On 8th June we celebrated 160 years of ministry in Heaton with a Cream Tea, City of Bradford Brass Band and Hymn singing. Thanking God for his faithfulness.
Here are some photos from the event.
Category: Recent
Heaton Graveyard – Remembrance Service, November 2023
Every year a group gather to remember those who died in the Heaton area during World War 1 & 2. It is particularly poignant that children are able to attend from Heaton St Barnabas Primary School to read poems and join us in prayer. We’re so grateful for members of the community that keep the place looking so good through the year. To stay in touch you can follow their Facebook Page. Special thanks to Margaret Gray for organising us all so graciously each and every year.
Royal Manningham On Sea – May 2023
On Sunday 7th May 2023 we repurposed our community event into a Royal One! We incorporated an act of worship, a community fun day and a coronation celebration into the main event. 58 people came to worship outside, and then and extra 491 people from the community came to celebrate with us. Thanks so much to many in our Parish who worked tirelessly from 9-5 to bless those from outside our Church.
Keep scrolling for some more pictures.
Parish Teams Meeting – 7 March 2023
Much was discussed at this meeting – here are some notes of our discussions.
GHM is at its best when…
- We are serving all cultures and backgrounds
- We are working together towards a well-understood objective, with well understood values, which we share, helping each other out as we go.
- We involve our full membership
- We work together with clear aims to serve God
- We are loving those outside our membership as well as inside
- There are people from all the different churches mixed up together
- You see people being thoughtful of one another
- We are helping others
- We all work together
- We get together informally
- We pray on a Sunday for lots of different people
- People help others less fortunate than themselves.
Three areas for concern are: What can we do?
Discipleship
Is helping all people to become more like Jesus.
It is Costly. One hour on a Sunday is not enough to become a mature disciple of Jesus.
This is the bedrock for everything else – if we are Disciples – we will care and evangelise! This brings people in – Pastoral Care keeps people in!
It’s OK to be vulnerable with others.
Evangelism
People of our parish need to know we think they are valuable and that we care.
What follow up do we need after RESTORE
This needs serious praying!
We need some training. We need persistence and intentionality.
Pastoral Care
Can we make a Menu of what we offer as a Parish?
How can people opt in?
How do we know what is going on if people don’t tell us?
What can we do for those who can’t get to gathered worship?
Baptisms and Confirmations with Bishop Toby – 11 September 2022
This Morning we gathered as a Church family to welcome new members. Below are some pictures that are quite self explanatory. This video below starts at the baptism part of the service.
Welcome to our new Curate – Rev Emma Wilkinson
This morning we welcomed Rev Emma Wilkinson to the Parish of Girlington, Heaton and Manningham. Emma preached at our 10.30 Parish Worship service and we had a great lunch to get to know each other better. Scroll down for pictures of Emma’s ordination in Wakefield on Saturday and the service today. If you missed this morning you can watch it back here.
Good Friday 2022 – Walking a’cross’ the Parish
On Good Friday 2022 we held four short services in each of our churches. Then we set off to meet each other. Drawing lines between our churches makes the shape of a cross so we finished our service all together at the centre of the cross. We finished our service with the words:
If you have ever believed that God has abandoned us, this day says He hasn’t!
If you have ever believed that God can’t save us, this day says he can!
Licensing Service of the Rev Ben Care – 23 November 2021
Last night we welcomed Rev Ben Care and his family to our Parish. Bishop Toby led the service and we were joined by Archdeacon Andy Jolley , our Area Dean Rev John Bavington as well as others from around the city. Many friends of the family travelled great distances for the occasion and we’re so grateful to all who did!
Scroll down for some more pictures as well as the livestream if you want to relive the whole service.
Welcome Ben, Helen, Anna and Lyla!
Parish Forum Report – 19th September 2021
Last week we met to talk about the future as a single Parish. All four churches were represented and we ensured mixed tables for a well balanced discussion. Below is a selection of the comments made both during feedback and written on the table notes. Hopefully for those who were unable to come this will give a flavour of how this event unfolded.
How can we be a Church that reaches young people, families and non churched people?
- Simple Language
- More participation
- Small groups for deeper discussion
- Balance of formal and Informal
- School work to reach Parents
- Food is always a good way for relationship to form
- Clubs – film club, revision club etc
- An audit – who/where/why are the young people
- Try ideas again – just because it didn’t work once doesn’t mean it was a bad idea
- Participate – if we agree or not we need to try things to give honest feedback.
- Are we willing to give of ourselves?
- We mustn’t ignore the older folk. Harvest/Remembrance etc
- We need the doors open – not just on Sunday
- If we only cater for those who come now who will fill church offices (Wardens PCC etc) in the future?
- Advertising? Are services accessible? Do the right people know about them?
- Can we have a Mission field to those who haven’t been to church for 70 years?
- We need Stepping stones – don’t make the gaps too big for people to easily make the next step.
- Listen to those on the ‘wavelength’ of those outside church
- Buy a Minibus?
- Gardening and other activities that may attract those living in the area
What are you anxious about?
- If churches aren’t open we lose the congregation
- The Traditional Communion service is not on Sunday
- We are a missionary movement – why no Mission to Muslims?
- That there will be no church in 30 years
- Few people but many jobs
- Dwindling numbers – closing churches
What are you Hopeful about?
- During Plagues and pestilence – God’s people must overcome
- Energized by numbers
- Energized by feeding the community in the week
- Coffee outside at St Barnabas
- Young people and their climate challenge
- God knows our fears, he loves us – we should trust him
- This Parish Forum is proof people are willing to meet together.
- The Holy Spirit will guide us
NOTIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT – Rev Ben Care
The Revd Ben Care, currently Assistant Curate at Burton St Chad & Stretton with Claymills in the Lichfield Diocese is to become Associate Vicar of Girlington, Heaton & Manningham in the Bradford Episcopal
Area. Ben will be licensed on 23rd November 2021 at 7pm at St Paul’s Church, Manningham by Bishop Toby Howarth.
Ben introduces himself below….
I am delighted to have been appointed as the new Associate Minister for the parish of Girlington, Manningham and Heaton.
A little about me: I became a Christian aged 20 whilst at Warwick university and it transformed my life. Helen and I met and married on a Christian year out course in 2001 and have been trying to follow where Jesus leads ever since. Along the way I have worked and volunteered for mission organisations and I have long had a heart to see people of different faiths and backgrounds come to know Christ. Eventually the twists and turns of this journey led to being ordained in 2017 and serving my curacy in two churches in Burton upon Trent, in the Midlands. The things that I am passionate about are seeing God’s church become more fully what it can be; for us to be growing as disciples, living out His call on our lives wherever that finds us and being a people committed to His word and grappling with it. My hope is that as we grow and change more into His likeness this will spill over into the lives of those around us.
I will be coming with my family; my wife, Helen, and our daughters Anna (aged 11) and Lyla (aged 6). We love spending time outdoors, walking and exploring the countryside and nature so we’re really looking forward to getting to know the area. I am a board game geek, bookworm and coffee connoisseur.
I am excited to be joining you as we seek to serve Christ in this parish together.