From the Vicarage

We remember them

Our thanks to Helen Miszczak, the creative and flowers teams for wonderfully assisting our important season of remembrance. Thank you also to Peggy Fearne for the loan of her interpretative hanging on remembrance. The visual impact of this creative work inspires our prayers and admiration for those who have given so much during times of conflict for our freedom.

We remember them and the discipline of current service personnel. The model they show should inspire our commitment in daily living. May I commend the presentation made last week by Hannah Sandoval available to view here. You are invited with my wholehearted recommendation to follow this process at the one of the Developing A Personal Rule Of Life workshops .

Hannah will be holding two workshops on Thursday 9 December and Tuesday 25 January. The workshops are the same so you only need to attend one. The workshop will include times of teaching, discussion, and personal reflection. If you wish to attend one of these workshops, please book your place here .

Hannah will be leading our first community musical outreach with a Harp Recital in church at which I will be speaking this coming Thursday 18 November. We hope to see you there.

Yours in Christ the one we should always remember

(2 Timothy 1: 8)

Mark

From the Vicarage

Thank you

For your prayers and support for the annual young person’s house party. I am most grateful to Sam Chubb for his magnificent co ordination and support for our time away. Considering the nine leaders had not worked together before and six had not been on the infamous ASE time away a remarkable amount was accomplished. We all came away impressed by the maturity, fun and openness of our young people. A tribute to their parents and carers and the children’s work of our church upon which good youth work is based. Thank you Sam and thank you to those of you who prayed us through the four days.

An opportunity

To re -connect with our spiritual lives by engaging in the process launched today. A personal rule of life. Do follow Hannah’s presentation on our livestream channel and consider whether this might be for you. I shall be formally asking all in a leadership position to be reflecting carefully upon their spiritual lives using this mechanism for spiritual growth.

A digital offering

Over on our YouTube channel and social media outlets for you use as you wish! I am asked how may I safely come back to Church. There is a brief message for you and those you share it with! There is also a collection of brief updates from some of the wider processes we are engaged with as a church family. Do share if you think someone you know might be interested.

We remember them

(The Blessing of the war crosses, Armistice day prayers and Remembrance Sunday)

Do use these straightforward invitation occasions to share with others in your networks. There are three distinct times that might appeal to different people. You will know and the hospitality of the church is once again open to our community during this poignant time. Find out more here

Thank you

To Stella Berry and her team for making Monday mornings at ASE so welcoming – it is really appreciated.

Christmas is coming

The Christmas Market amongst many other offerings will have some “Christmas Music – just for the record” that I will be enjoying and sharing amongst much else that is offered all to support the work of Connected Church in Tanzania. The market will take place on Saturday 27th November, 10:30 - 1pm.

Yours in Christ’s work

Mark

The Revd Canon Mark Brown

A Personal Rule of Life

Dear Friends,

I am writing to invite the All Saints family to a new resource called ‘A personal rule of life’ which will be led by Hannah Sandoval. I am conscious that there are a lot of changes happening with the All Saints staff and whatever is meant by living in a post Covid world, all of which can be de-stabilising.

I am delighted to commend Hannah’s work in our midst in November, with a sermon on Sunday 7th November at our 11am service. There will be a chance to ask any questions after the service. Hannah will also be holding two workshops on Thursday 9th December and Tuesday 25th  January. The workshops are the same so you only need to attend one. The workshop will include times of teaching, discussion, and personal reflection

Developing a personal rule of life can be helpful for our prayer and routine and reflection upon life and its many changes. Whilst it mentions a “rule” the intention is for this framework to be life giving and structured with some teaching and formal encouragement. We will be live streaming Hannah’s presentation so if you are not able to make that service then you will not be disadvantaged. I shall be mentioning this encouraging stream of our ongoing discipleship at our lunchtime concert and service on Thursday 18th November at 12:30pm where we are pleased to enjoy Hannah’s harp music making.

We really hope you are able to join us at any one of the events.

Mark Brown

PCC Open Session

Dear Friends,

During the first year of my incumbency, I feel it is right to lift our eyes beyond the local to wider and broader issues within the life of our country and the Church of England at this time. I am therefore inviting all members of the church family to come and hear my reflections on the following topics: 

• What might it mean for All Saints to be known as “an evangelical church”.
  The term is used in a variety of ways today and it was a subject indeed when I was being interviewed. I plan to give a brief summary and some riders for its use going forwards.

• What might it mean for All Saints to fully be part of the wider landscape of our Diocese of Sheffield.
  I plan to bring you up to speed with the dioceses own direction of travel and seek to give some positive reflections upon its way forward.

• I wish to reflect, after nearly a year as your Vicar, on how we can chart a path forward recognising the giftings and realities that are currently at the fore.
  I plan to be upfront and personal about the challenges we face which, under God, I am increasingly sensing we can work together to address.

I am timing this short session, for which there is no need to book, to be on Monday 22 November 2021, 7.30PM - 8PM in Church because it will immediately precede the next meeting of PCC.  

I am so grateful to those who serve with me on the PCC. Ours is an important task to oversee and share in the mission of All Saints Church. Thank you for voting your representatives in and for the time those who serve give to ensure our Church is run effectively and discharges its worship and mission duties well. 

Thank you again to all for your partnership in the gospel and for your interest and prayers for our PCC and Parish at this time. It is really appreciated.

Revd Canon Mark Brown

From the Vicarage

Dear Friends,

The season “of mists an mellow fruitfulness” is upon us and so too is the season I feel of thankfulness. Our harvest thanksgiving was last week and this week we give thanks to God for trusting us as stewards of all He has given us. So on your behalf, may I thank our finance and stewardship team who serve us so well. They enable us to reflect well on what it means to live an indebted life – a life where we recognise that God gives us things to enjoy and to bless others with.

We thank God for Janet Daye and Kate Burton in our finance office. Please pray for both Kate as she starts her maternity leave soon and for Janet as she moves to a new role at Voluntary Action Sheffield at the end of the year. 

We also give thanks for our volunteers, Julia Newton, Treasurer and Roger Manterfield, Giving Treasurer and for the members of the church family who give of their time and expertise to support them by serving as part of our Treasurer's Group; Rod Ismay, Jon Hattersley and Kevin Yates who has just joined. Together they have an impressive array of skills and talents to keep us in good order and enable PCC to make wise decisions with the resources at our disposal.

As you thank God for them please pray for the necessary adjustments to the team as things change going forward. Please do get in touch if you are able to offer any skills in accountancy or handling finances that we do not know about. I am always keen to spread the load so that no one person or team is un-necessarily burdened. This is one way of course that you can steward your own gifts under God.

So the often quoted grace at meal times is shared. For what we are about to receive may the Lord make us truly thankful. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of the Stewardship 2022 communication. We are praying for a good response so that we can all share in thanksgiving to God for blessing us and we can also share His blessing with others.

Yours in Christ,

Mark

Welcome to our new Operations Manager

Dear friends,

I am delighted to announce that Stephanie Osman has been appointed as our new Operations Manager. Stephanie currently works within our own Diocese of Sheffield and is based at Rotherham Minister and St Pauls Masbrough. Her expertise in many aspects of the oversight and management of a range of Church based activities will be of great service to us and the team here. She has previously held management roles in a marketing position at a corporate finance company in Wakefield.

I am grateful to the team who have worked with me in this appointment process, Alison Fletcher, Dave Coleshill, Sally Craig, and David Howarth. It has seemed right to us and the Holy Spirit that Stephanie is being called to work in this important role for the extension of God’s kingdom through the All Saints and in the local and wider community.
 
Please hold Stephanie in your prayers and the communities of faith she is currently based in.
 
We expect her to take up her new role in early Jan 2022.
 
Revd Canon Mark Brown

From the Vicarage - 24th September 2021

I am conscious that there are at least two communities of people who form part of the wonderful Christian family of All Saints Ecclesall that we all need to keep in mind with a spirt of rejoicing and prayer. The autumn term has come but with the freedom to travel and seek days that are holy (Holidays) and many are off and enjoying new views, places and we trust well-earned rest and refreshment. We rejoice with them and we are mindful to keep them up to speed with some of the many changes happening in our Church at this time. Amidst the usual round of competing priorities in a busy church, one is increasingly on my mind and I bring it to your attention for prayer and a bold sense of reaching out with wit and wisdom from our members. Many are still, rightly in my view, cautious about the new normal and the lifting of restrictions. Non-attendance at Church for these reasons is perfectly acceptable and indeed in some cases is self-evidently the right thing to do. How we seek to resource through digital media, notices, letters, visits and simple phone calls is both your task and mine, it seems to me. There is evident excitement about all being together again but let us not forget those of our family who belong to us and need to feel connected. A thought, a prompt of the Spirit, I feel sure will guide you in the right way to reach out. I would value prayer as we develop strategies around this important reality of living in a tough COVID world (please note this is not a post-COVID world but a current one). Hands, face, space is important as an Indian summer might soon give way to some chill winds and realities.

To these two communities of our membership and to all others I wish to announce that at all services next Sunday (3 October) I shall be giving a significant and lengthy public announcement about the way things are at the moment and developments that might be possible under God as we seek to move forward in a united way. I will speak to each congregational setting and more broadly to our whole life in God together. The extended notice will be recorded and be enabled to be watched by those away on holiday or at home through a commitment to semi-isolated living. You might care to pray I get it right and indeed not too long (7 mins) but this is one of the many ways I wish to unite our Parish and hold out the gospel to a needy world at this time. We are indeed His stewards and one day we will give an account of how we have made the most of this wonderful opportunity that lies before us as a Parish. We pray together that each of us will be found faithful in our commitment to Christ and each other.

Yours in His service,

Mark Brown

From the Vicarage - 19th Sept 2021

Today is Beth’s last Sunday with us at All Saints Ecclesall before she leaves to take on her new role at St Mark’s Broomhill. We thank God especially today for Beth’s ministry in our midst and for the role that she, Laurence, Joshua and Ana have played in the ministry of our church. As our preacher this morning and sharing testimony this evening in the context of Holy Communion we have plenty of opportunity to share in worship and thanksgiving together. We will be praying for a blessed time of thanksgiving and for Beth’s licensing service on 27 Sept at St Mark’s for the start of her new ministry.

We are firming up our faith by offering two opportunities to young people and adults to be confirmed. One at All Saints Totley with Bishop Sophie as we join together with other churches in the Deanery on Monday 11 October at 7:30pm. The other is at our own Parish Church with Bishop Pete on Sunday 7 November at 6pm. This of course follows on from our Young People’s house party, which I am leading.

If you are interested in finding out more about what it means to be confirmed (if you have not done so already!) then please have a word with me. I have set aside noon in church on each of the next couple of Sundays (19/26 Sept) to be free to have a conversation with me if you are interested. Do let the office know if you think this might apply to you or simply come along and we can have a chat!

We are in a new season. Now if I had a pound for each person that said that!! I plan to add some salt to this seasoning soon with news of some enhanced video work to enable us to be agile in this hybrid world of living with COVID, spell out exactly how our public acts of worship will be enhanced and enable through a church meeting a conversation on plans for the future. As I mentioned to our recent PCC meeting I am always happy to receive short and crisp reflections on future staffing or strategy. An essay might not pass the filter but first off the block and indeed the only response was most heartening in a few lines. Thank you. May your kingdom come and your will be done.

This of course should not just be the Lord’s Prayer but all of ours.

With thanksgiving for your partnership in the Gospel,

Mark