From the Curate

For many of us, September is a time of new beginnings. Children begin a new year at school, our older youth begin university soon. For some, our regular work or social routines return after pausing briefly over the summer. In our church life together, many of our activities begin again: Monday drop in, Thursday Open Door, our range of small groups, and toddlers - to name but a few.

In our 9.15 and 11am services over the next four weeks, we will hear the remarkable Old Testament story of Ruth, whose own new beginnings involved a new country, new family, and new faith. She, like us, would have known the joys and challenges of new beginnings: the sense of uncertainty, anxiety, and excitement. In her own new beginnings, she declares one of the great affirmations of faith in found Scripture: ‘your people will be my people, and your God my God’ (Ruth 1.16).

As the chapters unfold, God’s steadfast love and providential guiding lead to redemption and blessing not only for Ruth, but for the whole world – including us. If you would like to explore more as our sermon series begins, this is a brilliant 7 minute video produced by the Bible Project Book of Ruth Summary | Watch an Overview Video (bibleproject.com)

From The Wardens

As the end of summer approaches and the more regular rhythm of life resumes it is a time to look forward and plan for the next phase in the life of All Saints. We were sad to lose Sue Gill from the warden team but thank her for all she has given over many years with love, diplomacy and great kindness. We will miss her but are very grateful that Richard Blyth has offered to return to the team in her place. This has to be formally approved by the church membership and thus a short extraordinary church meeting will be held on Sunday 29th September towards the end of the 9.15 service to ensure that this reappointment has the support of the church members and complies with the necessary rules and regulations surrounding the appointment of churchwardens.

All Saints is a vibrant, growing church with many opportunities for us to grow in our faith and invite others to hear the message of the Gospel. However, all organisations, however successful, need to review their strategy from time to time. Over recent months we have reworked our Purpose, Aims and Values and we hope you have had sight of this document which has been available in the welcome area over the summer. We are now working on a new strategy and action plan to build on what is already working well and looking for innovative ways to support and grow our church family. As part of this an anonymous questionnaire will become available to all members of the congregation to complete in September that seeks your views on the many aspects of church life at All Saints and the level of interest and support for some possible new initiatives that are being considered. Do please complete this questionnaire so we can get a clearer idea of the make-up of our church family and your opinions and needs so that, as wardens, we can work with the staff team and PCC to provide a church that both supports its congregation and is caring, relevant and welcoming to the wider community both within Ecclesall and beyond.

As Paul says in Philippians: Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Finally, the team of stewards and welcomers that is essential to the smooth running of our services has diminished in numbers over recent months. We need more volunteers for these roles. If you feel you could possibly help and want to know more about either role, do please speak to one of the warden team. We need you!

Rob Coleman, Richard Blyth, Lynne Bradey, Alan Storey

From The Treasurer

How have you spent August?  Enjoyed a holiday? Like me, taken pleasure in being in your garden? Completed the summer “to do” list? What was on your list? Clearing out the loft? Catching up on reading the books you have bought? Did the list feature a review of household finances?

If considering your contribution to church finances didn’t feature on your prayer or action list for August, may I encourage you to add this to your autumn list as we head towards our stewardship appeal in October; “Seek the Lord, Serve the Church, Play your Part”.

As Treasurer, I’ve spent time in August forecasting potential financial requirements for 2025 and beyond.  Mark’s “from the Vicar” summer letter gives a good flavour of our wonderfully varied and full life at All Saints. However, new activities and increases in staff and energy costs mean demands on our finances continue to grow! In contrast, the number of households in the pledged giving scheme and the level of regular giving has fallen over the summer. No Treasurer likes this scenario!

Please do join me in praying for a generous response to the stewardship appeal and for new commitments to be made in the weeks ahead.  As our Lord blesses us so generously, may we as His disciples give generously in response as we seek to love and serve Him and our neighbours.

Julia Newton 

From The Children's Minister

I am writing this three days into Holiday Club week and am full of thanksgiving for the answers to prayers we have had.  I am also excited to see how God is going to continue to be at work in these young lives over the next couple of days.  By the end of the week we will have had 136 children, 17 young people and over 40 volunteers coming together to worship, explore stories about Jesus, pray and have fun!

This year our theme is based on Psalm 34 v 8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him”.  Each day we have explored a part of Jesus’ ministry through food, learning more about who Jesus is, how much He loves us and what difference we can make in the world if we offer back what we have to Him.  We have learnt some new worship songs and look forward to sharing these and all we have been doing at our 11am service on Sunday 18th August and during our picnic.

None of this week would have been possible without our incredible volunteers and so I want finish to say a huge thank you to each of them for giving their time, gifts, energy and talents to serve in this way.  Do keep them and all those who were at our Holiday Club in your prayers.

Rosie

From the Assistant Minister

Walking through the town last week towards the new, huge marquee, in bright warm Keswick morning sunshine, joining the thousands who were gathering just for that one meeting (12,000 gather over the three weeks of the Convention), I was reminded of the thrill of my first visit to the Keswick Convention years ago. I remember the streets literally filling with Christians, all streaming towards the same place, the tent for the evening meeting. The sound of hymns and songs being sung inside the tent filled the air all around.  It was wonderful, speaking to all of us something of that picture we find in various places in the Bible, of the New Jerusalem, the restored Mount Zion, where all who believe will gather, in praise and wonder - " ...you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem...and to God, the judge of all...and to Jesus, the mediator of  a new covenant..”(Hebrews 12.22-24).

Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of this amazing Christian gathering, first held in the Vicarage Garden in Keswick, at which even for that initial event, three or four hundred people attended.  Countless thousands from all over the World have followed them. The emphasis which was first embraced in 1875 is there still – the faithful exposition of the Scriptures, carefully applied to our lives. These days there is a staggering range of seminars, topics and activities on offer, and children's and youth work, and specialist sessions for Christians in the Arts and more. 50,000 Christian books were sold to conventioners over the 3 weeks this year.

From the very start this has been an ecumenical event – with Christians from various denominations joining together in praise and song and the study of God’s Word.  Long ago the Convention took as its motto “All one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3.28) and this is lived out each year as people from churches all over the UK and abroad gather in this Lakeland town. The words are emblazoned on the outside of the marquee so all passing on the main road into Keswick can see this bold statement of Christian fellowship.

“After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God’...” (Rev 19.1).

How about Keswick next year?   https://keswickministries.org/2025-convention-transformed/

With you in God’s service

Godfrey

Vicars Summer Letter 2024

Dear Friends,

"There is one Lord, one faith and one baptism and one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4 v 5-6). With many congregations, many networks, affiliations, partnerships, community links and indeed differences of opinions on life and faith, this seems like a good verse to hold before us when for a time we seem to have the sun out! May indeed the Son of God and his love bring us his welcome and unifying grace. I hope some of the pointers I have selected to share about the life and work of All Saints bring a sense of unity and common focus for our many activities and work. Thank you for your interest, prayers and support.

Staff Work

Thank you for your prayers for the recruitment process for a Vicar’s PA. I am delighted to say that Hollie Milburn joins us in early August for 20 hours a week supporting myself and in part the office admin team. George Parsons our Music Minister begins on 1st August and we hope to make the most of Stephen Holme’s call to ordination as he offers a day a week plus Sunday duties, fully from September. Thank you to those who have enabled these people and processes to come to fruition. I pray that in the Lord’s time, your ministries and theirs might bear much fruit.

Team Work

Thank you to the Mission Support Group who have led us once again in a focused and creative way to be aware of local mission projects in Sheffield. Alongside our support of work overseas, the sense of sharing our prayers and financial resources to support God’s work away from our parochial structures is important. The extra funds offered in addition to our regular commitment through our PCC budget is, we trust, an encouragement to the groups who receive support. We pray with them that the One Lord blesses their work.

Thank you to the Halls Group who have begun, under Ian Walker’s leadership, a more detailed assessment of what might be possible to upgrade and improve the premises to support our links with the local community. We will share more news when we can but thank you to this group and the  PCC for seizing this opportunity to move things forward.

Thank you to the Wardens Team who attend with others to the church services and many practical arrangements, participate in various committees and work streams. They, with I, place on record our indebtedness and thanks to Sue Gill, who has stepped down from this role, for her three plus years on the warden team. She has been a constant source of support to the team and staff and in recent months, an unsung hero in enabling, with others, the appointment of a new chaplain at Whirlow and our music minister.  The PCC are grateful that the team is filled with four wardens with Richard Blyth offering to re-join and serve through to the APCM in May 2025. Do speak to one of the wardens if you sense a call to support the team and don’t run away too far if someone (like me) taps you on the shoulder and says “…would you mind offering to serve…!”

Group Work

Our main desire and focus as a staff team is, after prayer and reflection, to see membership of our small groups network enhanced with new members joining existing groups or establishing new groups and enhancing our resources for study and fellowship when they meet. Roland Slade and Kathryn Walker oversee this part of our church's life. Small groups can be a great way to follow on from Alpha or to feel a greater sense of belonging to All Saints. They can help in studying the Scriptures and to feel supported in your Christian discipleship. We have had some offers to lead or host a new group but if, as the autumn comes, you felt able to offer your home to host or your skills to lead a group we would be delighted to hear from you. Please join me in supporting our desire to grow this network in our midst.

Outreach Work

One of our principle outreach projects is of course our annual holiday club, taking place this year (Monday 12th – Friday 16th August). Rosie and her amazing team of helpers would value your prayers and encouragement for this week, particularly that the stories and love of Christ can be shared in an exciting and faithful way and increasing connections made with families in our area. Wouldn’t it be lovely to see more joining us for our regular acts of worship on the Lord’s day.

If you are free the team meetings, which include teaching, worship and prayer, are open to all. Join us to start your day with God and God’s people. Monday 12th - Friday 16th August, 8:30am for 20 minutes in church.

Autumn work

The Stewardship Team is already preparing for the autumn financial stewardship appeal which this year we plan to launch on Harvest Sunday, 6th October. Reflecting the theme "seek the Lord, serve the church, play your part", it will build on the key messages in relation to our church finances that were in our Treasurer Julia's presentation to the APCM in May.  Do speak to Roland, Simon or Julia if you feel the Spirit prompting you to join the team or if you would like to know more about how to support the church financially.  

Our Church Away at Home Weekend, 12-13th October, is building on the success of last year’s venture. We have a visiting speaker, members of our community contributing to our various activities and all our staff team involved in leading things for us all. There is an aspiration that amongst all these things we will unite on Saturday evening and again in a joint act of worship on Sunday morning. Steph and the team are always keen to mobilise your offers of help, so please be in touch.

We will be preparing for launching a larger Alpha course in the new year and my public lecture (you may have spotted there has been one each year I have been your vicar) on 6th November is to be focussed on the important area of helping ourselves and others be victorious in Christ (Good Lord deliver us ...). Shared with my daughter Amy, this lecture is open to all and will underpin much that we will be seeking to do at All Saints into the future. For all at All Saints this evening is a priority to be in attendance at.

Overseas Work

With the Bishop Pete’s encouragement, and that of our Standing Committee, I have accepted an invitation to share in the ministry of Bishop Brian Williams of Argentina in teaching and encouraging the clergy of his area. I hope this will strengthen the bonds of fellowship with our own mission support group link and the Church of St Michael’s that we have a partnership and connection with. I anticipate being with them at some point next year for a couple of weeks. More news will be forthcoming once the fixtures have been finalised. I am also delighted that for a few days in October Roland will be strengthening our MSG links with the church in Tanzania.

God’s Work

When we work, we work; when we pray God works. Join me in praying for the coming of God’s Kingdom during these days that many more might become more fully aware of God’s love in Christ. I offer some reflections and pointers in keeping with God’s work and priorities outlined in recent teaching on Luke 10 and at the APCM in May. These reflections will be added to for personal use, in prayer and mission triplets in the autumn. May our fellowship be used by God for his work and mission in the world.

The priority of God's work in sharing faith: Who are you praying for that they might come to faith? What might be the most suitable event or group at All Saints to help them connect to?

The priority of God's work in caring for others: We rejoice in having a menu of daytime activities as a church that are caring for others: Monday’s Drop In, Wednesday gatherings for communion and Thursday’s Open Door. We rejoice in having a team that encourages and facilitates practical pastoral care. How can I support these things or signpost others to them?  Is there something I could be doing practically to care for others? All churches have a perception of being busy but I and the staff team are very much open to hear and support your ways of being practical and caring for others.

The priority of God’s work in keeping yourself fresh and alive spiritually: How does this happen for you? Are you aware of and have you noted in your diary the dates of the next church prayer meetings? Are you aware of the amazing resource that Whirlow is to us? Have you attended the Bible Society course to increase your fuller awareness of God's work? (The next course ‘Going Deeper in God’s Word’ starts on September 18th). Have you the courage to speak to someone if you sense you are stuck spiritually? Or are you indeed humble enough to share a renewed sense of awakening spiritually which always brings with it a desire to serve for there are always things that need doing?

Yours in Christ’s service,

The Revd Canon Mark Brown

From the Mission Support Group

I am very privileged to chair the mission support group, a sub-group of the PCC which oversees the distribution of our outward looking (beyond the parish) mission budget. The group is supportive, committed and enjoyable – looking at ways in which we can use our resources (prayers, money, time, expertise) to bless others. The budget has recently gone up, which gives us even more opportunity to bless others. As it says in Psalm 112, we want to be those that ‘have given freely to the poor.’

At this year’s mission weekend we interpreted the ‘poor’ as those who need our help in Sheffield and so we invited three special, local charities to tell us their story and their client stories. We heard from The Golddigger Trust, the Archer Project and Snowdrop and were inspired to engage, learn, pray and give.

Recently, as a church, we considered how to engage with mission more effectively, looking at Luke 10 – the sending out of the seventy, the parable of the Good Samaritan and the story of Mary and Martha. Our mission support, hopefully, engages with all three of these emphases, but this year we particularly focused on the Good Samaritan. Each of the local charities works with people who we might not come across in our daily lives (especially the survivors of trafficking and the homeless) – but we have an opportunity to help ‘pay the innkeepers fees’ referring to v 35, the part of the story where the Good Samaritan offers to the innkeeper to ‘repay you whatever more you spend’.

So we hope that everyone who came to the weekend events was able to enjoy the ceilidh, the tea and scones and connect with our speakers. We are so grateful for the money raised. The current total for donations (including gift aid) is just under  £7,300. We will be allocating this equally across the three charities.  In addition we raised nearly £500 from the Friday night Ceilidh for Gold Digger Trust. Where we have received cheques specific to the individual charities we will be passing these on to them.

 With love, Simon Musgrave

From the Vicar

Dear Friends

People come to church for many reasons they stay for only one – they make friends.

Of course there are bound to be exceptions to truisms like this but it worth reflecting and giving thanks to God for those who have felt led to join us at All Saints in recent months and years. Welcoming their presence and gifts is an honour and privilege. It brings with it too a relatively easy challenge to respond to in love, in conversation and accommodation to their wishes and welcome input. We might be familiar with people, places and ways of doing things “around here”, they might not be. We might have our friendship groups already filled but of course they might not. There are many signs of encouragement, including: people joining small groups ( - we are praying for more); being honest and asking for practical help (thank you for the growing team who respond); and offering to assist with many emerging outreach events and fixtures (Experience Christmas for example).

May I encourage us all to be on the lookout for visitors and make use of our welcome pack and notice sheets (to pass onto them), to circulate and converse over coffee perhaps in church to liberate space in the welcome area, helping those new to appreciate the variety of ways we can give financially, serve practically (we always need volunteers) and pray widely (for our many mission partners). May we be an increasingly friendly and welcoming church as indeed many sense is already the case – thanks be to God for those he is calling to join us.

Yours in Christ,

Mark