Skip to main content

Memorial Service - a Good News story from St Andrew's

St Andrew’s Church held a memorial service on 9 February, to commemorate an attack by Muslim extremists on the Christian village of Shanti Nagar in the Punjab, Pakistan. The church has close links with the village, where the Dutt family, who are members at St Andrew’s, grew up. It is 17 years since the attack took place, but things have not improved in Pakistan, and violence against minority faiths (not just Christians) continues to happen frequently. You may recall the recent bomb attack on the cathedral in Peshawar.

There were several Bradford Muslims in the congregation, including the Lord Mayor of Bradford Cllr Khadim Hussain, who lit a candle during the service. Three former Lord Mayors also attended, two of whom are Muslims. Incidentally there were also Hindus and a Jew in the congregation. We are proud to say that inter-faith relations in Bradford are an example to the world.

The purpose of the service was to pray for people around the world who suffer persecution because of their faith, and two candles were lit: one for Shanti Nagar, by Alan Stubbs, Treasurer of the Shanti Nagar St Andrew’s Trust and one for people of all faiths, by the Lord Mayor. Prayers were offered in Urdu by Joel Masih and in English by the Dean of Bradford, the Very Rev Jerry Lepine.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

News from Thornton Methodist Church

Like everyone else, we are all trying to get on with life but at times it is not easy and not meeting with all our Church family can be difficult and lonely. Just before Christmas we were having services twice a month but not all people were able to attend which was very sad but we all kept in touch by text/phone it is not quite the same but it is good to talk. During Advent we put a display in the porch window of the Christmas story, adding different characters each week until all figures were assembled around the baby for the community of Thornton to see. All our children in Sunday School received an Advent calendar to let them know we were all thinking of them. We also had a Christingle service but this was very different from previous years. Masks were worn, tables set out at the required social distance and hand sanitizers available in lots of areas. People made their own Christingles from packs but instead of using fruits, wrapped fruit lollipops did the job just fine. Rev. Chris...

Virtual Worship - Easter Sunday 12 April 2020

Today’s the day - everything is changed. Death’s cave is empty, save linen cloth as calling card for Love. That life has won, and hope’s made whole, thank God! Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia! Holy and risen Lord, we come to worship you on this special Easter Day. We thank you for all you have done for us. We lift our eyes to honour you, living Lord Jesus. You have overcome death; fill us with your joy and new life. Amen You might like to read, sing or listen to an Easter hymn. Perhaps  Christ the Lord is risen today, or Low in the grave he lay (H&P 193/202, StF 298/305). This is perhaps the strangest Easter Sunday we have experienced in most of our lifetimes. Not able to gather as God’s people on this holiest of days. Not able to spend time with family and friends. Not able to visit dale or coast. Yet even as restrictions bite, we affirm God’s love in Christ Jesus, and seek to help each other hear the Easter message. We gather in ...

Rock Solid

Rock Solid is the new youth club for 9-13 year olds at Wilsden Trinity Church . It aims to provide a group for older children to follow on from Wilsden Trinity’s other youth club, Friends and Heroes. Every Tuesday we meet for games, Bible stories, sweets, crafts and chats. Highlights so far include wrapping people up as mummies, making ice cream sundaes, playing Zip Zap Boing (which is as confusing as it sounds), building Easter gardens and making lava lamps. We set aside a good amount of time just for chatting, and each week we have a “Millstone, Milestone” section – each person can say if they’ve had a difficult week (millstone) or a brilliant week (milestone) and why. This has been a platform for many entertaining anecdotes and tales that the group has shared together. Rock Solid started in March 2017, and so far numbers are low. Our small group has fun, but we would love to welcome some new members! All children and young people between the ages of 9-13 can join. It is £2 on the ...