Today, Alex Evans of Larger.Us continued with part 2 of his four part series.
Larger Us - Part 1
We are very fortunate and delighted to be hosting Alex Evans of Larger.Us over a period of four weeks. Here is part 1 from 27 April 2025:
Sunday Worship 30 March 2025 - Mothering Sunday
Our Lent theme has been “hands” and today we looked at how our hands can be constructive and nurturing rather than destructive. We participated in the Wildcard campaign to persuade the Church of England commissioners to re-wild 30% of the land they manage by crafting our favourite animals which we will be sending to the commissioners.
#RewildTheChurch
#Craftivism
Sunday Worship 13 October 2024 - Harvest thanksgiving
This morning we celebrated our harvest thanksgiving by giving thanks to God for all of Creation but especially thinking about all the people who are involved in the production and delivery of the goods we consume and how some of these people are taken advantage of.
Here are some interesting websites to look at if you want to know more about the issues surrounding the growing of cocoa:
https://environmentjournal.online/headlines/100341/
https://fairafric.com/en/blogs/blog/die-auswirkungen-des-klimawandels-auf-den-kakaoanbau-in-ghana
https://maths-socialjustice.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/2/7/30279643/fair_trade_chocolate_pw.pdf
https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/farmers-and-workers/cocoa/
Sunday Worship 8 September 2024 - Creation Season 2
This morning Paul led us in our second service of Creation Season in thinking about “Stewardship of our Resources and Money”
Sunday Worship 1 September 2024 - Creation Season 1
Hannah Lievesey led us in our first service of this year’s Creation Season sharing with us about “Stewardship of our skills”
Sunday Worship 11 August 2024
This morning Heston and Penny led us in our morning service with Jan sharing her thoughts on welcoming other people.
Creator God
You made us in your own image
Our diversity reflects the God of many colours
You created us to dance with all of creation.
But in our pride we choose to remake you in our own image
We trample over your creation in the mistaken belief that you created it all for our use.
Forgive us Creator God and help us to love you, love creation and to walk humbly in your sight
Show us how to dance in unity with you and all of Creation.
We pray for:
the Earth, which in its complexity supports the teaming web of life, including us. Help us to appreciate that complexity and the fragility of the web of life, help us to learn how to live more simply in ways that allow all life to thrive
Father God, Mother God
You made us all your children
Our diversity reflects the triune God of relationship.
But in our pride we choose to break our relationship with you and with each other.
We trample over each other in fear or in the mistaken belief that we are superior to each other.
Forgive us Father God, Mother God and help us to love you, to love each other and to show mercy to one another
Show us how to dance in unity with you and with each other.
We pray for:
our communities that could be places of joy and peace, of sharing and caring, of love and security, of welcome and support. Forgive us our selfishness, our fear and all that keeps us bound in the prisons that isolate us. May your love break our shackles and warm our hearts, help us to learn how to live more simply in ways that allow our communities to thrive
those who have had to flee from their communities whether through war, famine, fire, climatic disaster, economic need or persecution. Fill us with your love that we may welcome them into our community so that they may enrich all our lives.
those of us who fear others who are different, for those of us who mistakenly believe we are superior.
Come, Lord Jesus, with healing hands that bind us together in unity
Take from us our fear that keeps us bound, unable to reach out and comfort one another.
Fill us with your Holy Spirit, create in us a clean heart that reaches out to hold each other.
Amen
Rainbow Junktion - Vacancy for Second Manager
Rainbow Junktion currently has a vacancy for a second manager. Details are below. If you have any queries about the role please contact Nic.harte@allhallowsleeds.net
Sunday Worship 21 July 2024
Today is Pride Sunday and this morning, Adriaan started our Rainbow Season.
Sunday Worship 21 April 2024
Our worship this morning revolved around Taize music and an exploration with some members of the church of some of the things in the Old Testament that gives us hope.
Sunday Worship 14 April 2024
This morning, Heston continued our series on the Bible by looking at “Hope in the New Testament”.
A message from the team at Rainbow Junktion
After 4 years of running our brilliant Friday Foodshare, we have decided to close for a coupleof months in order to step back and rebuild a more sustainable service. We will be closed on Fridays from the 19th April, looking to reopen on Fridays before the Summer holidays. We haven’t yet decided what our next phase of Friday life will look like so please watch this space.
Our community cafe on Mondays and Thursdays will continue as normal during this time of reflection and planning.
We’re really excited about what else we can do together in this place that we love. But we also want to take a moment to acknowledge what we’ve done together as a community over these years.
What have we achieved together as a community over these years?
In 2020, in the midst of the covid crisis, with people isolating at home, unable to get food for themselves, our community cafe became a distribution hub, working with the council, Woodhouse Community Centre and Hyde Park Source to deliver food parcels and serve outdoors distanced queues throughout the week. Working with volunteers 3 days a week from March 2020 - June 2021, we gave out an average of 157 food parcels a week.
In 2021, we resumed cafe service on 2 days of the week, and welcomed people back into the building. Our Foodshare was reduced to one day a week, serving an average of 76 households.
In 2022, we served an average of 89 households a week.
In 2023, we served an average of 193 households a week
What has 2024 been like for our foodshare so far?
In 2024 so far, we have served an average of 233 households a week - 284 on our busiest day! This is totally beyond our capacity, far exceeding what we did in the pandemic, even when the whole week was devoted to this work.
We’re glad we’ve been able to do this, but hate that it has been necessary. We want to escape the cycle of providing a crisis response to a chronic problem.We would love to spend more time building mutual,empowering relationships and working with our neighbours to challenge a system that keeps pushing them into food insecurity and poverty. This way of working disempowers so many. As such we’re taking some time to rethink what we’re doing.
The foodshare has been a joy (and a trial!). It has been a massive privilege to work so hard with so many amazing people, all pulling together for our community. The generosity and commitment we get to witness is astounding – in time and money and skills. We’re hugely proud of what we’ve done together - 25882 nutritious, culturally appropriate, personalised food parcels; and a community of mutual support and care and love which is beyond measure or value.
THANK YOU so much to anyone and everyone that makes this happen! It takes so, so many people to make this happen, and we are so, so grateful for all the support we receive.
We’re super committed to our mission - to be a place where community, connection, food and opportunities can be accessed no matter who you are and what money you have, while saving lots of food from landfill. We’re not going anywhere, just taking a breath.
As always, a huge amount of love from us.
The Rainbow Junktion team
Nic, Annmarie, Heston ( & Emily!)
<3 <3 <3
All Hallows Sunday Worship 7th April 2024
This morning, Heston looked at finding hope in the Old Testament.
All Hallows Sunday Worship 31 March 2024 - Easter Sunday
Our Easter Sunday Worship took us from the beginning of the Bible right through to the end - the theme of "garden" seems to keep recurring!
Holy Week and Easter 2024
Join us this Holy Week and Easter at services across the Headingley and Hyde Park team
Sunday 24 March 2024 - Palm Sunday
This morning we spent some time looking at and reflecting on the events of Palm Sunday, the week that followed and how Jesus was at the heart of confronting the political and economic situation of the world that left the rich and powerful in charge whilst the poor and powerless suffered.
I was reminded of Mary’s song where she says:
“He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.”
Sunday 17 March 2024
This morning, Anna shared with us her thoughts on “Enough” and how this relates to the environment
Sunday 10 March 2024
This morning, Richard and Jonathan led us in our worship, Megan shared her thoughts on "having enough" in our Lent Series on "Enough"
Sunday 3 March 2024
This morning Sam shared with us about “doing enough” in the next of our Lent series.