Bradford North Circuit

Dear friends, In January, I had to go for my annual appraisal with the circuit. I had a ten-page appraisal form to fill in before I went. This covered all aspects of my employment. How was my work/life balance? Had I been given enough resources to help me in my work? Am I happy with my working life? This provoked a reaction within me: When did I last do an appraisal of where I stand with Jesus? Has my faith in Jesus strengthened or backslidden over the years? What am I doing to grow in my knowledge and love of the Lord? I had gone to church all my life, and was a church member. However in April 1974 I was at a meeting in St. George’s Hall when I realised that I knew about Jesus, but I did not know him in a personal way. I began to look back and ask where I was now with Jesus. You should go to the doctor for a medical check up on a regular basis, but do you come to Christ and examine yourself, and where you are, before him? There is a little pamphlet by Dr. W.E. Sangster c...

The Junior Church at St Andrew’s created this splendid tableau, depicting the empty tomb, with the white grave clothes represented by a floral display and the sense of celebration invoked by colourful flowers and decorations. Well done, Junior Church, and thank you for enriching our Easter celebrations!

Maundy Thursday 2 April 2015 10.30 – 2.30 Northcliffe Reflection prayers 10.30, 11.30, 12.30, 1.30 & 2.30 Circuit Ministers 10.30am Little Lane Walk of Witness from St Martins to Heights Lane Catholic Clare Davison 2.00pm Allerton Communion Service Christine Crabtree 7.00pm Crag Road Joint meal with Wrose, Northcliffe & Christchurch (full) Andrew Taylor 7.00pm St Andrews Joint Communion Service with Bolton & Eccleshill Phil Drake 7.00pm Wilsden Tenebrae Service Nick Blundell 7.30pm Saltaire Love Feast Christine Crabtree Good Friday 3 April 2015 10.00am Thornton Morning Worship Nick Blundell 10.00am Baildon Cafe Style Worship Andrew Taylor 11.30 St Pauls Walk of Witness for Shipley Christians Together Andrew Taylor 12.00 noon ...

Two of our Fairtrade champions A big thank you to everyone who came to the Fair Trade Big Brew at Thackley Methodist Church on 28th February. It was lovely to see so many people there from different churches in the Circuit. We took £316.35 in sales of fair trade goods. We also raised £75.57 by asking for donations for the refreshments and this money has been sent to Traidcraft Exchange for their Fair Necessities Appeal , which means that the money will be doubled by the UK government and used to improve the lives of smallholder farmers in the developing world. A special thank you to Thackley for hosting our event and to all who helped on the day. Thank you! Ruth H, Calverley

If you turn up at Thackley on the second Sunday in the month at 6.00 pm, you may find something that seems a bit disorganised and chaotic, but ‘Take a Second’ is going strong and is bringing ages from 7 to 70+ together in very special ways. If we were all to turn up at the same time (rarely happens), we now have a group of around 20. The focus is on fellowship and music. We have piano, guitars, recorders, percussion, ukulele, clarinet, saxophones and voices.  Our choice of music varies from Taize and hymns from Singing the Faith, through to songs from Rend Collective, and if you’re lucky, we’ll all play the same one at the same time! One thing we can ensure is a fun-filled evening with a loving church family. Our next “gig” is Easter Day worship. Ruth W, Thackley

On Palm Sunday, Calverley are celebrating by having a procession around Calverley Park led by a donkey! So we thought it would be a good idea to take the young people of the Junior Church along with their mums and dads to the donkey sanctuary to get to know the donkeys and perhaps meet the one that would be visiting us on Palm Sunday. So, on Sunday 1st March, we gathered in the Schoolroom. Kim led us in a short prayer and then off we went to the sanctuary. And what a brilliant time we had! We were told that two of donkeys had personal appearances on Palm Sunday and the lucky two had not been chosen. Temperament and size have to be taken into consideration and the decision is taken nearer the time, but we were told that one donkey will be visiting York Minster and another Calverley Methodist Church. Can you imagine those two donkeys discussing their day out, when they get back to the sanctuary? Whatever their stories, they will both have played an important part in our telling ...

Some time ago, the Circuit Leadership Team (CLT) identified Isaiah 54:2-3 as a key passage for us. The words spoke to us. Perhaps because of the state and weight of our buildings…. Perhaps because of our recent history of reducing numbers and increasing years… Perhaps because we sensed that our worship could go deeper… Perhaps because of apparently diminishing financial resources… Perhaps because of the problems faced by our city… Perhaps because God was nudging us gently… For whatever reasons, the words spoke to us. As CLT, we want to invite the circuit – churches, fellowships, groups, individuals – to live with the words for a season. We want to listen for what God might be saying, to us and through us, in Isaiah 54:2-3, in the surrounding chapters, and in our shared reflection on these words. To facilitate this listening, we have a tent! More specifically, it is a large gazebo, and it will be travelling round the circuit over the next few months. This tent will ...

Thursday 2nd April 2015 Bradford North Methodist Circuit offers an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the day, and its place in the Holy Week journey. From 10.30am till 2.30pm, drop in to Northcliffe Church , Shipley (BD18 3ED) and engage with any or all of five stations - contemplative, biblical, creative, Eucharistic and visionary,  for as short or long a time as you wish. Have a coffee,  take a look at the redeveloped Northcliffe, and reflect with the circuit ministers on the theme. There will be led prayers at 10.30, 11.30, 12.30, 1.30 and 2.30. Join us if you can.

March! March! March! March: the month of mad hares and lion/lamb weather. A season to pray for spring to unfold and summer to come; and for God’s blessings to flow: the stability of his Word and Spirit to counter harebrained schemes and to rebuke untoward storms before they wreak damage. But pray also against false lulls, for watchfulness even in the quiet spells, when dark clouds can mass unseen over distant horizons. March: that territory along the border, often with a history replete with incidents, incursions, disputes. A line of distinction, still full of tensions from differences on either side, even if enmity has ebbed into watchful tolerance. A line to pray along. Some borders are oppressive: walls should be prayed down. But some lines should not be crossed: pray for standards to be maintained against all encroachment. And yet other distinctions enrich without ethics: pray for the flourishing of flavour – spice, colour, shape, depths, character; pray for the banis...

Baildon MethodistChurch’s Fundraising Strategy Group found that the Church had been making donations to a variety of bodies from collections without telling anyone!  They decided that people should know precisely what funds and charities they give to, so two years ago, the system changed and a new system of monthly ‘Good Causes’ replaced it.  The new system is called Gi ving F or O thers, or GiFO for short.  The logo is a “Thumbs up” sign made from about 20 images and logos used elsewhere in the Church.  Each year regular causes are set aside certain months:  Mission in Britain;  MRDF, now known as ”All We Can”;  Action for Children; and other charities compete for a space in the calendar.  February 2015’s charity was Toilet Twinning. The Blenheim Project, BEACON and the Bradford Soup Run have all had their turn.              ...

Every 2 months, computer literates from Baildon Methodist Church provide an informal Saturday morning session 10.00 am to 12.00 noon, where folk can drop-in with their technology, have a coffee and a chat, and discuss any technology problems they are having.  Usually, these relate to iPAD/iPHONE use or portables. Future dates are: 28th March , 30th May , 25th July ,  19th Sept So if you are looking for help or advice with operating your new electronic ‘toy’, or you are feeling frustrated because you cannot use it in the way others seem able to do, why not drop in for a coffee and learn from the ‘experts’?

The Wives’ Group at Saltaire Methodist Church held a ‘Red’ coffee morning, with book, gifts and cake stall, on 6 th February, in aid of the British Heart Foundation , their chosen charity for 2015. The total raised was £432. Thank you to everyone who supported the event. Carolyn S, Saltaire

One of the problems we often find in Junior Church is that we have a small number of children, but with a wide age range. So for this reason, we thought we would try Scripture Union’s Mosaic, which is designed to cater for small groups like ours. In our first 5 sessions, we have been looking at Creation. One of the high spots of Session one was when we piled junk and collage materials on the table and reminded the children that God started with nothing and created something beautiful. We then asked them to create something beautiful out of the junk on the table. In Session two, we looked at God making the land, sea and plants and for this session we prepared pots of bulbs. At the time of writing this, they are now flowering in our church windows to brighten these dreary winter days. Session three was ‘God makes the sun, moon and stars’. For this session, we made rockets out of cardboard and imagined we were sitting in them, looking out of the windows at all the stars, and we reme...

Dear friends, I’m writing this before going on sabbatical for 5 weeks, and then coming back for my final 5 weeks at Little Lane Church. It already feels strange to put it in those terms, and yet I must face reality, knowing that in God’s good timing I must move on to pastures new. At this moment in time, I don’t know what the Lord will be calling me to, so have planned the rest of my sabbatical, and just wait and see where the Lord leads. At these times it’s good to reflect on the time I’ve been a part of Bradford North. When I came, even though I had been an associate member of a Methodist Church in Manchester, I didn’t really know much about my Methodist brothers and sisters, so I have had a great opportunity to learn, something which I’m sure will stand me in good stead for ecumenical fellowship in the future. I have received a very warm welcome by all I have met in the Circuit, and especially the Ministry and staff teams, who have been a real source of support and encourageme...