I write to you with difficulty. I’m ok – it’s just that Fudge, our cockapoo dog, is nestled on my lap with her chin resting frequently on my keyboard! She loves to be on me, by me, with me, involved in whatever I’m up to, sometimes a little too much – like right now! I feel her affection, her devotion, even her unconditional love of me. I love the fact that she loves every human she’s ever met, so much so that she’s a brilliant therapy dog, giving soothing cuddles at church, at school, Champion House, Calverley Bungalows and more. Just to be in the presence of a loving animal can bring Calm and Joy.

There is a very obvious link to God here – another awesome being who loves unconditionally, loves every human they’ve ever met. In the same way that Fudge greets me ecstatically when I come home from hours, days or weeks away, the bible tells us that God is even more delighted than Fudge (if that’s even possible!) every time we come back to Him. Let’s look at our wonderful pets and see a glimpse of God’s love and excitement for us. And do bring your pets (as long as they can be on a lead or in a cage!) to church on Sunday at 11am so we can bless and celebrate them together as they really are part of the family of God!

With every Blessing to you, your Family, and your Pets,
Victoria

What’s On This Week
Sunday 21st April
9:15am - Traditional Communion Service
11am - Pet Service

Monday 22nd April
7:30–8:30pm - Pilates in The Barn

Wednesday 24th April
C of E Year 3 RE Visit

Thursday 25th April
9:30–11.15am - Barn Babies
6:15–8.45pm - Pilates
6–7pm - Choir Practice

Friday 26th April
9-11:30am - Coffee Shop in Church

Sunday 28th April
9:15am - Traditional Communion Service
11am - All Age Worship
6:30pm - Choral Evensong

Pet Service
This Sunday 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!

Choral Evensong for Eastertide
Next 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.

Choir Practice for Evensong
Choir Practice this week for Evensong will be Thursday 25th April in Church at 6pm. For more info, please contact [email protected]

Sanctuary Course
Watch out for more details coming soon about The Sanctuary Course.
This course is run over a number of weeks and is for anyone who would like to learn about Faith and Mental Health. It requires no previous training or expertise — just a willingness to engage in dialogue with other believers.

PCC Membership & APCM
As we approach this year’s APCM on Monday 20th May there will be elections.
Please be prayerfully considering, are you called to stand for PCC, or for Deanery Synod, or to be a Church Warden? Is there someone you think would be an asset in one of those roles? If so, talk to God, then talk to them.
If you have any questions about these roles, please do ask Rob, or anyone else on PCC right now.

APCM
The date of our APCM is Monday 20th May.
Please arrive in church at 6:50pm for a prompt start at 7pm.

Nominations
Nominations are also open for election to the PCC. If you would like to be nominated, please complete a form, available at the back of church in the green folder. You need to have been on the church electoral role for 6 months to be elected. We also have vacancies for Church Wardens, which can be from among those elected to or already on PCC. Nomination forms for both are available from the green folder at the back of church. Please return nominations to one of the Team Wardens. Note: The nominee must consent to serve. Please check eligibility.

Church Electoral Roll
If you would like to be added to our Church electoral roll, please complete an application form. In order to vote at the APCM you must be on the church electoral role. Forms are available from the green folder at the back of church, once completed please return to Simon Pollard.

Rotas
In the not too distant future we'll be using ChurchSuite to manage all our Sunday service rotas. If you are one of the existing team of volunteers who help to make our Sunday services work, or if you offered up your services through our recent Time & Talents initiative, please ensure you've added your details into our ChurchSuite here if you haven’t already.

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.