Parish Magazine Trinity/Summer Issue

Parish Magazine Trinity/Summer issue

Contents

Page 2: Welcome Page 3: Key contact information | Prayer points Page 4: Who are we and what do we do? A letter from Adrian Page 6: Upcoming events | June Project Page 8: Annual Church Meeting (ACM) Page 9: Old Wrangthornians Page 10: Marks of Mission (part 2) Page 11: Activities Welcome

Hello! Welcome to the latest edition of the Wrangthorn Parish Magazine. I would like to use this opportunity to introduce myself as the new editor! I’m a second year English Literature student at Leeds University who would like to make a contribution to the everyday life of this church that we call our spiritual home. While I have come to this new task with lots of enthusiasm and new ideas, I want to assure you that no drastic changes are coming for the magazine. I also want to thank Charlotte who has worked tirelessly as editor for the past number of years and James who has taken on a supporting role, in helping to bring me up to speed on the process that goes into making the magazine and who has been my eyes and ears as I try to edit from Northern Ireland. If you are new to the church or would like further information please do not hesitate to contact anyone listed in the

2 information below and if you would like to make a contribution to the next magazine, please get in touch! Thanks, Emma Key contact information

Church Ann Johnson 0113 267 5487 Wardens Jim Rowland 0113 261 2009 [email protected] Church General Enquiries [email protected] Office 0113 380 0849 James Meredith [email protected] Magazine Emma Ferguson Send articles to: Editor [email protected]

Safeguarding Jonathan [email protected] Philpott

Prayer points

• Revd Adrian Smith and his wife Sue, as they prepare to move to Leeds to serve Wrangthorn, and as their youngest daughter Beth awaits her A-Level results • Ongoing mental and physical ailments experienced by members of our congregation and the wider community • Members of our church family who recently attended the ‘Word in Song’ conference, that they may be able to implement what they heard into their worship • Future outreach into the community in partnership with St George’s Crypt, Transformations Leeds, and others.

Who are we and what do we do?

We are an inclusive and diverse Anglican (Church of England) Church with worship at the centre of what we do, both through encountering the Bible and by means of a variety of music, balancing the traditional with the contemporary. We value the congregation's involvement in our services - seeking to be a place of welcome, warmth and worship where all can encounter God and from where we reach out with the love of God to those in our local community. A letter from Adrian

This issue of the Church magazine includes our first Leader’s letter from our new Vicar Rev Adrian Smith, who will be joining us in early September. He writes: We are excited about moving to Leeds and joining what God is doing in and through his people at Wrangthorn. I’m sure we will be asking lots of questions and listening to the answers, as we seek to understand your story and discover together how we can continue to be a place of welcome, warmth and worship where we can encounter God together and from where we can reach out with the love of God to those in the local community.

The plan is that we will move from Watford to the vicarage in Headingly in the middle of August. This will enable us to be settled, in time for the Licensing Service in the evening of Wednesday 4th September. We look forward to inviting you to our new home over the coming months. Sue is hoping, when we move, to continue to work part-time within the NHS and she has been encouraged by the contacts she has made in her speciality of Ophthalmology. Please do pray that the right opportunity would open up for her. The Smith family is quite large, but they won’t all be moving to Leeds with us! We have four adult children. Joe and Katie live in Durham with their daughter Luciana who will be 18 months old in the summer; Anna and Sam, and their 2-year-old daughter Fi are based in Stockport. Lydia has just completed her Acting and Community Theatre degree and although she will be on tour in the autumn, she will be based with us in Leeds. Our youngest daughter Beth will be moving with us, however, if A-level results go ok, she will be off to university in the early autumn to train to be a Paramedic. It is a real privilege to become part of the St Augustine’s family, to join what God is doing as he brings about his plans and purposes for the parish. There is much for us to discover together, but our confidence is not in what we know, in our gifts or abilities, our wisdom or experience. Our confidence is in God who has promised that he will transform us to be more like Jesus as he builds his church. Do be assured of our prayers in these days of transition and change, looking forward to meeting you all in September. Yours in Christ, Adrian

Upcoming events

> The licensing service for Rev Adrian Smith will be on 4th September and it would be lovely to give him and his wife Sue a warm welcome. > Climb the 3 Peaks in Yorkshire, Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough to raise money for St George’s Crypt. The entry fee for this sponsored event on August 3rd, which includes a free Crypt t-shirt, is £30 (target sponsorship amount: £100). Info: stgeorgescrypt.org.uk/yorkshire-3-peaks-challenge June Project

Last month Wrangthorn helped host around 80 students from different churches and universities across Leeds, as they attended June Project 2019: a week of community outreach in order to serve the area of Hyde Park. This was the 7th year of June Project which is inspired by Galatians 6:9 “Do not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”. Volunteers gathered at Wrangthorn each morning to worship God together and listen to leaders from local churches as they spoke on Ephesians, to encourage them before they set out on projects for the day. Throughout the week projects included: litter picking, painting the railings in central Hyde Park, decorating a room in Woodhouse Community Centre and helping locals with odd jobs such as gardening. The evangelism team were based on Woodhouse Moor and gave out free hot drinks and homemade cakes prepared by the

6 baking team. They had many encouraging conversations with passers-by who were especially intrigued to hear why they were willing to stand out in the rain and bless them with a smile, encouragement or flapjack! Other events included: a gig, dessert night, quiz, and interfaith meal where the diverse range of people was a huge encouragement to the team as they had the privilege to share their mission aims with them. The nocturnal team stayed up long ‘after hours’ and were based at ‘Pump n Grind’ in Hyde Park. They spent their time serving pancakes for students on nights out as well as for the homeless. The team had some amazing encounters with people and were encouraged by God’s kindness in opening up many opportunities for them to pray and share their testimonies with people. On the last day they held a Family Fun Day in Burley Park which was attended by over 500 people – their biggest number yet! This year June Project partnered with Hyde Park Football Club who hosted a kid’s football tournament which was a huge success. The event also included live music, a free BBQ, family games and stalls from local businesses. The team are so thankful to God for each person that came into contact with June Project through the week, and ask that we join them in praying that God would water any seeds of faith planted in their hearts and that their lives would be changed by the hope that knowing Jesus brings.

Annual Church Meeting (ACM)

Our Annual church meeting was held on Monday 29th April this year. Around 30 people joined together to hear reports on what had been happening in the church during the year. We were happy to welcome Joanna Seabourne to chair the meeting once again, but this time with her Area Dean hat on, rather than Priest-in-charge! There are currently 49 people on the church’s electoral roll, of which only 10 are actually resident in the parish! Marlene Stokoe retired from her role as Electoral Roll officer and flowers were presented to her as thanks for her many years of work. Steve Johnson has offered to take on the role. Having completed his term of office, Graham Hartney retired from the PCC and thanks were expressed for his contributions over the last three years. As Janet Seabourne was the only nominee for the vacant position, she was duly elected to serve on the PCC for the next three years. Jim Rowland and Ann Johnson were re-elected to their roles as Churchwardens for the coming year. Our new Treasurer, Charlotte Dixon, presented the Accounts for the year, which had been duly passed by our auditor and the PCC. Jim Rowland presented an illustrated account of the building work undertaken during the year and the plans for the future. Ann Johnson gave the Churchwardens’ report for the year and reported that interviews had been held for the half-time post of incumbent during the day of the ACM. While unfortunately no definite announcement could be made at the meeting she could announce that the interviews had gone very well indeed! Ann Johnson - Churchwarden

Old Wrangthornians

Beverley and Graeme Sproats: Send prayers and best wishes from sunny Jersey to the congregation at Wrangthorn. They recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary and appreciated receipt of best wishes on behalf of the congregation. Beverley was our former Priest-in-Charge during Joanna’s maternity leave. Clare and Dave Leal: Worshipped with us many years ago while they were students and for a few years afterwards. Clare was recently ordained Deacon in Oxford on 29th June. Rob Hansen (USA), writes: I’ve managed to get a (likely) permanent job! I accepted a tenure-track position at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. It’s a bit farther away from you but (as the crow flies) a little closer to Leeds. I’ll be teaching chemistry, doing research, and helping to develop an environmental studies program. To be honest, it was the last place from which I expected to get an offer. Somewhat out of the blue, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Quinnipiac called and offered me the position. Given the unexpected nature of this offer, I think that the Lord had a hand in this. Gcnile Curtis (Swaziland): she and her family are well, but she would value prayer as she wants to move job. Nick Houghton (Cambodia): Nick is struggling to find fellowship and finds this very tough. Please keep him in your prayers.

Marks of Mission (part 2)

Last issue James introduced us to the five ‘Marks of Mission’, in answer to the question ‘what is mission’. We also looked at the first Mark: “Proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom”. In this issue we take a look the next two. The second is: “To teach, baptise and nurture new believers”. Jesus told his followers to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ (Matthew 28:19-20) Being a disciple of Jesus is to know and follow him: ‘Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ (John 13:34- 35). However, loving discipleship can be costly (see Luke 14:25-33). Alongside gathering on Sundays and spending personal time in prayer and reading the Bible, where possible, going to a small group is helpful as they are a really good place for discipleship to deepen through prayer, Bible studies, and fellowship. For this reason, small groups feed into the third mark as well. The third mark is “To respond to human need by loving service”. The kingdom of God is marked by righteousness and justice - the restoration of right relationships between God and people. Jesus summarised this when he said: ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”’ (Matthew 22:37-39). He illustrated this in the parable of the Good Samaritan and demonstrated it throughout his ministry. When we follow Jesus, we see that mission is not just about

10 proclaiming the Gospel and discipling believers but recognising that everyone is made in God’s image and treating them with the dignity they deserve and caring for them. In the next magazine we will look at the final two marks. We also look forward to welcoming Adrian in September, who as our new pastor will guide us in how to work these out in practice, and to facilitate our mission generally both as a congregation and in our daily lives! Activities

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