Category: News

This week we look at “Jesus through the blinded eyes of Paul”

Before Saul met Jesus, he couldn’t see him clearly because of mis-understanding and prejudice, but once he was blinded, he could see more clearly who Jesus is.  If that seems to make no sense at all – ‘being blinded to see more clearly’ it would be good to come to this service at 11am on Sunday! You can read the story in Acts 9:1-22

We have a Zoom prayer meeting at 10am – time to see each other and interact as well as pray.

At 11am we have a the service that you’re all used to by now.  Links as always are here: https://linktr.ee/ParishofGHM

Notices

This Sunday is also when we would have our Christian Unity Service planned for 24 Jan 6.30 pm.  Instead this year it has been suggested we stand in solidarity with the lockdown and pray for God’s Kingdom to come and His will be done on earth.  We’ll be doing this together in spirit at 6.30pm

This week we look at “Jesus through the eyes of…. Peter”

That famous first meeting of the Messiah and the Fisherman.

We have a Zoom prayer meeting at 10am – time to see each other and interact as well as pray.

At 11am we have a Youtube service that you’re all used to by now.  Links as always are here: https://linktr.ee/ParishofGHM

It would be so good to see you there – say hi in the chat function!

As we enter Epiphany we will be looking at ‘first encounters’ with Jesus.  Those lightbulb moments when people suddenly get who Jesus is and what his arrival means for them and the world.

This week it is “Jesus through the eyes of…. John the Baptist”

We have a Zoom prayer meeting at 10am – time to see each other and interact as well as pray.

At 11am we have a Youtube service that you’re all used to by now.  Links as always are here: https://linktr.ee/ParishofGHM

Christmas Provision

Thank you so much for your generosity over Christmas and a huge thank to Clare and many other volunteers for organising, cooking, delivering etc.

The totals were:

Total Christmas parcels distributed – including Christmas day dinners 161

Total number of adults fed 184

Total number of children fed 140

Total number of individual meals distributed 2575

Well Done!

Good Evening

I’m sure you all know that during the current lockdown the Government has allowed Churches to continue to meet for worship.  We have decided not to continue worshiping in Churches despite being allowed to do so.  We feel that to do so is not really being a good witness in our community that is exposed to all manner of mixed messages.  The health and well being of our members and the people of our Parish need to take priority at this difficult time.

This will certainly be disappointing news to some of you – but remember that it will be a profound relief to others.

There are still many occasions where we meet together virtually – please login and meet up with your church family, you will be blessed and so will we.

For the next month or so then we have 4 ways to meet virtually as church:

Wednesday 10.30am – Morning Prayer Phone in

Thursday 7.30pm – Freedom in Christ course

Sunday 10am – Zoom Prayer

Sunday 11am – Youtube Service

All to be found at this link: https://linktr.ee/ParishofGHM

Please continue to pray for our church, our city and our nation at this time.

Happy New Year to you all!

Holy Communion

This week we are back at St Philip’s Church.
10am for Prayer
11am for the service of Holy Communion

Please note this will not be Livestreamed, but we will make a return to Youtube from next week 10th January 2021.

Steven Mitchell’s Funeral

Steven’s funeral will be at St Philip’s on Monday 4th Jan at 11am – it will be livestreamed as many who want to be there will not be able to under current restrictions.  You’ll find the link and the service in the usual way.

Freedom in Christ

We are hoping and praying that 2021 will be a year of more Freedom for us all.  As a church we will be following the Freedom in Christ Discipleship Course.  This course has been described as an MOT for your spiritual life.  If you’ve not made a New Year’s Resolution yet – what about deciding you can be free! In Christ!…… Yes it really is possible – not only for you, but for those you love.

We begin online on Thursday – 7.30pm.  Please come along to the first session.  It will be on Zoom – so you don’t even need to leave the house, but we can still be meeting and worshiping together.

The Link to join us is the same as usual – https://linktr.ee/ParishofGHM

It doesn’t feel like a Saturday! But it is – which means tomorrow is Sunday.

We will not be meeting live this week – but there will be a service online premiering at 11am as usual to be found at https://linktr.ee/ParishofGHM

Yesterday many of us met at Morrison’s Carpark for Hot Chocolate, Carols and Worship – there is a separate page about it here.  Have a look for videos and pictures.

Thanks also to those who cooked, delivered Christmas Dinners around the Parish and then handed out Christmas dinners instead of going home for their own!  What a blessing you all were to our Parish!

Next week is Sunday 3rd January 2021!
We will be back at St Philip’s Church for services – but without a Livestream for just that week.

Hope to see you at Church on Sunday

• 10am Prayer
• 11am Holy Communion Service – also available online

There is a lot happening in the coming week as I’m sure you know so it warrants an extra page with our Christmas Timetable

Notices

Most of you know we’re collecting to feed many hungry families over the holidays and to make Dinner’s for Christmas Day.  We’re also delivering a dinner to people who can’t get out and are going to be alone on the day.

One way you can help if you’re coming to the Drive in Carols is to deliver a Christmas Dinner on the way home.  They are all to people well known in our Parish who can’t get out for one reason or another.  Most of the team are going to St Paul’s to hand out food straight after the service, so your help with this would be appreciated.  Please let us know if you can take a 5 minute detour on the way home to deliver some lunch and offer Christmas greetings from us all.

Bradford video

You may have seen this great video – a service for Christmas in the Bradford District – lovely views of our Parish as well as St Paul’s featuring.

This Sunday is the 3rd in Advent – we begin a new series about the ‘Songs of Christmas’ – this week it is Zechariah’s Song.  (Luke 1: 67-80) We plan to livestream our Communion service from St Philip’s again at 11am – you can also come and join in.  If you watch it later on Youtube please be aware that the first 10 mins or so may be only music – we start the stream early to get everything set up. (Apologies that last week cut off in the notices we got a slap on the wrist for broadcasting a copyrighted song.  Sadly you missed Clare wearing a Turkey hat – so we’ll include a picture below!)

It’s the same link to find what you need – https://linktr.ee/ParishofGHM

Please remember that we start with prayer at 10am at St Philip’s – join us if you haven’t  before.  It’s really great!  In fact you’re more than welcome to come and pray and then go – we know life is complicated at the moment.

24 Angels in the sky….. Do you ever wonder why?

We hope you’re enjoying the Angel videos every day. Just to clarify – we are on a journey seeing how angels aid in God’s plan for his people through the whole Bible – we’ll go right through Christmas and Easter and into Revelation. The playlist is also in the usual link above if you can’t find them.

Food Provision over Christmas

There are still many people in great need and you may have heard the notices about it at Church on Sunday.  If not this page gives more details about our appeal.  We’re trying to bless as many hungry people as we can, both in the run up to Christmas and on Christmas Day itself.

 Over the past 6 months we have developed our work at St Paul’s with the Drop In guests, who in the light of COVID-19 restrictions have had to move to a take-out meal option rather than a sit-down meal.  We have seen an increase of people coming to collect food on a Friday and as we have got to know folks better – have learnt even more of the daily struggles many of them are facing.

We regularly have 50-60 guests a week and have seen the access to food and help harder to access. As the colder months set in and Christmas is approaching, we are keen to develop our offering and really would LOVE YOUR HELP………

 Please consider helping us with a special Christmas gift to allow us to:

 Open on Christmas day and provide 70 full Christmas meals including a pudding – for this we are looking to find a total of £280

We are also looking to give a gift to all who come on Christmas day so are looking for

• hats
• gloves
• socks
• new boxer shorts S, M, L, XL

AND…

We have been helping to support 25 families from St Philip’s School since the summer, with holiday food provision.

The provision for lunch packs have been supplemented with help from The Storehouse, St Marys: Burley- in- Wharfedale, St Philip’s School, Transform for Good

We would like to further gift each of these families along with 10 additional Drop In families with a Christmas box (or celebration meal box) containing:

• Halal chicken for the family
• Pudding item
• Christmas crackers
• Box of Tea
• Packet of Sugar

The value of each of these boxes will be £13… we would need 35

If you would like to help the easiest way these days is online – click here to find a giving page, click on your preferred amount and away you go, or there will be an offering box on Sunday at Church.

We need to know what we have to spend by the 17^th Dec, any additional money given after that will go into the food provision for 2021 so will get wisely used.

On Sunday we will be celebrating the 2nd Sunday of Advent in St Philip’s Church – and we will also finish Ephesians  with Chapter 6 .

At 10am we pray for about 30 minutes before the service at 11am which will also be livestreamed for those who cannot join us ‘in the flesh’.

Links of course are here: https://linktr.ee/ParishofGHM

We hope you’re enjoying our Advent Angels readings – please share them online either on social media or emailing the links.  If you can’t subscribe you can just visit the playlist – videos will appear each day.

It’s our final week of the Prayer Course online this Tuesday – hope to see you there.