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Parish notices: 26 December 2021

Changes to our COVID precautions

To help reduce the risk of spreading Coronavirus you must wear a face covering at all times when in the church or Community Centre, except when receiving communion, eating or drinking, unless you are medically exempt.

We suggest that you continue to take precautions such as taking regular rapid lateral flow tests, keeping your distance, and being respectful of the wishes of others. You’ll still need to sanitise your hands as you enter the building, and avoid handshakes during the Peace.

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, remember that you must self-isolate and get a PCR test. As always, we will continue to stream all our services live on our website and YouTube channel, as well as make them available to listen to later by phone or podcast.

As always, we are keeping a close watch on things such as infection rates, as well as guidance from the Government, NHS, and the Church of England, and we may make other changes to our safety measures in the future.

Catch up on our Christmas services

If you missed any of our Christmas services you can catch up with our Christmas playlist on YouTube.

The Rhythm of Life

Starting January 20 at 7.30 pm

Walk with me and work with me -watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

Matthew 11:28-30

During the Covid 19 crisis, we’ve had to adjust to very different rhythms of life. As Christians, we believe Jesus should be at the heart of our rhythms of life, whatever our circumstances. This will have a far-reaching impact on our own wellbeing and the good of others – on our loving, living and learning. That’s why you’re invited to join the diocesan ‘Rhythm of Life’ venture. This will involve individual commitments, accessing resources and mutual support.

Coming up at Whitkirk Community Centre

Country Dancing

We are hoping to re-start this popular country dance class in January.  It will be held on 1st and 3rd Monday in the month, from 1.30 pm until 3.30 pm. Come along and give it a try for a good afternoon out among friendly faces – no experience needed!

Please contact Dorothy Howe on 0113 264 2569 for further information and to let her know if you are interested.

Continue reading “Parish notices: 26 December 2021”

Parish notices: 19 December 2021

Changes to our COVID precautions

To help reduce the risk of spreading Coronavirus you must wear a face covering at all times when in the church or Community Centre, except when receiving communion, eating or drinking, unless you are medically exempt.

We suggest that you continue to take precautions such as taking regular rapid lateral flow tests, keeping your distance, and being respectful of the wishes of others. You’ll still need to sanitise your hands as you enter the building, and avoid handshakes during the Peace.

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, remember that you must self-isolate and get a PCR test. As always, we will continue to stream all our services live on our website and YouTube channel, as well as make them available to listen to later by phone or podcast.

As always, we are keeping a close watch on things such as infection rates, as well as guidance from the Government, NHS, and the Church of England, and we may make other changes to our safety measures in the future.

Our Christmas services

Take a look at our Christmas Services page to see what’s happening when and where.

Festival of Lessons and Carols

This evening at 6.00 pm

St Mary’s Church Choir will sing arrangements of new and traditional carols along with a selection of well-known carols for everyone to join in with. Lessons are read by members of the local community, and tell the story of God’s relationship with humankind from the beginnings of the world up to the birth of Jesus.

Christmas food bank donations

As the festive season is upon us, food banks are more appreciative than ever of donations. Our local Leeds South and East Foodbank is currently looking for donations of:

  • Chocolate selection boxes
  • Biscuit selection boxes
  • Mince pies
  • Tinned meat, particularly:
    • Chicken in white wine sauce
    • Stewed steak
  • UHT milk

As always all donations of food, toiletries and money are gratefully accepted. Last year the Leeds South and East Foodbank provided over 12,500 food parcels to those most in need. Details of all the ways you can help are on their website.

The Rhythm of Life

Starting January 13

Walk with me and work with me -watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

Matthew 11:28-30

During the Covid 19 crisis, we’ve had to adjust to very different rhythms of life. As Christians, we believe Jesus should be at the heart of our rhythms of life, whatever our circumstances. This will have a far-reaching impact on our own wellbeing and the good of others – on our loving, living and learning. That’s why you’re invited to join the diocesan ‘Rhythm of Life’ venture. This will involve individual commitments, accessing resources and mutual support.

Coming up at Whitkirk Community Centre

Country Dancing

We are hoping to re-start this popular country dance class in January.  It will be held on 1st and 3rd Monday in the month, from 1.30 pm until 3.30 pm. Come along and give it a try for a good afternoon out among friendly faces – no experience needed!

Please contact Dorothy Howe on 0113 264 2569 for further information and to let her know if you are interested.

Continue reading “Parish notices: 19 December 2021”

Parish notices: 12 December 2021

Changes to our COVID precautions

To help reduce the risk of spreading Coronavirus you must wear a face covering at all times when in the church or Community Centre, except when receiving communion, eating or drinking, unless you are medically exempt.

We have also paused the decision to reintroduce the Common Cup as part of our Eucharist.

We suggest that you continue to take precautions such as taking regular rapid lateral flow tests, keeping your distance, and being respectful of the wishes of others. You’ll still need to sanitise your hands as you enter the building, and avoid handshakes during the Peace.

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, remember that you must self-isolate and get a PCR test. As always, we will continue to stream all our services live on our website and YouTube channel, as well as make them available to listen to later by phone or podcast.

As always, we are keeping a close watch on things such as infection rates, as well as guidance from the Government, NHS, and the Church of England, and we may make other changes to our safety measures in the future.

Our Christmas services

Take a look at our Christmas Services page to see what’s happening when and where.

Messy Church Christingle service

Today at 4.00 pm
Starting in Whitkirk Community Centre

Come along to this traditional celebration – suitable for all ages – and turn a humble orange into the light of the world!

Christmas food bank donations

As the festive season approaches, food banks are more appreciative than ever of donations. Our local Leeds South and East Foodbank is currently looking for donations of:

  • Chocolate selection boxes
  • Biscuit selection boxes
  • Mince pies
  • Tinned meat, particularly:
    • Chicken in white wine sauce
    • Stewed steak
  • UHT milk

As always all donations of food, toiletries and money are gratefully accepted. Last year the Leeds South and East Foodbank provided over 12,500 food parcels to those most in need. Details of all the ways you can help are on their website.

The Rhythm of Life

Starting January 13

Walk with me and work with me -watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

Matthew 11:28-30

During the Covid 19 crisis, we’ve had to adjust to very different rhythms of life. As Christians, we believe Jesus should be at the heart of our rhythms of life, whatever our circumstances. This will have a far-reaching impact on our own wellbeing and the good of others – on our loving, living and learning. That’s why you’re invited to join the diocesan ‘Rhythm of Life’ venture. This will involve individual commitments, accessing resources and mutual support.

Coming up at Whitkirk Community Centre

Country Dancing

We are hoping to re-start this popular country dance class in January.  It will be held on 1st and 3rd Monday in the month, from 1.30 pm until 3.30 pm. Come along and give it a try for a good afternoon out among friendly faces – no experience needed!

Please contact Dorothy Howe on 0113 264 2569 for further information and to let her know if you are interested.

Continue reading “Parish notices: 12 December 2021”

Parish notices: 5 December 2021

An update on our coronavirus measures

In light of recent developments, we have paused the decision to reintroduce the Common Cup as part of our Eucharist. We also request that you wear a face-covering whilst in our church and Community Centre unless you are medically exempt.

We suggest that you continue to take precautions such as taking regular rapid lateral flow tests, keeping your distance, and being respectful of the wishes of others. You’ll still need to sanitise your hands as you enter the building, and avoid handshakes during the Peace.

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, remember that you must self-isolate and get a PCR test. As always, we will continue to stream all our services live on our website and YouTube channel, as well as make them available to listen to later by phone or podcast.

As always, we are keeping a close watch on things such as infection rates, as well as guidance from the Government, NHS, and the Church of England, and we may make other changes to our safety measures in the future.

Our Christmas services

Take a look at our Christmas Services page to see what’s happening when and where.

Messy Church Christingle service

Sunday 12 December at 4.00 pm
Starting in Whitkirk Community Centre

Come along to this traditional celebration – suitable for all ages – and turn a humble orange into the light of the world!

Coming up at Whitkirk Community Centre

The Sword in the Scone

Wednesday 8 to Saturday 11 December at 7.15 pm

Whitkirk Arts Guild give the legend of King Arthur a twist in their annual family pantomime. Complete with knights and a king, a witch and a wizard, a dragon, and oversized baked goods. Book your tickets online, pick up a flyer in the Community Centre, or call 0113 212 0066.

Country Dancing

We are hoping to re-start this popular country dance class in January.  It will be held on 2nd and 4th Monday in the month, from 1.30 pm until 3.30 pm. Come along and give it a try for a good afternoon out among friendly faces – no experience needed!

Please contact Dorothy Howe on 0113 264 2569 for further information and to let her know if you are interested.

Continue reading “Parish notices: 5 December 2021”

Parish notices: 28 November 2021

Reintroducing the Common Cup

From today, you can once again choose to take communion as both bread and wine. You can read our full update on this, or watch the video.

If you would prefer to only receive communion in one kind (as bread only) this is also considered to be full communion by the Church of England.

Real Advent Calendars

We’re once again selling the only Advent calendars to tell the Christmas story – Real Advent Calendars. Available from James for £4.50 each.

You can also pick up one of our selection of books, or an Advent candle to mark the days as we approach Christmas.

Our Christmas services

As we rapidly approach the season of Advent, it’s time to let everyone know about our Christmas services! Take a look at our Christmas Services page to see what’s happening when and where.

Messy Church Christingle service

Sunday 12 December at 4.00 pm
Starting in Whitkirk Community Centre

Come along to this traditional celebration – suitable for all ages – and turn a humble orange into the light of the world!

Coming up at Whitkirk Community Centre

Christmas Not-Just-A-Coffee Morning

Saturday 4 December at 10.00am

It’s not a full-blown Christmas Fair, but it’s so much more than a coffee morning! Come join us for a cuppa and some cake, or if you’re feeling a touch more festive you can enjoy our mulled wine. Browse a selection of stalls perfect for smaller gifts and stocking fillers, take your chance with our famous Christmas Raffle, and sing your favourite carols around the piano.

The Sword in the Scone

Wednesday 8 to Saturday 11 December at 7.15 pm
Great seats available Wednesday and Thursday, only a few seats left Friday and Saturday

Whitkirk Arts Guild give the legend of King Arthur a twist in their annual family pantomime. Complete with knights and a king, a witch and a wizard, a dragon, and oversized baked goods. Book your tickets online, pick up a flyer in the Community Centre, or call 0113 212 0066.

Continue reading “Parish notices: 28 November 2021”

Reintroducing the Common Cup

Matthew talks about reintroducing the Common Cup to our worship at St Mary’s

From Advent Sunday (Sunday 28 November) we’ll be reintroducing the Common Cup at Whitkirk. This means that if you want to you’ll be able to take communion in both kinds – both bread and wine – as part of taking communion during our services.

If you’d like to take communion in both kinds, we’d appreciate it if you could mention this to one of our stewards so that we can consecrate the right amount. Don’t worry if you forget, this is just to help us get a better idea of numbers.

If you’d still rather take communion in one kind only, you can continue to do so and this is still considered by the Church of England to be taking communion in full. All you need to do is take the bread as you usually would, and then return to your seat.

You are free to start or stop taking communion in both kinds whenever you want. As with all changes to our worship during the pandemic, we’re keeping a close eye on things like infection rates as we make our decisions, and we may make further changes in the future.

An update from your PCC: November 2021

The Parochial Church Council meets regularly throughout the year to discuss and make decisions on all kinds of issues relating to the Church at Whitkirk.

We think it’s essential that the parish know what their PCC is talking about, which is why we’ll be sharing these updates after each meeting. We won’t go into the nitty-gritty details of what we discussed but will give you an overview and a summary of decisions. This is a summary of the meeting held on 16 November.

  • We decided to reintroduce the Common Cup from Advent Sunday, with it being made clear that people do not have to take part if they do not feel comfortable.
    • This decision has been temporarily paused due to the latest infection rates and emergence of a new variant of concern.
  • We made some updates to the contract for maintaining the Church’s grounds, increasing fees in line with inflation and clarifying how often we review things.
  • We agreed to invest in some new secured equipment storage.
  • The Church’s finance team gave us an update on our income and expenditure, along with some estimates and targets for the year ahead.
  • Updated text for our new Environmental Policy was proposed and approved, and this policy has been adopted by the PCC.
  • We heard an update from our safeguarding officer about adopting the latest version of our Safeguarding Policy, and on some updated training which PCC members must complete.
  • We looked at an updated structure for the PCC and its various subgroups, and continued to work towards a revised structure following the upheaval of the pandemic.
  • We discussed upcoming events and courses.
  • A note of thanks was discussed and agreed on for West Yorkshire Police for their assistance with road closures for this year’s Act of Remembrance.
  • Thanks were passed on to members of the PCC and congregation who have donated items towards the Christmas “Not Just A Coffee Morning” raffle and stalls.

If you have any comments, or if you’d like to raise an issue for the PCC or one of its committees to discuss, then please let us know!

Parish notices: 21 November 2021

Real Advent Calendars

We’re once again selling the only Advent calendars to tell the Christmas story – Real Advent Calendars. Available from James for £4.50 each.

You can also pick up one of our selection of books, or an Advent candle to mark the days as we approach Christmas.

Our Christmas services

As we rapidly approach the season of Advent, it’s time to let everyone know about our Christmas services! Take a look at our Christmas Services page to see what’s happening when and where.

Coming up at Whitkirk Community Centre

Christmas Not-Just-A-Coffee Morning

Saturday 4 December at 10.00am

It’s not a full-blown Christmas Fair, but it’s so much more than a coffee morning! Come join us for a cuppa and some cake, or if you’re feeling a touch more festive you can enjoy our mulled wine. Browse a selection of stalls perfect for smaller gifts and stocking fillers, take your chance with our famous Christmas Raffle, and sing your favourite carols round the piano.

The Sword in the Scone

Wednesday 8 to Saturday 11 December at 7.15 pm
Last few tickets on Friday and Saturday!

Whitkirk Arts Guild give the legend of King Arthur a twist in their annual family pantomime. Complete with knights and a king, a witch and a wizard, a dragon, and oversized baked goods. Book your tickets online, pick up a flyer in the Community Centre, or call 0113 212 0066.

Continue reading “Parish notices: 21 November 2021”