Bradford North Circuit

That sore knee again: I have exercises for recovery, each lasting about five seconds. You can measure seconds my saying, “A-thousand-and-1... -2... -3...”, or “Mississippi-1... -2...” and so on. With three different exercises, on both legs, repeated 20 to 40 times, morning noon and night, that’s about 1500 Mississippies every day, for months! I know it’s a big river, but I got fed up with the repetition and wondered if there was something more positive and edifying – like repetitive prayer. I don’t mean a rosary, but how about positive affirmation of the Lord’s healing programme: By-your-stripes, Lord (1...5); I-am-healed, Lord; I-am-saved, Lord; I am yours, Lord (speak quick to measure seconds). Or proclaim to ourselves reminders about God: Heavenly Father (1...5), Jesus, Lord and Saviour..., Holy Spirit, Helper... Or take a favourite text, phrase by phrase: Behold, you stand... I hear your knock... I open to you..., Come in and eat, Lord (Rev 3:20). Or review God’s grea...

The January 2015 edition of The Link carried an account of a coffee morning held at St Andrew’s , to raise money to support a family in Zimbabwe, which had fallen on hard times. The daughter of the family, Barbra, lives in Bradford with her husband and three children, and attends St Andrew’s. She had told us of their difficulties. The coffee morning raised £651 for the family, which has enabled them to set up a chicken farm and given them a new lease of life. Praise the Lord! We received the following letter from the family, together with some photographs “My family send their thanks to St Andrew’s Church for their generosity, love and kindness to my family in Zimbabwe. They are happy with the help they received from the church. They were sad after the tragedy of losing their children and being left to look after 13 grand-children, after both their parents died. My mother’s health gets worse, and my father had an accident, when a tree fell on him and affected his back. Thi...

A group of major Churches is promoting access to responsible credit and savings with the launch of the Churches Mutual Credit Union Ltd . (CMCU). The Archbishop of Canterbury joined the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the President of the Methodist Conference, The Rev Ken Howcroft, at Church House in London, to celebrate their churches' collaboration in forming the flagship credit union.   The CMCU, which also includes the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the Church in Wales, will offer a range of savings and loan products.  Fairness will be at the heart of the CMCU's values.  Initially members will be able to invest in the 'Founder Member's Bond' with ordinary savers accounts and loans becoming available in March.  In due course CMCU will offer ISA sav...

Our anniversary weekend on 7/8 March 2015 turned into quite a celebration! After our Big Birthday Bash last year, to celebrate 125 years of worship at Thackley, we thought that this year's anniversary would be quite a low key affair in comparison. How wrong we were! We were delighted that Rev Christine Hawke had accepted our invitation to preach and plans were in hand for our usual Gift Day coffee morning on the Saturday - time to sit back and relax until the weekend came. And then ... a request came in from Brownies to book the room for a Brownie Fair and a parade service to celebrate their 50th Anniversary on the same weekend! Well, that threw us into an email frenzy with many "what if ...", "ah but..." until we finally reached "why not?" Why not share the celebrations? So we did! And what a wonderful weekend it was. The Brownie Fair provided a great opportunity for us to get to know one another and raised over £400. Rev Chris Hawke took...

Come and join us for special events to celebrate 125 years in our premises. Saturday 25 April 2015 7.30 pm Steeton Male Voice ChoirConcert Tickets £9.00 email baildon@bradfordnorth.org.uk Special Weekend of Celebrations Friday 8 May 2015 6.30 - 8.30 pm BBQ Beetle & Birthday Bash Food and fun for all ages Tickets limited: £7 adults; £5 school-age children Saturday 9 May 2015 10.00 am - 12.00 noon Christians in the Moral Maze A morning for inspiration, reflection and discussion on social and moral issues of today led by Rev Brian Brown Sunday 10 May 2015 All age 10 o'clock Worship with special musical contributions and led by Rev Brian Brown 6.00 pm Communion led by Rev Brian Brown and Rev Phil Drake another chance to hear Brian's inspirational preaching Launch of our "125 things to do in 125 days booklet" on sale at the Anniversary Weekend for £1.25 only 125 copies available so get one quick!

On the 6th, 7th and 8th July at St. Andrews Church , Undercliffe, there will be 3 days of fun and enjoyment for those who come.  This is the programme which has been planned:- Monday: at Church with chatting, games and food. Tuesday: a trip to York with a River Cruise, 3 Course Lunch and a guided tour of York Minster Wednesday: at Church with fun, food, and entertainment. The bookings will open in May, so get yourselves ready and make a note of the dates. If you have not been before, Holiday at Home is primarily for elderly people who would not normally get a holiday. If you go to a relatives caravan for a couple of weekends, that does not exclude you. If you go to the Bahamas for 4 months a year, well - that is a different story! If you need more details before you decide whether to go, please contact myself and I will be happy to tell you more. To those who have been before - I look forward to seeing you again. This is for anyone throughout the circuit. I will giv...

Mindful, in the run-up to the General Election, of the climate in society of hostility to people of different races and nations; of the tendency to blame people from other countries for long-standing problems at home; and of the need for an outlook of hope to triumph over the negativity of fear, regional church leaders came together in the centre of Leeds on Ash Wednesday, 19 February, to lead a colourful procession in celebration of diversity – of cultures, nations, traditions – in the churches, the city and the region. Hundreds of people were engaged by a procession along Briggate and by the opening of an amazing banner of the flags of the nations in the Trinity Leeds shopping centre. The Chair of West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council (the organisation behind the event), the Revd. Kevin Watson, Moderator of ...

I fell off a stile earlier in the year (dogwalk) and twisted my knee painfully. It proved very slow to heal, so I went to a Physio who kneaded tender areas and gave me exercises. Slowly (age thing) there is healing. Having this column to write, I wondered if there were lessons for prayer. That morning of the fall I clambered over the stile so full of confidence that I did not pay attention, and slipped (lesson 1). And then the ‘dot and carry one’ stage, limping stiffly with a stick, watching every step (2). But feel no shame about needing a stick, a prop in case you stumble: reminds us of dependence on God (3). Indeed, I found a sort of fellowship of the stick among hesitant hobblers, a mutual acceptance and understanding, which was pleasant and supportive – a bit like a prayer meeting (4). And the exercises: 20 minutes, thrice daily; all to build up the knee and its various muscles, lots of them. Regularity and fidelity is lesson 5, and/or perhaps discipline and obedien...

Do you enjoy reading with and talking to children? Are you passionate about reading? Would you like to support a local primary school in helping children achieve? We urgently need reading helpers in the Bradford area and Save the Children would love you to volunteer with them. Save the Children is looking for motivated and enthusiastic volunteers who are keen to make a lasting difference to a child’s life.  As a volunteer on our Born to Read programme you will provide one-to-one support through reading with a child, playing word games and listening to what they have to say. Born to Read is a partnership between Save the Children and the children’s literacy charity Beanstalk to plac...