What have you been getting up to?

12 months into the pandemic, I have been looking back on the things I have done during the year and been surprised at the range of activities which lockdown has brought on:

Walking:

My wife and I have walked on streets of Bradford which we had not walked on for more than 50 years! Averaging 2 miles per day, and missing very few days, we must have walked further than from Land’s End to John O’Groats (603 miles)!

Jigsaw puzzles:

Friends have loaned us puzzles, usually 1,000 pieces. This is one of the hardest ones I borrowed.

Crossword puzzles:

I have a book of Daily Telegraph puzzles, and I generally complete one per day. Good for the brain!

Restoring furniture:

During the beautiful weather around April – June 2020, I sanded and stained 6 dining chairs which we bought from Ebay. The garden was the ideal place to do this dusty job, and get a sun tan at the same time.

Zoom meetings:

These were a new experience for most of us! It has been good to share in regular Bible study with two groups: one in the circuit and the other St Andrew’s and Bolton. Circuit Meeting, Church Council and Church Leadership Team have been made possible by this means.

Monthly cash-counting:

Whilst services have not been held, fellow steward, Roger Butterfield and I have met monthly to count up regular offerings which church members have given to us directly. We have banked over £16,800 altogether, which has helped to keep the church accounts in the black.

Facetime with our families:

We regularly have video calls with our family in USA. But it has been a novelty and a blessing to Facetime with Eccleshill!

Worshipping at home:

We have regularly worshipped with Radio Leeds, Bradford North Circuit (YouTube) and Central Hall, Westminster.

What have you been doing that is different from usual?

Martin B, St Andrew’s

Comments

Biblefresh Festival 11 June 2011 - bookings now open

Bradford North and South Circuits invite you to their city-wide Biblefresh Festival Saturday 11 June 2011 Full details and booking form

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...

Godly Ways 8-10 March 2013

Godly Ways CODEC and the Dales Biblical Literacy Project present: A weekend of Worship – Teaching – Workshops. WHEN : March 8th to 10th 2013 (Starts Friday evening) WHERE : Elm Ridge Methodist Church and Bondgate Methodist Church, Darlington and Ingleton Methodist Church SPEAKERS: Revd. Professor David Wilkinson is a Methodist minister and Principal of St. John’s College, Durham. Well-known as a writer, speaker and broadcaster, David has wide-ranging interests, although he is especially concerned about science and religion. Revd. Dr. Peter Phillips is a Methodist minister and Director of Codec, a research centre housed at St. John’s College, Durham. For many years, Pete served on the staff of Cliff College. He has a great interest in the New Testament and in communicating the faith in a digital age. Revd. Ron Willoughby is an ordained minister with the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States, now living in this cou...

Bradford North Circuit

Search This Blog