Bradford North Circuit

A few of us organised a Fair Trade Afternoon Fair at Calverley Methodist Church on Saturday 8 th July.   The local primary school was holding a summer fair in the park that afternoon, so we gained some passing trade as well as regular supporters – a big thank you to those who came along.   We took £322 in fair trade sales and £200 from refreshments and a chocolate cake prize draw. The £200 was sent to Traidcraft’s Summer Appeal, which is supporting people like Asina in Bangladesh.   Asina is 28 and already a widow, and because of this is paid less, respected less and pushed to the margins of society. But she has pride, hope and a determination to learn.   With training and support, Asina could learn how to make use of her own small patch of land, so rather than picking tea for others, she can grow and pick her own.     Now we are moving into Autumn, we inevitably will start looking ahead and so please put the following date in your diary:   S...

Do you shop on-line? If you do, the chances are the web sites you shop with are part of a fundraising scheme called “Give as You Live”. Hundreds of stores, including Argos, Amazon, Sainsburys, Tesco, M&S, Boots, EBay, Debenhams, Waitrose and many more, are in the scheme. In return for people shopping on line, these stores will make a small donation to a nominated charity; and small donations mount up, if enough people are involved. We have registered our Shanti Nagar St Andrew’s Trust with the scheme. This means that, whenever someone who has nominated our charity as the one to receive donations in respect of their purchases, shops with one of these major stores, we will receive a donation. You don’t pay any more for the items you buy, so belonging to the scheme is totally free and yet the charity benefits! To find out more about the scheme, visit www.giveasyoulive.com . In order to earn money back for Shanti Nagar, or some other charity which you support, you simpl...

The folks at Wilsden Trinity would like to thank all the people of Wilsden (and beyond) who supported our Summer Charity Coffee Evenings. The Summer Coffee Evenings are a tradition brought to us by our friends from Harecroft Methodist Church who joined us a couple of years ago when their building sadly had to close due to structural problems. They held these events for many years, despite being a small church with very few and mostly elderly members. A shining example of what can be achieved with determination and commitment. The Coffee Evenings are held on the second Monday evening of each month from May through to September and, besides being really pleasant social occasions, have raised an average of around £200 - £300 for each of the chosen charities, which this year have been: The Lord Mayors Charity, Manorlands, The Alzheimer’s Society and The Multiple Sclerosis Society. Unusually, the August one was for the Church Building Fund, as we are raising money t...

Dear friends, At St Andrew's the other Sunday evening, we spent some time thinking about the letter from Revd Dr Roger Walton, sent on the inauguration of the new Yorkshire West Methodist District for reading in all our churches. The letter explains about the new District (formed by the coming together of 13 circuits from the former Leeds and West Yorkshire districts), and reflects on Acts 2:45-47, a snapshot of life in the early church following Pentecost. As we reflected, we realised we are not so dissimilar from the situation of the early church. Indeed here we were reading together an epistle from a church leader, albeit Roger rather than St Paul, and letting it speak into our common life. The Epistle to Yorkshire West. --> We realised we are a minority group, in a society of many tongues, religions, understandings (and misunderstandings). A society where power is in the hands of the few, with many groups marginalised. The terrible fire a...