Sunday Service 4 December 2022

This Sunday was World Aids Sunday and Adriaan shared his thoughts with us about how we respond to Aids and those suffering with it

Here are two poems and a picture that Adriaan shared with us:

Bearing the Stigmata

I sit in the dark pew
abandoned
they shrink from me
fearing the cup we will share
stained with my blood
my diseased black body
despised
quietly condemned
leper of this age
 
place of condemnation
my Holy Mother
denying me my
birthright
I am
stoned again
for adultery
stoned for my race
for the sins of my brothers and sisters
my cross of shame
uncleanness
 
You stand in the altar
bruised
head bent
light from the rose window
reflecting the anguish
in your eyes
taking the burden of the stigmata
stigmata in your palms
balm for my spirit
hurt
 
I hear your words resound through the nave
Those who are whole do not need the physician
 
You slowly alight
from the cross
and begin
writing with your finger
across the altar
chancel step
altar rails
and down
the
aisle
 
"Bearing the Stigmata", by Devarakshanam Betty Govinden
Published in Nobody Ever Said AIDS: Stories and Poems from Southern Africa, compiled and edited by Nobantu Rasebotsa, Meg Samuelson and Kylie Thomas (Cape Town: Kwela Books 2004), p. 142-143.

We turn to God

We turn to God when we are sorely pressed;
we pray for help, and ask for peace and bread;
we seek release from illness, guilt, and death:
all people do, in faith or unbelief.

We turn to God when he sorely pressed,
and find him poor, scorned, without roof and bread,
bowed under weight of weakness, sin, and death:
faith stands by God in his dark hour of grief.

God turns to us when we are sorely pressed,
and feeds our souls and bodies with his bread;
for one and all Christ gives himself in death:
through his forgiveness sin will find relief.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Man of Sorrows” by W. Maxwell Lawton

You can see this painting and the story that Adriaan referred to here

Roof news

Exciting news! The first area of zinc sheeting has been installed on our roof today! We are getting closer to having a more sustainable waterproof roof and a warmer, drier building!

National Tree Week

National Tree Week takes place from 26 November to 4 December. National Tree Week is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration. This time of year is a great time to plant trees and many people will be planting thousands of trees to mark the start of the tree planting season.

All Hallows is fortunate to have more green space around it than many other local buildings and we have been able to plant a number of trees. Most houses in our area do not have much garden space if they have a garden at all.

This National Tree Week, here are some things we can do:

  • celebrate trees! Trees are essential. They sustain wildlife, create oxygen using up carbon dioxide, purify our air, provide shade and regulate the temperature and they are beautiful. So why not find out more about trees, and perhaps even go and hug a few!

  • plant some trees. Join a local group to plant some trees or download the Tree Council tree planting guide and plant your own.

  • donate towards planting orchards in schools. We are fortunate to have a number of fruit trees at All Hallows and they are a fantastic resource. The Tree Council are fundraising to plant more orchards in schools so that children can experience the wonder of growing and eating their own fruit.

At All Hallows, once the roof is finished and the scaffolding is gone, we will be doing a survey of our grounds in order to identify all the trees that we are looking after and finding out more about them and the wildlife they support. If you would like to join in or find out more have a word with Paul Magnall, the Parish Environmental Officer.

Sunday Service 20 November 2022

Apologies again for the lack of a livestream last Sunday. If you were unable to be with us and want to know what we got up to, here’s a report from Magnus (thanks Magnus!):

Last Sunday, 20th of November, the congregation at All Hallows focussed on the feast of Christ the King, which is the ultimate week in the liturgical year. Some of the hymns and the collects were in a more gender-fixed language than we are used to, but Assistant Curate, the Revd Joshua Peckett explained why.

In an insightful sermon, Josh preached that this feast emphasised the true kingship of Christ and that it is a relatively recent addition to the liturgical calendar, starting in 1925 by Pope Pius XI - and with good reason. Josh highlighted this as an attempt to heal the mid-1920s polarisation of western society and to focus on the assurance that Christ the King shall reign forever while governments at the time crumbled.

Almost 100 years later, this is a perfect lesson for us all, hoping that we can focus less on our current political divisions and more on the hope of the coming Messiah as we enter Advent in 2022 and beyond.

Throughout the service, Alice was the lead cantor while her father played the clarinet, and both kept us beautifully in tune. Pippa led inclusive prayers with worshippers contributing their immediate intersessions from the congregation floor. At notable moments we were given times of silence to contemplate and pray in the presence of each other - something which resonates for me, especially as a Franciscan Friar, who is new to All Hallows life.

World Toilet Day

This Saturday 19th November is “World Toilet Day”. This is a day when we are encouraged to think about sanitation world wide. We are incredibly fortunate to have clean, functioning toilets. Many people around the world do not and this affects their health and pollutes the environment.

At All Hallows, our toilets are twinned with toilets belonging to families living in poverty around the world.

Here are some things we can do:

  • read about World Toilet Day on https://www.worldtoiletday.info/

  • read about Toilet Twinning on https://www.toilettwinning.org/

  • look at the Toilet Twinning certificates in the toilets in church and find out more about the countries where the toilets are twinned with.

  • talk to people who have lived or travelled in poorer countries about the state of the toilets in those countries and their experiences.

Are there more things that we can do as a church and as a community to help tackle this issue?

Sunday Service 6 November 2022

On Sunday we gathered to discuss how we worship; how it works for us as a community and how we can make sure Sunday mornings are as inclusive and diverse as possible.

Sunday Service 30 October 2022

As All Hallows’ Eve and All Saint’s Day approaches, we gathered this morning to share stories of those we have loved and lost, and to celebrate the Saints who have inspired us. We brought our offerings of remembrance (photos, objects), treading on crunchy and colourful autumn leaves as we approached our altar. If you missed it, you can catch up on our special All Hallows’ service here:

Sunday Service 23 October 2022

This morning was the first Sunday of the Kingdom Season. Wren helped us to think about how to be more inclusive and the power of language.

Sunday Service 16 October 2022

'I am the vine; you are the branches' John 15.

This morning, in this week of our Creation Season, Richard spoke to us about the two books which connect us with God; the Bible and Creation.

The readings were from Exodus 3 1-14 and Luke 12 22-31.

Insulating our roof

After years of planning and fundraising, we are finally starting work on a new roof! Our church building, rebuilt after a fire in the 1970s and extended just before the millenium, has always had a problematic roof of concrete tiles. Uninsulated and leaking it didn’t fulfill it’s purpose!

Our replacement roof is made with zinc covering a thick layer of insulation made of recycled denim - just like our vicar’s jeans! PAVATEXTIL is a soft thermo-acoustic insulation board based on cotton fibres from recycled jeans and velvet (85%) and polyester fibres (15%). The carbon footprint of these materials is significantly less that concrete tiles and should have a much lower maintenance cost as well as reducing our heating bills.

A huge thanks to the brilliant:

If you would like to donate towards the cost of the roof then please visit our Giving Page!

Sunday Service 25th September 2022

This morning, in our second service in Creation Season, we welcomed the Rev. Dr Jan Goodair, Area Environment Champion for Leeds. Jan reminded us that we are not at the centre of the universe, we are part of God’s Creation and we need to care for every living creature.

Sunday Service 18th September 2022

'Lets stop building bigger barns. Lets build a house, a community, a world where love can dwell.'

This week is the start of our new series about Creation. Paul talked to us about consumption and reminded us that life does not exist in an abundance of possessions. Putting our trust in God and pursuing giving are the paths we are to follow.

The readings were from Exodus 16: 2-5 and 14-20 and Luke 12: 13-34.

Sunday Service 4th September 2022

Catch up on this morning’s action-packed all-ages service, led by Graeme with the excellent assistance of our brilliant kids. We considered the boxes we find ourselves put in and how God can liberate us from them. Perhaps you can recreate the joyful cardboard chaos at home!