This Sunday in our Lent series on failure, Dust and Glory, Pauline shared her thoughts on the failures of the Church. Catch up here:
Sunday Service 12 March 2023
This morning, Toby led our worship and Jonathan shared with us his thoughts on sin and “How to sin well”!
Read MoreSunday Service 5 March 2023
This morning Adriaan and Jonathan led us in our worship and Robin Fishwick shared with us his thoughts on sin.
Unfortunately, the Internet was disconnected briefly so the readings have been added later.
St Chad's Patronal Festival
On Sunday 5th March, St Chad’s Church in Headingley holding their Patronal Festival and we, along with the folk from St Michael’s, are all invited to join them in their celebrations at 9:30am.
For those unable to go we will still be having a service at All Hallows’ at the normal time of 10:30am.
Sunday 26 February 2023
During Lent we are following the Dust and Glory series produced by the Church of England where we are invited to explore how we can live well with the mess of everyday life.
This morning, Richard started our series by looking at “What is failure?”
Sunday 19 February 2023
Today Jan gave us a brilliant and richly imagined account of Jesus’ life and death from the point of view of Peter. If you missed it, you can catch up here:
Sunday 12 February 2023
Sunday 12 February 2023 - This morning Toby and Josh led us in our worship and Pauline led us in reflecting on whether we should worry or not - does Jesus tell us not to worry and Paul tell us that we should?
Read MoreSunday Service 5 February 2023
This morning we had a visit from the Reverend Hannah Lievesley of St Chad’s Church in Headingley. She shared with us about being the salt of the Earth and being a light to the world.
Sunday Service 29 January 2023
Today Heston delivered a dramatic explanation of how we can understand the Atonement in the context of Old Testament Jewish tradition. This was his and Lydia’s last Sunday with us before they leave on Sabbatical for three months. Catch up on the service below:
Sunday Service 22 January 2023
This Sunday Richard spoke about the Church of England’s recent announcement of an £100M reparation fund designated for communities historically ravaged by the Atlantic Slave trade, from which the Church benefitted financially. How do we view atonement in this context? Then Adriaan, via Heston, led us in prayers for affirmation, justice and inclusion in the wake of the recent announcement about the Church’s decision to deny equal marriage, while accepting the blessing of same sex partnerships.
Here is the text of our prayers this morning:
Dear God,
Your blessing is wherever there is love.
Yet, this week the Church of England decided not to marry two people of the same-sex in love for one another.
We pray for your forgiveness for a church that fails to recognise your most important command.
We pray for your comfort for each and everyone who has been hurt by this decision, who feel to be rejected, again.
We thank you for the small step forward that the church is making, offering prayers to same-sex couples,
and we pray for those who feel that this step is already one too far – that they may find peace;
and we pray for those who keep campaigning for further progress to be made – that they may find strength and resilience.
Dear God,
Your blessing is wherever there is love.
And today, we thank you for the gift of love in all its diversity.
We thank you for the blessing that same-sex loving people have been, and continue to be, for the church and our society,
their many gifts and talents, their manyfold contributions.
We pray for your church to recognise and celebrate the diversity of your creation;
to recognise and celebrate the value and virtue present in every human being.
We pray for the mission of the church to make visible in the world your love and justice in all its fullness – let our actions reflect those words.
We thank you for this church of All Hallows, that is such a special place where love can dwell,
And we pray that everyone who is part of our community will continue to grow in faith, in hope, and in love.
Dear God,
We thank you for the gift of your dear Son, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
He has lived your love among us, abundantly.
He has lived your forgiveness among us, generously.
He has brought reconciliation among us, radically.
Help us to shape our lives after his example,
and to grow our faith out of the new beginning that he has made possible.
Through him, each and every one of us is a child of you, dear God.
Help us to be one Family in your name,
transcending our differences, everything that divides us,
and transforming your world through your love.
Amen
Here is the text of our prayers this morning:
Dear God,
Your blessing is wherever there is love.
Yet, this week the Church of England decided not to marry two people of the same-sex in love for one another.
We pray for your forgiveness for a church that fails to recognise your most important command.
We pray for your comfort for each and everyone who has been hurt by this decision, who feel to be rejected, again.
We thank you for the small step forward that the church is making, offering prayers to same-sex couples,
and we pray for those who feel that this step is already one too far – that they may find peace;
and we pray for those who keep campaigning for further progress to be made – that they may find strength and resilience.
Dear God,
Your blessing is wherever there is love.
And today, we thank you for the gift of love in all its diversity.
We thank you for the blessing that same-sex loving people have been, and continue to be, for the church and our society,
their many gifts and talents, their manyfold contributions.
We pray for your church to recognise and celebrate the diversity of your creation;
to recognise and celebrate the value and virtue present in every human being.
We pray for the mission of the church to make visible in the world your love and justice in all its fullness – let our actions reflect those words.
We thank you for this church of All Hallows, that is such a special place where love can dwell,
And we pray that everyone who is part of our community will continue to grow in faith, in hope, and in love.
Dear God,
We thank you for the gift of your dear Son, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
He has lived your love among us, abundantly.
He has lived your forgiveness among us, generously.
He has brought reconciliation among us, radically.
Help us to shape our lives after his example,
and to grow our faith out of the new beginning that he has made possible.
Through him, each and every one of us is a child of you, dear God.
Help us to be one Family in your name,
transcending our differences, everything that divides us,
and transforming your world through your love.
Amen
Read the Full Text of Emily's Powerful Message to a City Council Meeting
Yesterday our cafe/foodshare manager, Emily Carrigan, delivered a powerful message to a City Council meeting. She shared about Rainbow Junktion's work and our fears for the desperate plight of so many in our community during this cost of living crisis. Imam Qari Asim, Matthew Magnus Hall and our vicar, Heston Groenewald, joined her in representing the LS6 community. Heston extends our thanks to our ward councillors Jonathan David Pryor and Al Garthwaite for inviting them, and for keeping their eyes wide open to the pain and struggles in our city's life.
Here you can read the speech that Emily shared at the meeting:
Imam Qari, Rev Heston, Brother Magnus and I are a deputation from Rainbow Junktion, a community café and foodshare, based in LS6. Hyde Park is a dense, diverse mix of cultures, religions and socio-economic groups. We share food, company, advice services and a warm space with LS6 neighbours, and increasingly with people from across Leeds, as need grows for the food and support we offer.
Rainbow Junktion is a community café and foodshare, but food insecurity is just one of the many complex and connected struggles that our customers are facing on a daily basis. We are are on the frontline of poverty in the city and we are extremely worried for the year ahead.
The increased numbers of people needing food at the moment is scary, we have had record breaking attendance week after week at the foodshare and the desperation is palpable. We see all sorts of people at Rainbow Junktion, many of those using the foodshare are working and although they are doing everything they can to get themselves in a good financial position, rapidly rising costs mean their basic outgoings are now just more than what they have coming in. There is no way for them to budget themselves out of crisis. I have had multiple parents come to me saying they have nothing for their children and that they themselves haven’t eaten for several days. This is utterly unacceptable in 2023.
There is also a desperate need for more emergency housing in Leeds that is both available and suitable for vulnerable people, especially in the coldest weather. The waiting lists for council accommodation are unacceptably long and in an emergency there is very little on offer. We have paid for hotel accommodation for someone fleeing violence in the home, after they were told that they were ‘choosing to make themselves homeless and therefore could not be helped’.
We are also concerned about Adult Social Care services not being able to meet the demands of people in crisis. We are struggling to get referrals accepted for some of our most vulnerable customers. People who would be able to thrive with some support are languishing in crisis because they don’t meet the criteria or because the services are overwhelmed.
Fuel poverty is an immense issue, at the food bank we are more and more frequently asked about food that doesn't require cooking as so many people don't have fuel or are trying to use as little as possible. When delivering food parcels I have seen whole families living in one room to keep warm and know of many customers who have been without fuel for days/weeks at a time.
We are still worried about the gatekeeping and the way that people in crisis are sometimes spoken to on the lines they call for support such LWSS or emergency housing. We believe that the criteria for support needs to be reviewed and also that some training for those answering the phone around dealing with people in crisis would be beneficial.
We are incredibly worried about the lack of available mental health help; many people in immediate crisis have to wait several hours for a call back from the crisis team. And many customers complain of not being able to get any mental health support at all. We desperately need a variety of well resourced and free mental health services in Leeds.
The cumulative impact of 12 long years of austerity, covid, brexit and now the (so called) cost of living crisis means our community is suffering and we need your help. We understand that your resources are limited and that many of these are complicated problems which require systemic change. However we firmly believe in the power of working together to solve them. Our communities are also resilient, knowledgable and have creative solutions, the crisis we are facing requires us all to work together, from the grassroots to the very top. So thank you for the chance to share our perspective and worries with you today and we look forward to being part of the solution.
We find that generosity is the best weapon against austerity - and generosity takes a whole community. So we are also incredibly grateful to the people of Leeds who are sensationally generous, giving their time energy compassion love and money to help us continue and expand our work through these tough times. And we are grateful to our ward councillors in LS6 for their massive friendship and partnership and support. Thank you for listening.
Sunday 15 January 2023
This morning Tim led us in a game of consequences to highlight some of the things that are involved in our response to Jesus saying “Come, follow me”.
Sunday Service 8th January
On our second Sunday of 2023 Jonathan spoke to us about Matthew 3:13-17.
Sunday Service 1st January 2023
In our first morning worship of 2023 Toby shared his thoughts on the “massacre of the innocents” - a great topic for the new year!
Unfortunately we had an issue with the live stream so there is a short break in the video - our apologies.
Sunday Service 25 December 2022 - Christmas Day
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14a)
This Christmas morning our Bible reading was very short! Heston reflected on how Jesus came and walked in our shoes and what it might be like to walk in other people’s shoes.
Here are some questions he shared with us to reflect on:
What do you love about your life?
What do you most like about yourself
What would you do if you couldn’t fail?
When was the last time you felt truly inspired?
What brought you to life today or recently?
What is really working well in your life/career right now?
What are some of the big questions you're asking yourself?
What is one big change you've made in your life?
Who was the last person to make you smile?
When have you been most present to others?
What is the vision of the world you'd like to help create?
If things were working for you, what would be happening?
If you were working at your best, what would you be doing?
What legacy would you like to leave?
What kind of an ancestor would you like to be?
What is your version of a more liveable world?
What's the coolest thing you learned today or recently?
Who are you becoming?
Sunday Service 18 December 2022
Sunday Service 11 December 2022
Join us, through watching and worshipping, for our third Sunday of Advent in 2022.
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
Advent and Christmas at All Hallows
Lots happening this month! We hope you can join us…
Sunday Service 27 November 2022
Sunday was an All-Ages service and we got creative! Catch up here if you missed it.