I spoke about my word of the year at the Carols by Candlelight service. I should have been more honest – it was more my word of the week. I love new words too much to have one for a whole year I have started 2024 with ‘Atelic’ in my mind.* Brace yourself for some Greek...

Telic activities have a telos, which means an end, a purpose. Most things we do are FOR something – to get better at them, to earn money, to keep fit or clean or healthy. And that’s all good – we need to be able to pay for life, to be fed and housed and healthy etc.

But many of the best things in life are atelic, they are not about the end or purpose, they are just done for the joy of them. Going for a walk is one - while it might be there to help keep fit or exercise the dog, is basically a ramble. You can’t win at going for a walk. Hobbies are atelic – pointless joyful activities, which often have a bad press in the UK, although other countries are more celebratory. Board games are massive in Germany. Scandinavians tend to join clubs and have hobbies, likewise the French. Over here, they are often seen as a bit geeky.

But people with hobbies have found something. When you throw yourself into a ‘pointless’ activity that you just enjoy, then what you get is just joy. What a gift! So I encourage us all to find things that we can do that we do just for fun, for delight. To play. There’s a reason kids smile and laugh so much. Be like Rod Stewart and build a model railway. Be an AFOL**. Paint – badly! Read a book. Write a book, or a poem! Run without a Fitbit on. Knit. Make a stop motion film. Join a club. Find your play! Me, I’ll be drumming this year, getting to more pub quizzes, and remembering to celebrate every time I’m doing something pointless!

(*The idea was in the book 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman)
(**Adult Fan of Lego. Look it up).

Every blessing,
Rob

Normal Services Resumed
Services have now reverted back to the usual 9:15am & 11am times.
However, as in the past on the 5th Sundays in the month and Major Festivals we will come together for 'All-In @ 10'. Next 10am dates for your diaries are Palm Sunday (24th March) and Easter Sunday (31st March).

The Patronage Scheme
What is the Patronage Scheme? It's an opportunity for everybody in Calverley Parish and beyond to help St. Wilfrid’s Church serve the community of Calverley. Our church is an important and beautiful landmark which holds a great deal of the history of our Parish. St. Wilfrid’s has always been at the heart of the community, there for Family Occasions, Baptisms, Weddings, and Funerals, as well as Coffee Shop, Beer Festivals, Concerts and Christmas Carols. Your patronage will support the practical, ongoing costs of running and maintaining this beautiful building – preserving St. Wilfrid’s Church for future generations. Our Church costs an average of £105 per day to heat and maintain. There are also occasional larger repairs beyond these day-to-day expenses. You can choose a particular date, special to you, to support the running costs of St. Wilfrid’s. In ‘sponsoring’ that date your donation will help to cover the costs for your special day. If you would like to buy the same date every year, that would be fantastic! Please click here to access the Patronage Scheme form online.

A Late, Late Burns Supper
On Saturday 3rd February we are holding 'Burns In The Barn'. If you would like to help with this please contact [email protected], otherwise, do come along for a great evening of Scottish silliness, music, and food!
Tickets will be on sale shortly but please put the date in your diary and think about inviting friends and family.

Going Deeper
Sunday School for Grown Ups(!) will be on Sunday 28th January at 6:30pm in Church. Come and enjoy a time of worship with a chance to explore our faith in a café-style setting with other curious folk around a table together.

Moving On
As the follow up to the Start Course, The “Moving On” Course will run through Lent in the Barn, beginning on Tuesday 20th February at 6:30-8pm.
If you enjoyed the Start Course, you might find this particularly useful, but the course describes itself as “perfect for people who want to grow in their relationship with God, going deeper into prayer and the Bible. In fact, it’s for anyone who just wants to move on!”. Please speak to Rob or Lizzie if you would like to join this.

ChurchSuite
Here at Calverley Parish Church we use a secure online database called ChurchSuite to safely store your contact details instead of paper copies. If you haven’t yet provided your information to us via ChurchSuite, it makes it very hard for us to get in touch with you, so please do sign up!
For more information and to sign up, please click here, and help us be the strong connected community we're called to be.

Generosity
If you would like to give to the work and ministry of our church, which includes missional giving such as Parish Share, please do get in touch with Margaret Roundhill ([email protected]) to talk about The Parish Giving Scheme, a wonderfully simple and tax efficient way to donate regularly, or see the link at the bottom of this email.
Yours with gratitude, Rob.

Bradford North Foodbank
Donations from St. Wilfrid’s totalling 12.9Kg towards their 2023 Christmas Parcel Project made a BIG difference to so many local people and families, Thank You! Bradford North Foodbank continue to support local people and families and are currently in need of:
- Tinned Tomatoes
- Tinned Vegetables
- Tinned Fish
- Tinned Meat
- Instant Mash
- Cereals
- Coffee
- Chocolate Bars / Sweets
- Long Life UHT Milk
- Long-life UHT Fruit Juice
- Tinned Custard
- Tinned Fruit
- Rice Pudding
- Soap
- Shampoo/shower Gel
- Toothpaste
- Toothbrushes
- Deodorants
- Sanitary Products

Please send any items to be included in our Weekly Family Newsletter to:
[email protected]

The work & ministry of Calverley Parish Church is supported by the generous giving of the community, and we receive no outside funding.
You can make a donation or sign up to regular giving, including Gift Aid, via our Parish Giving page online here.
Thank You for your support.