When Gary Wilton officially left All Saints twelve months ago, I do not think anyone could have predicted the year we have just experienced. Yet from some extraordinary times we have been blessed by God’s faithfulness and we have begun to really think anew about what church means to us.
While we have been thinking about our hopes for the future, the Diocese of Sheffield has been exploring and explaining what they believe should be the strategy for our community of churches. It is a vision based on the values of being ‘Renewed’, experiencing ‘Release’ and empowerment through being ‘Rejuvenated’. If you would like to explore this further, and to see how you can play your part, please view the strategy in full at https://www.sheffield.anglican.org/diocesanstrategy
As part of the Diocesan Strategy, and to allow for greater flexibility, following consultation with the All Saints PCC, the Bishop has Suspended the Presentation within our parish and, therefore, the appointment for a Priest in Charge, rather than a Vicar, has been advertised. The Priest in Charge at All Saints will share oversight for the Mission Area with the Priest in Charge of St.Gabriel's and both will be Oversight Ministers.
'The Bishop of Sheffield wishes to appoint an experienced priest to provide strategic leadership in one of our largest churches, and share in the oversight of a growing mission area. All Saints is a vibrant church community of all ages, with a dedicated staff team, strong children and youth ministry and a rich variety of worship and music styles. It is well placed to become a resourcing church and play a key role in the future flourishing of the Diocese.'
The closing date for applications is Monday 7th September and so it is hoped that, this month, the process of appointment can begin in earnest. Please continue to pray for all those involved in the selection process, in particular our Parish Representatives: Alison Fletcher and Michael Gordon, as they discern and select the person to be charged with growing the body, re-imagining ministry, forming and equipping the people of Christ.
As we wait on God to draw a new Priest in Charge to us in His timing, the Ministry Team, supported by the Churchwardens, PCC and Operation Team, continue to look at how we can meet together as a church. We are looking at how we can open church more widely and this has begun with opening the church building, initially for private prayer, and more recently, for simple communion services. It is wonderful to see more people coming back to church to worship God together in our wonderful church building. We are exploring how we can continue to move forward but also, how we can do church differently; how we can engage with the whole church family and the community...how we can take church 'Inside/Out'.
Sarah Leighton & Ruth Watkin Senior Churchwardens
Holiday Club 10th - 14th August 2020
Summer is often thought of as a time of rest or at the least an opportunity to slow down. Since the start of All Saints’ annual Holiday Club, this has never been the case for our Children’s Ministry and 2020 was to be no different.
Once it became apparent that we would not be able to hold Holiday Club safely in our church grounds, quickly I began to think and pray through the options available. Following the findings of a survey commissioned by Tearfund at the start of May, finding that a quarter of adults in the UK had watched or listened to a religious service since lockdown began, and one in five of those had never been to church before, there was no question in my mind that if we were able to do something online then we should. Also, that if we could do something that people can access at different times then we were more likely to reach a wider audience and thus plans for Holiday Club online were born.
After prayer and consideration I decided that the best option to replicate our usual Holiday Club experience would be to have videos that mirrored the morning sessions I would usually do in church, to have members of church family read the stories and help lead activities, such as the prayers, and action songs led by both adults and children. I wanted an element of fun, which is how Dan Christian ended up doing silly superhero challenges each day, and I wanted to be able to provide children and families with all the resources they would need to make different crafts, join in different games, scavenger hunts etc. With a small team of volunteers we quickly began to put this into action.
The team of volunteers were absolutely brilliant and I cannot thank them, or Dan, enough for all they did. We did a lot of work in a very short space of time and with various social distancing, copyright issues and other obstacles in our way. The feedback I have had from many of the children that took part helped show how worthwhile it was. They adored the packs they received and I am very grateful to those members of the church family who donated money meaning that we were able to put on Holiday Club this year without a charge to take part. 57 packs of resources were distributed with the children accessing the online programme with their adults. It really did bless our families; one parent commenting that the packs felt like love coming through the door. The children enjoyed the films and the activities and had a wonderful time learning more about some of God’s superheroes.
I was also delighted that our Holiday Club continued to be missional, with some children from school and Toddlers having signed up and some of our parents sharing links on their social media, once they had completed day one, as they were so comfortable sharing and promoting it with their friends.
Writing this now, at the end of the week, I am tired but very happy. God has taken what we offered and blessed it and I am so thankful to Him. My prayer is that all those who watched the videos or took part in any way would know more of Jesus in their lives and it would help deepen their relationship with Him.
Rosie Blackett
Children's Minister