Well, it’s official – it looks like I’m staying!
(Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on going anywhere!)

It’s a daunting thing to have your name written in gold on an oak board of incumbents stretching back to the thirteenth century; to be confronted with the idea of one’s legacy, that one’s actions will stand in history, one’s actions known and judged, one’s memory linger. That there will be a time after me, both in this church, and on this earth. It got me wondering...

I am aware that I stand on the shoulders of giants. Literally!
As you’ll see from the photo below, 47 and 48 (as I call them) are both tall chaps! It was special to be at a recent local event where they were both invited back, and that they wanted to come – not many places want their vicars back, which speaks so highly of Calverley. More than just names on a board, their legacy is a church and community of vibrant faith, of mutual support, and of hospitality and inclusion.
I can only hope ‘50’ thinks the same of me!

I saw another legacy this week, one not written in gold, but one that shines nonetheless. As I sat at TAG, our Tuesday Afternoon Group, I heard beautiful stories as memories were shared and cherished of a recently departed much-missed member. That’s the sort of legacy I hope to leave, one of love, of joy, of things made, friends cherished, songs sung, jokes told, and hearts lifted.

That made me think – too often we don’t hear these stories, they are spoken only when we have moved onwards or upwards. This week, why not let someone know what you mean to them, and what you cherish about them.
And let’s all strive to leave beautiful stories and lifted hearts behind us.

God Bless,
49

Sunday has Moved!
We have now started the trial period, so up to and including 24th July, we'll be meeting at 9:30am for our Traditional Holy Communion service, and 5pm in the afternoon for our Family Service, including Sunday school most weeks. Coffee is served after the 9:30am service, and before the 5pm service.
If you have any comments on how the services are going at the new times, please let us know by contacting the [email protected].

Youth Event – This Sunday, 6:30-8pm in Church
If you have a young person in Year 6 or upwards to 18 years old, why not pop along to our Youth Event in church this Sunday evening. It will involve pizza, some fun, and an A.M.A (Ask Me Anything) with Rob the vicar.
Ask anything about life, church, or faith. We also want to know what young people would like from the church in the way of activities and support.
It'd be great to get an idea of numbers before the event (in the interests of getting enough pizza!) so do let us know be contacting [email protected], but equally it's fine to just turn up!

Messy Church July
The next Messy Church is on Saturday 2nd July at 3pm and this month it’s a ‘Messy Jamboree’! Please contact the [email protected] to book a table for your family.

Confirmation START Course
As preparation for confirmation, we’ll be running the START course in October & November. We will be meeting at 6pm on Tuesdays in church to eat together and explore questions about faith, life, and Jesus, and this is open to everyone! The dates for the course are Tuesday 4th, 11th, & 18th October and 1st, 8th, 15th, & 22nd November, culminating in a special confirmation service led by the new Bishop of Kirkstall on Sunday 27th November at 10am.
If this is something you’d be interested in, please chat to Rev Rob or email [email protected] for more info.

Parish Giving Scheme
Some of you may be aware we have launched the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) as part of our Joyful Giving programme at church. This is a scheme that the diocese funds and allows us to collect regular giving in a much better way.
We have already sent a letter to every member of the church family we could find details for, and we'll also send the letter as a dedicated Newsy Email next Monday – do look out for it if you didn’t get one already. More information on the church finances and the PGS are available in the sermon from 12th June, available to watch online here.

Holiday Club!
As we continue to emerge from the pandemic and the restrictions it imposed on everyone, here at St. Wilfrid’s we are hoping to reinstate our summer Holiday Club of crafts and activities based around a Bible story, character, or event. The club runs every morning for 5 days for children from Reception age to Year 6. We don’t have firm dates yet, but before we go into full preparation mode it would be very helpful for us if you could register your interest by completing this short online form. If you have already registered interest using the online form, please don’t complete the form again.

What’s coming up!
We’re currently beavering away behind the scenes here at St. Wilfrid’s.
Keep a look out for more information on some exciting events coming up before the end of the year!