Happy Easter friend!

Even though the chocolate eggs and hot cross buns have all been eaten, in church we are still very much celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. In keeping with our resurrection theme, I thought that I would resurrect our monthly newsletter as a way of keeping you all in the loop and being able to add a little more flesh on the bones of our weekly notices. Rather than giving you a big spiel at the top of the newsletter I will break things down into headings so that you can scroll directly to the bits that interest you.

Happy reading!

Coronation of King Charles III

On the day of the coronation our bell ringers will be ringing the bells to celebrate at approximately 4pm (Saturday 6th May). The coronation service will not be shown in church, instead people are being encouraged to watch the coronation at home with friends and families.

On Sunday 7th May we will be holding a shared service at 10am. This will not be specifically centred around the coronation but the King will be mentioned in our prayers. After the service, we will be having a coronation picnic in the church grounds as part of the Big Lunch (https://coronation.gov.uk/get-involved/). Bring along your own picnic, a blanket to sit on or a picnic chair. Why not bring a ball, boules, or other outdoor games to play together?

Communications

Over the coming year we want to improve our communications so that everyone has access to information about what is happening in church. A few changes you will see over the next few weeks and months:

Clearer updated noticeboards in the fellowship area so that you can find the information you need.
Updated “A Church Near You” page.
Updated Church website.
Monthly newsletter.
A who’s who board with photos of people in specific roles so that it is easier for you to find who you need.
Clearer welcome information aimed at those who are new to church.
Recruiting a volunteer social media officer.
Flyers for you to take and give away at special times of celebration.
Rolling notices on the screen at the beginning and the end of services so that you don’t miss important information.

Events

Did you know that we have an events group? This group is open to anyone in church who would like to assist with our events, help to plan events, or has any ideas about new events we could introduce.

Our annual events are an important source of income for the church to help us keep the show on the road. They are also a great way for us to connect with the wider community who may not normally connect with us in any other way.

If you would like to be part of the events group, please have a word with Jess and she will include you in the planning emails or just pop along to one of the meetings – everyone is welcome.

Learning Together

The Diocese of Leeds has a fantastic online learning hub where you can find out about courses, seminars, book groups, and workshops that might be interesting or useful to you. It is free to set up an account and most training is free for you to do.

Where there is a cost for training, the church has a modest training budget which may be used to cover some or all of the cost of training. Obviously, we can’t pay for everyone to do everything but please do talk to us if there is something specific that you would like to do as we will always try to cover the cost for you if we can. If there is training that you would be interested in that requires incumbent or PCC approval, please arrange a meeting with Jess in the first instance to discuss your application.

Access the learning hub here: https://learning.leeds.anglican.org/

Church Election Results

Church Wardens (elected for 1 year, maximum term 6 years):

Miles Lawson
Andy Rhodes

Deanery Synod (elected for 3 years, no maximum term)

Raymond Gallagher
David Barker
Kathleen O’Shea

PCC (elected for 3 years, no maximum term)

Chris Taylor
Alan Graves
Jonathan Keer

PCC (elected for 1 year – filling a current vacancy, no maximum term)

Denise Gosling (retire 2024)

Other current PCC members:

Vacancy (retire 2024)
Vacancy (retire 2024)
Alison Sowden (retire 2025)
Solly Wilson (retire 2025)
Janice Mitchell (retire 2025)

Ex- Officio PCC Members

Jess Davis (Priest-in-Charge)
Leif Wilks (Licenced Lay Minister)
Wendy Harper (Licenced Lay Minister)
Andy Rhodes (Churchwarden)
Miles Lawson (Churchwarden)

Specific appointed roles for 2023 / 2024:

PCC Secretary – Denise Gosling
Treasurer – Alan Graves
Gift Aid Officer – Alan Graves
Independent Examiner – Stephen Lister
Safeguarding Officer – Janice Mitchell
Health and Safety Officer – Pat Gaunt
Electoral Role Officer – Dorothy Gallagher

Getting in touch

Jess Davis (priest-in-charge)
Email: vicar@stpetersbirstall.co.uk
Phone / Text / WhatsApp – 07949226508
(when Jess is on annual leave, the wardens are the first point of contact)

Miles Lawson and Andy Rhodes (Churchwardens)
support@stpetersbirstall.co.uk

And finally

If you need support in any way - prayer, or practical help - please contact us on our special email address: support@stpetersbirstall.co.uk.

We hope you enjoyed this newsletter. If you have suggestions for things we can put in it please do get in touch.

Thanks for reading. God bless you all.

St Peter's Church, Birstall

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St Peter's Church
Kirkgate, Birstall,
West Yorkshire
WF17 9PB