The donkey is, of course, one of the two central characters in the ‘Palm Sunday Story’ (the other being Jesus). Palm Sunday falls on the Sunday before Easter and commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem - an event mentioned in each of the four Gospels (Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, & John 12:12-19). According to the Gospels, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, and the celebrating people there laid down their cloaks and small branches of palm trees in front of him. At the start of Jesus’ story, the humble donkey carried Mary to Bethlehem so the donkey has had a key role to play on a number of occasions. But how much do you know about donkeys? They are really rather special:

1. There are more than 44 million donkeys in the world, of all shapes and sizes.
2. There are more than 186 breeds of donkey.
3. Donkeys have very good memories. They can remember places and other donkeys even 25 years after they last saw them.
4. Donkeys are not stubborn, they are cautious. If they're fearful about something they will do their best to avoid it.
5. Donkeys are naturally clean. Given the chance, they are always grooming themselves and each other.
6. Donkeys like to be warm and dry. They come from deserts and savannahs.
7. Donkeys have big ears for good reason, it means they can her each other at great distance. They communicate by braying.
8. Donkeys help the ecology of their desert homes by digging into the ground to access water. This provides little creatures such as birds and chipmunks with life-saving water.
9. Donkeys are social. They make deep bonds with their family & herd, and get very upset if someone they love is taken from them.

The story of Palm Sunday is full of significance and leaves us with much to ponder. But I wonder how the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem felt when Jesus was no longer there, a loved one taken away. Perhaps we should give the humble donkey a bit more credit, it has after all had quite a role to play!

Carol

What’s On This Week
Sunday 24th March
10am – All-In @ 10 Palm Sunday Communion Service
1–3pm - Entry to Communion Course (Part 2)
6:30–8pm - Go Deeper Live with Rev. Jo Jones in Church

Monday 25th March
12pm - Ben & Sophie’s Wedding
1:20pm - Ashes Interment
7:30–8:30pm - Pilates in The Barn

Tuesday 26th March
6–7pm – Easter Choir practice in Church
6:30-8pm - ‘Moving On’ Lent Course in The Barn

Wednesday 27th March
9am–1pm - Calverley C of E School Services
3:30-5pm - Youth Drop-In

Thursday 28th March
9:30–11:15am - Barn Babies
10–11am - Barn Babies Pram Service
6pm - Maundy Thursday Supper Service
6:30–8:30pm - Belly Dancing in The Barn

Friday 29th March
2–3pm - An Hour of Reflection at The Foot of The Cross

Sunday 31st March
6:20 for 6:41am - Sunrise Service
10am - 'All-In @10' Easter Day Celebration service

Go Deeper – Live! 6:30-8pm This Evening!
During the next Go Deeper Live evening service we'll be welcoming Rev’d Jo Jones - Deputy Head of Chaplaincy at NHS Leeds Teaching Hospitals.
Jo will be speaking about her work as a chaplain, her calling, and her faith in Jesus. Do come along and hear what she has to say – bring a friend!

Coffee Shop Advance Notice
Please note there will be no Coffee Shop in Church this Friday 29th March.
Coffee Shop re-opens in Church on Friday 19th April.

A  Walk Through Easter - In Calverley!
Follow Jesus through the events of Holy Week and Easter from Sunday 24th March until Sunday 8th April. Trail details are available online here.

Maundy Thursday 28th March Service
Join us at 6pm as we remember Jesus sharing the Last Supper with his disciples before his death on Good Friday. We'll share a meal leading into Bread and Wine and foot washing. There will be prayers, readings, and hymns followed by a short vigil at the cross before leaving in silence. Please sign up with the [email protected] so catering can be organised.

Easter Flowers in Church
We'll be in decorating the church for Easter on Saturday 30th March 9am-12pm. All are welcome, no experience necessary – just bring some secateurs!
Any donations of spring flowers or greenery from your garden would be gratefully appreciated. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

Pet Service
On Sunday 21st April at 11am we'll be hosting a Pet Service! Bring your pet to church (as long as they can be on a lead or in a container) to join our celebration of animals. It will be a fun service to invite your friends and family to, so please spread the word! And please contact [email protected] if you would like to help with this.

Wine Tasting With A Twist!
Join us for a special Wine Tasting with a Twist event on Friday 26th April, 7:30-11pm in Church. Tickets cost £20 which includes 6 wines to sampole and food.
There will be a silent auction and all funds raised will be shared between Church and The Wren Bakery. Tickets will be available to purchase online soon.

Choral Evensong for Eastertide
On Sunday 28th April at 6:30pm we'll be holding a special service of Choral Evensong in Eastertide, with beautiful hymns and refreshments available afterwards. Come along and invite any friends or family who might appreciate the reflective and anticipatory atmosphere of a traditional service.

Moving On Course
As the follow up to the Start Course, The “Moving On” Course will run through Lent in the Barn. 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 contact [email protected] if would like to join this.

Time & Talents 2024
Over the next few weeks, we'll be looking at how we can offer our Time and Talents to God and the church. If you feel you have something to offer, please print and complete our Time & Talent 2024 form online here.
Even if you’re already on a rota, please complete a form to confirm you’re still happy to be included!

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!
We’ll also be looking to use ChurchSuite to manage rotas in the future.
It will make organising and managing serving rotas far easier for all.
It has the ability to send reminders, allow for easier swapping, and gives visibility of any gaps that need filling. Anyone who regularly supports on a ministry or serving team, please consider signing up to ChurchSuite if not done so already. For more information and to sign up, please click here, and help us be the strong connected community we're called to be.

Bradford North Foodbank
Our local Foodbank continue to support local people and families, and are currently in need of:
- Tinned Tomatoes
- Tinned Vegetables
- Tinned Fish
- Instant Mash
- Coffee
- Cereals
- Long Life UHT Milk
- Long-life UHT Fruit Juice
- Tinned Fruit
- Shampoo
- Deodorants
- Sanitary Products
We also need some volunteer drivers to take the food to Eccleshill, maybe once every month? If you are available to help with this, please contact [email protected]

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]

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.

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.