Following the overwhelmingly positive responses to the circuit service at Lindley on 1st September 2019, we are planning two further opportunities when we can share services with others around the circuit.
On the morning of Sunday 1st March 2020, marking the first Sunday in Lent, we will be holding four different kinds of service in different locations and you are invited to choose which one you would like to go to. Gledholt will be hosting a praise service; Holmfirth, a service in a meditative style; Lindley, a café-style service, and Dalton, a preaching service. Towards the end of Lent, on Palm Sunday, 5th April 2020, there will be an evening circuit service at 6.00pm at Lindley, marking the beginning of Holy Week with, among other things, sung and instrumental music.
Before we get to Lent, however, let’s make the most of Advent and Christmas!
Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year to you all,
David (Circuit Superintendent)

This is a new appointment within the Yorkshire West Methodist District. It represents an exciting opportunity for someone to make a real difference to the growth of the Methodist Church by contributing to the development and co-ordination of spiritual and missional activities across the District.
We are looking to appoint a Missional Communities Worker to join us to take forward this phase of exploration and innovation by helping develop the Methodist Way of Life and the creation of new missional communities. The post could be held on the basis of between a 0.5 half-time post and a full-time post of 35 hours per week. The post holder will be working alongside the District’s Evangelism and Growth Group which will support and enable the vision for this work.

If you have the enthusiasm to work creatively with others in developing missional communities,
please ask for details.

For an ordained Methodist, the stipend will apply. For a lay person or an ordained person in another denomination, annual salary will be set between £24,000 and £28,000 per annum, pro rata for a
part-time appointment. Please note the appointment will be for a period of 3 years in the first
instance.

For an application pack please contact the Yorkshire West District Office: [email protected]
Touchstone, 4 Easby Road, Bradford, BD7 1QX

​Letter of application and completed Application Form to be submitted by: 11 October 2019.
Applications to be emailed to [email protected] or sent to the Yorkshire West District Office.
​
Interviews are expected to be held at the District Office on 24 October 2019.

Betws-y-Coed Residential
During the last weekend in March I had the privilege of taking 18 young people that are connected to the circuit to a residential in Betws-y-Coed, North Wales.

We set off from Gledholt Methodist Church and after a long journey (thanks to the M62) we arrived to our centre just behind the main street in Betws-y-Coed. The young people got straight into the swing of things, getting something to eat, spending time getting to know each other and having a time of reflection.

We woke up on the Saturday morning and after a quick time for breakfast, we were straight out of the centre. After a mile and half walk we arrived at the activity centre called ZipWorld FForrest where we did our two main activities, the Fforest coaster and Tree Top Nets.

Fforest Coaster – We sat on our sled, (which is a little like a tea tray with brakes) and we were slowly dragged up 365m up through the forest to the top of the hill. When you are at the top of the hill you are released down a track where you speed around corners at up to 25mph. Each person had 3 goes on this and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Treetop Nets – Imagine trampolines 60 ft up in the air, well that is essentially what the treetops nets are. Our young people bounced around, slide down the shoots, played football, and played tag all whilst up in the sky.

When we got back to the centre we spent some time thinking what life would be like if we could change some issues in the world today including Brexit, war, and climate change to name just a few. We looked at just how lucky we really are compared to young people around the world, we made some things we are grateful for out of playdoh, and looked at our dreams and ambitions for the future. From there we wrote ourselves a letter to a future version of us, before getting in pairs and writing down our dreams for that other person.

We also did a few other activities through the day using the idea of being royalty for the day in groups. We turned one of the young people in each group some royal garments, a throne to sit on, as well as baking them a small feast (a batch of cookies).

Sunday came around far too quickly due to the clocks changing, we played a few games, spent time reflecting on the weekend and did some feedback, before cleaning the centre and having some lunch. Finally we spent the afternoon in Betws-y-Coed, shopping, eating some ice cream and playing frisbee before setting back home.

The weekend was amazing and the young people we took had a really good time and wanted to do it again. So more work for me to do!!!

Chris Mason
Circuit Youth Worker

Church Worker for Chinese Ministry – Huddersfield Circuit, Yorkshire West District
 
ABOUT US
The Chinese ministry of Huddersfield Circuit is in the form of a Chinese Fellowship at the Mission, the Methodist Church’s town centre ministry building. This Fellowship was set up in 2010 to serve the spiritual needs of the Chinese in and around Huddersfield. It has two Sunday services with Sunday school each month at the Huddersfield Mission. At present, there are about 15-20 in the congregation. The Fellowship also runs Bible studies during school term times. 
 
ABOUT THE JOB ROLE
The Chinese Fellowship has been led/co-ordinated by a Methodist local preacher who will be stepping down from that capacity in early 2019. An exciting opportunity is now available for a suitable candidate to succeed in her role.
We are looking for a mature Christian with a calling to the Chinese ministry in the UK. The successful candidate will be tasked with leading and further developing the Chinese Fellowship with weekly Sunday services.
 
ESSENTIAL SKILL SETS REQUIRED
To be successfully shortlisted for this job position, we are looking for the ideal candidate with these essential skill sets:

• Relevant experience in a Chinese speaking church setting
• An ability to communicate fluently in Chinese and English
• Familiarity with Chinese (Mainland China and Hong Kong) culture
• Good understanding of safeguarding practice
• Proven ability in working both independently and as part of a team
• Is sympathetic to Methodism
• Proven ability to preach and lead worship
• Proven ability to provide pastoral care
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Ability to relate to and identify mission opportunities in the Chinese Community
• Able to use appropriate computer skills to manage simple accounting, publicity and record keeping  matters

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• To obtain a satisfactory Enhanced clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service
• Ability to work on Sundays , some Saturdays, weekends or evenings
• Ability to travel within Huddersfield and surrounding area.
• An enthusiasm for Christian mission

​To apply for this job vacancy please email the Revd Roz Page at [email protected] for a copy of the application pack, the closing date for this job advert will be Friday 28th December 2018. Any applications received after this date, will only be considered if we were unable to find a suitable candidate to employ.

An invitation to reflect together on this summer’s sabbatical
 
Tuesday 9th October 2018 7.30pm at Holmfirth Methodist Church
 
Tuesday 23rd October 8.00pm at Outlane Methodist Church
 
One of the gifts Methodist ministers receive from the church is a three month sabbatical every seven years. I am grateful to all who made it possible for me to spend some time this summer doing new things, visiting new places and reflecting on what I was discovering and what that means for my life and my work.
 
“Who do you think you are?” seems a reasonable way of describing something of my sabbatical journey.
 
Towards the beginning of my journey I travelled to Berlin, a city I had never visited before and which still had a massive wall through its heart when I was studying German in the 1980s. My time there was a sharp reminder of who I no longer am, namely a fluent German speaker! But it was also an exploration into how people over the centuries have coped and not coped with those who are different from themselves and the moving accounts which have arisen out of this.
 
During my week at Gladstone’s Residential Library in North Wales I began to delve deeper into the stories of Jacob in the book of Genesis, reading them particularly from the point of view of both female and male Jewish writers. If ever there is a story in which characters are continually asking the question “Who do you think you are?”, then this must rank quite highly. I found it intriguing to look at the various episodes from the angle of each of the main characters, paying attention to the gaps in the text, where something happens, but is not explained. What, for instance, do Leah and Rachel know about the deceiving of Jacob on his first wedding night?
 
Alongside all the reading I kept a journal, recording thoughts, ideas and questions related to what I was experiencing and how my understanding of God, religion and the church were all changing. The journalling was especially valuable when I was reflecting on what it means to engage with radical theology. Previously I had understood radical theology in terms of uncovering the roots of Jesus’ first-century life and impact, basing our understanding of God on the human experience of Jesus, rather than on the creeds and doctrines which the church went on to establish. But it began to occur to me that to understand Jesus more fully I had to get to grips with how Jesus might have heard the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. He would have heard the stories and reflections on them on a regular basis. How might he have understood those narratives and those characters?
 
A sabbatical is not only for the minister, but for the church too. If you would like to hear more and reflect together on some of these issues, then come along to Holmfirth on 9th October or Outlane on 23rd October.
 
David Bidnell

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a Superhero?

​This was something that the children at this year’s Circuit Camp were invited to explore.
Through focusing on four Superhero characteristics; bravery, strength, perseverance and trust, we travelled a learning journey together. 

These activities and worship slots, we also considered Biblical Superheroes who were brave, strong, trusting and determined; learning a little more about their stories. We thought about heroes in our own lives and people who’ve inspired us.

The weekend culminated in a lively All Age Worship followed by brunch; including a get up and dance to Jesus You’re my Superhero song (Lego version of course!) and a scary Daniel in the Lion’s Den performance as told from the lion’s point of view!
 
Many thanks to all the leaders who volunteered at Camp and to Linthwaite Methodist Church for hosting - you are all Superheroes!

To find out more about what we got up to, why not view our photo gallery and then watch the puppet films made by the children on the Children's Camp 2017 Page

Huddersfield Methodist Circuit
Is seeking to appoint a part-time lay minister
to work with and lead the local Churches
in Kirkheaton and Lepton.

We are looking for an outgoing, proactive, creative Christian
with experience of leadership in church settings.

Hours/week: 30           Rate of pay: £18,495 per annum plus pension provision
(There is a genuine Occupational Requirement for the post holder to be a Christian.)

To obtain an application pack or ask for more information, please email [email protected]

The closing date for applications is noon on 21st June 2017.   Interviews will be held on 29th June.

I admit it – I am a fidget, as a child I was constantly being told to put this or that down before my fiddling broke something. I put my crafting hobbies down as ‘grown up fiddling’, and I am often typing something on one half of the laptop screen whilst following the TV replay on the other side – a kind of mental fidgeting.

Recently on a Facebook discussion page the question was posed about how we felt if someone was doing something else whilst listening to the sermon in church. It was surprising how many people find doing something with their hands can help their brains to focus. Others talked about their experience on the Autism spectrum that permission to fidget is important to getting through longer concentration times. I recalled that in times of fatigue I would close my eyes to listen – with less other stimulation for my tired brain to process.

People have always been able to read the Bible and some even taken notes during a sermon – and seen as committed not distracted (though no-one checks if it is the shopping list or a doodle). But those with phones out and tapping the screen are seen as rude and not listening – yet they may be looking up the Bible passages, taking notes, searching a new word or idea from the sermon before they forget it. They may even be tweeting about how it was a very provoking message.

Thinking about the crying baby and the exploring toddler; the unpredictable fidgets of those with dementia (I could use a twiddle muff at any age); and adding in those used to phone fidgeting, and those sharing their autism experiences; adding in the natural fidgets of every age – I wonder if there is a place for Fidget Church?

Fidget Church would give permission to knit or doodle, or to stand and stretch legs that stiffen if sat too long. Basically permission to do and be as you choose, no judging or tutting allowed – just the presumption that if you have given up time to be at church then you are there to worship and to consider the ideas from the readings and sermon, if you choose to do something alongside then that is fine, you know what helps you.  Besides why should the children be the only ones to respond to God’s word in colouring and crafts?

Yes maybe there is a place for Fidget Church.

Rev Helen Roberts.

Community Cards was started by Nigel Clews of Newsome Methodist Church with the aim of upcycling old greetings cards to sell, with surplus money used to support the Welcome Centre Foodbank.
​
There were several groups of volunteers making and selling cards in the Holme Valley, when in April 2015 a new group was set up at Linthwaite Methodist Church – the Colne Valley.  This ecumenical group is open to anybody and has over 20 members attending at various times. Made up of friends from Linthwaite Methodist, and from other Churches in the valley;  Slaithwaite: St James’s and the Methodist Church, Golcar: Providence Methodist and St Johns, and people who do not attend any Church.   Not only do we make cards we also provide time for people to meet and chat, with coffee and biscuits provided each week.  Twice a year we all go out for a meal together.  The cards made by this group are sold in 12 outlets from a Blackbelt Academy, Churches to Hairdressers and we have recently reached £3,000 in sales.
​
Would you like to get involved?  

• An easy way is to collect old greetings cards and pass them on!  We need cards for all ages, and all subject matters – from birth congratulations to sympathy.  Could you organise a collection box in your place of work or Church.
• Take your cards directly to the Welcome Centre on Lord Street.  
• Would you like to make cards, no artistic skills are necessary!  Perhaps you would like to join a group or set a group up.
• Would like to sell cards.
• Talk to someone about the project.

 
Cards are not just for Christmas.
For more information see  http://communitycards.org.uk

​DATE FOR YOUR DIARY!

We believe that it is our responsibility to raise awareness of the issues that affect those who come to Huddersfield Mission and use our services.

One way that we do this is through debates. Our next one is on a highly emotive issue - Benefit Sanctions.

The debate is free to attend to all and is an opportunity to learn about the effect of Benefit Sanctions on both your local community and the wider population.

​Please share for those who may be interested.