Getting ready for Christmas

Now that we are in Advent, its time to officially announce our Christmas Worship programme for 2008. These are the special times of worship that are planned in additional to our regular programme of weekly services.

Sunday December 14th 11.00 Christingle : a family service which explores the theme of light. As always this service is in aid of the work of the Children's Society. An hour of lively and meaningful all-age worship

Saturday December 20th 10.00-noon Christmas Messy Church : a fun-packed morning of messy crafts, fun, activities and praise for parents and children together - led by experienced and caring leaders. Pre-booking essential (use Contact Us link on left to book or enquire)

Sunday December 21st 11.00 'Nine' : here's something different and new for our Church - a multi media exploration of the Christmas Story with music, readings, poetry, images and video clips.

 4.00 Carols by Candlelight : always a popular service, this will feature all of the well-loved, traditional carols in a fully candlelit church! Magical atmosphere for all ages. Not to be missed - be early for a good seat!

December 24th 11.15 pm Midnight Mass : the first communion of Christmas. Quiet, reverent and reflective worship and words, and plenty of Carols, to usher in Christmas Day

December 25th 10.00 Christmas Family Worship : an all age service (including communion) filled with lively singing and seasonal cheer.

Bishop David to lead Confirmation Service

Our Diocesan Bishop, David James, is making a visit to St Cuthberts on Sunday November 23rd (6.30 pm) when he will be Confirming candidates from our church and also from St James Bolton and St Johns Yeadon.

Amongst the twelve candidates will be six from our own parish, as follows

• Bianca and Simon Mitchell
• Lynda and Lee Davidson
• Terry Strauss
• Laura Fletcher

Bianca will also be baptised during the service, which promises to a super occasion. A visit by Bishop David is always a fantastic occasion, and we hope that many people will make a special effort to come to what is certain to a rich time of worship and celebration.

Sermonoake causes a stir...

In an earlier post, we announced the concept of Sermonaoke - a month of services where members of our 11.00 Gathering congregation would be able to make all manner of contributions and input to the meeting. Well, we're about half way through the month right now and things are really going well.

So far we have had input from Steven Nuttall, Carol Wilkinson. Sheila Norton, Sandra Knowles, Bev Strauss, Julie Robinson, Darren Rendell and Liz Allen - and we are looking forward to contributions from Graham Robinson, Helen Donelan, Nasreen Walker, Wendy Ingham, Bev Nuttall, Graham Rendell and Natalie Whiteley among others....

There's still time for more people to get invovled, in fact I'd be quite willing to extend Sermonoake into December if there are people who would like to use their gifts and talents in our worship together.

The Gathering is finally starting to develop as a fully participatory and collaborative worship event.

All Saints @ St Cuthberts

All Saints is a festival that has been built up over recent years at St Cuthberts and is now one of the most eagerly awaited and moving days in our calendar.

This year, the actual day of All Saints (November 1st) falls on a Saturday, and we are transferring it to the next day, which is technically All Souls Day. Confused? Well, just come along to our All Saints Communion on Sunday November 2nd at 9.30 am and all will be explained!

Of course, a highlight of our All Saints service is the opportunity to make a simple memorial of a departed love one by lighting a candle on our specially decorated votive stand. It is always a very moving sight to see a whole sea of votive lights, each representing a much loved person.

Whilst The Gathering will not really be following the All Saints theme, there will be a special prayer opportunity at our Church Prayer Meeting in the evening at 6.00 p.m. All Welcome.

Sermonaoke

Sermonaoke is a concept based on one verse in the bible

So here's what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight  1 Corinthians 14.26 (The Message)

What we are going to try and do is put together a worship service each week at The Gathering in November  that is based on the principle that each person beings with them a contribution to that act of worship. Different people have 'volunteered' to speak about a verse from the bible, others will provide readings, others will choose songs and talk about why, and some people will be giving testimonies. In addition there will be input about some of the mission agencies that the church supports from our offerings.

It all promies to be an interesting and - if I'm honest - slightly scary month....

Back to Church Sunday

A week later than most other churches - due to the Church Weekend Away - we are participating in Back to Church Sunday this coming Sunday, October 5th.

Our two morning services will be especially geared for people who don't usually come to church - with really well known hymns and sings, and simple easy-to-follow liturgy. We've invited loads of people, and have encouraged our congregation to invite anyone along who maybe used to come, but no longer goes to Church.

Here's our own Bishop talking about Back to Church

A warm welcome awaits you at St Cuthberts on Sunday

Weekend kick starts small groups

The Church Weekend is now well and truly in the history books - but there are hopefully going to be long term repercussions as the church small group structure is to be revamped.

About 60 people made the trip to Scarborough for the weekend at Green Gable Hotel. The folks enjoyed a great weekend of  good food, excellent facilities and - despite a few technical hitches - great teaching and discussion. We've already had the first photo offering and thanks to Paul Seage we already have a gallery of photos to look at what went on over the weekend.

The theme of the weekend was 'Community' and how we are quite simply 'better together'. One thing that became abundantly clear was that, whilst we all really enjoy our Sunday morning experience at St Cuthberts, we need to work much harder at being committed to our small groups if we are to grow and flourish in the Christian life.

A revamp of our groups is already underway and everyone who came on the weekend will be getting a letter in the next few days inviting them to a gathering next week, which will form new groups and introduce materials and resources to help the groups build deep and meaningful relationships. Of course, that is by no means restricted to just those who happened to come on the weekend - everyone is encouraged to be part of the small group revolution! Look out for details at Church or contact me via email.

Church Weekend

About 60 people from Church are going to Scarborough next weekend - we're staying at Green Gables Hotel on our Church Weekend Away. Sadly, a few people who hoped to come have had to withdraw, as the credit crunch takes effect - but we're confident of a great weekend of fellowship, fun and relaxation.

There's more on Green Gables on their website

Please note that because of the Weekend, there will only be a 9.30 service next Sunday (September 28th). This will be a combined Parish Communion service led by Ron Jackson. All Welcome!

New Season kicks off at St Cuthberts

Following the highly successful and enjoyable United Worship with Wayne Jacobs, it seems appropriate to take a footballing analogy for the title of this post, as we start up a whole new series of services after the more chilled out service pattern over the summer.

As from Sunday September 5th, services return to their regular format. At 9.30 am, we continue to host Common Worship Holy Communion services, based around the themes and readings of the Anglican lectionary. There are traditional hymns and music, set prayers and bible-based preaching from our team of clergy and leaders (rotating between the four of us)

'The Gathering' starts up again on September 5th with a lively mix of contemporary worship, teaching, creative elements and testimony. We'll be launching a series on 'Community' later in the month, but before that we have a Family Harvest Festival on September 14th, and this week (September 7th) we're looking at the theme of being a welcoming church - a precursor to 'Back to Church Sunday'.

See the Upcoming page for details of specific services each week - and join us for our worship each week at St Cuthberts.

Bradford City legend to speak at St Cuthberts

Wayne Jacobs is a modern day legend at Bradford City Football Club - a loyal and long serving full-back from their days in the Premiership, who is now the Assistant Manager to the club he loves.

And, this coming Sunday, he will be speaking at St Cuthberts Wrose as the very special guest at our Wrose Churches combined event, starting from noon. Hear Wayne give testimony to his Christian faith, and how God has helped him as a professional in the world of modern football.

You'll remember that this event was originally intended to be an outdoor witness on Wrose Rec - but due to practical and logistical difficulties, it has had to be moved indoors. Looking at the current weather, that might just turn out to be a good move in any case! Either way, we've been asked to host it here at St Cuthberts - and everyone is welcome to join us!

Along with Wayne Jacobs, there will be lively worship, a puppet show and other fun features. It will last about three quarters of an hour, and will immediately be followed by a free Barbeque either in the church grounds or inside, if wet.

Join with Christians from the other local churches for this unique event - and remember the one-off time - it starts at 12.00 noon!