Stunning WYEC Procession Celebrates Diversity

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 the Yorkshire Synod of the United Reformed Church, said:

"In the approach to the General Election, we must not seek to scapegoat people of different cultures. In unity, as Christians, we rejoice in the rich diversity of God's people in our churches, city and region."

He added,

“We are united in our faith in Christ and we are also diverse in our backgrounds and cultures; and we are all the better for it. Our society is also richer because of its diversity.”

Report by Rev Dr Clive Barrett,
WYEC - West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council

Comments

HOPE Together & HOPE Revolution

Dear friends, You are personally invited to attend an exciting evening at Bradford Academy that we hope will bring people together from Bradford and Leeds to see how further Unity, Prayerful Worship and Missional Transformation can develop between the two cities. Back in July 2012, we saw over 50 young people, 12 leaders and several churches from across Bradford and Leeds join together in a 2 day pilot mission. We partnered with a local church in Bradford to share and witness to Christ's love in word and deed. In addition to this, we included young people in the conversation of ways in which to help connect both cities in the future. There are many people interested in exploring the potential of developing something on a larger scale, culminating in a week of mission across the two cities in 2014. Your attendances and input will help shape the way forward: We would like to invite you to an exciting evening of information about HOPE Together and the y...

July message from Rev Phil

Dear Friends, The Methodist Church makes provision for its ministers to take a three-month sabbatical break from the routine of ministry every seven years – this year, in my case! By the time you read this letter, I will have already started my sabbatical and I will be absent from the circuit from mid-May to mid-August. This is not an extended holiday but an opening to do something different, as a way of being refreshed in ministry; an opportunity to ‘power down’ and to get away from a hectic, diary-driven ministry, in order to spend more focused time with God. It is a requirement and not an option for ministers to take their sabbatical break. There have been two main aspects to consider in planning the sabbatical. The first has been to decide how I should use the time. For your interest, I am pressing on with studies begun through Leeds University (which could lead to the award of a PhD), reflecting on my wor...

Summer Coffee Evenings raise over £1,200

Wilsden Trinity Church We would like to say a big thank you to all who supported us for your help in making our Summer Coffee Evenings such a brilliant success. The evenings have proved to be very popular and have been really well attended, attracting people from Wilsden village as well as members of other churches in the circuit. Together we have munched our way through a tonne of biscuits and home-made scones and consumed gallons of coffee and tea. We have baked and bric-a-bracked and book sorted and are all exhausted and half a stone heavier than we were in May but feel it has been well worth the effort. In addition to enjoying very pleasant social evenings, with God's help we have succeeded in raising over £1,200 - approximately £250 each for the five chosen charities: Yorkshire Air Ambulance , Parkinson Society , Alzheimer's Society , Multiple Sclerosis Society and Martin House Children's Hospice . We are already planning for next summer and look forward t...

Bradford North Circuit

Search This Blog