Happy New Year!

I wonder if you’ve made any NY resolutions. I try not to, they often feel like burdens, but I do like to reflect on how life is going and think about any changes I might want to make. I suppose that’s resolutions by any other name – just hopefully with a little more grace!

This year I’m planning to read the whole Bible in a year.*
I’ve done it twice before, and found it to be a real blessing.
I discovered a richness in Scripture that we don’t always get when we consume it in bitesize meaty chunks, as well as an awareness of the many overarching themes and the grand story which unfolds over its many books.
To be honest, the second time took nearly 18 months, and it was still worth doing. I learned a lot about being gracious with myself, and how to carry on when I’d slipped.

This year, the plan starts with Genesis (they don’t all, and ploughing though in order is not necessarily the best way!). In Genesis 3, something jumped out at me in a fresh way, which often happens when you read it more slowly and prayerfully, even with very familiar passages.

As Adam and Eve are sent out of the garden, they receive the first ever gifts:

And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife and clothed them. (v21)

God made them leather clothes! I had a vision of the two of them going out in the world dressed like bikers, or rockers! Bigger than that amusing visual was the thought that as this hard day played out, with all the judgement and consequence and fall, in the midst of that was the caring, protecting, loving action of God. How we hold the tension in that is hard, but both sides are there in that vignette.

This year we’ll be continuing to run towards the questions of our faith – for now, let me encourage you that whatever is hard in life there is always love and care in God, and hopefully, here in his church.

If you have any other resolutions, let me encourage you to be kind to yourselves, and maybe include some practice of gratitude on your list.

Every Blessing – and feel free to dress ‘biblically’ when you come to join us, apparently the look above is God made!
Rob

PS – I thought this would be a good time to look back over the last year, as well as ahead to the year to come – see those thoughts in a longer, separate email coming soon...

*There are lots of Bible in a Year plans. More details on some ideas you can do either on paper or on an app will be in this week’s Go Deeper notes!

Go Deeper – Live!
Next Sunday 15th January we have our first Go Deeper evening worship, with contemporary worship music, prayer, and teaching on the Book of Ruth.
Join us in church at 6:30pm to Go Deeper with God and each other.

Faith & Christmas and Morning Prayer Videos
We hope you enjoyed the Faith and Christmas video series, the last one should drop next Friday! After that, our weekly Moring Prayer videos should resume.
If you love this, why not join the team? Have a word with Rob or anyone who already does it!

Lay Eucharistic Ministry Training
A two hour in-person course will take place in church on Sunday 22nd January, 1-3pm, to enable lay people to feel confident about administering the sacraments (consecrated bread and wine) during a service of Holy Communion.
For more information and to book, please click here. 
If you will be attending straight after a service, please bring some lunch.

Faith in Business
Our very own Richard Jobes has written the 'God on Monday' piece, "Flickering Justice" for the C of E this week. It's excellent – you can find it online here.

Prayers
Please remember in your prayers the family of our dear brother in Christ, Malcolm Raistrick. His funeral will take place in Church on Wednesday 18th January at 11am. May he Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory.

On a broader note, we have begun including individuals in our intercessions on Sunday mornings. Do look out for the bookmarks that will be available with a list of those prayer needs. If you would like to be prayed for, you can write your request on a tag and hang it on the prayer tree, email Sally or Rob, or just have a word with us on Sunday mornings.

Sunday Rota
The Sunday service rota for January & February has been emailed out to all those who are on it and paper copies are available in Church.
If you attend the 11am service, why not consider joining the rota to help with coffee or as a welcomer to greet people at the door?
Please speak to Sally if interested.

Animal Farm!
For a number of years we have had various animals in the Victorian part of the churchyard, including, goats, sheep, and of course the beautiful alpacas.
At present we have three ‘Easy Care Sheep’ helping to keep the vegetation down. The church has a small band of willing volunteers who care for these sheep ensuring they are fed and watered daily, and we are now looking for an enthusiastic volunteer to join our team to help organise the team rota as well as oversee the general husbandry and welfare of the sheep.
If you're interested in finding out more, or may know someone from the community who may be interested, please contact John Corbin ([email protected]).

Lifts to Church
We have a couple of people in Rodley who would appreciate a lift to church for the 9:15am Sunday service and to the T.A.G group on a Tuesday Afternoon.
If you can help, please contact Revd. Rob.

Bring & Share Lunch
As a church, it’s good to meet and eat together. We’ve not done it for a while, so we have one planned for after the services on Sunday 29th January.
Save the date and watch out for more details!

Calverley Comfort Zone
As the weather is still chilly, don’t forget Calverley Comfort Zone is open every Thursday, 11am-2:30pm at the Methodist Church. They're offering soup and a roll, tea, coffee, & biscuits, plus a range of activities.
Open to all, please make use of it.

Please send any items for our weekly newsy email to
[email protected]