The sixth Sunday after Trinity
Sung Eucharist for the sixth Sunday after Trinity
Today at 10.00 am · Watch the service · View the order of service
Other services
Messy Church
Today at 4.00 pm
Said Eucharist
This Wednesday 15 July at 10.00 am
Sung Eucharist for the seventh Sunday after Trinity
Next Sunday 19 July at 10.00 am · Watch the service · View the order of service
Confirmations: 13 September 2026
Confirmations for the East Leeds Deanery will be taking place at St James the Great Manston on 13 September. I am aware of two potential candidates for confirmation at that service. If you are considering being confirmed, or if you would like to know more, please contact Rev’d Claire. It would be good to have a joyful Whitkirk contingent at this service.
Sue Butcher is walking to raise money for research into Parkinson's Disease
On Saturday 18 July, Sue Butcher is walking six miles at Temple Newsam to raise money for research into Parkinson’s Disease. If you would like to sponsor her in aid of this worthy cause, please see her, or follow this link to sponsor her. Any donation you can make would be hugely appreciated. You can donate online at wkrk.uk/sbpw.
The Leeds South & East Food Bank: What's Needed in July
The Leeds South & East Food Bank continues to be in urgent need of donations to help those in most need. In particular at the moment they are asking for UHT milk, tea and coffee, rice pudding, packet custard, cooking sauces, tinned potatoes and tinned fish.
If you are able, you can donate by picking one of these items up in your weekly shop and dropping it in the box at the back of the church. You can find other ways to help, including donating money or your time, on their website at wkrk.uk/fbd. If you need the help of a foodbank yourself, see wkrk.uk/fbh.
Intercessions and GDPR
We have been asked to clarify the reasons why, in our intercessions, we use only first names for those for who are unwell or in long-term care. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with which, by law, we have to comply, places strict restrictions on sharing personal information, including information about someone’s health. This is particularly important in our case, because our services are live-streamed and the recording made available after the service via our website and YouTube, meaning that a lasting record of the names of those prayed for is available online.
The only basis on which we could share someone’s full name as part of our prayers for the sick is with their explicit, informed consent. This consent would need to be obtained directly from the sick person themselves (a friend or family member cannot give consent on their behalf) and a record of this would need to be kept. In practice, most prayer requests do not come from the individual concerned but from a friend or family member (or they are received anonymously via the cards left at the back of church). In these cases, it is not possible to share the person’s surname. The PCC has given this very careful consideration, and believes that it is better to be consistent and to treat all those prayed for equally (as we are all equal before God), using first names only. Please rest assured that God will know who we mean.
While our intercessions are addressed to God, who knows all our needs, it is true that as a Church we ought also to care for those who are sick or in any kind of need. Although I know that this is a church where people show their love for their neighbours in many ways, caring for, visiting, and supporting one another in many ways, there is always scope for us to do better in this respect. A team of volunteers is being set up to follow up any specific pastoral needs and provide support. A separate process by which individuals or their friends or family members can flag up the need for this sort of support will be put in place, completely separately from the intercessions. If you would be interested in being part of this team, do contact Claire.
August holidays
We will be taking a bit of a break during August, and the following regular services and activities won’t be happening. They will all be back in September as usual:
- Choral Evensong
- Compline by Candlelight
- Messy Church
- Sanctuary
- Colton Lodges service
National Emergency Briefing
Friday 31 July at 7.00 pm
St Mary's Church, Whitkirk
On Friday 31 July, St. Mary’s Church is hosting a screening called the National Emergency Briefing. This important film has been shown across the country, and uses up to date scientific evidence to show how serious the climate and nature crisis is. We at St Mary’s are already trying our best to become carbon neutral by 2030, and have come a long way. Come along and see how we all have a role to play.
Pet blessing service
Saturday 5 September at 2.00 pm
Whitkirk Vicarage Garden
Following the success of last year’s service, we will once again be holding a pet blessing service in September. If you have a pet, or if you know anyone who has a pet and would like to bring it for a blessing, all are welcome, from puppies to ponies, and from iguanas to guinea pigs… Small animals must be safely contained in boxes or cages; large animals on leads. All are welcome. Tell your friends and neighbours.
Back to school service
Sunday 13 September at 10.00 am
St Mary's Church, Whitkirk
We will once again be holding a ‘back to school’ service, where our children and young people play a leading role in September, as they begin their new school year. Sign-up sheets are available at the back of church for anyone who would like their child(ren) to take part, or simply email Claire on [email protected] for more information. Roles for all ages will be available… Last year everyone found this a fun and uplifting service and we are so grateful to have our children and young people as part of our church community.