From the Vicar

One of the great things about being part of a large and active church family is the benefit of other people’s gifts and talents. It is not just that a problem shared is a problem halved, but that when things are shared in the cause of the Kingdom, the benefits can be exponential! Or, as Ephesians says “more than we can ask, think of or imagine”. If that is the plus side there is also something to be mindful of, namely that we can be complacent or only benefit or share with a few of those within our network or conscious orbit. Here friends, is one, and it is only one, part of the answer; our church away day, at home on Saturday 9th September.

Launched at our annual meeting, the aspiration and prayer is that we can enjoy being together and model something of what a church family can be for each other. We are aiming that those who have joined us in recent months will feel a greater introduction and those who have been part of All Saints for many years will feel freshened and re engaged for the church of today and what it can be for the future.

There is a small planning team preparing various activities and a range of venues and styles of engagement for us all. No surprises that the main event in the early evening is over food and our evening promises to be entertaining and musical with a positive message of welcome and hope, based on Christ’s living word courtesy of yours truly. Please book the date, offer to help, or ask away if you have a question that needs answering to enlist your presence! We really would love to see you there.

If you are able to offer any help or would like to be part of an activity please contact Steph Osman

Yours in His service
Mark Brown

From the Curate

Thank you very much to all those who have prayed for my ordination, for all who are coming to my service tomorrow, and for all who have expressed their support in different ways. It has been an honour to serve as Curate at All Saints so far and I look forward to this next stage of service here as an ordained priest.

Part of the ordination liturgy states that “you cannot bear the weight of this calling in your own strength, but only by the grace and power of God. Pray therefore that your heart may daily be enlarged, and your understanding of the Scriptures enlightened. Pray earnestly for the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Whilst the call to ordained ministry in the Church of England is for some, and not all, these words remind us that the Christian life for all of us is only possible with God’s grace and help, nourished by his Scriptures and Spirit. So as your pray for those under God who are called to shepherd his church in this place, let us pray for each other – for his grace and power to be at work in our lives together.

I look forward to presiding at Holy Communion for the first time, at the 11am service on Sunday 2nd July, and to see the new 11am service team of wonderful volunteers commissioned. Do stay for a church lunch afterwards if you’re able to!

With love and thanks,
Simon Oatridge 

From the Children's Minister

Things continue to be busy in the children’s department!

Last week we had the pleasure of the Girl Guiding groups join us for a picnic, the joy of hosting Clifford All Saints’ music concert Tuesday evening, 2 new children join the Christian Union I run at Ecclesall Primary and a handful of new parents and their children join us at Toddlers or Baby Group. 

Alongside this we have been preparing for our June Messy church, planning and leading two assemblies, supporting Clifford All Saints with the upcoming school move from the Psalter Lane site to Ringinglow Road and continuing preparations and advertising of Holiday Club.

There are many aspects of Holiday Club that bring me much joy, one of which is seeing members of the church family come together and use their gifts to help share the love and Good News of Jesus.  Looking out during the week I’m often reminded of 1 Corinthians 12.  We, as the church, form the body of Christ.  Each one of us has been given gifts and each one is important for the body to function well. 

When I look out and see the volunteers at Holiday Club that is what I see - A whole range of gifts coming together through each person and being a blessing to the children who come.  My prayer is that this year’s Holiday Club would see the same again.  If you would like to book on to Holiday Cub then please visit Holiday Club 2023.

If you would like to be part of this and are able to give your time during the week beginning Sunday 6th August or you would like to get involved in a different aspect of the children’s ministry then do get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.  If you aren’t able to help then please do be praying for the week and for all areas of our children’s ministry.  God has been so good to us over past Holiday Clubs, we are excited for what He’s going to do next!

God Bless,
Rosie Blackett
Children’s Minister

From the Operations Manager

Hello all,

Since my last update on the Estate at All Saints Ecclesall I am pleased to confirm that all the major lighting repairs and replacements in Church have now been completed! One large barrel light is still missing, high up in the ceiling. This has been removed to allow our lighting contractors to look at ways to retrofit the housing to accommodate LED bulbs, but all other work included as part of this project is now completed. Thank you to all who have kept such a vigilant eye on this process.

We now move on to the south side stained glass windows and are awaiting the outcome of grant applications to remove, repair and replace them to prevent future water ingress.

The plaque on the side of the tower remains under review as we await quotes from a number of sources and subsequent grant applications. A series of poultices have been applied to the internal damaged plaster work to see which is the most effective at drawing out the contaminates, we await the outcome of these trials to enable us to move ahead with the most effective solution.

Within the Ops Team We bid a fond farewell to Tani recently as she handed the reins of PA to the Vicar back to Elaine who we warmly welcome back from maternity leave, and we are thrilled to have Olivia back with us for a few weeks, both in toddlers and the office, while she is on a break from University.

As always thank you to all members of the Operations Team, and those volunteers we work closely with in particular the newly formed Social Committee, for all of their help, support and diligence in preparing for the Coronation service and more recently the Deanery Baptism and Confirmation service, I am grateful to work with each and every one of them. 

As always, if you have any questions about any of the above, or anything to do with the building or operations of All Saints, please don’t hesitate to contact me via the office.

Many Thanks
Stephanie Osman

From the Safeguarding Officer

Safeguarding in a Christian context is gospel work – it is an expression of our love for God and for each other, and in particular our response to the command to ‘Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly before our God (Micah 6:8).

When we are ‘doing’ safeguarding we are not just filling in forms or following procedures. No-one was ever protected simply by a piece of paper! Following procedures is vital but it is not at the heart of what safeguarding is about. Fundamentally safeguarding is about the use and misuse of power and the protection of the vulnerable. Safeguarding is at the heart of our Christian faith which believes that each person is made in the image of God but also acknowledges our fallibility and our capacity for sin.

A Christian approach to safeguarding recognises both these things – each person is made in the image of God and yet human nature renders everyone, even those whom we consider ‘good’ capable of causing harm to others. As Christians, therefore, we approach safeguarding with a commitment to protect people from harm, especially when they are vulnerable – and with a realistic view of what even apparently good people are capable of.

Scripture repeatedly points us towards those for whom God has particular concern – the widow, the orphan, the stranger, those who are marginalised and often powerless (Isaiah 1:17; Leviticus 19:33). Proverbs 31:8 calls us to speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable be they children or adults. The needs of the vulnerable were at the heart of Jesus’ ministry and they need to be at the heart of ours too.

Kate Gerrish Parish Safeguarding Officer

From the Curate

This Sunday we begin two summer sermon series at the morning and evening services.

At 9.15 and 11am we will journey through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ most famous teaching, to hear his vision for the good life. Our Lord will speak to us about what it means to have a kingdom lifestyle in all areas of life – whether in our witness, prayers, and giving; in our words, thoughts and sexual ethics; in our attitude to money and those less well off; in how we judge others, love our enemies, and avoid religious hypocrisy. Through it all we will see more of our Heavenly Father’s goodness, and what it means to become more like him.

Each week let me invite you to read Matthew chapters 5-7 before coming to the services (it will take less time than listening to a sermon at All Saints!). Let’s pray that we will all grow in our whole-hearted devotion to God, seeking his kingdom first in our lives. 

At our evening service we will be delving into the depths of being a worshipper. We were made to worship and it is more than singing a song. It is connecting our very being into the heart of God and overflowing with love for Him! This is what we will be exploring over the coming weeks at our 6pm services.

Looking further into the summer, Holiday Club is Monday 7th – Friday 11th August, from 9.15-12.00 each morning, with a fantastic programme of bible stories, games, songs, art, sports, treasure hunts and more for children aged 3-11. It promises to be a wonderful week, please be praying for Rosie, myself and the team as we prepare, for many young families to connect with church, and for young lives to be changed. And please consider who you could invite to Holiday Club. Book here.

Revd Simon Oatridge

From the Associate Vicar

Pentecost

This week we celebrate Pentecost – that moment when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church. Jesus had Ascended into heaven and he had told his disciples to wait until the Holy Spirit fell. As it did, God spoke in languages that all understood.

All cultural and religious boundaries were broken and everyone was united to God. This marked the start of the great expansion of the church. In the power of the Spirit, people were healed, empowered and filled with the love of God.

The world was changed by that moment and so can we be changed. This Pentecost, let’s remember our need for the Holy Spirit in our lives and the transformation that comes from saying that simple, ancient and profound prayer – ‘Come Holy Spirit!’

Roland

From the Mission Support Group

'‘I have done what was mine to do, may Christ now teach you what you are to do’

St Francis of Assisi said ‘I have done what was mine to do, may Christ now teach you what you are to do’ That sums up our desire for Mission Sunday. We may all be called to mission but perhaps we are not so sure what that means for each of us. We are organising the mission Sunday services to help us address that challenge. We wanted to explore the five marks of mission that define our mission strategy. We’ll do that by finding out more about each of the five marks of mission and exploring how some of our mission partners have responded. To that end we have lined up what we hope will be some engaging and stimulating presenters at our five stations, one for each of the five marks of mission which are:

1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom.

2. To teach, baptise and nurture new believers.

3. To respond to human need by loving service.

4. To seek to transform unjust structures of society.

5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

We can all get involved in our unique mission call by learning, praying, giving and above all engaging, but we cannot do everything, hence ‘what is mine to do?’. Our prayer is that our time this Sunday will, for all of us in our different ways, be inspiring and helpful to enable us to refine our understanding and engage more fully in our own call and service. That might mean connecting with one of our partners more directly or simply being refreshed to follow your own sense of call.

With love Simon Musgrave (on behalf of the Mission Support Group