Bradford North Circuit

Keith Bolton started studying to become a Local Preacher following the death of his parents, for whom he had cared and became fully accredited in 1991. Keith was born with cerebral palsy and spent his formative years at Lister Lane Special School. He qualified as an accountant and that was how he spent most of his working life. He put his financial expertise to good use for the Methodist Church, acting as Financial Steward in the former Woodhouse Grove Circuit. He was also the disability adviser for the West Yorkshire District. Helping those with disability was Keith’s passion. He was keen to promote good access for all to public buildings and to public transport and spent hours on various committees, advising people and putting his own experiences to good use. As well as having cerebral palsy, over the years Keith developed other debilitating illnesses, but he never let them get in his way and he would always make light of them. He loved preaching and would lead worship on mos...

On Saturday 7 October, an event was held at St Andrew’s to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rev Andrew being diagnosed with diabetes. A service of thanksgiving for medical advances made within that time frame was led by Rev Sarah J. Hymns were sung, prayers were said and Andrew spoke of his experiences over the past 50 years. A feature of the service was a PowerPoint presentation, prepared by Beth, which graphically traced the development of understanding and treatment of diabetes, from 100 years ago to the present time. The journey took us from ‘primitive’ to ‘sophisticated’ and ‘technological’. We really must be grateful for the wonderful advances made within that period. Thank you, Beth, for teaching us about it. And of course we were reminded that during these 50 years, Andrew had also suffered kidney failure, which required regular dialysis until he received an organ transplant. Another wonder of modern medicine! A representative of Diabetes UK attended, and he presented ...

We held an evening of musical entertainment on 7th October by The Masters of Nonne. This is a local band with two of the artists being church stewards. They played a variety of songs to get feet tapping and hands clapping. It was a great success with a good attendance and a delicious supper provided by Sharon with soft drinks available. All money raised went to The 2nd Mile Project. Elaine B, Thornton

On a Friday afternoon, Crag Road run a drop-in centre for local people in the Windhill area, who are struggling with life problems, such as Alcohol or Drug addiction. This has been running for 14 years and provides a valuable service to the community. Recently numbers have dropped and we have changed the format to providing soup and a roll, along with hot drinks and biscuits. We brought the time on a Friday afternoon forward, from 2pm until 4pm to 1pm until 3pm. The change has proved successful. However, due to illness, we really could use a couple of male helpers to work alongside our other helpers. If you think that this could be your Cup of Tea (excuse the pun), then please contact John northvisiting@bradfordnorth.org.uk John W, Circuit Pastoral Co-ordinator

How to deal with Halloween in a church setting is increasingly difficult, as shops fill their shelves with all things scary and children see “Trick or Treating” as the thing to do at Halloween. This year we used our “Cafe” service to ponder the concept. With cuppas and biscuits, we discussed some comments for and against Halloween celebrations. Then came the exciting bit ... Carving pumpkins !! But not as we know it! Smiley faces, hearts and crosses were carefully cut into the pumpkins (those with a steady hand did the cutting, whilst others “gave instructions) and then we lit them. They actually looked pretty good! This activity was followed by lighting candles on starry cakes for the ordinary saints we have known, people whose love of Jesus has impacted on our lives but are no longer with us. Hopefully we came away from the service less troubled by the commercial side of Halloween and we have proudly displayed our Light of Jesus pumpkins in church along with this flyer fo...

We were intrigued by an article that we had read in the Methodist Recorder dated 28th October 2016. This was from a Methodist minister who had tried to "Christianise" tricking and treating, and had been pleased with the response. On the evening of 31 October 2017, we put a few welcoming electric tea lights in our front-room window. We put a low table just inside our front door, together with a lighted candle, a lot of unlit tea lights, a taper - and a large jug of water, "just in case". So, each time that we had opened the door and been suitably afraid, aghast etc and been complimentary to the urchins outside, we said that this year we wanted their help. Would they come in and light a candle for us - whilst thinking about someone that they loved, like their grandparents? We asked that the parents would come in as well, to help their children with the taper and light a candle themselves. We explained to the parents that it was All Saints Day the following day, s...

On Saturday 16th September, we began the weekend with a coffee morning but one with a difference. We had a display of harvest gifts and also a display of talents. People were asked to bring something they had made: this could be a painting, sewing/knitting, card making, jams/preserves or poems /stories. It could be something they had made years ago or something they have just finished making. It was amazing!!! The talents of people were marvellous and we had a variety of items on display for everyone to admire. It was a great success and the display celebrated the talents of our congregation. The café was in full swing as Sharon & Carol were kept busy offering a selection of snacks, endless cups of tea and delicious bacon sandwiches. On the Sunday, Geoff B led us in worship and traditional harvest hymns were sung. He talked about the talents of people and this showed in our display and also about using our gifts for God’s purpose. The congregation joined in by writing prayers...

Many of our churches either run or host Mum and baby/toddler groups. They provide a comfortable place for mums and babies and many lifelong friendships between the mums begin in such groups. Those of us who have run them, often see the little ones grow up and even in some cases become mums themselves! Oh, how old do you feel then? The groups are hopefully a positive experience and sometimes the only contact families have with our churches. One such group is “Soupermums” at Wilsden Trinity. Local mums are invited to come along on Monday morning, chat and make themselves comfy while a band of cheerful people prepare soup, bread and cakes for these lovely mums to have for their lunch. They sit at tables and if they would like a break from their offspring, a group of “souper grannies and granddads” are there to hold and play with the babies. It was meant to be a service to local mums but we have realised how much the congregation have benefitted from this project. They meet and c...

At Christmas, candles symbolise the light that came 2,000 years ago to shine in our world of moral and spiritual darkness. It’s always hard to see in the dark, and Jesus’ perfect life shines out, giving us direction. But even though he died so long ago, he rose again from the grave and is alive for evermore. He can save us from darkness and show us how to live (and help us do so). And when we turn to his light he also forgives us for all darkness in ourselves, and gradually burns out of us our dark leanings. When we read the Bible and pray, and worship and work with other believers, he lights his candle within us – and the greater the darkness we encounter, the brighter his light shines. I was about 22 before I began to realise that all this about Jesus was true, and ever since I have been aware of his light giving me insight, as if he is shining a beam into dark corners of my experience, or into things hard to understand or accept. And his inner candle work of cleansing goes o...