Dear friends,

Well this week we’ve all been focussing on trips to Barnard Castle, a place that many of us may not have ever visited! It’s brought home the tension that underlines the current COVID-19 situation, and the sense of fairness and justice that is a foundational value of the UK culture.

Into that mix, we are about to enter Pentecost, the end of the Easter season, and the start of another, which is often referred to as the Birthday of the Church.
When we celebrate birthdays, we celebrate new life that has grown in stages to be the person who has grown another year older. Sometimes, that year has been a difficult one. Sometimes, one full of celebration.
This year, many milestones have had to be ‘low key’ due to the lockdown.
But let’s not have a ‘locked’ Pentecost. As we do, let’s put on our bright clothes, celebrate the birthday that started with an outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, and launched the Church with exponential growth, from a handful, to the billions that are part of the Church today.

We are not people who are immune from suffering. It’s everywhere.
But at the same time, we are people who have the hope of being loved by God.
And that hope is one to be shared with our communities, and our families.
We are not just to be a non-anxious presence (important as that is), we are to be a hope-filled presence too.

On a practical note, we have now setup our Online Giving solution. We still have our ongoing costs, and if you don’t give already, this is a great way to be able to support the work of the Church. Recurring Online Giving is coming soon.
Please go to calverley.church/giving to Give Online. Thank you.

Here’s a few prayer points:
- For our local NHS hospitals, their staff, including Ben and the Chaplaincy team, for care home staff and their residents.
- For businesses up and down the country who are working on their profits plummeting and staff being made redundant.
- Thanks for the life of Dennis Steele and others who have passed away.
- Thanks for all of those who make our lives richer.

In case you missed any Morning Prayer Services, they're all on our YouTube Channel. Tomorrow morning, John will be bringing us the service from Parkside Primary School!

God bless,
Phil