Bradford North Circuit

I suppose it started with the Tower of London poppies. Somewhere in the dim recesses of my mind, I lodged a thought; “You could do that on a small scale with knitted poppies”. It surfaced again at the beginning of this year in which we would see the Somme centenary. The first day of the Battle of the Somme was a critical event in Bradford’s history. In 1916 everybody knew someone who was there. An estimated 2,000 Bradford men, mainly in the ‘Bradford Pals’, were thrown into the big push that day. 1,770 of them were killed or wounded, that was nine out of every ten men. “1,770 poppies” I thought, “that’s achievable”. So I went to the Stewards and Elders and said “I’ve been thinking”. This tended to make them roll their eyes a bit, but they agreed we could go ahead. The first call for poppy knitters went out to Wilsden residents in the Easter edition of “Village Voice” magazine. Not much happened. I needed help, someone as organised as I am disorganised. Sharon! Thankfull...

St Andrew’s Luncheon Club received an invitation from Peel Park Primary School to attend their celebrations for the Queen’s 90 th birthday. We were advised that Steve would come to collect and return all who wished to attend. There was to be tea and cakes, followed by entertainment from the children, and then flag-waving and cheers for the Queen, outside in the playground, weather permitting! We accepted the kind invitation and so had a slightly earlier lunch. We were collected by Steve at 1.00 pm and driven down the hill to school, where we were received by our very courteous designated staff. They were really caring and helpful. We were treated like royalty! The school hall was decorated with an abundance of red, white and blue. The student ‘king’ and ‘queen’, complete with crown, robes and throne, sat at the head of the top table, alongside the Lord Mayor, Cllr Rev Geoff Reid and the Lady Mayoress, the headteacher and other dignitaries. We were...

On Sunday 15 th May, our service was an own arrangement conducted by Geoff B. His service was about Christian Aid and he gave a very interesting talk about the work that they carry out, which gave us all an insight into the work of Christian Aid. This was followed by a delicious lunch organised by Patricia Francis and Margaret Allan with the proceeds going to Christian Aid. Elaine B, Thornton

On the weekend of 1 – 3 July, Wilsden Trinity Church presented a wonderful display to commemorate the 100 th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. All the churches in the circuit were invited to knit 1,770 poppies, equivalent to the number of Bradford Pals who died on the first day of battle. There was a marvellous response, and more than the required number of poppies were produced. Members of Trinity, guided by instigator Jane C, got up early on 1 July (before 6.00 am!) and planted the poppies in the church grounds. They stopped at 7.30 am, for two minutes silence to coincide with the exact time the battle started. Inside the church, an amazing exhibition of mementos, artefacts, books, articles and pictures had been assembled, which brought home the horrors of that awful event, in many cases bearing testimony to the experiences of local men, from letters and personal accounts. On the Friday evening, Gordon B read extracts from the memoirs ...

July the 4 th is Independence Day in the USA. It was also Independence day for the people of Bradford North Circuit. Holiday at Home descended once again on St. Andrew’s Church. This year, we had more guests than ever before. We had new guests from Baildon, Saltaire and St. Andrew’s. Monday 4 th July The day began with everyone getting to know one another. The Agape area was soon buzzing with conversation. Vast amounts of cakes, buns etc. along with gallons of tea were consumed. Shortly after we moved into the church for lunch. Once again our food providers at St Christopher's did us proud. The word DIET was banned for these three days. The fresh cream trifle was to die for. We also care for our helpers! After Lunch we enjoyed games. Believe it or not, Snakes & Ladders was popula...

(A study day held by Methodist Women in Britain on 27th April 2016) I went to this meeting thinking that I should learn more about this subject, as our churches need to be aware of the problem, in order to do what they can to support members with this condition, and their carers.   As we were having coffee before the meeting started, my neighbour said that one of the speakers had been to her church and congratulated her on being a dementia friendly church; the reason being that the toilet seats were the right colour. I was intrigued. All of us will know someone, who either has dementia or who cares for someone who does. With our ageing population, both outside and inside the church, this will be something that we shall have to cope with for many years to come. The love that we have one...

Caroline introduces herself:- I was born and brought up in a devout Christian family, in a small town of North India. Since childhood, family devotions and Sunday school were of prime importance. Although, I belonged to a Christian family, I, like many young people, did not have a deep understanding and personal relationship with Jesus. In my understanding, salvation was my birth right, since I was born into a Christian family. I was wrong. I had a personal encounter with Jesus whilst hearing the message at a youth conference on Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” At this point, I knew that my parents’ salvation had led me to Christ, but I had to confess Him to be saved and begin my jou...

What kind of monkey can fly? A hot air baboon! What is a cat’s favourite colour? Purr-ple! Yes, we’ve been in school again! For the fifth year in succession, we took the story of Noah to each of the Year 4 classes continuing the tradition begun when Calverley Methodist Church shared money they had been given with the rest of the Circuit and Sharon Fell devised a day’s work based on the story. What we do has developed and Sharon would no longer recognise most of how we spend the day. We begin by telling the story using the excellent props made for Shipley’s Open the Book assemblies. Then the story and its message are reinforced as the children do Maths, doubling and halving as they convert cubits into metres and realise just how large the Ark was! They do not realise how much work they are...

The Ark Charity Shop  has been serving the people of Girlington, Heaton and Manningham for more than 20 years.  It sells a wide range of goods from clothing, shoes, books, bric à brac, toys, DVDs to electrical goods.  All the items are competitively priced, rotated regularly and there are special offers every week. Many customers come to the shop every few days to pick up a bargain.  The shop was started by the churches in the area so that small, local organisations could be given grants for their activities. Lots of local adults and children have benefited from them through these organisations. Run by volunteers, the shop is seen as a friendly, supportive place to shop, and many volunteers have gone on to get jobs, after their experience in the shop. The shop will soon almost double in size, allowing more goods to be displayed.  There will also be room for baby equipment and small furniture and the plan is to have the front of the shop dedicated to clo...

Tea and Talk on 16 th April was very special for us all.  We were delighted to celebrate with our dear friend Edna, her 100 th birthday – a truly wonderful achievement. The hall was superbly decorated and tables beautifully set for a birthday party.  We all enjoyed an afternoon tea, as well as chatting to our friends.  Edna got chance to go round and talk to all her friends. Edna was surprised to receive a visit from the then Lord Mayor, Councillor Joanne Dodds and her consort, Robert Dodds.  The Lord Mayor gave Edna a present and card on behalf of Bradford Council. A photographer from the Telegraph & Argus came and we were delighted to see Edna’s photograph in the paper a couple of days later. Edna brought with her the card that she had received from HM the Queen.  This took pride of place on a table with a birthday cake and a basket of flowers from her friends at Allerton Church. The Lord Mayor chatted to Edna for a while, before we were en...

‘Pentecost in the Park’ was organised by the Girlington, Heaton & Manningham Council of Churches and took place on Sunday 15 May. It was a wonderful event and time of worship to be involved in. Hymn singing was led by the Salvation Army Band and the drama of Pentecost was shown by all the children present waving flags of 30+ nations and tongues and flames of the Holy Spirit. The Rt Rev Dr Toby Howarth, the Bishop of Bradford, gave a magnificent sermon which emphasised the number of Christians from all nations in Bradford.  As multiple nations were named, people were asked to shout out.  The Lord’s Prayer was said in at least 20 languages.  As happened at Pentecost, regardless of where we come from, we all speak in one voice of the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Stuart D, Haworth Road

I had heard from a friend who had seen them that this ukulele group might be suitable to entertain our Luncheon Club at St Andrew’s. Arrangements were made for them to come but, unfortunately, due to a heavy snowfall, we had to cancel their visit. We decided to invite them again, through the Ladies Fellowship and open it up to all who wanted to attend an evening concert. Tickets were sold, help pledged and cakes promised, as we were assured that cake helped the musicians to perform at their best! They were such a lovely, friendly group of people and we just sensed that we were going to enjoy a really good night. Some 50 people turned up to support, which helped to create a great atmosphere. We were given songbooks (and percussion instruments!) so that we could join in and also make requests for our favourite songs from their list. It was such an uplifting, joyful, fun evening with songs old and new, many bringing memories from the not-too-distant past. Everyone put aside...

Dear Friends The Lord is my Shepherd.  I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me: your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. The 23 rd Psalm contains a number of images/pictures which communicate to us about God travelling the journey of life with us. Green pastures, quiet waters, paths of righteousness, a prepared table, goodness, love, days of a life and a dwelling place. Yet the Psalm also recognises the realities of life, not always easy and aspects of our life which are far from perfect. Green p...