The Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Rev Stephen Platten, will lead the service starting at 5.00pm on Saturday afternoon and said he had taken as his starting point for preaching the powerful passage from Ruth  "Your people should be my people" (Ruth 1.16).

"This is a wonderful passage” said Bishop Stephen. “It goes right to the heart of serving here in this part of Yorkshire. The Christian church should always engage with the community with which it finds itself and always ask how does God and the gospels make sense here in this place."

Over 500 people are expected to fill the renewed nave in Wakefield Cathedral with representatives invited from every church and every parish across the five towns of the diocese. 

The service is the second in a series of six anniversary celebrations in our churches which started in Halifax Minster last month and continues at St Mary’s, Barnsley on 9 June; St. Giles Pontefract on 14 July; Huddersfield Parish Church on 8 September and the final service on Sunday 20 October in  Dewsbury Minster.

On Sunday 30 June, the 125th Birthday Party in the Precinct promises to be an afternoon of fun and faith set in the context of Eucharistic Worship.

It will begin with some introductions by the Bishop of Wakefield. The reading will be presented by a drama group moving amongst the crowd and there will be prayer stations inside the cathedral. The afternoon will conclude with the peace before moving into the Cathedral for the Eucharistic celebration, which will lead straight into the evening's Ceilidh.

Outside, in the precinct area, there  will be a prayer tent; youth bands from some of our churches, a new Orleans style jazz band and circus workshops to take part in or watch. There will be arts and crafts, nail art and glitter tattoos for children, a bouncy castle, donkey rides and a hog roast while inside the newly revitalised cathedral you will be able to find places for prayer, silence and reflection.

Remember each deanery has been given a £100 subsidy towards travel costs – ask your Rural Dean. 

Anyone who can help with jobs on the day please email jane.bower@wakefield.anglican.org

Dr Sentamu said: “I am looking forward to presiding at the service in Wakefield Cathedral. It is wonderful to witness people making a public declaration about their trust in Jesus Christ. It’s great to make a fresh start with God – new beginnings are fantastic! With God’s help we can all commit to live differently. Putting others first and trusting in the Holy Spirit to lead us.”

It is the first time the Archbishop will have visited the renewed Cathedral and the Dean, the Very Revd Jonathan Greener said: “Pentecost is a great happy festival of the church when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and new life and what better way to mark Pentecost this year with our renewed cathedral than with the Archbishop of York who will come to bring us a message of hope and God’s love.”

The Archbishop will then join church members, schoolchildren, the Mayor and Mayoress of Wakefield and scores of other local organisations to process from St. John’s, Horbury Bridge shortly after 2pm accompanied by the Horbury Band.

The route will follow Quarry Hill and along Tithe Barn Street to St Peter’s Church for a service, presentations by the children of both Church Schools and an address by the Archbishop.

The Archbishop of York said: “Pentecost reminds us that the Church is not called to huddle in one place behind locked doors but to go out and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with everyone”.

The tradition of a Witness Walk at Whitsuntide is a long established one. It is believed that in Horbury, this has taken place since 1840. In 1865, Sabine Baring-Gould, then curate of St John’s Church in Horbury Bridge, wrote the words of the famous hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Tradition has it that the words were written for the children of the Parish to sing as they walked up the hill from St. John’s to St. Peter’s in Horbury itself, thus linking the two Churches. All are welcome to follow the procession and join in the service.

You can read more about what he said here and also view the PowerPoint slides from that talk here.

In addition, Simon has also sent the text of a talk delivered by Revd Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin in the Fields, London in Durham several years ago which considers what it means for churches to engage in Christian ministry, witness, and service in the place where they are. This talk makes an interesting contribution to the way churches serve their local communities and people.

The next meeting of the Poverty Action Network will be on 9 October 2013 from 10.00am -12.00pm. 

The three Diocesan synods of Wakefield, Bradford, Ripon and Leeds all met simultaneously in March to cast their votes on the controversial plan. Wakefield returned a two thirds no vote to the draft plan to create a new single diocese for West Yorkshire and the Dales. In Bradford and Leeds and Ripon, the draft plan was carried.

The Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten, said: “It is good that the wider church has the opportunity to discuss the proposals of the Dioceses Commission.

“The Diocese of Wakefield in its Synod voted strongly against the scheme which was laid before it and which will now come before General Synod.  In our debates it was recognised by the vast majority of speakers that change was both good and necessary, but that this particular group of proposals was not best fitted for the future mission, ministry and growth of the Church. We believe that what the Church needs is renewal, not restructuring.

“The representatives of Wakefield in General Synod look forward to an open debate in which, for the first time, the principles and vision underpinning this scheme, and the priorities for the wider view of the mission of the Church of England in Yorkshire, can be considered.”

Under the proposals, the three dioceses would be dissolved to create a new single diocese, led by a Diocesan Bishop in Leeds and officially called the Diocese of Leeds. It would be divided into five new Episcopal areas of Wakefield, Bradford, Leeds, Ripon and Huddersfield each with their own area bishops and councils and would be known informally as the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales.

Dr Sentamu said: “Having listened carefully to all the submissions made during the consultation process, I know that there are strong views about how we take forward this Diocesan Reorganisation – however it is clear that what must be at the centre is our mission to best serve people’s need wherever they live. The Church has an exciting challenge ahead bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to individuals and communities within all areas of society, and in Him we are all one body.

“I have written to the Chair of the Dioceses Commission authorising him to lay the draft scheme before the General Synod. The General Synod will now have the opportunity to debate and decide whether these proposals should be progressed. It does not follow from my decision to refer this matter that the draft scheme will be approved – what it does mean is that rather than the process coming to an end, the General Synod will be able to form its own view and hear and assess the arguments that will no doubt be put to it from a range of perspectives.

“There are wider considerations affecting the Province of York which require the draft scheme to be submitted to the General Synod – and I am grateful that we will all have a further opportunity to reflect prayerfully on the proposals that are before us.”

The scheme should be debated at Synod this July and if General Synod gives the go-ahead, the new diocese could be established as soon as Easter 2014.

http://www.wakefield.anglican.org/diocesesreview

Centre manager, Sarah Cutts and her team of support workers have been giving a free, face-to-face service in the community, backed up by financial experts at Christians Against Poverty’s head office.

She said: “We have so much to celebrate today. Around a third of clients say they were seriously considering suicide before they called for help, so we know we are literally saving lives.

“We go into people’s homes and see them at their very lowest but then we get to see their hope and dignity restored and that is a great joy.”

Christians Against Poverty is part of a growing UK-wide charity helping people regardless of age, gender, faith or background.

“While many people in the area have experienced our service, there are still so many more who are being hounded by creditors, enduring sleepless nights and missing meals. I would urge anyone in the local community to contact me if they are concerned about personal debt.”

For more about Christians Against Poverty call 0800 328 0006 or visit www.capuk.org

View the PowerPoint slides from Simon Duffy's talk here.

“Austerity is not the cause of these cuts, the financial crisis was not caused by welfare spending, it was caused by over-lending to “us” to support excessive house price growth.

“House prices have always been seen as a safe bet, they always go up – it’s what’s called a bubble – and the political system cannot afford this bubble to burst and yet it is left with levels of debt that it cannot afford to meet,” he said.

And Simon said while the welfare state was a intrinsically a good thing,  its design was rooted in the paternalistic values of the 1940s and had to change to put citizenship and vibrant communities and family life at its heart.

And, he said, we needed to change the narrative around the welfare system and stop this blatant stigmatisation of the very poorest as “scroungers” and “benefit cheats”.

The Centre for Welfare Reform works to redesign the welfare state in order to increase social justice, promote citizenship, strengthen families and enrich our communities.

Simon said that over half of the £72b of promised cuts would fall in benefits and tax credits and local government –including a freeze on child benefit, cuts in housing benefits, the new bedroom tax, and reducing support to carers. And 60 per cent of local government cuts would fall in social care.

He predicted that by 2015 most of us would see a cost impact of around £467 through fewer police officers and higher school classes.

People in poverty would experience that, plus a significant loss of income up to £2,195, those with disabilities would suffer further losses amounting to £4,410 while those with the severest disabilities would see on average around £8,832 in income cuts and social care cuts by 2015.

“It’s hitting the most vulnerable and those with the greatest need - and the greatest right to support,” he said.

He said there was a misconception in London that places like Chelsea were supporting places like Barnsley but by analysing data the Centre could prove that in fact Barnsley received £900,000 less than its fair share of the public spending cake.

“The poorest 10 per cent pay 45 per cent income tax in the tax on their benefits, VAT, council tax and national insurance contributions.

“And the very poorest have little choice in how they spend.

“The UK is the third most unequal developed society after Portugal and the US. There are huge disparities. Take the NHS where you’ve got cleaners on £6k and consultants with a private practice on anything from £100k upwards to £250k.

“And the disparities are not always visible and the church is in a good position to raise this,” he said.

“An Oxford professor does not think of himself as a benefit scrounger living in that lovely house on that lovely salary – all funded by the public purse.

“We need a different narrative around welfare, what we have now is a very controlling and disempowering model. Housing, income support, health care and education.

“How can Michael Gove wake up on Monday morning and tell us how we are going to learn maths,” he asked.

The Centre campaigns to humanise our welfare system and says citizenship is key to reform. It believes our current welfare system fails many Human Rights Declarations and is creating a strong platform of people to challenge and change it.

You can find out more here: www.campaignforafairsociety.org and  www.centreforwelfarereform.org.

Church Urban Fund and Church of England publish latest report on Welfare Reform

The report demonstrates the impact of the Welfare Reforms. Read the Report.

Over the last three years, the Coalition Government has announced a range of welfare reforms. Each new tax or benefit reform has prompted a great deal of analysis of how many households will be affected and by how much. Yet, little has been done to examine the cumulative impact of the reforms.

By telling the story of two hypothetical households, this paper explores the cumulative impact of welfare reforms on household finances. With some reforms leading to a gain in disposable income and others resulting in a loss, this paper demonstrates the overall effect of welfare reforms.

This paper is the second of three to be published by Church Urban Fund and the Mission and Public Affairs Council of the Church of England on welfare reform. The first was a Guide to Welfare Reform that summarises the most significant reforms of recent years. The third paper in this mini-series will look at the broader impact of welfare reform and how explore how churches can best support those affected.

Meanwhile Church leaders from West Yorkshire press the government on Tax Justice 

The Bishop of Pontefract joined senior church leaders from West Yorkshire to meet with a member of the Cabinet and press the Government to take action on aggressive tax avoidance.

Bishop Tony said that churches are at the forefront of emergency welfare provision for people who are destitute because of unemployment and cuts so evasion and aggressive avoidance of tax by wealthy companies and individuals is an even greater injustice and needs addressing.

These changes which are called for by Christian Aid and Church Action on Poverty would raise more money in UK tax and so reduce the pressure to make cuts in welfare benefits and help developing countries and counter international crime.

Bishop Tony is pictured here with the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds. the Rt. Revd. John Packer and Pastor Gloria Hanley from the Wesleyan Holiness Church. Together with the Chair of West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council, Clive Barrett, they met Baron Newby of Rothwell, the Liberal Democrat Chief Whip in the House of Lords, and former financial spokesman in London.

The Church Leaders pressed for  amendments to the Finance Bill, a strengthening of the General Anti-Abuse Rules (GAAR) which deal with tax avoidance and much greater support for HMRC in pursuing tax-dodgers and  specific UK action around the forthcoming G8 summit.

And by day two Jo was craving coffee – which at 5p a cup was a 20^th of her daily allowance.  

Jo said: “Working for the Diocese I know how hard times feel in the parishes at the moment but I also think it's important to be reminded that despite all the challenges we face, on the whole our churches and our congregations are incredibly lucky to live in one of the richest nations on earth.

“This campaign raises awareness of how many of our fellow human beings struggle to survive every day as well as giving me an opportunity to raise funds for an organisation working to improve their lives.

“And it gives me a chance to reflect on how thankful I am to have all that I have,” she said.

Find out more about Live Below the Line at www.livebelowtheline.com/uk.

You can sponsor Jo at www.livebelowtheline.com/me/Twurchsteward and see what she's eating.

Jo is raising funds for Christian Aid.

Follow her daily progress on her blog http://parishgiving.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/living-below-the-line-why/

The afternoon will conclude with the peace before moving into the Cathedral for the Eucharistic celebration, which will lead straight into the evening's Ceilidh. 

Outside, in the precinct area, you can hear youth bands from some of our churches, a new Orleans style jazz band, take part in circus workshops and watch circus skills. There’s drumming, arts and crafts, a bouncy castle, donkey rides and a hog roast while inside the newly revitalised cathedral you can find places for prayer, silence and reflection.

Remember each deanery has been given a £100 subsidy towards travel costs – Ask your Rural Dean.   

CAN YOU HELP?

We need helpers for the day – there are lots of jobs from stewarding and chaperoning, to moving chairs and helping put up tents, signposts etc.

We aim to be on site from about 10.00am –and finish with one last clear up around 8.00pm (that’s the plan!)

Anyone who can spare any time – please email: jane.bower@wakefield.anglican.orgwith the time you can spare and if you have any special needs.

A stewards’ evening for all those helpers will take place in Wakefield Cathedral on Wednesday June 12 at 7.00pm. Please make sure you can attend at this time.

More information about the 125th Birthday Celebrations at www.wakefield.anglican.org/happybirthday

Barbara Hepworth, the Cathedral’s £3m refurbishment, local crafts people and the Wakefield Way will all feature in the programme presented by BBC Breakfast’s Bill Turnbull.

Songs of Praise Producer Charlotte Hindle said: “Wakefield has been transformed in recent years and has a lot to offer visitors, so we thought we would give the programmes an Enterprising Wakefield theme.

“It’s not somewhere people might think of going, but hopefully our programmes will show it’s well worth a trip.”

In true Songs of Praise Style, the shows will feature hymns sung by the cathedral’s congregation, including For All The Saints which was written by the first Bishop of Wakefield, William Walsham How.

There will also be performances by the cathedral’s choir and opera singer Jonathan Veira.

The Dean of Wakefield, the Very Rev Jonathan Greener, said: “We are very proud of our new nave, and are delighted to have this opportunity to share it with people across the country, and to sing God’s praises together for what has been achieved.

“And we hope the programme makes viewers think about Wakefield afresh and come and see it for themselves.”

Songs of Praise is broadcast from Wakefield Cathedral this Sunday - Sunday April 28 on BBC1 at 4.00pm or visit the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s7rcd for more information.

Photo of Bill Turnbull outside Wakefield Cathedral featured on the home page appears courtesy of The Wakefield Express.

Corrymeela is a Christian community helping to build relationships between different groups, peoples and churches. It has been closely associated with peace-building for over forty years, including the period of ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. It continues to work for lasting reconciliation between different communities.

The visit included engagement with churches in the most polarised areas of Belfast, as well as meeting with the Revd. Harold Good, a Methodist Minister who oversaw the decommissioning of IRA weapons.

Bishop Tony said:  “Not only has this visit strengthened relations between Christian leaders, it will also help the churches in West Yorkshire to engage more constructively with people of other faiths.

“I would recommend Corrymeela to church groups across Britain,” he added.

The Revd. Dr. Inderjit Bhogal, sometime President of the Methodist Conference and the current Leader of Corrymeela can be contacted at  leader@corrymeela.org.

The Diocese of Mara in Tanzania began in 1985 with just twelve parishes but now has over 150 parishes and has divided into three (Mara, Rorya and Tarime). This incredible story was told by Bishop Hilkiah Omindo at a thanksgiving service yesterday in Wakefield Cathedral. The service was celebrating the link between Mara and Wakefield Diocese which has now lasted twenty five years. Over three hundred Wakefield parishioners gathered at the service to celebrate the friendship, prayer and support shared over the years.

In his sermon the bishop described how church growth had taken place because Anglicans in Mara felt confident with the backing of Wakefield parishes behind them. Mara Diocese was now one of the most numerous and dynamic in Tanzania. Prayer for each other had been the key, as well as visits of parishioners in both directions, and the sending of funds for development as well as church building. You can listen to Bishop Hilkiah's sermon on YouTube.

To date just over £1.75 has been raised and sent from Wakefield Diocese, a great achievement for one of the smaller and poorer dioceses of the Church of England. As a result wells have been dug, a goat library has been started (to lend goats to families with HIV Aids, who benefit from their nutritious milk), school classrooms built, churches and vicarages roofed (Mara parishioners build the walls themselves), farmers equipped with new skills, trees planted and theological education extended. 

In the service Bishop Stephen Platten of Wakefield described the Tanzania link as the jewel in the Wakefield crown. For Wakefield parishioners it has provided an encouraging window onto the world church and the global growth of Christianity. 

Stephen Spencer the current Link Officer comments that church growth in Mara reveals how discipleship and development can go hand in hand, with amazing results for mission, and that this can provide inspiration and direction for churches in this country. Mission in Mara is about the whole person, body as well as soul, and so it should be in Britain as well.

One of the gifts offered to Bishop Hilkiah on Sunday will be The Big Book – a Taste of Tanzania from all the church schools.

The Revd Gill Johnson, Education Development Officer, said: “We always see ourselves here in education as the alternative parish of this diocese and this book is our offering. It is a follow up to the education pack we did last year but the people and the places shown in it are real, they are the reality of our link with Tanzania.

“All church primary schools will have one of these Big Books for their libraries to mark this tremendous achievement of 25 years of faith and friendship together,” she said.

There are 80 linked parishes in the diocese and our link with Tanzania is one of the oldest diocese to diocese links in the Church of England, set up by the former Archbishop of York, David Hope in 1988.

During the 25 years parishes here have sent over £1.75m for a wide range of building, agricultural health and education projects.

The Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten who plans to visit  later this year has described it as “one of the jewels in the crown of the work we do here in this diocese.”

The Bishop of Pontefract said: “Our link is a living out of what it means for us to be part of the Body of Christ on earth, caring and learning from each other.

“We in Wakefield have given much from the material wealth that we have here in England , but the people of Tanzania have given us something even more precious in terms of learning our faith afresh.”

Our new Link Officer, Stephen Spencer said: “An encounter with people in Mara changes our priorities. It changes our priorities and it shows us that the church of which we are a part – despite the doom and gloom headlines in this country – is growing globally – and it gives us a tremendous sense of confidence in God in our world.”

“We’ve sent over £1.75m in the 25 years to Mara, let’s make £2m our next goal,’ he added. 

Michael Storey, Link Treasurer, said: “This is a wonderful achievement and one of the things we will celebrate in the 25^th Anniversary service in Wakefield Cathedral on April 21.”

The diocese of Mara has seen tremendous growth in recent years and has now split into three new dioceses of new Mara, Rorya and Tarime. Find out more at www.wakefield.anglican.org/tanzania.

Big Books are big! The costs of posting them would be prohibitive. Rural Deans and Clergy are therefore being asked to assist in the distribution of this gift.

Clergy need to email the names of primary and middle schools in their parishes to Gill Johnson at Church House by Tuesday 30 April 2013.

The books will be delivered to Rural Deans and then clergy for personal delivery to schools. We hope to do this before half term on Friday 24 May 2013. Please note that secondary schools are not included in this distribution as the book is not suitable for that age group.

A copy of ‘A Taste of Tanzania’ will be one of the gifts offered to Bishop Hilkiah at the special Anniversary Service to mark 25 years of the Wakefield-Tanzania link this Sunday (21 April).

The Revd Gill Johnson, Education Development Officer, said: “We always see ourselves here in education as the alternative parish of this diocese and this book is our offering. It is a follow up to the education pack we did last year but the people and the places shown in it are real, they are the reality of our link with Tanzania.

Also download the latest Wakefield Mara Link Supplement with news of projects and links between schools, churches and people in Wakefield and Mara in Tanzania.

In the last 12 months The UK foodbank charity, Trussell Trust has given three days emergency food to over 290,000 people and you can find out  more at www.trusselltrust.org/appeals.

The Trussell Trust helps local churches and communities to open food banks, providing emergency food for people on low incomes who might be faced with a sudden crisis. People needing help are given a voucher by their local authority which they swap for food parcels at their local food bank.

Their aim for their Easter campaign is to raise £1m and open another 200 foodbanks across the UK and help their existing 310 foodbanks to meet the growing need.

They have provided a wide-range of resources for church services, Sunday school discussions and take-home information. Click on the links below:

·         Help Crack UK Hunger Powerpoint for secondary age children or primary age children.

·         A flyer for your congregation

·         Help Crack UK Hunger Poster

·         Case studies: examples of people who’ve been helped by food banks

·         Fundraising ideas booklet

·         Help Crack UK Hunger Easter Hat template for Sunday Schools

Foodbanks provide emergency food and support to local people in crisis. Many families are forced into food poverty by rising costs of food and fuel, redundancy, unemployment, static incomes combined with inflation and changes to benefits.  Food banks are there at the point of crisis, to help prevent family breakdown, housing loss, crime and mental health problems and to signpost people to longer term support too.

Here in the Wakefield diocese there are independent Christian-run food banks operating in South Ossett, St Catherine’s Church Centre, Sandal and Agbrigg and the Ebenezer Project, food and support drop-in in Halifax – all of which need help with donations too.

You can contact them here:

South Ossett Resource Aid Centre

Kathryn.coulthard@hotmail.com or mob: 07522604130

Susan Capener at the Ebenezer Project.   

Food & Support Drop In 
Ebenezer Methodist Church 
St James Road 
Halifax 
HX1 1YS

email: FoodDropIn@googlemail.com

www.foodandsupportdropin.org.uk

Or Lisa Grant and Revd Helen Collings at St Catherine’s Church Centre at helen@stcatherines-wakefield.org.uk

www.stcatherines-wakefield.org.uk/15.html