From the Vicar January 2019

 A very Happy New Year to the whole Church Family from the Wilton Family. We really hope that you had a good Christmas and New Year and that you are looking forward to all God’s possibilities for 2019.

Looking back to Christmas for a moment, I would very much like to say a personal thank you to the small army of volunteers for all your hard work during Advent and Christmas Seasons.  The church building looked beautiful and the music was wonderful while many people also commented on the high quality of the publicity material.  I was particularly thrilled by the many comments about the All Saints Christmas cards, the Facebook Advent Acts of Kindness and the preparation of the church building.

 I could not say thank you to all our volunteers without paying special thanks to the wardens, associate clergy, readers and staff team who have worked particularly hard during December. Your dedication and service has been ‘full of grace’.  It has been a privilege to serve alongside you all.  Thank you!

As we turn into 2019, I am excitedly counting the days until the BIG CHURCH WEEKEND AWAY – Friday 25 January to Sunday 27 January at the Palace Hotel in Buxton.  We have 300 members of the Church Family booked including 10 from St Gabriel’s. It is going to be a very special time of building up our shared life and getting to know one another. I am especially looking forward to welcoming Joy Adams and Bishop David & Helen Williams as our chaplains for the weekend as well as our main speaker Daniel McGuinness who will be opening the book of Acts for us. He is a lot of fun and very engaging. His teaching is always applied to everyday life. In preparation I have prepared a daily Bible reading plan for the month of January– so that the whole church family whether we are going to Buxton or not, can join in reading through Acts together. Members of the Church Family have already been emailed the reading plan via the weekly email.  There are also hard copies available in the Welcome Area.

With 300 people coming to Buxton more than half of the church family will be staying in Ecclesall – so I am delighted that Karen Cribb from St Mary’s Bramall Lane has agreed to lead a 10.30 service of Holy Communion at All Saints on the theme ‘Being Church’ from the book of Acts. Please note that there will only be one service at All Saints on that Sunday.  The service will include the launch of the 2019 verse for the year and if at all possible we will try to organise a live link with the service taking place at the Palace Hotel in Buxton. With the Big Church Weekend and a service taking place at the same time at All Saints our verse for 2019 will be very appropriate:

4 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

It is a wonderful verse, full of encouragement and hope for the good days and the difficult days.  It also reminds us that meeting together is important – and that time is very previous indeed.

Only three days after the Big Church Weekend, will be Beth Keith’s licensing as Associate Vicar here at All Saints at 7.30pm on Wednesday 30 January.  I am delighted that the Bishop of Sheffield has agreed to conduct the service. This will be a very special time of welcoming and praying for Beth, Laurence and their family.  Please make sure that you have this date in your diary.

Beth will be overseeing the development and growth of our small groups, and focussing on welcome, outreach ministry, and nurture courses. She will also be developing ministry among women and re-imaging the shared prayer life of the church family. I can’t wait!  In the meantime please would you remember the Keith family in your prayers as they prepare to join us.

Wish you a very Happy New Year, With love and prayers

Gary Wilton, Vicar

The Book of Acts: January Reading List

Fusion Group

Hi my name is Tina English and I am a volunteer facilitator at the Fusion Group in Sheffield.

Fusion Group was started over 3 years ago after identifying a real need for a place of support for both Asylum Seeking and Refugee women and their children. 

The group is hosted by The Together Women project in Sheffield, they kindly provide the resources and space for us to meet every Thursday morning. 

It is a safe environment where the women and children can come and be welcomed and supported by myself and my colleague Helen Jones. Both myself and Helen have many years experience supporting women housed in Sheffield in Asylum Seeker accommodation. 

The main purpose of Fusion is to help women who initially feel very isolated and alone in a new city. They can find out about the city, where to go, what to see and meet new friends and contacts. It is a lifeline for many, a place where they can ask questions, know there are other women they can genuinely trust and who have their best interests at heart.

We have women from many countries and different cultures. It is a real privilege to meet them and get to know them. Many bring paperwork and letters they have received and we help them sort out issues by phone calls and support at appointments. 

Every week we plan a different activity. Last week we made scented candles and decorated the glass jars. The women are able to take home anything made in the sessions. This week we will be doing a stir fry from scratch, preparing the vegetables and cooking. A lot of our group activities involve food and eating and many bring in their own food to share.

It is always a fun, relaxed time with opportunities to improve their English language skills, which is very important to them all. I am also a volunteer English teacher so my skills in this area really help. Learning English is vital to help with integration and feeling at home in their new environment.

We organise trips out, regularly visiting places such as Chatsworth and Bakewell and various parks. Many would never venture away from the city centre and their own locality. To see them discover the countryside just a short bus ride out of Sheffield is amazing. 

Being part of Fusion really helps boost  confidence and self esteem. Women are able to find out about other groups in the city and take advantage of many activities provided for women and children. They are able to start putting down roots and feel part of community. Some women even feel confident enough now to run sessions at our group, sharing their own skills and talents. 

What is so encouraging for both myself and Helen is to see how the women and children can grow and contribute to the community. How lasting friendships develop and flourish throughout time. 

Living as an Asylum Seeker can be very hard, barely enough money just to survive. We are so grateful for the gifts this church has kindly given at Christmas time. It has made such a difference to the women and children. We always celebrate with a Christmas Party and the joy the gifts bring is wonderful to see. They are so thankful that people they have never met are  so kind and generous to them and their children. The women are of many faiths but know the gifts are given by a Christian church. Myself and Helen also deliver presents to many Asylum Seekers, survivors of human trafficking and refugees throughout the city too. Women we have come to know and love over the years and we continue to support.

We are so thankful that the wonderful people at All Saints Ecclesall are planning to generously give gifts again this Christmas.

Children's gifts are a real blessing to us all. 

It is really helpful to add a label indicating the gender and age so we can easily allocate the presents to the children. Presents for the women are also welcome, I know they particularly appreciate anything scented, like body lotion, perfume etc. they never have the money to treat themselves, or family to give them gifts.

Both myself and Helen are Christians and work out our faith by showing the love of God to these women and families that are in so much need of friendship and acceptance. 

If any women in the church would like to find out more about the group.  Maybe to visit or volunteer their time and talents, please call Tina on 07757735589

From the Vicar December 2018

Welcome to Advent and the journey to Christmas.  As well as a season of preparation and waiting, it is also a season for thanksgiving and counting our blessings.  As our verse for the year encourages us … as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

As we begin Advent together, I would like to say a huge thank you to all our volunteers and staff who have worked so hard on our Advent and Christmas programme. I am full of anticipation and hope for all that God is going to do in our midst during this very special season.  At the same time I would like to pay tributes to particular Church Family members.

Looking back over the last six months, I have written regularly about Alistair Stevenson and his appointment as Associate Vicar of All Saints (0.5) and Vicar of St Gabriel’s (0.5). And as we move into the New Year, I will be writing extensively about Beth Keith and her licencing as Associate Vicar on 30th January.  So for the moment I would like to pay tribute to Dan Christian, the first Associate Vicar appointed since I became Vicar in September 2013.  This coming April 2019 Dan, Laura and Theodore will have been at All Saints for three years.  His hard work, energy and the way in which he shares his giftedness, have all contributed very significantly to the current flourishing of so many different parts of church life.   I love the way in which he relates to so many different people in the life of the Church Family and I always look forward to him preaching or leading services.  Dan – Thank you!

Much less visible are the flower team, who work faithfully week by week to prepare the church for worship. As I come into church, my attention is always caught by the beautiful flowers on the main pedestal.  My thank you also includes the members of the church family who generously donate money for flowers to be provided on particular Sundays.  Looking ahead into 2019, we do have a number of gaps in the rota.  If you would like to donate funds in memory of a loved one, Lorna Mason would love to hear from you on 236 1455. Lorna’s email is lornafmason@hotmail.com.  Also if you have the gift of arranging flowers, Lorna would be very very pleased to hear from you.

Alongside the flower team, I would also like to say a very big thank you to Kathryn Walker who single handedly made all the new curtains for the east end of the church. We now have four different curtains for the different seasons of the year.  Purple for Advent and Lent, Red for Festivals, Pentecost & Remembrance, White & Gold for Easter and Green for Trinity.  Lots of people have commented on how contemporary they feel and how they highlight the cross as the central focus in the church. 

With the appointment of an additional Associate Vicar, I have been reviewing the number of matching stoles we have for use at the 8.00am and 9.15am services with the intention of creating complete sets of four in each colour.   Here I am very grateful to Jeannette Jackson for all her input and advice. Currently we have two purple stoles and three red stoles, with material being held in stock to complete the sets.  Very generously Jeannette and her son Alexander have agreed to pay for new additional purple stoles in memory of Jeanette’s late husband Lionel.  I am thrilled.  If anyone would like to sponsor the single outstanding red stole at around £300, I would be delighted to hear from you.

A number of you have asked me about how are we progressing with them proposal to extend the church building.  Unfortunately we have needed to slow down due to the complexity of the task and the lack of staff capacity to go any faster. Here I am delighted that when Michael Gordon steps down as Church Warden, he has agreed to spear head the project. This will create a lot of new momentum. In the meantime we are progressing with the significant works that need to be done to the stone guttering of main roof of the church.  Following the successful compete re-roofing of the Edwardian Chancel and Transept, we now need to attend to the repairs that need to be done to the Georgian part of the church.  This is a significantly smaller project than re-roofing but will be no less important in ensuring that the church building is absolutely watertight. Once the works are done to the Georgian part of the building, it will be completely watertight! Only then will we be able to redecorate and re-carpet.  The project is currently in the hands of our church architect and roofer.  We hope to seek permission from the DAC in the spring so that we can proceed with the works in the summer/autumn. I will keep you updated.

But for the moment Advent is upon us.  We have the most amazing suite of services planned; ranging from the Advent Meditation to Christingle to the Tea Service to Carols by Candle-light to the Crib and Nativity Services.  Please remember these services in your prayers.  Also who could you invite to come along with you?  And who could you encourage to be thinking about joining the Alpha Course in the New Year?

Yours in the service of Christ Jesus

Gary

From the Vicar October 2018

Welcome to the October edition of ‘From the Vicar’ and my introduction to All Saints-Tide. Hopefully very soon we will be able to say a strong welcome to everyone who passes by All Saints.  Following the very successful pilot signage outside the halls, I am delighted to report that we have now finalised the design of the new signage to be sited at the entrances to the church.  We are in the process of applying for permission to install the new signs and hope to have them in position for Christmas or early in the New Year. Every day I rejoice that we are called ‘All Saints’.  Our very name reminds me of our calling to be a vibrant, missional and multi-generation Christian family. Our new signage will only serve to underline who we are, and will strengthen our welcome to all people. It is also a wonderful reminder that we stand on the shoulders of all the generations of Saints who have gone before us in the faith.

The New Testament makes regular references to the ‘glorious inheritance of the saints’ and to the ‘great crowd of witnesses surrounding us’.  While in the communion service we often pray ‘Bring us at the last with all the saints to the vision of that eternal splendour for which you have created us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, by whom, with whom, and in whom, with all who stand before you in earth and heaven…’

At All Saints we begin October with Vision Sunday when we think about our church family finances for the year to come. This year our theme is ‘Faith in God, Faith in the Church Family and Faith in the Future. We have much cause to give thanks to God as ‘the one who calls us is faithful’. This year our finances have been very stable.  For 2019 we need to pick up the momentum or we will all too easily start slipping backwards.  For 2019 we have a real challenge to increase our giving by £30,000.   Please set aside time to read and to pray though the stewardship brochure before completing the ‘commitment page’.  Every new or increased pledge would make a real difference.  This year I am asking myself and all of us to be especially generous.

October traditionally ends with ‘All Saints or All Hallowed Ones Eve’ on 31 October before All Saints Day on 1 November– which is effectively our Patronal Festival Day or Church Family Birthday. In most years 1 November clashes with the school half term, when many families are away and grandparents are travelling to other parts of the country to look after grandchildren.  This means that All Saints Day often passes by without proper celebration.

This year we are holding ‘All Saints-Tide’ from Sunday 28 October to Sunday 4 November.   The eight days will include:

• ·         The installation of Alistair Stevenson as Associate Vicar of All Saints at 6pm on Sunday 28 October

• ·         Gift Days for the BIG CHURCH WEEKEND AWAY

• ·         The Light Party for 0-11 year olds from 4.15pm on Wednesday 31 October

• ·         Commitment Sunday on Sunday 4 November

Having successfully completed his training, Alistair will be made Associate Vicar (0.5) of All Saints on Sunday 28 October prior to being commissioned in November to go with a small team to resource the mission of St Gabriel’s Greystones. We are hoping that Alistair will become Vicar of St Gabriel’s shortly before Advent – at a date to be agreed with the Bishop of Sheffield.  We will keep you updated on this. But in the meantime please would you put 6pm on 28 October in your diary.  It will be a very special time of expressing our appreciation and praying for Alistair’s continuing ministry at All Saints.  The service will be followed by a cake and something fizzy to drink.

Looking further ahead bookings are going really well for the Big Church Weekend Away from 25-27 January 2019. Over 200 people have booked and lots of people have said that they are going to book; so if you are thinking about booking, please do so ASAP. At this stage we have raised about a third of the cost of the weekend – so the All Saint-tide Gift Days will be a very important time to think and pray about what you can donate towards the overall cost of the weekend.  Here I am really keen to encourage those who are not able to come on the weekend to be particularly generous in supporting young families in particular to join us.

The Big Church Weekend will be followed very quickly by Beth Keith’s Licencing as Associate Vicar on Wednesday 30 January 2019. I am delighted that Beth and her family will be joining us on the Big Church Weekend – it will be a wonderful opportunity to get to know them as well as many other new members of the Church Family.

Happy All Saints-Tide

Gary Wilton,

Vicar

Spinning A Web Of Unity

Having toured Rome last year to strengthen Anglican/Catholic relations, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s cricket team has had a focus on interfaith relations in 2018. On July 6th a combined xi made up of Anglicans and Catholic cricketers faced a multi faith team at Lord’s with cricketers from of Sikh, Jewish and Muslim faiths. At the end of August, the team were part of a two day interfaith festival playing against a Jewish, Skih and Afghan refugee team in North London.

A tournament was devised of lots of different 20twenty games. Unfortunately the Sikh team were unable to get a team together, so on the first day the Archbishop’s xi played two games against Maccabi Vale xi – a Jewish team in North London. The games were hard fought with Maccabi winning the first game batting first, hitting 141-4. We fell just short reaching 134- 3. However, in the second game, a century from the late arriving Sam Rylands, an ordinand at Trinity, Bristol, meant we reached 175-5. Maccabi could only muster 130-7. On a personal note, I bowled the last over and almost got a hat trick, taking two wickets and a run out off the last three balls of the game.

A highlight of the day, came during an evening of interfaith dialogue, fueled generously by Maccabi Vale. The Revd Chris Kennedy (ABC XI captain) hosted a discussion that involved Rabbi Nicki Liss (Highgate Synagogue), Esmond Rosen (Barnet Interfaith forum), the Revd Laurence Hillel (London Inter Faith Centre), and David Hampshire (Inter Faith Network UK).

Revd Kennedy asked, how can we truly love one another whilst acknowledging and cherishing our differences? Many answers were given, but Mr Hampshire argued that sport provided the perfect opportunity for camaraderie and friendship, uniting people with differences through a common passion. Mr Rosen concluded by arguing that, as all religions share a goal of peace, joint action to bless the whole community was the best way to promote interfaith understanding.

On the second day we were immensely privileged to play against a team made of Afghan refugees. This is a team that was set up by the refugee council and is based in Croydon, South London. The team is made up of boys aged 14-18 who clearly had a huge passion for cricket. The boys lived with foster families and spent their days in school before meeting every afternoon for training and practice. Their enthusiasm was inspirational. When we mentioned Rashid Khan – a young Afghan spinner who has burst onto the international cricket scene – you could see that he was their complete inspiration. They were also very good at cricket. When they batted, they played with reckless abandon, running like whippets between the wickets. They bowled with pace and control. I was umpiring for the first over of our innings – their opening bowler delivered one of the best balls I have seen live – swinging into the batsman, pitching on middle stump before curving away to hit the top of off stump. The batsman just stood there perplexed! It was a wonderful game of cricket – the refugee team hit 144-6, beating us by 7 runs as we dragged our way to 137-4.

This was a game of cricket you really didn’t mind losing. We gave the boys a lift back to the station after the game and were able to hear some of the moving stories of their lives. The refugee cricket project-leader, Antonia Cohen, explained: “Cricket has provided a significant number of our individuals with many benefits and opportunities. The warmth and respect with which they are often welcomed on the cricket pitch, where they are seen as players rather than refugees, means an enormous amount to them. At the same time, playing cricket has provided an almost unique opportunity to introduce them to the diversity of the UK and its communities.”

As a team we have endeavored to raise £2000 to support the project by buying equipment for them to use. All Saints have given a donation but if you would like to support the cause personally you can donate here: https://mydonate.bt.com/teams/abcxi

The festival having finished, our tour ended on a very different note. The first captain of the Archbishop’s xi is now the chaplain at Eton College. On the final day we were invited to Morning Prayer in the chapel and dinner in the evening. In the day we were given a tour around St George’s chapel at Windsor before playing the Royal Household xi in the grounds of Windsor castle. A fantastic setting – although I was disappointed with tea, I did expect some smoked salmon. A cracking game of cricket ensued with us needing 3 runs off the final ball. Unfortunately, we could only hit a single and so lost by 1 run.

Like last year, under the guise of playing cricket, it was a wonderful opportunity to forge friendships with different people from lots of different backgrounds. It was most moving in seeing the faith of my team mates as well as those we were playing against. Sport has the ability to be a great equalizer, on the pitch you are all players unified in your desire to play. It is through this lens that sport and indeed cricket becomes a powerful tool for creating conversations and relationships that may not have happened otherwise.

Dan Christian

September 2018

Meet Our New Communications and Operations Intern

Who are you and where are you from? 

My name is Dan and I'm from Dorking in Surrey. 

What exactly is a Communications and Operations Intern? 

Well I will be working with Rachel McLafferty, helping her in the jobs that she does. That means that I'll be helping running the social media pages, website and weekly emails. I’ll also be assisting in the organising of church events such as the upcoming Church weekend away! 

I’ll also be studying ‘Theology Ministry and Mission’ one day a week at St Hild’s college during my year here. I hope to get involved in many other areas of church life too.

What are you looking forward to most about the job? 

I'm excited for all that I will be doing but, building my design skills is an area of particular interest for me. I think the opportunity to work in a church is also very exciting and I have already seen the amazing things that this brings.

How are you finding your move to Sheffield? 

I like it! Bit colder than down south but the people here so far are lovely. I like living next to the city and am looking forward to exploring it further. 

I have settled in well with the family I am living with which has made the move very easy and comfortable.

 What difference does Christian faith make in your life? 

Huge difference! My life has been completely shaped by my Christian faith. I wouldn’t be here without my Christian faith. I was fortunate to be brought up in a Christian church attending family and so, I have been completely shaped around the church from the friends I have, music I like, books I read and places I go. 

I am really hoping this year here I would grow and deepen my relationship with God especially as I enroll at St Hild’s

What can we be praying for as a church family for you? 

• Ease into my role well to become a competent member of the team at All Saints. 

• Discipline to practice my faith further and prioritise growing my relationship and understanding of Christ.

• That I can settle into the home I am staying in and also that I settle into the area and am able to make friends here. 

• For God to show me immeasurably more this year as I answer his call to step into ministry. 

Meet our new Associate Vicar

Beth Keith joins the All Saints team

I am absolutely delighted to share the news that the Revd Beth Keith currently pioneer curate at Sheffield Cathedral has accepted my invitation to join the All Saints staff team as Associate Vicar. Beth is married to Laurence and they have two children.  Beth trained for the ordained ministry at Cranmer Hall in Durham including research on vocation and ministry.  Prior to studying in Durham Beth and Laurence lived in Sheffield for over 15 years and were variously linked with St Thomas Crookes and Church Army.  Beth comes to us with a wealth and breadth of ministry experience gained here in Sheffield and nationally. Until recently Beth was a member of the Archbishops’ Evangelism Task Group. 

We hope that Beth and her family will join us early in the New Year.  Details about her licencing service to follow in due course.  In the meantime please remember Beth and her family in your prayers during this time of transition.

We anticipate that the Keiths will join us early in the New Year.  Please remember them in your prayers during this time of transition. On accepting the post Beth said "I am thrilled to be joining the All Saints team, the family is looking forward to moving to Ecclesall in the New Year, and we are hopeful for all God has in store for this next season".

Gary Wilton
Vicar