th July to 6th August.
The
Holy Spirit is motivating us to develop a Vision for ‘Living
Stones’, which embraces people inside and outside the church.
That
vision is being worked out through attending to the needs of unchurched
people through our forthcoming Alpha Reunion, Back to Church Sunday and
Alpha course in late September.
It
involves creating a firm foundation for future ministry and mission by
inspiring us to care more for our staff, by working towards paying them
a living wage, and creating a proper working environment in the renewed
Parish Office.
It
is a vision that values our volunteers and encourages people to serve
in areas of their enthusiasm and gifting.
It
is a vision for growth that depends on the gracious outpouring of
God’s Spirit, because ultimately it is “God who
gives the growth”.
So
let’s allow the Holy Spirit to disturb us, shake us out of
complacency, motivate our Mission, inspire our compassion and energise
our evangelism. Let’s not be annoyed by the inconvenience of
the wind of the Spirit. Instead, we can enjoy the beauty of windswept
skies and trees, anticipate the thrill of catching one of those gusts
in our sails, and see people’s lives being changed as we take
risks of faith and embark on unknown waters of challenge
and change.
and change.
Yours in His Grace and Glory,
Rupert
After
a year without a Careforce worker, there's good news. From
September, we are hoping to welcome Emanuel from Uganda (pending him
receiving a Visa). Emanuel is a graduate and currently feels
that God is ultimately calling him to be ordained. Like Erik
and previous Careforce Workers, it is envisaged
that he will share his time between
SHYP activities and The Spring, while in
addition working with the Portobello
project.
As
you are no doubt aware, Careforce workers are
volunteers and it is the hosting church's responsibility to provide
food and accommodation. This is where we need
YOU! Emanuel will need a home between September 2006 and July
2007. If you feel that you could assist with this, please
speak to Sally Martin or me. If you would be happy
to host Emanuel for half of this time, let us know and we could divide
his time between a couple of homes, as we have done in previous years.
We
also need volunteers to provide a meal for Emanuel one evening
each week. If you are able to do so on the same night each
week for part or whole of his stay with us, again speak to Sally or
me. Early indications of your support would be much
appreciated. Contact number for Sally: 242593.
Contact number for Julie: 865559
Julie
Hay (SHYP Chairperson)
What
a wonderful weekend of festivities and food we enjoyed! So many people
came to each event, beginning with the sensational virtuosity of the
Northern Saxophone Quartet, which included a World Première
in a very varied programme. The following evening was another
Première of Ali Bulllivent’s thought-provoking and
challenging piece, Dignity,
which addressed the issue of slavery today. In between we had the
afternoon of creative workshops, displays and cream teas, which was not
disrupted by the rain. Bob and Jess’s exhibition was well
received with several sales recorded, and the weekend culminated in a
beautiful Communion service on the theme of Freedom in Christ.
Thank you to everyone involved, who helped in whatever way to
make the weekend so welcoming and worthwhile. Roll on May
2007!
A
big, big thank you to my caring church family for their cards,
greetings and flowers which I received to celebrate my recent 90th
birthday.
My
love to you
all. Ursula
Dear
Friends & Colleagues,
Thank you all very much for the wonderful gifts I received on my retirement from The Spring. I have bought a digital camera with the money I received. Thank you also for the many cards I received on my recent birthday.
Love, Audrey
Thank you all very much for the wonderful gifts I received on my retirement from The Spring. I have bought a digital camera with the money I received. Thank you also for the many cards I received on my recent birthday.
Love, Audrey
Charlie
Wale has now finished as Treasurer. We are grateful to him
for all his hard work in re-organising and simplifying the accounts,
and steering us urgently through a complex period. We now
need to find someone who will oversee the accounts in their new
streamlined form. So let me or Derek Coombes know if God is
calling you to put your name forward, or if you have suggestions as to
who we could approach to do this vital work for God and his church.
Thanks, Rupert
Many
people will know and remember Nora, who died recently in her
90’s. The funeral is at St. Helen’s
church on Friday 2nd June, 10.30am. Our prayers and love go
out to Nora’s family and friends.
Anyone
interested in singing is more than welcome to join the choir whenever
possible and enjoy singing through familiar and new hymns and songs.
Practices are from 7.30pm on the Friday before the 2nd and
4th Sundays, (i.e. invariably the 2nd and 4th Fridays). The
choir do need more people who would be able to help from time to time,
so if you enjoy singing, do come and join us whenever you can so that
it will be possible to continue to give a wide variety of music to
enrich our services and worship.
Shirley
& Derek Coombes
Most
of the money from our Lent Appeal has now been received, and I am
delighted to tell you that the total is just over £60,000.
Most of this has been allocated to Mara for famine relief,
and already we have sent some £40,000, which has been used to
buy maize for distribution to needy families across the diocese.
The money our parishes have given is already making a
significant difference to people’s lives there, and we are
immensely grateful to you all for your generosity. The rest
of the Mara money, and our donations to the Georgian orphanage, will be
transferred very soon.
There
is another excellent piece of news for Mara. A friend of
mine, who has access to a private trust fund, has managed to secure for
the next three years an annual grant of £50,000, to be
divided between the Mogabiri Farm Extension Centre and Mara diocesan
funds. Mogabiri has a long track record for helping farmers
to improve crop yield and increase income, but its future funding has
until now, been in jeopardy. Maintaining central finances
has been a constant problem for the people of Mara, so this grant will
provide a hugely welcome period of stability and security.
It is marvellous that we can bring this additional support to our
sister diocese.
Once
again, many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the Lent Appeal.
And although Lent is over, if you would still like to
support these very needy projects, there is still time to do so.
The
Cross Project
would like to say thank you to all the members of St. Helen’s
and St. Paul’s for their generous cheque for £1,313
towards the work of The CROSS Project. This substantial
donation is much appreciated and is a great encouragement to all the
team.
The
Bible Society
Thank you from the Bible Society for our donation of £1,969.50. This will enable them to ensure that the inspiration and wisdom of the Bible flourishes in many more lives around the world.
Thank you from the Bible Society for our donation of £1,969.50. This will enable them to ensure that the inspiration and wisdom of the Bible flourishes in many more lives around the world.
CMS
CMS
sends grateful thanks to all who have contributed to our gift of
£3,282.50 towards their work.
Knitted
or donated booties, mittens, hats and cardigans without ties and small
buttons, for very small babies (5-7lbs) for Pontefract Hospital,
Ward 10, Post Natal Unit. If you can help please
contact Sue Davis on Tel. 01924 255129.
Here’s
an opportunity to help make a difference!! Mara Primary
School (in our link Diocese in Tanzania), is looking for a teacher for
6 to 12 months. If you are interested please contact Mrs.
Peta Moffat, 1 Selbourne Grove, Bradford. BD9 4NL. Tel.
01274 494838 or email: mara@moffat-family.org.uk.
An
online resource from the Church of England
A
new section of the Church of England website is launched this week,
inviting people to consider the facts and fiction of the Da Vinci Code
for themselves. Aimed at the casual browser or the
curate devising a compelling event, it pits the
‘facts’ of the Dan Brown novel against the story of
Jesus accepted by the Church for generations. The dilemma is
simply set out at www.cofe.anglican.org/info/davinci,
which says: “According to Dan Brown’s
novel, Jesus married Mary Magdalene, they had children and their blood
line continues today. The Church of England believes that
Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit, fulfilled a
ministry on earth, died on a cross and rose again three days later. He
left behind a new church that has spread throughout the world.
“These are very different beliefs about Jesus. What
do you think?”
A
wide representative number attended this year’s meeting to
approve the Annual Report and appoint many people to faithfully carry
out the many roles that our parish needs to fulfil both the routine
work and the wide ranging witness of the church. In his
vision statement the Vicar gave thanks for all that had been achieved
through the year, especially the completion of the renewal work at St.
Helen’s which provided the opportunities for wider activities
by both church and the parish community. There had already
been developments in this, with the rooms used for parties, outside
meetings as well as art exhibitions and concerts. Now that
our buildings were renewed, he saw the emphasis on caring for people,
both spiritually and practically. The immediate response
would be through the planned development of the Parish office, which
would serve both church and community, and the introduction of the new
patterns of services at St. Helen’s which would cover a new
pattern of worship which could meet a wider range of spiritual needs.
The meeting closed with prayer.
The
Conservation department of West Yorkshire Archive Service are seeking
to recruit a technician to work one day a week mainly repairing
registry volumes. An interest in binding and good manual
dexterity are essential. The successful applicant will
receive training on the job. For more information please
speak to Jess on 253450.
Open
to all who wish to further their ability to listen.
Saturday
1st July, 9.45am - 4pm, Barnabas Room, St.
Paul’s, Walton.
Bring
and Share Lunch, Drinks provided. Please BOOK EARLY as places
are limited to 16 people. No charge but donations to further
the work of Dove House welcome. Further details and booking
please phone Dove House 01924 240488
West
Yorkshire Police Band & Crigglestone St James’ School
Choir
Saturday
1 July at 7.30pm at St Helen's Church, Barnsley Road. Wakefield
Admission
£5, Concessions £4 and Children £2
including refreshments. Tickets available on the door. Hospice Appeal
Charity No 513861.
August
13 - 20, Hilfield Friary, Dorset.
Once
again members of the U.C. group aged 13-17 yrs will be enjoying
themselves, making new friends and learning more about their faith at
Hilfield Youth Camp. If you know anyone who is interested in
going, please contact Bob at the Parish Office on 01924 259966.
More information can be found at www.hilfield.org.
The deadline for reduced rate bookings is the 15th of June.
Before this date the cost of camp is £95 + travel and
spending money. As witnessed at the recent Confirmation, Hyc
is a fantastic experience and a real chance for young people to grow in
faith.
Bob
Dear
Fellow Greenbelters. Can't quite believe that it is that time of year
again, but Anna and I are once again responsible for gathering
the clan together for annual Greenbelt trip from St Helens Parish.
Can you please let me know either in church or email if you
would like tickets reserving and I will add your names to the list.
Rough prices are
Individual £
70.00
Adult Concession £ 48.00
Family Ticket - covering 2 A/2C or 2A/2Youth or 2A/ 1 Youth/1 Child
£ 185.00
Child Ticket £ 35.00
Youth Ticket £ 38.00
Adult Concession £ 48.00
Family Ticket - covering 2 A/2C or 2A/2Youth or 2A/ 1 Youth/1 Child
£ 185.00
Child Ticket £ 35.00
Youth Ticket £ 38.00
As
normal we do get one free ticket per 10 purchased - so the bigger the
initial order the more discount we can apply. Go on you know
you want to.
For
more info do visit www.greenbelt.org but
I am sure that it will be as amazing as ever. Hope
to hear from you soon. Email: Catherine@heatonshouse.fsnet.co.uk
or Tel. 240797.
Catherine Heaton
You
are invited to the seminar launch of The Churches Regional Commission
ground-breaking, three year active learning project on effective
Christian presence and enterprise under the management of Faithworks.
This project will demonstrate innovative ways in which
churches are transforming local communities and the lives of local
people, and identify good examples which can inform the wider church as
well as barriers which the church need’s to tackle.
The results of the project will be of regional and national
significance. The event takes place on Thursday 22 June from
10.30am to 2.30pm, Thornbury Centre, Leeds Old Road, Bradford. BD3 8JX.
If you are interested please contact Faithworks on 0207 450
9058 or email: info@faithworks.info.
Wakefield
Festival Chorus are to present Music for a Summer’s Evening
at St. Austin’s RC Church Theatre, Wentworth Street,
Wakefield at 7.30pm on Friday 23 June 2006.
Tickets
are £6 (16 years and under free) and are available by
‘phoning 0113 2049633 or 01924 476721, from choir members or
at the door. The programme will include music by John Rutter
and John Tavener.
It’s
fun and easy - learn baby signing the best way. Courses
starting at the Barnabas Room, St. Paul’s, Walton
every Wednesday.
Phone Judi on 01226 79410 for more details.
Phone Judi on 01226 79410 for more details.
Is
your 5-7 year old daughter bored on a Thursday & looking for
some excitement? Then perhaps Rainbows girl guiding is just
what she is looking for? Your daughter will experience all
kinds of adventures including games, craft making, singing and a whole
host of other activities. Why not see for yourself!!
Meetings are held every Thursday 5.30 - 6.30pm at Sandal
Methodist Church. For further details contact 01924 781225
Tone
your body and mind with Pilates exercise classes. Suitable for all ages
and abilities. Beginner classes are every Tuesday from 5.30pm and
Thursday from 7.30pm, held at The Barnabas Room, St. Paul’s,
The Balk, Walton. Call Gill Carr on 253768 for more details.
John
Walker is to undertake a sponsored trek in the Sinai Desert during
November for Christian Aid. This will be tough trekking
across difficult terrain, camping out beneath the stars each night.
It is a challenge that will earn every penny of the
sponsorship raised. If you wish to sponsor John please
contact him on 01226 709225.
A
quick thank you to everyone who has collected money for Christian Aid,
a truly fantastic effort this year with nearly every street in Sandal
collected. We will give a final total in the next Grapevine
and each person who has collected will get an individual letter saying
how much was collected on their street. Bob
Wakefield
Hospice is attempting their first mile of coins challenge.
They are asking supporters to help them achieve a mile of £1
coins, which if successful, will raise £63,360 for the
benefit of their patients. The challenge will run over the
next few months leading to the final countdown on Sunday 16 July 2006,
when the coins will be laid out around the athletics track in Thornes
Park Stadium. For more information please contact Terry Rigg
or Keeley Harrison on 01924 213900.
|
June
4
|
8.30am
|
Holy
Communion
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
10am
|
Family
Service with
Baptism
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
|
11am
|
Holy
Communion
|
St.
Paul’s
|
|
|
6pm
|
Evening
Prayer
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
|
5
|
9.30am
|
Staff
Meeting & Prayers
|
St.
Paul’s
|
|
6
|
9.30am
|
Toddle-In
(Toddler Group)
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
3.45pm
|
Children’s
Church
|
St.
Paul’s
|
|
|
7
|
11.30am
|
Holy
Communion
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
7pm
|
Bellringing
Practice
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
|
8
|
9.15am
|
Boogie-woogie
(toddler group)
|
St.
Paul’s
|
|
11
|
10.am
|
Holy
Communion followed by
2nd Sunday Soup |
St.
Helen’s
|
|
11am
|
Morning
Praise
|
Paul’s
|
|
|
12.30pm
|
Baptism
of Katy Leith & Benjamin Pearson
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
|
12
|
9am
|
Staff
Meeting & Prayers
|
St.
Paul’s
|
|
13
|
9.30am
|
Toddle-In
(toddler group)
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
3.45pm
|
Childrens’
Church
|
St.
Paul’s
|
|
|
7pm
|
Standing
Committee
|
11
Woodthorpe Drive
|
|
|
14
|
11.30am
|
Holy
Communion
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
7pm
|
Bellringing
Practice
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
|
15
|
9.15am
|
Boogie-woogie
(toddler group)
|
St.
Paul’s
|
|
17
|
12noon
|
Wedding
of Sarah Brown & Carl Saville
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
3pm
|
Yorkshire
Assoc. of Change ringers to ring at St Helen’s.
|
St.
Helen’s
|
|
|
18
|
Father’s
Day
|
||
|
8.30am
|
Holy
Communion
|
|