It won’t be long until we hold our 'Burns In the Barn' belated Burn’s Night Celebration! And I am very much looking forward to eating haggis with you all on 3rd February, so do get a ticket online here! Invite friends - it will be fun!

Robert Burns was an “interesting character” in many ways, but there’s wisdom and a longing for justice and equality in his poetry that still has relevance and can still feel like a fight we haven’t yet won.

Years ago in school we were taught the poem, ‘A man’s a man for a’ that’ as my headteacher at the time had a particular love of all things Burns. ‘A’ that’(all that) in the poem refers to one’s rank, popularity, race, class, education, or wealth. For Burns, people should be treated with dignity and respect whatever their position in life.

When I re-read the poem today, it feels very Biblical! I’m reminded me of the verse in 1 Samuel, that God looks at the heart rather than outward appearances, and the words of the Magnificat, (Mary’s song in Luke 1) where the poor and lowly are favoured by God. There are plenty other examples of God turning things upside down in this way, and of the equality of human beings in God’s sight – we are all Jesus’ favourites, as someone we know often reminds us! Burns’ song ends optimistically that there will be social change:

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree,* an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's comin’ yet for a' that
That man to man, the world o'er,
Shall brithers** be for a' that.

*take first place
**brothers

Given it was written in 1795, I guess there have been changes, but even in 2024, when we look around at our world and we wonder about equality, however widely we think we have stretched our tent to shelter others under, there’s always further we can stretch it.

Lizzie

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).

Burns in the Barn!
Saturday 3rd February and evening of Scottish Silliness, Music, and Food!
Tickets are £10 each, or £7:50 for Children Under 7 and all tickets include a 3-course meal! Options include Haggis, Vegetarian Haggis, Sausages, or Vegetarian Sausages. BYOB/drinks please.
Everyone is welcome. Arrive from 5/5:30pm ready to be seated at 6pm.
Please visit calverley.church/burns for more info and to purchase tickets.

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.

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.

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.

Weekly Family News Introductory Pieces
Do you have something you’d like to share? How you came to God?
An experience that might interest others? Something about the history of Calverley and its relationship with St. Wilfrid’s that might not be common knowledge? Your own history and relationship with St. Wilfrid’s?
We’re looking to build up a library of articles that could be used as the introductory piece for our weekly Family News Newsletter Email.
It doesn’t have to be a long piece, just something you’d like to share.
If you have a piece in mind that would fit a particular week, please let us know and we can save it for then. All you need to do is put the words together, give it a title, and if you have a suitable picture to go with it you'd like to share send us that too or we will find something appropriate to complement your words. Please send your submissions including Title & Picture to the [email protected]

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.

Date for your Diary
Friday 26th April - A Charity Wine Tasting Event in Church!
More details coming soon.

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

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.

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.