Skip to main content

Pastoral Letter - June 2021

Image
By
Dear Friends, 

The Yorkshire West District of the Methodist Church, of which Bradford North Circuit is a part, has launched an initiative for Pentecost and beyond called REAL LOVE. It is a challenge to all of us to ask how we, as individuals and Churches, can be real love to those around us, in our families, neighbourhoods, communities. In particular, to think about how we can visibly and tangibly express real love to those around us. 

The initiative began in the Aire and Calder Circuit, with lots and lots of hearts being knitted and given to people around St Valentine’s Day, as signs of the Church’s and more importantly God’s real love. 

At the District Synod last month all kinds of ideas were generated and shared of ways in which we might show real love. Some of those ideas were: 
  • Put a message of thanks on your door for the post people, or give a thank you to other key workers;
  • Organise a community event such as a litter pick; 
  • Pop-up Sunday School, to give out symbols (doves, hearts etc); 
  • Gathering prayers from local shops and businesses; 
  • Offering something with no strings attached – a free gift; 
  • Placing symbols/posters/images that are visible to the community e.g. on noticeboards;
  • Giving gifts in shops or supermarket; 
  • Celebrating those who are blood donors, stem cell and organ donors and raising the profile of this; 
  • Baking scones & painting stones & placing them around the community; 
  • Using a local tree to hang ‘Real Love’ hearts; 
  • Offering practical support e.g. gardening; 
  • Giving out and planting bulbs / packet of seeds; 
  • Giving out hearts in pairs to nursing homes and vaccine clinics when church volunteers are helping;
  • Balloons with a Real Love message put out outside of our churches for people to take; 
  • Real Love postcards; 
  • Knitted hearts, made by folk beyond church, sent on behalf of church with letter to bereaved folk post funeral; 
  • Taking something out to people who are isolated (e.g. cream teas etc); 
  • Looking wider - use what is already in the planning stage and incorporate Real Love into that; 
  • Real Love sewn & knitted hearts to all children & staff of a local school with Real Love message.
Each Circuit’s Synod Reps were asked to think about what our Circuit might do. The Bradford North reps came up with: ‘looking at existing ways of serving community (e.g .litter-picking, neighbour-shopping) enhanced by leaving gift / message with invite / contact and seeking involvement of wider than usual suspects in producing those gifts (hearts, seed bombs, cards)’.

What might you and your Church do in response to REAL LOVE? What are you already doing that you could build on? 

Blessings 
Nick 

P.S. Each circuit has also been given a REAL LOVE bear – as yet unnamed - as a symbol of the initiative. If you think you know his or her (difficult to tell which with a yellow bear) name, especially if it’s a name with a reason, do let me know! (The picture shows our bear at Allerton on election day.)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soupermums! Wilsden Trinity Church

By
Do you have a young baby? Looking for something to do? If the answer is yes then Soupermums is for you. We're here from 11 until 1 every Monday, Mums (and dads) have a rest and the babies can play. Have a lovely sit down whilst you sip on a brew. Enjoy having someone else make lunch for you! Come along to Wilsden Church, meet the rest of the group. Lovely ladies cuddle the babies, whilst you eat your soup. Chat with the mums, new friends you will make. Swap tips and advice over a slice or two of cake. So what are you waiting for? come on along, For homemade treats, good company and if you're lucky a song. We're looking forward to meeting you, please come take a peek, 11-1 at Wilsden Trinity, we're here every week! Celine V  (a Soupermum!) Where can new mums go, to have lunch where it’s warm and safe and you get to eat fresh soup and homemade cakes, while someone holds your baby? Too big an ask? Not at Wilsden Trinity! Every Mond...
Post a Comment
Read more

HOPE Together & HOPE Revolution

By
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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Christmas at Thackley

By
Our Christmas activities started in early November collecting donations for Christmas hampers for Bradford North Foodbank. Our Christmas Fair swiftly followed on a very chilly late November morning with the first snow of winter! The Fair raised over £600 and we are grateful to Monday Mums for serving refreshments, to the Ladies Group for their yummy cake stall, to the Brownies for their chocolate tombola, the Guides for their tombola and for making lip balm and to everyone else at Team TMC for the many varied ways in which they contri buted to the success of the morning. For several years we have shared one big Christmas card and given the money we would usually spend on cards to charity. The charity is Caring for Life which changes lives by sharing Jesus' love with the vulnerable; if you've not visited their wonderful coffee shop, make it a New Y ear's resolution to do so - http://www.caringforlife.co.uk/ . This year's fabulous Chr...
Post a Comment
Read more