A Christmasy trip round my churches

With my weekend plans suddenly being changed I found myself this morning rushing round to all eight of my churches delivering our Christmas cards to each place so people can have them on Sunday. It was a glorious, crisp and clear winter’s morning and I used the almost three hours it took to do a lot of miles to think about what’s been happening in each place, to pray for them and to celebrate their contexts and hopes. 

So come with me on a blog tour round my vast rural patch! 

The first stop this morning in the ice, was to Harrogate Road with its nativity figures on the roof, an annual local highlight at Christmas. Harrogate Road continues to be well used by the community and has a lively nursery on the premises. The congregation has just had a church review and as a result a new coffee morning will begin on the first Friday of every month beginning in January. 

The second stop was Sawley chapel. Sawley has seen its 2pm service grow this year. We now attract people from a large geographical area who find afternoon worship works for them. We recently hosted a quiet day and we are planning major outreach round the Queens platinum jubilee in June next year.

The third stop was Dallowgill via the edge of Nidderdale and across Dallowgill Moor, which was looking glorious in the winter sun this morning.

Dallowgill has had a good year and its small congregation has grown in confidence as we’ve put confidence in them as a viable resource in a unique rural setting. 

The chapel was looking Christmasy this morning…

The fourth stop was Kirkby Malzeard. Kirkby chapel is at the heart of the village which is a delightful community. We love the pub and the tea room and the chip shop and the local shop of an amazing amount of delights in a small space! Kirkby have struggled as we haven’t been able to open to the community during the pandemic but we were glad 42 came last Sunday to our carol service following a leaflet drop. 

My fifth stop after a loo break was to our LEP in Grewelthorpe. It’s been fun to get to grips with being the Methodist minister in an Anglican and Methodist shared church. We are beginning to plan a major refurbishment project and new mission policy. The folk at Grewelthorpe are a delight and I love being with them. 

My sixth stop (are you keeping up?) was to Allhallowgate in Ripon city centre. Despite a sign saying do not enter due to roof trouble, we are beginning after hard work largely by our Deacon to see us working with the community. The soft play for toddlers on a Friday which started a few months ago is now booming, and recently a new social group for the “young at heart” began. Our 99 member church is beginning to discern priorities and our premises are well used by bookings every day so the place is always busy. 

My seventh stop was to the chapel at Bishop Monkton. We are currently working towards a nearly £200K refurbishment which will enable us to serve our community more effectively through a much larger kitchen and multi purpose worship space and other adaptations. This is very exciting and should (!) happen by the autumn of 2022.

My last stop after nearly three hours out and about was to Boroughbridge. We’ve been working towards a small refurbishment of our hall and toilets and at the moment we are preparing to open a community fridge on our premises in partnership with the local Lions, community care group and Morrisons, which will see our premises used a lot more. We hope this will open in March. We are also doing a lot more with our C of E friends in the town, which is good. 

While in the church, I had a little walk upstairs…

 

Our amazing stained glass…

So after eight places visited in three and a half hours I reached home again! It was a useful exercise to see my whole patch in a morning. Sometimes as this wretched pandemic has gone on it’s felt like we haven’t done a lot and all we’ve done is be restricted or locked down, but actually in small ways God is working his purpose out and foundations for growth are being laid. We shall see what 2022 will bring. 

I’m very aware friends haven’t been able to visit so I hope this little tour has given you a glimpse into where I work and live and travel every day. It’s a lovely part of the world. I’ve had to learn though things don’t go fast in rural parts…especially like when you suddenly like half way round this morning find yourself following a tractor with manure on the back of it. Yuck!