HALLOWEEN! Coming to Sheffield this

Arise:Hallow

22 OCTOBER5 NOVEMBER

What would it look like for us to live lives of such hope that our friends and neighbours would be filled with curiosity about it?

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” -

1 Peter 3:15-16

We’re living in an exciting time for Sheffield. As we continue to Arise together to pray for our city, we’re hearing more and more stories of people from every part of Sheffield being drawn to find out more about Jesus.

One believer told us last week, “I had a conversation with one of my work colleagues about my faith, months ago. We hadn’t discussed it at all since, but then, the other day I got a text from them out of the blue saying they’ve been having vivid dreams about Jesus, and that they’d like to talk to me about faith.”

Messages like this have been coming through almost every week, as people in Sheffield look for someone to talk to about their new-found interest in Jesus.

Some of these dreamers already know who they can talk to: a friend or work colleague, or even their local gym (see the Good News section). But, according to the Talking Jesus report, a third of adults who aren’t yet Christian say they don't know, or aren't sure whether they know, a practising Christian. Who can they turn to with questions about faith?

At Together for Sheffield - the charity that powers Arisewe’re working to embolden believers and connect churches so that every person in Sheffield can come to know and experience the love of Jesus. That’s a big dream. What’s a good first step to making it a reality? Letting the people around us know about our faith.

Through displaying signs of our faith when we’re out and about - with Wear Your Faith Fortnight - and also while at home - with Streets of Light - we’re letting our friends, colleagues, and neighbours know that they can come to us with their questions about Jesus and faith.

Wear Your Faith Fortnight

With Wear Your Faith Fortnight, we will be wearing symbols of our faith for two weeks around Halloween.

Here are three ways you can join in (and two of them don’t cost anything!)

1. Ask your church leader to request their free Hallow pack.

It includes pin badges for clothing and bags, and waterproof stickers for water bottles, laptops, and cars, plus goody bags to give out to neighbouring trick-ortreaters. Ask your church leader to email hello@ arisesheffield.org to get started.

2. Check your cupboards. You might already own something that you normally only wear to Christian events: this is a great opportunity to dust it off and try wearing it during your everyday life, knowing that hundreds of other believers across the city are joining in as well.

3. Treat yourself.

If you’d prefer to buy something new, you could visit the Christian bookshop in the Moor Market, or go online to one of the many shops selling wearable signs of faith (Click the ‘Shop’ link on the Arise homepage if you’d like to support Arise at the same time).

Streets of Light

With Streets of Light (30 October - 5 November), we’re joining in a home-grown and growing national campaign to light up a window with a message of light, hope and love for a week over Halloween.

At a time when so many households celebrate darkness, this shares a powerful message with neighbours and passersby. You can start to prepare now by taking a look at the Design Inspiration' section on www.streetsoflight.co.uk

Bishop’s Badge Competition

“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’”Matthew 19:14

In partnership with the Diocese of Sheffield, we’ve been inviting children and young people from across the city and wider Diocese to design a badge that shares something about their faith. Teachers, parents, and children’s workers have been exploring the question ‘What does your faith look like?’ with children and young people and the responses have been beautiful!

As we go to print, the competition is about to close, and hundreds of children have taken part. One design will be made into pin badges and given to believers across the area. Two more will be made into stickers. Scan the QR code (below) to see the winning entries, or visit bit.ly/arise-bbc-results

by Billie Thaw

Billie Thaw grew up in Sheffield. She then trained as a PE teacher at Exeter University, where she met her husband Dan. They both taught in the Bristol area for six years before moving back to Sheffield 27 years ago to set up The Oakes. They have three adult sons and a teenage daughter and attend Christ Church Fulwood.

Contact Billie at billie@oakes.org.uk