Arise! | Issue 1 | October 2021

L! SP EC IA PL AN TIN G CH UR CH

SHEFFIELD

ARISE!

OCTOBER 2021

Can Halloween be holy?

Church Without Walls

Bishop Pete Wilcox & Bishop Ralph Heskett

One reader’s question, three faith-filled answers. How will you respond?

How a Weston Park gathering is exploring what it really means to be a church.

Sheffield’s two local Bishops share their reflections on topical issues.

Editorial

ARISE!

EDITORIAL

As I sip my coffee and reflect on what to write, I notice the words on my coaster: ‘Bloom where you have been planted’. We as the Arise team have been thinking a lot about planting recently. We’ve been talking to church planters around the city about their experiences creating new expressions of worship and community, and you’ll find many of their stories featured as you read on.

Arise community: the stories you’ve been sharing have inspired and motivated me so much in my walk with God. Hearing about your powerful, life-changing faith has challenged me to live out my faith more boldly.

This is exactly what I hope the Arise! magazine will do for you, and every believer in Sheffield. There will often be a prayer request or a question for reflection at the end of each article: please do pray with us as you read, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in your response. As we become more closely connected as a community, through sharing stories and prayer, we hope that you will also be moved to join us as we embark on a new season of mission, planting seeds of faith in our daily interactions (pages 48-60) as well as in seasonal events such as Halloween and Streets of Light (pages 11-17).

Beth Craggs, Editor

Thank you!

My prayer is that you will each be inspired and challenged by the stories shared here: that the seeds planted by the faith of each of the people featured will find good soil with you, and help to strengthen the whole of God’s church in Sheffield.

A massive thank you to the entire Arise community for inspiring this magazine. Thanks in particular to everyone who has brought this edition to life: our benefactor Brian Reece and our other regular donors, our supporters, advertisers, editorial team, and all those who have shared their story with us.

Writers: Pippa Baker, George Bingham-Davis, Ben Elliott, Jonathan Haigh, Rachel Hall, Jo Henry, Bishop Ralph Heskett, Giles Holloway, Val Jones, Gina Kalsi, Bird River Lovegod, Henry Ohakah, Ben Tanner, Bishop Pete Wilcox, Ben Woollard. Interviews: Duncan Akehurst, Josh Cocker, Josh Cutting, Father Lee Marshall, David May, Andrew Stennett, Chris Tufnell, Ronan Walker, Helen Ward, Dave Warman. Advertisers: Birkdale School, Ferndale Garden Centre, Hannah Soar Photography, Henry Ohakah, Sheffield Street Pastors, Wildwood. Photographer: Jake Fields Illustrator: George Bingham-Davis Proof-reader: Roger Hoyle Editor: Beth Craggs

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ARISE!

Contents

JUMP-START 18

Church Without Walls

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Can Halloween be holy?

52

Summer Prophetic Challenge

Don’t miss out!

Subscribe to ‘The Send Out’ to receive regular email updates from Arise, full of opportunities, events, and inspiration for your walk with Jesus.

Scan the QR code to register, or email hello@arisesheffield.org

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ARISE!

Why have we created an Arise magazine?

“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one.”

Sheffield is rich in Christian communities of all shapes and sizes. But how often do we miss what God is doing through His church in Sheffield because we are disconnected from other Christians?

Perhaps you are one faith-building testimony or article away from gaining greater confidence in what Christ is asking of you in your church, place of work or neighbourhood?

A single church cannot meet the needs of a whole city, but if we work together - while keeping hold of our congregational identities then we can meet those needs.

Arise exists to help focus our prayer as we seek to join Jesus in His mission in Sheffield. When the many parts of Christ’s body work together

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- individually but in a joined-up way - then our impact becomes far greater than our individual parts.

This magazine is your local platform to give glory to God for His faithfulness and to connect with others who are doing the same.

Jesus’ - as yet unanswered - prayer in John 17 is that We, His Church, would be One, as he and the Father are One. Distinct but One. Let’s start by sharing stories, praying and going on mission together.

We may not all have the same doctrinal principles but Jesus gives us the same purpose. So let’s fix our eyes on Him and allow him to bring unity to His church.

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Perspective

What does it mean to seek the welfare of the city?

This is a Bible text which is precious to many of us who are involved in Arise! and in Together for Sheffield. It’s the subject of a fantastic mural created at St Thomas’ Church, Philadelphia recently: if you haven’t seen it yet, you must look it out! But what does it mean for the people of God to seek the welfare of the city? In my opinion, two things.

Bishop Pete Wilcox Diocese of Sheffield

‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare’.

Jeremiah 29.7

First, it means real engagement with its civic and political leadership, because those are the institutions which, under God, have primary executive responsibility for the welfare of our city. So I wonder, for example, if you know the name of the new Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council? (It’s Kate Josephs). Do you know which political party currently has the balance of power in our City Council? (It’s the Green Party).

Or, who is the elected Mayor of Sheffield City Region? (That’s the Barnsley MP Dan Jarvis) And what is the three word strapline for his work? It’s ‘stronger, fairer, greener’. To seek the welfare of the city, means knowing this stuff, because only then can the church contribute reactively and proactively, as pastors and prophets.

Secondly, it means being reactive, because the church of God is pastoral and we know the needy at first hand, or we should. We know the neediest individuals in our communities

by name (or we should) because we are right there in the schools and community associations and community development projects across the city. Our grass roots involvement in neighbourhoods gives us a privileged place to see the need, so that we can be quick to address the need. This is why the vast majority of the food banks which have sprung up across the city in the last four years, are run by churches. We react well.

But the church of God is not just pastoral – it’s also prophetic. I mean by that, we are people of vision. We have a vision of human dignity, and a vision of human destiny: of human dignity, because we regard every person as made in the image of God, created to enjoy life in all its fullness; of human destiny, because we regard this world as the factory of God’s coming kingdom. That ‘double vision’ gives us a glimpse both of what every human being was created to be - what every human society was created to be - and the hope to fuel our work.

It gets us on the front foot, ready to propose policy to local government that we think will promote the welfare of the city.

Seeking the welfare of the city requires the church of Jesus Christ to be first engaged and second, both reactive and proactive, pastoral and prophetic.

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News, Opportunities, Events

ARISE!

Sheffield Leaders in Prayer: Relaunch After over a year of meeting on Zoom, Sheffield Leaders in Prayer (SLIP) - a monthly crossdenomination gathering of Senior Church and Ministry leaders - was hosted at C3 Hope church.

Part of the Together for Sheffield network, SLIP is a place for leaders to pray earnestly for Sheffield and support one another in their ministries. It’s a beautiful picture of unity in the city. Together they prayed for Afghan refugees, whom many churches are supporting as they arrive in Sheffield.

No Shortage at The Filling Station!

“I could hear the noise and laughter coming from Dore Community Centre as I approached the building”. Dore Community Centre opened for its first event with a shout of praise, as believers from across Dore and Sheffield met to worship, receive encouragement and pray for those who don’t know Jesus yet. Each month different worship teams and speakers will lead an evening of unified prayer. Come and join: October 23rd at 7.00pm Dore Community Centre.

New Leader for Elim Church Sheffield Central Jason Heron recently arrived in Sheffield to lead Elim Church, taking over from their retired pastor Paul Edwards. Do pray for him and his young family as they acclimatise to a new city and lead their church in this post-lockdown season. Jason says, “I’m really looking forward to seeing what can be accomplished when churches in Sheffield come together to establish God’s kingdom.”

Email: Jason.Heron@elimchurchsheffield.com

Volunteer Journalist Opportunity Do you have writing or interviewing skills? We’d love your help in making Arise magazine even more powerful and helping us fill it with as many exciting stories as possible.

Express interest here: Hello@AriseSheffield.org

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ARISE!

News, Opportunities, Events

Jesus-centred employment scheme celebrated Christian charity Together for Sheffield celebrated the success of its young adult employment scheme with members of the DWP, businesses and charities at a special event at Blend Kitchen. This employment scheme has seen over 50 vacancies created across Sheffield in churches, charities and businesses with young adults receiving enhanced mentoring and training.

Miriam Cates MP addressed the young adults and professionals gathered to celebrate the coming together of a Christian charity and local agencies to meet front line needs in Sheffield.

If you are a member of a local church, we need your help: could you spend one hour per week or fortnight to mentor a young adult (either virtually or in person)? See below - Volunteer Mentors Needed - for more information.

Volunteer Mentors Needed We need you to help mentor young adults who are starting out in their first jobs. This is an amazing opportunity to share wisdom and faith. One hour a week or fortnight commitment, training is provided.

Express interest now by emailing: Nikki@togetherforsheffield.co.uk

Sheffield Leaders in Prayer Sheffield Leaders in Prayer is a monthly crossdenominational gathering for Senior Church leaders and Ministry Leaders to meet and eat together as they pray for the welfare of our city.

All denominations welcome - let’s gather together in unity as we pray for our city.

We would love you to join us.

Please email Ben@togetherforsheffield.co.uk to find out more.

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Perspective

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ARISE

Begin Again

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...let your hopes and dreams, the possibilities with God be what takes you into this new season.

October is such a beautiful month - it really feels like the seasons are changing and Autumn is on the way.

It’s at this time I love living in Sheffield. Our city’s trees are turning a riot of glowing warm colours, and on sunny days, I can almost feel the whole city taking a long deep breath of fresh air. Perhaps inspired by the trees shedding their old leaves, It’s like a fresh resolve is born in us to begin again. As I was praying about what to reflect on in this beautiful magazine, I sensed the Lord speak very simply and profoundly: “begin again with me.” Don’t you love that about our God? Every moment is this unique and merciful opportunity to not let the frustrations of yesterday dampen our desire for the Gospel today.

In my kitchen, sellotaped to the extractor fan (very glam!) I have a tiny little piece of paper which was cut out of a parish newsletter about 3 years ago.

I was struck by the words so I roughly scissored them out and stuck them up, but I never knew that they would serve as daily inspiration to me years on.

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential.

Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do.” - Pope John XXIII

Perspective

What astonishing words!

(From a remarkable man.)

These sentences have been an accompaniment to me, and they really motivate me to move forward. It is true, sometimes our fears and frustrations seem to be the daily news of our thought patterns but here’s an invitation to start afresh: let your hopes and dreams, the possibilities with God, be what takes you into this new season.

I felt the Father promise that no matter what your lockdowns have looked like, even if you’ve wavered in faith over these 18 months, if the struggles have meant doubt has drowned faith at times, God STILL looks upon you with love, your journey isn’t a surprise to Him, He’s radically dedicated to the process of your life, and He desires to use you to build the Kingdom of heaven on earth. You’re His plan A! Even as I type I thank Him for this truth and pray you’ll know this deeper and dream bigger than ever before. An encouragement to all of us then: let’s begin again with God.

Pippa Baker Full time missionary Pippa Baker worked in the advertising industry for six-and-a-half years in Central London.

In 2017 she felt the call to quit her job to pursue a life working with the Church all over the UK. Her passion lies in helping the next generation follow Jesus daily. She helps lead One Hope Project (www.onehopeproject.co.uk), a creative collective encouraging fresh expressions of worship in the Catholic Church.

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City Transformation ARISE!

Comes in many forms

Don’t wait!

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Find out more

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Perspective

ARISE!

The Origins of Halloween

One of the highlights of the Autumn calendar for many families is Halloween.

It is an opportunity for the children to dress up and to have a party with family and friends. However, the ghoulish celebration that Halloween has become for many is a long way from its Christian origin – the celebration of the Feast of All Saints.

Bishop Ralph Heskett Diocese of Hallam

“Halloween has come a long way from its Christian origin - the celebration of the Feast of All Saints.”

The Feast was celebrated for the first time in 741 on 13 May. It was then celebrated on this day each year until a century later, when the feast was transferred to 1 November, timing it around the harvests to be able to provide food for the pilgrims. It was followed by a day to honour the Church’s “soon-to-be saints,” the Commemoration of All Souls.

The significance and importance of the feast was acknowledged by the attachment of a vigil to the feast. The evening before the feast would be a time of prayer, preparation and celebration.

Here in England the day became known as “All Hallows Day”.

The evening before, or “e’en” before, became known as “All Hallows Eve” or even shorter, “Hallowe’en.”

In the Christian celebrations and practices of Halloween we find an early version of “Trick or Treat” in the begging for “soul cakes”, a traditional English food.

People would go from door to door begging for a “soul cake”. In return for the cake, they would promise to pray for the donor’s departed friends and family.

In many places around the world today - and indeed in Sheffield our Christian brothers and sisters host alternative Halloween celebrations in an attempt to reclaim the feast once again.

Perhaps a simple and easy way for all of us to be part of this reclamation and recapture of the original spirit would be for us to spend time this Halloween remembering with gratitude our family and friends who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith.

O God, Lord of mercies, grant that we and all who have gone before us may be brought to the place of refreshment, the bliss of eternal rest and the splendour of your light.

Amen

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Letter

ARISE!

ARISE

Can Halloween be holy?

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ARISE!

Dear Arisers, I never know what to do at Halloween. Some of my friends see it as a celebration of evil that they avoid at all costs, but others seem to really embrace it as a fun way to connect with the community. As Christians, what do you think is the best way to respond?

Hoping you can help, Sarah

What a great question! It can be tricky to know how to engage with culture as Christians, because the New Testament tends to offer principles rather than prescriptions. For example, we’re told to feed the hungry but not how meals should be made. We are encouraged to ‘work as if working for the Lord’ but there isn’t specific guidance on what jobs to do.

We’re called to ‘serve with all the strength God provides’ but not what such service should involve.

I think it might be helpful to look at responses to similar situations that came up for the early church. When the Apostle Paul discusses whether the new Christians in Corinth should eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols: he doesn’t give a simple yes-or-no answer. The Holy Spirit can lead us through uncertainty and nuance, if we can trust Him to do so.

Here are some ways I’ve seen Christians in Sheffield respond to Halloween, and what they’ve said to me when I’ve asked them about their choice. Perhaps you recognise some of the below in yourself or your community?

Purity from secular culture - “I don’t like Halloween” The ‘purity from’ approach views Halloween as something to be avoided. The ghoulish decorations and costumes, the encouragement for children to ‘threaten’ neighbours with a desire to trick-or-treat all help to affirm the idea that the festival itself is evil. People who see Halloween this way would simply rather it didn’t take place.

Responses vary from ignoring knocks on the door and taking the battery out of the doorbell, or refusing to attend any Halloween-related activities.

“Whether you eat or drink, do all for the glory of God.” - 1 Corinthians 10:31

People who avoid Halloween have told me, “I don’t feel safe during Halloween and don’t want anything to do with it,” and “I’m not comfortable with taking part in a celebration of things that are evil.” They quoted Philippians 4: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

From this attitude of heart you can trust the Holy Spirit to direct you, and you can discern this direction alongside your church community and through prayerful interaction with Scripture.

If this is your approach, could you save the date on Halloween to pray for those people who are celebrating? Perhaps you could meet with others in your church community as well, and pray for the city. Or, if you’re

Whatever your feelings about Halloween, a good starting point is to consecrate your involvement in the festival by consciously choosing to make your response an act of worship.

In short - choose to respond to Halloween for the ‘glory of God’.

Send your questions to hello@ arisesheffield.org for a chance to have them answered in the Spring edition

Letter

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Letter

ARISE!

Do try this at home Want to try this out? You can do it yourself or get your small group at church involved.

Agree to meet at the house of the person in your small group who gets lots of door knocks on Halloween night (young ‘trick-or-treaters’ can start arriving as early as 5pm). Prepare bags of goodies and be ready to pray for and with those who arrive.

able, this would be a great night to go out on a prayer-walk and pray for the people and houses that you pass, particularly if they are decorated for Halloween.

Harness the power of the event: “Halloween as an opportunity for evangelism” Some see Halloween as an evangelistic opportunity, viewing the majority of people who take part as ‘just looking for something to do’.

These people want to harness the energy of the festival to connect, love and share their faith with others in the context of Halloween.

Here’s what some Sheffielders who take this approach told me: “During Halloween I dress up as a monk, play Gregorian chanting in the background and invite trick-or-treaters into my home. I offer them a free blessing (prayer) and give them sweets and Gospels. I also have a huge ‘Jesus is the light of the world’ sign I put up.”

“One Halloween we dressed up as angels and went to the ‘Fright Night’ in Sheffield city centre.

We had signs that said ‘free blessing’ and as people came up we explained we were followers of Jesus and we would pray for Him to bless them. We were praying and prophesying for over three hours and had a large queue of people waiting. A number of people we prayed with said they experienced a ‘powerful peace’, were shocked at the accuracy of prophetic words and wanted to know more about following Jesus.”

“I buy biscuit decorating kits and we invite families who knock on the door to have some time in the warm together. My children dress up in angel outfits and we make party bags to give

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Shopping list: 1. Sweets 2. Party Bags 3. Some ‘Why Jesus’ handouts or similar tracts (you can buy these from www.Eden.co.uk)

out which have sweets and a message about the hope we have in Jesus.”

Transform Halloween: “I want to invite others into a different story” Others are moved by their faith to invite others into a transformed version of the celebration. They want to tell a different story. In the midst of a festival full of skulls and ‘horror’ they want to highlight all things that are good and avoid the bad. They seek to create an ’alternative Halloween celebration’ based around more positive values. A fantastic example of this is ‘Streets of Light’, which you can read about in this issue. A church near you may be holding a ‘light party’ for children as an alternative to a Halloween party.

One person who prefers this approach told me, “On a night when so many seem to be celebrating horror, I want to stand for all that is good, so I decorate my window with positive messages, to shine God’s light into Halloween’.

We live in a fallen world and we will frequently come across cultural and social events that challenge us. We have a freedom in Christ to respond to these events with faith, and our conscience may lead us to a different approach to other believers in the city. Rather than seek out a definitive right or wrong, let’s unite in our core mission to bring glory to God as we seek to walk more closely with Jesus and make him known to our city.

Now take a moment to think about Halloween and your response to it - is this something you have consciously considered before? As you have read about the ways others respond, what has God been saying to you?

ARISE!

Jesus promised his disciples three things - that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble.

G. K. CHESTERTON

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Halloween

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“...shine, for your

By George Bingham-Davis A trail of Light, Love and Hope for the city of Sheffield and beyond.

Streets of Light starts on 25 October. Now in its 5th year, this simple idea of decorating windows has become an annual celebration that brings a spark of light to our streets at an otherwise dark and unsettling time of year.

This Sheffield event came about from one woman, Helen Ward, some graphic Halloween images in her local area, and a gentle nudge from God. “One October afternoon in 2016, I was driving to STC Sheffield from the city centre. This route meant that I passed a prominent pub that is situated right on the corner of the road as you enter Crookes, and I was shocked to see full-sized gallows on the roof, with skeletons hanging from them; blood was dripping from the door and the windows were boarded up - the pub had spared no expense in going all out for Halloween. This gruesome scene was the first thing that people were seeing when they drove into Crookes.

Straight away, I felt God stir my heart and ask, ‘Is this really the first thing you want people to see as they come here? Is this the image that you want for this neighbourhood?’, and my simple answer was ‘No.’ As Christians, we’re called to transform culture, and we’re called to do something good’.”

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So, Streets of Light was born and, from 2017 onwards, Helen and STC Sheffield started encouraging people to decorate a window of their home with the words Light, Love or Hope. The idea is that for one week local streets are filled with colourful pictures and images of life and love, lit up or decorated with fairy lights, as an alternative message to that of Halloween.The team’s prayer is that the Streets of Light movement can change the culture of darkness and fear that often fills neighbourhoods at this time of year. “The first year it started, it was really quite small. It was mainly our church, a few local people, and that was it.”

Even in those humble beginnings, there was clearly an appetite for something new. “Straight away, we found it was well-received. We had lots of houses decorated in Crookes, but also in Crosspool and Walkley, and some people took part in Hillsborough and Fir Vale too. So it was still a city-wide event, even in the first year.”

Not only was the first year a success, but it was also fulfilling a prophetic word; ‘A lady from our church came to us after the first event, and told us of a vision she’d had a couple of years previously, of city streets across the UK being joined by streams of light. She said “This is it. This is what God was telling me.”

ARISE!

Halloween

light has come.”

From there, Streets of Light has spread across the city and across the country. Last year 19 churches in Sheffield took part in Streets of Light, and further afield there were trails in Tunbridge Wells and Wolverhampton, houses took part from Dorset to Lincoln to Leeds, much to Helen’s delight.

“To know that God gave that woman this vision, and that now it is coming to life, that the UK is being connected by these beacons of light, is really exciting.”

much for doing this. I’ve always felt a bit uncomfortable with Halloween, and that I didn’t really want to take part, but I wasn’t sure what to do about it, but this has given me something positive to do instead.’”

Not only that, but those who’ve taken part aren’t just from one age group. “We have a lady from our church who is 96. She’s been involved every year, and in past years other people from the church have helped her make her window. It’s also been great to see students get involved, either in halls or student houses. Streets of Light “This has given is not just for families me something whether we’re 19 or 90, positive to we want the culture of do instead of our streets to be filled Halloween.” with love, light and the hope of Jesus.”

But seeing how much Streets of Light has grown was not the only thing that surprised the people at STC. “Right from the start, one of the most surprising things was how many non-Christians got involved. There was one mum who made this amazing window of an African savannah: it was stunning. And she said, when she posted the picture on the Facebook group; ‘Thank you so

Streets of Light even adapted to share this same message during the pandemic. In April 2020, “When we first went into lockdown, we held a mini event, using the same words

about hope and love. It was a really quick turnaround, not like what we do for October, but immediately, we got such a wonderful response. We had lots of comments saying ‘thank you so much’ from people who were out on their daily walks.

And then in Autumn 2020, what we saw happen during the October Streets of Light was so many more churches getting involved. And this was without prompting: we were all juggling homeschooling, repeated isolations and live streaming services, so we hadn’t had time to reach out and contact these churches ourselves. But God knew that these were the messages that people wanted and needed to see – messages of light, love and hope.”

You can enjoy the Streets of Light trail from 25-31 October this year. For more information, visit www.streetsoflight.co.uk 17

Church Planting Special

ARISE!

The Church without Walls Something old, something new: how a Weston Park gathering is exploring what it really means to be a church.

By George Bingham-Davis

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ARISE!

If you’ve ever found yourself in Weston Park on a Sunday morning over this past year, chances are you’ve probably heard the chorus to ‘Everlasting God’ and ‘God’s little light’ being sung over the dawn chorus.

What you’ve stumbled across is Weston Park church, a group of passionate Christians who gather every Sunday to meet and share the news of God’s love with passers-by.

Church Planting Special

to us and thanking us, so at the end we prayed and felt led to continue to come every Sunday morning.’ And just like that, a new church service was born.

‘The key part for us was continuity.’ Says Alan.

‘We didn’t want it to be a throwaway thing where we’d come once, go home and then come back a year later. So we’ve been here every Sunday, even through the Winter.’

Just from arriving at Weston Park, you can feel the warmth that this church service brings as they sing and pray. People are waving and saying hi as they walk by. Families are stopping by to see what’s going on. And the congregation has The key part for us ‘I guess technically it started helped many people through before Lockdown.’ Alan told us was continuity... these troubling times. ‘We’ve on a particularly nippy August had many people come up and morning. ‘Every Sunday before chat to us who haven’t talked to church at STC Crookes, I’d come out here with a anyone face-to-face in a year. This is sharing the few others and we’d sing the words of the Lord. love and life of Jesus.’

But then Covid changed that.’

Martin went on to tell us about an older woman ‘I’d had a vision,’ Martin tells us, ‘of this park, who’d come to them from down the road outside Weston Park, being full of people worshipping the park. ‘We don’t use a microphone or speakers the Lord. This was about 18 months before Covid or anything, she’d just heard us down the road. started, and I’d mentioned this to Alan at the time, And she’d been praying that she’d be able to have So we came down to the park and prayed about it. a conversation about God with other Christians ‘On Pentecost Sunday 2020 Alan rang me up, for months.’ After our conversation, we prayed asking what I was doing for church this Sunday, with her and she sat on the bench at the side of and I said ‘We’re on Zoom.’ and he said ‘I’m going us singing along to all the worship songs and she to take my guitar down to the park, do you fancy continued to come back and do this for several coming?’ I said yes, we had such a fantastic time. weeks.

People from around the park were coming up Alan shared his vision about how the Weston This gathering, started by Alan Lamb and Martin Jacobs, brings together people from different congregations and denominations across Sheffield, from Pentecostal to Catholic, from Crookes to Dore.

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Church Planting Special

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Park gatherings fit in with other local Christian activity. ‘Church buildings are wonderful places where communities can really connect with themselves. I mean it’s not like this has replaced it, we still go to STC after this. But if we want to reach out to new people, they’re not going to be in the churches. They’re in the parks, playing football or walking their dogs, or even sleeping rough here in the worst cases. They’re the ones who need to hear about God the most, and we’re not going to reach them by staying inside our churches.’

Whilst this new outdoor church is making waves, this idea of an outdoor service might prompt memories of a not-so-distant time when Christians - some of whom were here in the park today would fill Weston Park at the end of the Whit walks. As recently as the 1980’s, Christians would come through Weston Park as part of the Christian Aid walks and hikes.

In front of the museum overlooking the park is an information display showing pictures of the park full of people worshipping, ‘We didn’t realise that the picture was there before we started and it was a few weeks before we noticed it.’

Martin told us. ‘But it makes sense if you think about it. If everyone was part of their local church community, why wouldn’t they use the park like that? It’s not bothering anyone; so far everyone we have met and spoken to has been very welcoming and we get the chance to speak to people about Jesus and pray with them.’

‘So in that sense,’ Alan adds. ‘Knowing what’s happened here before, we feel part of something that is bigger than us. We can’t let things like this go away for people.’ The Sunday gatherings, then, aren’t just a new way to reach out to people, but are part of a bigger picture of Christians coming together and praying for the city and its people, with Weston Park at the centre of this renewal.

And Alan and Martin have big hopes for this new wave of faith, believing for a move of God and for revival to break out across the city and continue through the nation.

‘We had this vision, of our gatherings being part of a living river of people and faith going by.’

There’s obviously a literal part of this idea, as Alan gestures to the path that runs by the museum.

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‘As we’ve thought more about it though, if we’re out here speaking to people about the Lord, we as Christians can be a big part of this rejuvenation of faith in this city, and even in the country as a whole.’

‘A few months ago, we had a man from down South stop to talk to us,’ Martin adds. `He was a Christian, and he asked if he could take this idea back home with him and go out into his local park.

We don’t own it,’ said Martin. ‘It is God’s plan that all should GO and tell of the good news. We prayed with him and told him to go for it.’

Perhaps then, Sheffield can be the living river of hope and faith that connects this country, and become the spiritual heart of the country. If anything, it’s certainly in the right place to do it!

We pray for the rejuvenation of this city, and the country along with it.

The church meets from 9am-12pm every Sunday. To find out more about how you can get involved, email Martin and Alan: citp.westonpark@gmail.com

ARISE!

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Sheffield Street Pastors Sheffield Street Pastors started in 2006 as a result of high-profile gun crimes in Burngreave, Sheffield.

There is a team that goes out in Burngreave on some Friday evenings 7.30-11pm.

There are teams in the city centre every Friday and Saturday night.

A group of Christian volunteers meet at 10.30pm to pack up their blue rucksacks, checking they have flip flops, water, lollies, hand warmers and a plethora of other essentials. They pray. Then they hit the street - caring, listening and helping whoever comes their way. They are volunteers, Christians from over 23 different churches around Sheffield helping to keep the city centre safe at night. They make connections with security staff, keeping them sweet with lollies. A call comes via the crack radio – the CCTV room has spotted a vulnerable person, worse for wear with drink and alone. Street Pastors swing into action attending to the person and getting them home with friends or in a taxi. On the way back they meet a group of girls on a hen do: they give them flip flops to stop them treading on broken glass. Praying as they go, they pick up bottles, they attend to minor first-aid problems, give water to the needy, help those who have had too much to drink and give promoters hand warmers. They look out for potential trouble and are a calming influence in our city centre.

Finishing around 3am-4am these Christians are helping each weekend to keep the city centre a safer place. They are putting what they believe into action to keep Sheffield’s NTE safe.

Want to be part of this frontline ministry?

Become a Street Pastor…….

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Interested? For more info contact: Tricia Watts, Sheffield Street Pastor Coordinator Email: sheffield@streetpastors.org.uk

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Church Planting Special

Attercliffe Centre of Mission In March 2020, Kinder and Gina Kalsi moved into Attercliffe to set up a Centre of Mission for Church Army and Sheffield Diocese, in partnership with other church denominations. This is their story so far.

By Gina Kalsi

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We moved into Attercliffe to work in the area to develop a new Christian community – seeking to reach people who would not be reached by traditional church. Our first two weeks, at the beginning of March 2020, were full of meetings and trying to connect with as many community groups as possible, at the same time as moving house. This was busy and stressful, but as we see throughout our story, God’s wisdom and timing was perfect – as in these two weeks, we managed to make connections which enabled us to develop links and get to know people during the lockdown that ensued.

We couldn’t meet people, so we started letting people know we were here – we used the railings at church to offer little gifts and blessings; we put similar gifts and messages around the community – from angels at Christmas, to palm crosses at Easter. We offered some spaces for prayer and exploring faith online. As things opened up further, we found ways to meet with people – in the woods at a wood walk, and in the garden of the church, around a fire. And at special seasons, we put up angels/butterflies in the local wood and park – asking questions – with a QR code that linked to the Easter/Christmas story. Arise prayerwalking and the Easter Egg give away gave us the opportunity to prayer-walk roads we hadn’t previously prayed along, and on Easter Sunday, we took Easter bags – including the eggs into local parks and gave them to families that we know.

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Church Planting Special

As we probably all can testify, this last year has not been easy. We have not been able to do some of the things that we would naturally do to develop community – like eat together – but we have also learnt to be creative and try new ways. We have continually sought to bless and serve the community – with litter-picking, delivering for food bank and supporting community organisations.

Here are some of the things we have recognised from our experience: God’s wisdom may not make sense to us! We moved into the area to develop community just weeks before the first lockdown. We wondered why we weren’t delayed, or had managed to move earlier. But in hindsight, God brought us here in a time when we could really get to know the area with prayer-walking, we could see and hear about the needs that were highlighted during the pandemic and we were forced to work at a slower pace than we normally would. We have got to know lots of the community agencies and people within the area, in a way we might not, if we had been able to start with lots of activity. God had brought us to Attercliffe and Darnall for “such a time as this”!

Reflecting on the past 18 months, we have really felt God saying:

“See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

We also realised that the things that we had started to try and make happen didn’t work anywhere near as well as the things God put in our path. As Psalm 127 says, unless God builds the house, the builders labour in vain! A classic example of this is the bread and cake. We were offered free bread and cake from a bakery once a week – we then delivered it to local people. During lockdown, it meant we could chat on doorsteps with people who would otherwise not see anyone, and to connect with families and offer support where we could. Now, the deliveries take longer – as we meet with people, chat, have tea, pray. We knew food would be important in developing community – we didn’t realise it would be bread and cake on the doorstep!

We are One Body – We have been blessed by the support of other Christians throughout this journey. We have the support of the local churches, and churches further afield have helped us in both practical and prayerful ways. The unity of prayer walking through last Lent and Easter with Arise, and seeing other people prayer walking the area, was such an encouragement and blessing. And we have been sustained by the support of other people across the country, through networks of pioneers.

It’s all about rhythm! From day one, we established a rhythm of prayer, which has developed but is set into our week. This has meant that prayer has been the foundation of all that we do. It has kept us focussed on our calling, helped us to reflect honestly on what we are doing, and given us the courage to say yes to the opportunities we have.

Please pray for...

As we look ahead, we are seeking to develop a Creative Space – a place where people can come and explore creativity and art. Pray that we discern the best way forward, and that God draws the people and resources together. We are also looking at starting a toddler group and afterschool club: please pray for wisdom for us as we seek to develop these.

And above all, pray that God will use us, to bless the community and find more ways to draw people together to explore God’s love.

For more information follow @attercliffecofm, or email gina. kalsi@churcharmy.org if you would like to receive copies of the Attercliffe Centre of Mission newsletters.

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CELEBRATING BEAUTY

St Vincent’s Mission Hub

Church Planting Special

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“There are three things in this world that are transcendent: truth, goodness and beauty. In this post-modern culture, where truth is controversial and goodness can be divisive, no-one can argue with beauty. So we strive, first of all, for beauty at our church plant. We try to make sure that the prayers, the music, the surroundings, the welcome, and especially the liturgy, are beautiful.

That is our approach to evangelism.”

During an interview with Father Lee Marshall from St Vincent’s Mission Hub - I’m taken on a brief tour of the recent history of Catholic church planting in Sheffield, going back to 1853. At that time St Marie’s - near Fargate - was the only Catholic church in Sheffield, but then a major influx of Irish, Italian and Polish immigrants sent the numbers of Catholics in the city soaring.

They built a beautiful new church - St Vincent’s - on Solly Street, and Father Lee told me about old photographs showing literally thousands of Catholics attending mass and walking out on processions.

These faithful Christians planted new churches in response to further growth: for example, Sacred Heart in Hillsborough was planted to serve the new army barracks that opened nearby. However, when Sheffield’s social housing projects moved city-dwellers to the suburbs, St Vincent’s became derelict, until recently.

In 2018 a new mission hub began a project to reach students, young adults and families in Sheffield’s city centre, renovating one of the old St Vincent’s buildings to create a new purposebuilt space. Opening just weeks before the first lockdown, the St Vincent’s Mission Hub now houses a cafe, student chaplaincy centre, and beautiful chapel, in which Father Lee has been holding daily services for those who live and work in the city centre since the first reopening of churches post-Covid in July 2020.

“We try to make sure that the prayers, the music, the surroundings, the welcome, and especially the liturgy, are beautiful. That is our approach to evangelism.”

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Church Planting Special

“When I was growing up in the church, young people like me were in the minority,” commented Father Lee. “I wanted to be part of a church where they’re in the majority, where they feel like they belong.” And so far it’s working: 90% of St Vincent’s Mission Hub’s congregation is under-40, and 70% are under-30. And despite Covid restrictions, they’re succeeding in reaching out to Sheffield’s students, already having held a baptism and confirmation service.

What has been drawing people in? Father Lee identifies three things: Jesus, prayer, and community.

Jesus A relationship with Jesus is, of course, central to all Christian denominations, and many Catholics particularly treasure their tangible connection to Jesus in the Eucharist, which for them is the source and summit of the life and mission of the church.

The name of the service - ‘mass’- - comes from the Latin for ‘dismissal’, and Catholics often link the mass with mission, which has a similar Latin root.

They come to mass to be fed by Jesus, in order to be sent out into the world to serve Him and make Him known. St Vincent’s Mission Hub therefore focusses on creating the space - through daily mass and meditative prayer - to allow Jesus to make himself known, and to invite people to spend time adoring Him. When I ask Father Lee what a high point has been since the start of the church plant, I half expect him to talk about his growing congregation, and the recent baptisms, but instead he answers - without hesitation - “Celebrating the Easter Vigil service in the new chapel. It’s the absolute high point of the Christian year for us as we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection and the wonderful ways that God has worked in humanity throughout our history. As well as being a feast for the eyes (we start by lighting a large fire outside the church around sunset) and ears (it includes a beautiful ancient Easter hymn called the Exsultet, followed by nine Bible readings celebrating the span of salvation history), this year’s celebration was particularly powerful, after having been unable to celebrate in church because of the lockdown in 2020.”

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Church Planting Special

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Prayer “Prayer is so central to what we do as a Mission Hub, and I’ve found that prayer-walking activities seem more accessible and attractive to people than prayer meetings,” comments Father Lee. “At the start of the Summer, we had a walking pilgrimage to Padley to the Martyrs Chapel there.

We started at St Vincent’s Mission Hub, and walked out through Endcliffe Park. It’s a beautiful ten-mile route; we were prayer-walking the rosary on the way, then had mass at the Chapel when we arrived. It was really popular, and a powerful witness, both to those who were on the pilgrimage and to other walkers who saw us praying as we passed.”

Community Father Lee has taken inspiration from the welcoming and inclusive atmosphere of many evangelical churches - and books such as Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church - in his approach to building a strong and supportive church

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family at the Mission Hub. “We’re trying to create a really healthy and welcoming community, at the same time as making sure we stay focussed on celebrating those signs of God’s grace, the sacraments.”

A church centred around Jesus, prayer, and community reminds me of the description of the early church from Acts 2:42. It’s simple, good, and truly a thing of beauty.

Want to know more about how to support St Vincent’s Mission Hub? Please pray with Father Lee and his congregation that many young adults and students in the city come to know the healing and love of the Lord, and that the community at St Vincent’s stays healthy and focussed on its values.

St Vincent’s mission is especially focussed on young adults and families. To get in touch, contact Fr Lee at lmarshall@hallam-diocese.com and to get involved come along to Sunday Mass at 5 pm (for weekday Masses see website www.svmh.uk), or introduce yourself at FabRico cafe.

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Perspective

It’s time to Dream Again Sometimes in life, we pass through turbulent and trying times even when we believe we are in the right. During such moments, we may cry out, “Where are you Lord?”

Have you ever received a prophetic word from God and, rather than going smoothly, life brings temptations? You are not alone. Joseph’s first dream made him fall out with his brothers. As if that wasn’t enough, he dreamed yet another dream!

By Rev. Henry C. Ohakah

“Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. ‘Listen,’ he said ‘I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me’.”

Genesis 37:9 NIV

A dream is an idea or vision that is created in your imagination, a strong desire, goal, or purpose, although nobody has seen it.

Your dream is not a worthy dream if it is not higher, better, or greater than your present circumstances. It should scare you, and be a reminder of your continued dependence on God. If your visions and plans are not bigger than you, then you really have no place in the grandstands of greatness.

However, it must be a SMART vision (Specific-MeasurableAttainable-Realistic-Timebound) First, you must know what you want and then work towards it with enthusiasm.

Prayer is vital of course, but you must also plan and perform. Planning and praying without performing is useless.

Performing and planning without praying will yield no eternal and lasting result. To simply carry on “as the spirit leads” is careless. Listen: grace

is not reckless impulsiveness.

Successful dreams come about as a result of grace AND discipline.

Focus is essential You must be resolute. You do not just get by and say things like, “wherever the wind blows my boat I’ll go.” No! Position your sail in the direction of your destination. A person with vision is focused, irrespective of challenges: they are not deterred. They don’t allow distractions and circumstances to force them away from their stated course.

Don’t listen to the naysayers Not everybody will believe that your dream is possible or achievable, some will see it as an impossible venture, and they will see no point in trying at all. Your dream is idiosyncratically “your” dream and not “their” dream or “our” dream. Even when your dream is eventually understood, no other fellow can be as enthusiastic about it as you.

Don’t give up When a person of vision encounters failure they do not capitulate. Even when they fall, even if they have to start all over again, they get up and get going until they achieve their desired results.

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Church Planting Special

ARISE!

Building Bridges In Oughtibridge Chris Tufnell has been on an incredible journey over the last few years. From becoming a church leader, to moving out to Oughtibridge, it’s been a time of great change for him and his family. Taking on the leadership of a new community comes with a host of blessings, and some challenges. We chatted with him about the Oughtibridge Parish Church graft.

Q: Tell us a little about the church graft in Oughtibridge Parish.

My wife and I attended Christ Church Fulwood while we were at uni in Sheffield, and I started my ministry training there. After three years of theological college in London, I returned to Fulwood to become a curate. Then, last year I moved from Fulwood to Oughtibridge - with about 30 others - as part of a church graft.

The important thing to know about church grafts is that they are not the same as church plants. A church plant sets up a brand new church; there was already a small church in Oughtibridge. Christ Church Fulwood has a large church community, so they’ve established a system where every couple of years, they’ll send groups of people out, either to plant their own churches, or to help boost smaller churches. So when it was announced in 2019 that Oughtibridge’s vicar was going to step down, coming here became an exciting possibility for us.

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Q: How has the church graft been received so far?

Very well I think. On the Fulwood side, before we knew where the next church plant was going to be, there were already people saying to me, ‘Even if we’re not sure where the next one will be, we’d like to come with you.’ So we started meeting and praying as a group, even before we had a location.

At the same time, the clergy team at Fulwood agreed to take on responsibility for the services at Oughtibridge before my appointment as vicar. So I was over there for about 8 months before the rest of the group from Fulwood joined us, which was really helpful.

When a group of 30-ish people all at once join a congregation of 20-25, it changes the feel of a church, but the graft has been really well received by the original congregation here at Oughtibridge. There’s been a great deal of warmth, love and unity, and that’s a real joy to see.

Church Planting Special

people can observe even if they aren’t sure that they’re ready to have an encounter with Jesus in church, and sometimes they get a lot more than they bargained for. Already, we’ve had quite a lot of people join us at church, after watching our live-stream.

Q: What has the experience taught you, as a church leader?

Well it’s an ongoing process for me. It’s not as simple as saying ‘I learned this on that day’ or anything like that. One thing I’ve learnt is that church leadership is all about people. Quite a bit of my time and energy is put into preparing, restructuring, replanning, but all with a view to serving people. So as a Christian minister, I’ve learnt that I need to prioritise people. When someone’s in trouble, I’ve got to be looking out for them.

But also - and this is something I’ve learned being a vicar here - when people view you in a certain way, you can begin to view yourself in that same way.

Since many people locally view me as ‘the We also started liveWe’ve had people join us vicar’, I think at times I’ve streaming at at church after watching allowed myself Oughtibridge our live-stream to lose sight of Parish Church the fact that (OPC), which first and foremost I am not a has been really helpful in ‘shepherd’, but a ‘sheep’. That is: connecting with people who my most defining feature isn’t don’t normally attend church. my role in the church, but that I In a way, it reminds me of the am a Christian myself, someone story of Zacchaeus in the Bible. who loves - and is seeking When Zaccheus climbed up a to follow - Jesus. Jesus is my sycamore tree, he intended to shepherd; I need his help every see Jesus, but not necessarily day. to engage with him. Of course, Jesus saw and spoke to Q: Have there been any stories Zaccheus, and Zaccheus was from your congregation that transformed by his unexpected have stuck with you? encounter. My hope is that We’ve seen a handful of people our live-streamed services can come to faith over the last reach those digital Zaccheuses:

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Church Planting Special

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year. There’s a local guy who came to faith with very little human involvement actually. I baptised him a few months ago, and then married him to his fiancé, and they have started coming to church and reading the Bible together, really becoming a part of the church community.

We also invited the whole of the Year One class from the local primary school, showing them around the church in the morning, and told them about our Sunday schools. And one of the girls went home to her mum and asked her if she could go. They came the following Sunday, and have been here most Sundays since, and it’s been amazing to see God’s work in their life.

There’s another woman who recently came to faith at OPC, and the great thing about her story is, you hear it and think, ‘Who led her to faith?’ And it would be far too simplistic to just say ‘That talk she was at.’ For me, I’d say it was 30-40 people who knew her - her community - that brought her to faith.

Q: What are your hopes for the church going forward?

Just last month, it was announced after six months of consultation that we will also merge with Oughtibridge Chapel, so they’ll be joining us from mid-October onwards. So in 14 months, OPC has grown from a congregation of 20-25 people, to over 100.

My hopes, my prayers, are that we would be a community of Christians whose lives are turned upside-down by the words of the Gospel, instinctively sharing our faith with those around us, living as a compelling and attractive community of which other people want to be a part.

Q: Do you have any tips or advice for others who are trying to share their faith?

A little tip I got that I loved was about taking ‘the next step of boldness in sharing your faith’. I think prayerfully asking yourself what the next step of boldness looks like for you is a great way to grow in faith. And I think a lot of it is about forming friendships and relationships with others where there’s an openness to talk about big things. We need to be willing to share in the difficult times, both our own hard times and other peoples’.

Another thing I find helpful is being willing to speak of the difference being a Christian makes in our lives. It’s as Peter says: ‘Always be prepared to give a reason for the hope you have.’ That doesn’t

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necessarily mean having all the answers to all the questions people might throw at you, but living a different and distinctive enough life that people know that you aren’t just living for this world alone, and you’re not living for yourself: that you know you belong to God. Q: How can others get involved with Oughtibridge Parish Church?

If people would like to get involved, they’re welcome to just pop in on a Sunday to say hi, or get in touch through our website: www.opc.org.uk Q: What has been bringing you closer to Jesus recently?

The regular things I do - that I’ve done for years - are reading my Bible and praying. But recently, one way I’ve tried to be closer is just, once a month, block out a whole day where I just pray. I go somewhere where I know no-one is listening, and I pray aloud - I prefer to pray aloud - and I’ve found that really helpful for me. I have no other appointments, no other meetings, because I’m having an appointment with Someone else, and that’s more important than anything else.

Double your gift!

Donate to Arise in October, November or December and your gift will be match funded. www.arisesheffield.org/ donors

ARISE!

Church Planting Special

Being ‘Church’ to People in Need

By Bird River Lovegod

As I start to write this my phone beeps: it’s someone wanting a food parcel delivered.

I started EthicalMuch.com as a ‘good news’ website in 2019, and in 2020 pivoted it into a system for buying and delivering the best food parcels in Sheffield. I go to Aldi and buy a week’s worth of fresh shopping, usually around £25-worth, and deliver it to people in poverty. All they need to do is ask. No admin, no forms, just ask and you shall receive. Sometimes I also buy them utility top-ups, bedding, heaters, art materials, ovens: whatever else they need. Supporters of EthicalMuch sometimes make donations - books, a mobile phone, a laptop - and I pass them to the people in need. We’ve done about 500.

And sometimes I think to myself, “Why isn’t ‘The Church’ doing this?”

What would it be like if all the churches in Sheffield or across the UK served the poor in this way?

Are we really caring for ‘the least of these’ and ‘loving our neighbour’? Jesus told us to go out, into the streets, into the communities, to reach out to people in need.

You can be church in your community right now.

There are literally towers of people in poverty.

Towers of them. People in food poverty, utility poverty, household poverty, spiritual poverty, you can see them from across the city, there’s no hiding it. There’s towers of them. Here’s how easy it is to reach them: Step 1. Print hundreds of simple postcards offering support, including food parcels, and post them through doors. Include a text or phone number; there’s no point putting an email or website as many don’t use the internet.

Step 2. Answer the calls and texts, ask people about their situation. Take an address.

Step 3. Go to Aldi and buy them food. Add some flowers to show you care.

Step 4. Deliver it, and when doing so, talk to them, ask them about their situation, identify other needs. Be a friend.

If you’d like to support EthicalMuch, contact Bird on 07535 670 581 or email hello@ethicalmuch.com

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Church Unity in Sheffield Turns a Corner

We thank God for this beautiful picture of unity in our city.

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Parish Church of St. Mark, Mosborough

Hillsbourough Tabernacle Congregational Church

Church of St Francis of Assisi Church of St. Mary the Virgin Church of the Nazarene

Church of Christ Darnall

Church of All Saints

Church Army

RCCG Amazing Grace Tabernacle RCCG Grace Assembly Redeemer King Church

International Christian Worship Centre

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R

I

P

Christ Church Hillsborough & Wadsley Bridge

Christ Church Pitsmoor

Parish Church of Saint John the Baptist, Owlerton

St. James Norton

Owlerton Evangelical Church

St. Philip’s Church Sheffield

St. Paul’s Church, Parson’s Cross St. Peter’s Church Greenhill

St. Paul’s Church and Centre

St. Patricks’s Catholic Church

St. Matthew’s Church

St. Mary’s Church

St. Marks Church

St. Luke’s Church Lodge Moor

St. John’s Park

St. James Woodhouse

St. Chad’s Church

St. Andrew’s URC Church St. James Church

St. Albans House Christian Community

St William of York Catholic Church

St Peter’s Ellesmere LEP

St Margaret’s & St Thomas’ Church, Sheffield

St Gabriel’s Greystones

Southern Light Community Church Spa View Community Church

South Anston Methodist Church South Sheffield Church

Shiregreen URC

Shiloh United Church Of Christ Apostolic Worldwide

Sheffield Vineyard Church

Oaks Community Church Oughtibridge Parish Church Our Lady Beauchief & St Thomas Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church

O

New Hope Community Church

Nether Green Methodist Church New Covenant Church

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Christ Church Stannington Christ Church URC Stocksbridge Christ Church Walkley

H

Greenhill Methodist Church

Grace Church Sheffield

God’s Righteousness Bible Church International

Gleadless Valley Church

Galeed House Community Centre Gleadless United Reformed Church

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Mount Tabor

Millhouses Methodist Church Mosborough Elim Church Mosborough Methodist Church Hall

Meersbrook Park United Reformed Church

Hampden View Church Heeley Parish Church Hillsborough Baptist Church Hillsborough Trinity Methodist Church

Christ Church Gleadless

Christ Church Fulwood

Christ Church Endcliffe

Christ Church Dore

Christ Church Central

Cemetery Road Baptist Church Central United Reformed Church Christ Abiding Ministries

Calvary Deliverance Ministry Celestial Church of Christ - Holy Spirit Parish

C3 Hope Sheffield

C

Fountain of Life Christian Centre

F

Sheffield Chinese Christian Church

M Sheffield Citadel Salvation Army Church

Sheffield Central Elim Pentecostal Church

Living Waters Christian Fellowship

Meadowhead Christian Fellowship

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

S

Rock Christian Centre

Richmond Church

Liberty Church

Lansdowne Chapel

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King’s Centre (NCS)

new perspective of unity

Emmanuel Church

Elim Pentecostal Church (Church on the Corner)

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Dore & Totley Christian Fellowship Dore & Totley URC Church

D

Crown of Life Community Church

Cornerstone Benefice

City of Refuge Foursquare Church

City Church Sheffield

Map of unity turns heads

Bamford Methodist Church Bents Green Methodist Church Bethel United Church of Jesus Christ Sheffield Bushfire Ministries

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All Saints Church, Totley All Saints Ecclesall Antioch Community Church Arbourthorne Community Church Attercliffe Centre of Mission

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Churches whose members joined in with Arise at Easter 2021:

Zion URC Church

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Wisewood Methodist Church

Winners Chapel International Sheffield

Whirlow Spirituality Centre Whiston Parish Church (St. Mary Magdalene)

Wadsley Parish Church Wesley Hall

W

Victoria Hall Methodist Church Victory Assembly

V

Totley Rise Methodist Church Trinity URC Church

The Well Church Sheffield

The Michael Church, Lowedges The Vine

The Crowded House

Tapton Hill Congregational Church

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Stephen Hill Methodist Church

STC Sheffield

St. Timothy Church of England St. Vincent’s Catholic Church

St. Thomas Philadelphia (NCS)

St. Thomas Church Wincobank St. Thomas More Catholic Church

St. Saviour’s Church

St. Polycarp C of E Sheffield

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Church Planting Special

Of Palm Trees and Planting One young church’s story of finding new roots in troubled times

By George Bingham-Davis

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The last 18 months have been chaotic to say the least. Locked in homes, parenting, teaching and caring for our families. Looking out for our neighbourhoods, whilst being cooped up. Now imagine doing all that while also trying to plant a new church.

That is the struggle faced by many church planters over the last 18 months, including David May. Now leader of Emmanuel Church Sheffield, David felt called from his church in Oxford to plant new roots in the North.

“We were telling some close friends of ours about looking to plant a church, and our friend stopped us and said: ‘Actually, I’ve felt God speaking to me about Yorkshire, and a place filled with palm trees.’” When David and others started exploring their options for church plants in the North, he and his family felt prompted to visit Sheffield.

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Church Planting Special

“As we looked around Sheffield, we immediately had a good feeling, and the longer we stayed, the more we started to see palm trees around us. Outside Town Hall, the Peace Gardens, the Winter Gardens. We even saw a gardening stall outside Fargate selling palm trees!” And so, in 2019, with the support of their home church and wider network, David and fifteen others made the courageous decision to move to Sheffield, trusting in God. Then the pandemic hit.

“The whole experience has been completely different from what we imagined it would be. I’m not sure what was just standard church planting challenges, or what was difficult because of Covid.”

The group found themselves in an unexpected situation: locked down in an unfamiliar city, far from their old home, not allowed to meet each other, or make new friends, unable to share their faith with others as they’d planned. “A group of friends who’d moved with us up to Sheffield said to us ‘It’s just not fair. We’ve moved to Sheffield with you, and we can’t even see you!’” David remembers.

Nevertheless, in spite of tremendous difficulties and unprecedented challenges, Emmanuel church has emerged from lockdown stronger than anyone could have hoped.

“I feel that a lot of our learning through this whole process was about trusting God. And what kept encouraging us was how well our community grew during all this. We’d had people who’d never met each other, but felt that they’d come to know each other quite well. Being over Zoom has also helped us include people who were going to move to be part of the church plant, but hadn’t moved in the early stages. It has also meant I could stay in touch easily with the leaders back in Oxford to receive support, oversight and encouragement.”

The chance to connect with others online has really helped Emmanuel in these isolated times, especially with other church leaders in Sheffield.

“During lockdown, Together for Sheffield has been helping us connect with other church leaders around the city through Sheffield Leaders in Prayer and praying over Zoom. We’ve just been

blown away by how well we’ve been received by other churches around Sheffield. Through those connections some churches have even contacted us out of the blue to offer us financial gifts, which is just wonderful!”

So, as we hopefully start to come out of this pandemic and move forward, would David still recommend planting a church after all this?

“Oh, absolutely!” He tells us. “My only caution would be to make sure that God is calling you to do it, because when things get tough, and they will get tough, whether you’re in a pandemic or not, so you’ve got to know for sure that this is what God wants you to do.”

We pray for Emmanuel Church’s continued success, and wish them all the best this season.

If you wish to get involved with Emmanuel Church Sheffield, you can find out more at www.emmanuelsheffield.org, or email David May at dmay@emmanuelsheffield.org.

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Church Planting Special

ARISE!

!Audacious Church

Two minutes with Josh Cocker, from !Audacious Church Sheffield

Tell us what’s happening with !Audacious Church.

Audacious Church was started by our senior pastors, Glyn and Sophia Barrett fourteen years ago in Central Manchester.

Since then it’s been a miracle in motion as God has expanded our church across multiple locations.

Audacious means to be bold, fearless, daring, unrestrained by convention, original and cheeky!

This is the kind of church we feel called to be as we demonstrate our extraordinary God to the world.

We are passionate about reaching a lot of people and giving every person an opportunity to hear the gospel and encounter God for themselves. We want to be a church where people can find home, where they can truly belong, grow, connect and serve!

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How have you found connecting with other leaders around Sheffield?

Over the last few months I have really enjoyed meeting many different church leaders across Sheffield. They have all been incredibly welcoming, very generous with their time, their words and their encouragement.

We have really felt a willingness for relationship, that we’re coming into strong fertile ground, where leaders are for the whole Church and desire to champion and work with each other.

“We’re passionate about reaching a lot of people and giving every person an opportunity to hear the gospel and encounter God for themselves.”

How can we pray for you and the church family?

We arrived in Sheffield from Manchester at the end of August, which has been a big transition for myself, my wife and two young boys. So please pray for our family as we settle in.

For us as a church, please pray for: • God’s favour as we move forward with finding venues, and starting to meet together in Sheffield.

• Many new people added as we get more opportunities to share the gospel.

• Great provision of resources to establish the church and expand our reach.

To find out more, email Josh: joshcocker@audaciouschurch.com

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Church Planting Special

Where one or two are gathered...

An accidental witness at ‘The Way’ house church in Hillsborough For the past few months, Josh Cutting has been hosting meetings with fellow Christians in his home, praying and worshipping, and doing God’s work in whatever form it takes.

Sometimes that might be cooking food for the vulnerable in their community, helping others come to terms with their own faith, or simply just meeting to talk and discuss Jesus.

Recently, Josh and his group were worshipping in his house, when Josh heard a light tap at the door.

On his doorstep was a lady, who explained that she had overheard the prayer and worship while walking past, and something in her spirit moved her to knock. Josh invited her in, and she sat with the group.

While they continued to pray, the woman fell to her knees and began to cry. She shared that she was a refugee, and she had grown up in a hidden, persecuted church, but hadn’t been a practising Christian in years. The lady has started joining Josh’s group regularly, and is rekindling her faith.

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PLANT

PLANT AND PLANT AGAIN!

Church Planting Special

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Jonathan Haigh shares Greenhill Methodist Church’s latest step on its 225-year planting journey For 225 years, Greenhill Methodist Church has been a Spirit-filled discipleship community serving Greenhill and the surrounding area.

It was originally a church plant in someone’s home: when they needed a larger place to meet, they bought some land to build the first Greenhill Methodist chapel. The community of faith did not stand still. Through worship and prayer, they wanted to meet the needs of the village. The first church hall was built. A larger church sanctuary followed, and then in 1952 a larger hall.

The growing footprint of the buildings tells a faith story of a Jesus-loving community who wanted to serve their local neighbourhood. Year after year, they continued to plant on prayer-soaked soil. If the ground could speak, it would tell the story of its ups and downs: a time when some left to start another church; healing meetings where coachloads would come to be touched by God. Then, in 2015, God called the church to start a new season of planting. We were led to the 2020 Vision: to create a new space that was worthy

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Church Planting Special

environment we would find of welcoming the current ourselves in leading up to the community around us. A space where we could minister the love building. Raising nearly one million pounds in five years was of Jesus to meet our neighbours’ a challenge enough. It is now a mental, physical, social and miraculous testimony of God’s spiritual needs. A space where provision. But then, to start parent and toddler groups could building just as the lockdown meet alongside memory cafes struck, seemed even more crazy. and get-togethers for those in their third age. Where we could But God continued to assure us host Messy Church, and other that we had been faithful to his vibrant children’s and youth call to plant again and that he work. Where we could welcome would provide. For example: we people to try Alpha and have a started to build comfortable the first phase space for of the project, deeper, It is now a miraculous but then found one-to-one ourselves with testimony of God’s conversations. a serious cash provision.

Where people flow problem. could meet We held a with Jesus and gift day, and feel his healing touch. thanks to the generosity of the community - as well as several Little did any of us know the

grants and an interest free loan - we received nearly £200,000 in a single month. Which meant the work continued on schedule, and the building was completed in November 2020.

Planting with purpose.

Sowing seeds of faith. Building friendships, helping people find Jesus and become disciples.

We pray that this new building will be the place that many find Christ in generations to come.

Jonathan Haigh Jonathan oversees Greenhill and Victoria Hall Methodist Churches.

23 October 2021

7pm start. Fellowship until 7:45pm. Ends 8:45pm.

Christ Church Dore Community Centre Townhead Road, Dore S17 3GA www.thefillingstation.org.uk/station/sheffield-west/

Friendly Fellowship,

Main speaker

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Church Planting Special

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Welling up at Woodseats Duncan Akehurst has travelled the world sharing God’s word. Now, as he sets down roots in Woodseats, we ask him about his journey, and what he’s learned along the way.

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Q: Tell us about planting a church in Woodseats.

When we were in Mozambique, we’d often pass through Sheffield on our way to visit our families, and we ended up meeting with Nick and Marjorie Allan, the senior leaders at The Well. Shortly afterwards they messaged us to say ‘Hey, if you’re ever back in the UK, come and set up base here.’ And so we did!

At the same time, the old Baptist Church in Woodseats had been left with no congregation in it for about five to six years, and the owners - Yorkshire Baptist Association - really wanted to find a group that would use it. Then out of the blue, The Message - a Christian charity from Manchester - managed to make a deal with the YBA to use the building as their administrative local base, as long as the building was also used as a worship space.

The rest is history!

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Q: How did the pandemic affect your plans for church planting?

It’s strange. Obviously the pandemic has been extremely tough, but it’s also helped in a few surprising ways. We started to connect on Zoom before we’d officially started up as a plant, so we were able to meet on Wednesday as well as Sundays, which helped us build up some great core values and DNA.

Church Planting Special

and praying for them. That’s not easy to do. I’m an outgoing person who loves talking about Jesus, but even I can try and find a hundred reasons why I won’t talk to someone. So to see our whole group go out there with that courage has been so inspiring.

One of the cool stories we got back was a local lady a couple of us met two different weeks apart.

The first time a couple of guys met her at a bus stop. And as her And in all honesty, not being bus was arriving, they quickly able to go fast has been a real prayed for her, she jumped on blessing. I think we sometimes Some of the people who her bus. End of story, right? overestimate what we think can have taught me the most Then the next week, whilst we happen in a year, so not having were out talking to people, we about Jesus are people that pressure to prove anything started chatting to this lady, you would never have in the early stages has been and it turns out to be the same really helpful. heard of, but who have person! She told how she’d been Q: When planting the church, the most radical faith. thinking about that moment who did you look to for all week, and how wonderful it inspiration? was that there were people who wanted her to be blessed by Nick and Marjorie Allan have God. We asked her again if we could pray for her, been a great source of inspiration for us as church she said yes, really enthusiastically. And we just felt leaders of The Well. To see the power of the the presence of God fall over her, and she started gospel lived out in their lives is such a joy. Their weeping. core values have always been high accountability, low control. And to really feel that - with them releasing us and cheering us on as we plant the church with their support - is incredible.

But also, it’s important to remember that teachers can be anyone. Some of the people who have taught me the most about Jesus are people you would never have heard of, but who have the most radical faith.

Q: Have there been any stories from your congregation that have stuck with you?

We started intentionally training our group to share their faith with others, giving people practical tools to share how they’ve encountered God and how it’s changed them. We’ve also been equipping people to know how to pray for others in a non-weird way, but at the same time not being afraid of the Holy Spirit breaking in powerfully.

To put that into practise, part of our Sunday morning meeting involves spending 45 minutes going out into the streets, talking with people

I think that’s been the most exciting thing: seeing normal people feeling empowered to go out and pray for others, watching them discover that each of them can share their faith in their own way.

Q: What are your hopes for the church going forward?

Well, we want to know Jesus as best we possibly can, because the more we know him, the more we reflect him. Our goal is to see genuine community grow around and within the church. We hope that we can create an atmosphere where we can allow people to make that genuine connection with others in our church family. After all, ‘God commands a blessing where there is unity.’

Q: Do you have any tips or advice for others who would like to share their faith?

My number one tip is: just do it! The biggest thing that holds us back is us thinking that we can’t.

We don’t have to be qualified, we don’t have to be total experts. Sure, there are things we can

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Church Planting Special

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and should learn along the way, but we can still go for it, even if we don’t have all the answers right now. It’s impossible to steer a ship when it’s sitting still. So be bold! Open your mouth, go across the room, speak to that person. You might be worried in that moment about what you’ll say, but you’ll soon realise as you get into that position, that you’re really hungry to figure out how to do it.

Q: How can others get involved with Woodseats Church?

If you’re committed to giving your energy to bringing the Kingdom of God to Woodseats and the surrounding areas, then you’re more than welcome to join us here! You can join our Sunday morning gatherings at the old Baptist church, from ten till twelve. A lot of that time is us connecting and building relationships, becoming aware of His presence, because transformation and change only start when we are aware of His presence. We’ll teach from the Bible, and we’ll pray for one another.

Q: What advice would you give to others looking to plant churches?

On the one hand, the first thing Anna and I will tell you is that we don’t have a clue what we’re doing! And that might scare some people, but I actually think that’s a great place to start: having

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a complete dependence on Jesus, the Holy Spirit and papa-God, seeing how that love grows and bears fruit in others. You can’t lead people to a place you aren’t prepared to go yourself. There are many courses you can do and many books you can read, but never step out of complete dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Q: What has been bringing you closer to Jesus recently?

I’ve been reorganising my life after speaking with the Lord, asking myself what my practical life looks like, and where my priorities are. God told the Isrealites to pitch their lives around the presence of God, so I’ve been trying to do the same. For me, that looks like getting up a little earlier so I can have a quick moment in the morning with Him. Thanks to my position as associate minister, I can free my time so that I can spend a day in the month where I can just spend a day being in His presence; no agenda, no looking at my emails or any of that. Also, just hanging around other people who know Him, who are drawn to Him and want to be closer to Him, as well as going out and talking to people about my faith and praying for others: these things really energise me.

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Bloom where you’ve been planted.

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Church Grafting

Was it the warm smile of the church warden as I climbed out of the car as a visiting speaker or the way the faces of the people there lit up as they spoke about Jesus? I don’t know exactly, but as I drove away after the service I couldn’t shake the feeling that God was going to do something in that church and, somehow, we might even get to be a part of it.

26 months later, as you read this article, we have just started gathering a group of people to go and join with that very church in a graft next year. This will be a church graft that will take people from Christ Church Endcliffe on Brocco Bank and join with All Saints Totley, seeking to join, resource, and build up the work there. Longing that we would see God inundate, saturate, and liberate the area by the gospel of his incomparable grace. That’s no small aim, is it?

But we have a God who is, by his own very nature, a missionary God, and one who has promised to “build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

You might be thinking, “I’ve heard of church planting, is ‘grafting’ different?” Yes, and no.

Church grafting takes a group from one church and merges them with an existing church.

Like church planting, it is still a group of Christians stepping out in faith as their experience of church changes. Yet, church grafting starts with an existing community of believers - it’s not seeking to start something completely new or separate but draw from the rich heritage of two churches. It might be a new concept to some, but it’s hard to imagine a more visual

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Church Planting Special

sharing resources and people to reach out with the gospel, is one that wasn’t just blessed in Antioch, but one the Lord has used over and over again in the history of the church and one we hope the Lord will bless in Totley too.

demonstration of God’s church.

On the one hand, Church grafting looks at a church that is faithful but struggling and declares “God is not done working here!” It recognises the work of the people of God, works of faithful service, relationships built up over generations, gospel encounters and says, “We want to see more of that!” On the other hand, for the receiving church, grafting looks like seeing the church down the road that is thriving and celebrating that success, seeing it not as a threat but rejoicing in it. It looks like seeing new people preparing to come to your church, knowing that there will be change and that it won’t always be easy but still welcoming them with open arms.

What’s more, amazing things happen when churches resource churches. In the early church, the church in Antioch was hugely influential (in many ways it still is - you can spend a happy (or geeky) few hours researching Antiochene theology if you are in to that sort of stuff) but it wasn’t

that way in Acts 11, back then it was a fledgling church. We’re told “News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch” (Acts 11:22), now it may have been that they just wanted to know what God was doing and yet I think there is more; two verses later Barnabas went and fetched Paul (then known as Saul) and brought him to Antioch.

The two of them ministered there for a year, and then we find more believers make the journey to Antioch. Now, let’s be clear, this isn’t even the longterm ‘church family moving and committing’ we are talking about (the church in Acts is too young for that) but notice the difference this makes anyway within a few verses they are not only growing but giving back, supporting Christians elsewhere too. Antioch isn’t the only place, of course, think of all the times in the New Testament where Paul sends people to churches to encourage them, the heart he cultivates for loving and resourcing other churches.

The Antioch story, of Christians

I think one of the reasons it’s often so effective is because it’s a giant picture of the gospel played out. Think for example of the love that we’ll need for all the saints (and for Totley too). It’ll be a time of personal growth in discipleship as we’ll need Jesus to unite us through his gospel, we’ll need him to mould and shape us to be more like him. So he can tear down any divisions, rescue us from our prejudices and cultivate Jesus-shaped humility. Ultimately we want to demonstrate to one another and to a watching world the difference the gospel makes in our worship, in our service, and in our suffering.

So… Can I ask you, even now, will you partner with us in prayer?

Could you pray for us as we prepare to come together? Can you lift those thinking of joining the graft team at Endcliffe, and those preparing to receive them at Totley? Most of all pray God would bring people to know him through this, pray his name would be lifted high as All Saints shines as a city on a hill radiating out the good news of Jesus, pray lives would be transformed, injustice reversed and Jesus would be known. As I write this, I can’t help but smile at what Jesus might have in store for us in Totley. It’s exciting and daunting in equal measure, it’ll be delightful and difficult - and I, for one, can’t wait!

Rev. Ben Tanner

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Excerpt

Raised to Dream, and Dream Big

By Nick & Marjorie Allan Our emerging generations have many new dreams to birth, and an ability to think outside the box and take risks. The vital question for the Church of today is, how much are we taking a risk on them?

Western Millennials are sometimes stereotyped as ‘snowflakes’. The term is generally used pejoratively to describe a group of entitled, politically correct, militant, selfie-taking, flighty, emotionally vulnerable souls with no grip on the real world.

Broadly, this is a mistake. In the midst of some real challenges and some quirky characteristics, a generation is rising up who are fed up with the status quo and the political climate. They have witnessed what a lack of faith and spirituality has done to their parents’ generation.

They really care about the world around them and the world they will leave behind, and they are making small but very significant and highly creative steps to be and find solutions to problems. They are surprising us with their bold actions and they may indeed leave behind significant societal changes. It

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is driven by a determination, resourcefulness and resilience which belies the challenges they face.

Like yeast in the dough, entrepreneurialism runs through the veins of Generations Y and Z. This will do wonders for kingdom initiatives if we let it loose.

The question is, will our churches or kingdom initiatives take the risk and pass over the reins to these generations now? The fruitfulness of any organisation (or church) is dependent upon the degree to which we recognise the talents and giftings in those around us and empower these individuals to reach their full potential. Our emerging generations have an ability to think outside the box, whether it comes to solutions to problems in a business, dealing with the homeless of the city, or communicating in public. They are a risk-taking generation who

attempt small hidden initiatives, fuelled by big thinking. They are not afraid of risks.

The vital question for the Church of today is, how much are we taking a risk on them?

Please take the time to ask yourself these kinds of questions: •

Are we creating a culture in which young adults can dream and start something new?

•

Are we allowing them to influence our programmes, strategy, governance, communication, evangelistic initiatives?

In the UK today we see a few great examples of churches led by and shaped by millennial leaders. It is not necessary that every church leader over the age of 50 must suddenly resign in favour of young blood!

But if we are serious about reaching, raising and releasing the rising generations, we must be intentional in doing

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so. In Sheffield we have found it helpful to deliberately create opportunities to release younger volunteers and leaders: even when that feels too early or a bit unwise. What keeps it safe is a culture of high support. People become what we call them to. If you do not know where to start on this one, we would encourage you to create a permissiongiving culture where people know they can dream and be heard. As leaders, we can often mistakenly feel like we have to come up with all the dreams and ideas. That is exhausting for us and disempowering for others, but many churches operate like this. Generations Y and Z have many new dreams to birth. Let us empower our rising adults by reminding them of God’s old and big story and the cause of which they are a part. Let us inspire them as to the past and believe in them for the future.

We encourage all those within the church to consider the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of reaching, raising and releasing Generations Y and Z to flourish as missionary disciples in today’s world. That means designing a culture which fosters church visions, values and structures aimed at: •

Understanding them

•

Empowering them: not just into leadership and mission, but in their own exploration of spirituality and discipleship

•

Releasing the next generation to dream a kingdom dream, and have a good go

•

Powerful encounters in the presence of God

•

Having them in leadership, and being willing to be led by them

•

Helping them to process life’s struggles, battles, demons.

Building scaffolding around them so they may not just acknowledge their baggage, but be willing to address it deeply, and feel safe enough to journey towards emotional health and wholeness

•

Mentoring them among the multigenerational connections which the Church uniquely offers to society

•

Connecting their generation’s passion for social change and justice to the Church’s historic mission

“Our opportunity is to help these generations realise that walking in the footsteps of Jesus will lead you to the most ‘whole’ kind of life.”

When we planted The Well Sheffield we aimed to create a culture of momentum where people could dream and start new initiatives, but always within the premise that every activity or ministry we began needed to have a missional meaning and to be accessible for the unchurched. It was a challenge to help Christians lose their ‘churchiness’ and live in a different way. Discipleship means calling people to live the ‘Jesus way’ not necessarily the ‘Church way’.

Excerpt

It is so important, for example, to realise that this generation has been raised to dream, and dream big. They are dreamers who are motivated by inspiration. They do not want to be managed, and much less told what to do or believe.

They want to be led by leaders who create a culture in which to dream and run, providing them with support. Young adults around us at The Well Sheffield frequently ask the ‘Why?’ in relation to tasks or church structures. Outside of church, they are not used to simply being told ‘it’s this way’.

As Generation X leaders, we have found it very important to understand the ‘why’ and work hard to answer it.

Our opportunity is to help these generations realise that walking in the footsteps of Jesus will lead you to the most ‘whole’ kind of life. What does wholelife discipleship look like? Each of us needs to have a clear understanding if we are to spur one another on. If we can help the Church of today to live like Jesus in the whole of life, the kingdom will be breaking out all over the place. We need to articulate from the pulpit and around the kitchen table what discipleship according to Jesus looks like. We need to live it, model it and inspire it in others.

It is a timeless message and the kind of life all are looking for. As we live it, others will follow.

Extracted from Nick and Marjorie Allan’s The XYZ of Discipleship: Understanding and Reaching Generations Y & Z. Find out more at www.xyzdiscipleship.com

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Faith at Home

Faith at Home

By Jo Henry I’m currently eight months pregnant with my second child, and - as is often the case when life-changing events are on the horizon - I’ve been reflecting on the experience of raising my daughter Alice over the past three years.

I remember those early months of visiting church with a newborn, and envisioning this life where she grew up loving Sunday School, knowing all her Bible stories and telling all her friends about Jesus in the playground. Fast-forward 18 months (when she’s actually able to talk): the pandemic strikes. The rhythm of going to church and being surrounded by those she recognised worshipping was replaced by the three of us sitting on the sofa getting to grips with “online” community.

And yet - fast-forwarding another 18 months to the present - it would appear that Covid-19 hasn’t stopped Alice from experiencing a relationship with Jesus. Here are three examples that remind me that simple things we do as a family have made a positive impact on a little girl’s growing faith: Firstly: earlier this year, Alice became fully immersed in the Easter story. She was visibly

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saddened at the thought that this hero she’d be reading about had died. It’s so easy as parents to just read through the familiar story without pausing to dwell on the emotions of it, but the joy Alice experienced when she heard about the empty tomb and the risen Jesus was just amazing. In the weeks that followed Alice would often just shout out in the supermarket or whilst we were driving, “Jesus is NOT DEAD! He’s ALIVE! The tomb was EMPTY!” Whilst my cheeks would redden with embarrassment, here’s my twoyear-old daughter preaching the gospel in the bread aisle.

Second: every evening before bed, we pray with Alice and ask her to give thanks for the best part of her day and to ask God to heal anyone we know is poorly.

Since March, Alice has been praying every day for a family friend of ours with lymphoma, and during my first trimester she was praying I’d stop being sick. She got to experience firsthand me feeling better at home and so it was a great opportunity to talk about the power of prayer and remind her of all the stories in the Bible where Jesus heals people. She’s still praying for our friend with cancer, which is an amazing lesson early in life that we should never stop praying, even if nothing seems to be changing.

Finally: toddlers love to sing along to nursery rhymes.. How many of us know all the lyrics to a song we heard as a child but struggle to recall a Bible verse? We discovered a great kids worship song called “God

Faith at Home

Suit On” (Cheeky Pandas) which again has had Alice singing out in cafes and parks, “I’ve got the sword of the spirit, the shield of faith, the belt of truth around my waist”!

She may not have experienced church the way I did growing up, but she’s definitely learnt powerful truths about Jesus that will stay with her for the rest of her life. If I’m being honest, I imagine I would have relied heavily on the brilliant kids’ work at our church to teach Alice a lot of what she knows. When the pandemic meant that that was no longer an option, something that at first was quite daunting has now become a real honour.

The instruction to go and make disciples of all nations starts in our own homes! As a parent, it’s my responsibility to disciple my kids, and Alice’s faith and boldness has also inspired and challenged me.

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

Jo Henry Jo works at Together for Sheffield as Operations Director. She has been attending STC Sheffield (www. stthomascrookes.org) since her student days, and is expecting her second child in October with husband Simon. In her spare time she loves anything that revolves around food; eating it, cooking it and talking about it!

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Feature

Knit Together with Love A local knitting group warming heads and hearts

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If you had told Val five years ago that she would start a group that would send thousands of knitted hats to newborns - and connect people from around the UK - I imagine she might have laughed. But that’s exactly what she’s achieved.

Here’s her story.

Back in the Summer of 2017, I was the manager of a local charity shop. A customer came in and asked if we had any Winter hand-knitted baby hats. I asked what they were for, as it was Summertime.

She explained that the local maternity hospital needed them to keep babies warm. I offered to knit some and so did a friend of mine. We decided to call the group hats 4 charity.

Two more people joined us. Someone offered to pay £10 a month for wool. Once we had knitted 40 hats we went to deliver them to the hospital.

I decided I would like to add an extra touch so I bought some embroidery cottons and designed

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a label to go on each hat. The label has a rainbow and a sunshine on it and says, “There is a rainbow of hope at the end of every storm.”

The group grew again, so we moved to the house next door to Bethesda Church. I invested in a china tea set and plates so we could have posh tea and coffee and biscuits. I set up a Facebook page and started posting the ‘Hat of the Week’, as chosen by the group. Rony Robinson interviewed me for BBC Radio Sheffield, and I wrote an article for Your Mag - our local magazine - which attracted more people to join.

We increased our sessions, running both an evening group and an afternoon group, and started knitting hats for the homeless as well as for newborns. Knitters from around the country sent hats to us, even though they couldn’t attend our group in person. People began to donate wool as well as money. In February 2020 we celebrated our 3rd anniversary with a party, including cake and a knitting quiz.

Then, lockdown started. I wanted to keep the momentum of the group so I made doorstep deliveries of wool, and collected completed hats.

This kept us in contact with the knitters and ensured that the babies continued to receive their hats. I then set up a WhatsApp group for the knitters, posting a knitting quote each morning: something funny, or encouraging. We began to meet over Zoom on a Monday afternoon. At Christmas last year, we sang carols for the knitters on our pick-up day. We ended up singing for some builders on a roof who gave us £7.50 for wool!

Doctors have begun to social prescribe patients to me to join a knitting group, so I have written a 10-week knitting course teaching beginners the skills they need to knit hats. This is helping to connect lonely and isolated people, improving their wellbeing. The main group is continuing to grow: we now have 31 regular knitters, and we have been meeting in each others’ gardens since June.

We have now knitted nearly 13,000 hats for the newborns. We are hoping to meet up again inside on Mondays and drink our tea out of our china cups again soon.

Knitters around the country sent hats to us, even though they couldn’t attend our group in person.

Double your gift!

Donate to Arise in October, November or December and your gift will be match funded. www.arisesheffield.org/ donors

To find out more, donate, or to get involved, email Val at heartofknitting@gmail.com

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Interview

PROPHETIC CHALLENGE

SUMMER

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Local accountant Andrew Stennett feels called to two things: numbers, and sharing his faith.

He was one of the group who prayer-walked with a cross into Sheffield City centre during Arise at Easter, sharing his faith both visually and verbally along the way. This Summer, he challenged members of his community to try to listen more closely to God’s promptings in their hearts, and to respond to them more frequently. He called it the Summer Prophetic Challenge, and it’s been motivating people across the city to step out in faith. We interviewed him to find out more.

Q: What kickstarted the Summer Prophetic Challenge?

The main reason is that it’s what I felt God asking me to do. I also think lockdown has made a lot of people very introspective: they’ve started reflecting and asking questions. The Bible and the events of Jesus’ life have certainly been sticking out a lot more to me recently. It says in John 5:19: ‘Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.’ When reading that, I thought, “If Jesus needed that, then we as Christians need to be able to hear God, and be able to step out of our comfort zones.”

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Hence, the Summer Prophetic Challenge was born; a group of us practising listening to those nudges of God in day-to-day life and stepping out on them.

Q: What are your highlights from the Challenge?

It’s been quite exciting for me.

Another thing that Jesus says (in John 10:10) is, ‘I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.’

I don’t think everything’s going to be sunshine and rainbows, but I do think there’s a sense of fulfilment that can only be found by pursuing Jesus. There were nights where I couldn’t get to sleep because I was so excited about what had happened, and I haven’t felt that much excitement since I was a child.

Culture tells us to settle down when you grow up, but I think the fullness Jesus offers is an antidote to that.

I saw someone being healed in a shop only last week. There was a man who had quite bad pain in his foot. We prayed twice, the first time some of the pain went down, and the second time, the pain disappeared completely. And I hadn’t seen an immediate healing like that in a few years, since the last time I was regularly stepping out of my comfort zone.

I’ve also had a few words of knowledge, where God’s shown me something about someone that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. For example, I was praying with a friend and their mum for one of their family members who wasn’t there, and I got a sense of gardening and

being outside (I’d never met this person before). So I put myself out there and shared the sense I’d received, and the mum said, ‘Oh yeah, he did our garden.’, which was kind of wild. I don’t know what will come from that, but it was great to know that God was with us at that moment.

Q: Has it helped you become more bold in your faith?

Definitely. There’s that story about the stranger who is lost and asks another person for directions, and the other person responds ‘If I was trying to get there, I wouldn’t start from here.’ And I think sometimes, life can feel like that, especially if you’re trying to emulate the life of Jesus. You can see the destination, but the road to it is winding and intimidating.

So being more confident in speaking to others has been a real journey this month. It’s all about that relationship with God, and like any relationship, you slowly build trust and keep walking that path as you go along. As Christians, it’s up to us to show by our lives that there’s a living, loving God, and that’s what taking these steps has been for me.

One of the members in our group was having his second Covid vaccination during the Challenge, and it was taking place in a church. He was ushered through to the sanctuary for the obligatory ten minutes after his jab, and felt a prompting to speak to the 15 or so others waiting there. Because he was a part of the Challenge he responded to the nudge, and

Interview

went to the front of the church and shared his faith.

Q: What advice would you give to others who want to share their faith?

It starts off with your relationship with God. If you learn to listen to God in your own life, even on the trivial day-to-day things like what to read, or what you should write in a birthday card for someone, it helps you learn to trust Him when you’re out there in the world speaking to others.

It all comes back to building that relationship with Him, even if you aren’t necessarily speaking to someone about God in that moment. Relationships take time and effort, and you’ll learn how to share your faith with others through that relationship.

Q: What has been bringing you closer to Jesus recently?

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish his work.” That’s really stuck with me this month. We often like to think if we were in a better place right now, we’d be more ready to share our faith with others, but there is something about stepping out and seeing God at work that nourishes us in and of itself.

Q: Do you have any plans to continue the Challenge?

We’re currently working out what’s next for the Challenge. I think the secret is that it’s not so much a challenge, but God’s original invitation for all believers to bring Him into everything we do: it’s simply the Christian life.

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Feature

ARISE!

By Ben Elliott

Is it time to awaken your digital evangelist?

Running in the last of the evening light, with worship music playing loudly through my headphones, the 90s classic song ‘History Makers’ by the band Delirious? pounds with a deeper sense of revelation than ever before: “I’m gonna be a history maker in this land, I’m gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind”.

Now with a smart phone in my pocket, I have the technical ability to broadcast live - from any location - a message about Jesus which all mankind could hear… Church: times have changed.

I don’t believe there is a one-size-fits-all approach to how we should evangelise: we represent different parts of the body of Christ - and have different communication preferences. However, what I really want to highlight is the massive potential for what we can achieve in Sheffield through digital evangelism.

Digital evangelism is the greatest evangelism opportunity that we have had in our lifetime. We’re in the midst of the biggest communication shift since the invention of the printing press. People are creating and sharing content with the world faster than ever before. If we harness the power of these new networks, they can be a catalyst for discipleship and a great way to keep people connected. Digital connectivity - and society’s reliance upon it - is here to stay, and so the question is: “How can I imitate Jesus in my digital interactions?”

Did you know that if just 1,000 of the people who took part in the Arise prayer-walking this

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Easter shared a piece of digital evangelism on their social networks, at least 18,000 people would hear about what God was doing. Just take a moment to imagine: if each update contained an invitation - to receive prayer, to try an Alpha course, or to visit a small group or church - how many people might encounter Jesus?

sign off in an email, how we interact on social media, etc).

Sometimes we may not need to specifically preach or share scripture, instead it might simply be demonstrating kindness, mercy and love in our digital interactions. We’re often presented with opportunities to

“I find the T.H.I.N.K. model is really good at helping me to consider what I share online: is the content in this post: True? Helpful? Inspiring?

Necessary? Kind?”

So why are our communities not already bursting with people coming to faith through digital evangelism? I think it’s partly because we’re not aware of the power we possess as digital creators. Take a moment to think about the posts you have created - or interacted with - recently. What do those interactions convey about you as a follower of Jesus?

show patience and grace - let’s seize them and as followers of Jesus reflect Him in our interactions.

We can start our journey into digital evangelism in small ways, by inviting Jesus to influence these everyday digital interactions (how we

Then, we can take it up a notch by intentionally creating or sharing content about our faith.

At this time in history, telling our own faith story is the most

Feature

powerful way of introducing people to Jesus. If you feel called to share your faith more on social media, there are a few suggestions below, of ways to make your posts as impactful as possible.

In some cases our online activity could be the spark to ignite powerful conversations about faith with people in our community. We can then use these to start in-person conversations over coffee or a BBQ with neighbours. Is there a better way right now to invite anyone into dialogue in this digital age? Is there a better way for us to become history makers?

Ben Elliott is Head of Communications at The Well Sheffield, founder of the Church Comms Collective online community and Managing Director of Social We Talk.

Sharing your faith on social media Use the social networks that you are confident with, and if you’re unsure how platforms work then search YouTube for videos about how to use platforms well. Take the time to understand the culture of your preferred social networks (each is different) as this will help you to be more authentic.

was life like before you knew Jesus? The resolution - what was the turning point/how did you discover God? The present (and hope) - what does it mean now and for the future? These questions should help tell your story. You can repeat this model in most contexts to create new media.

So how do you tell your story?

For a short-form video (1 minute in length) consider the story in three parts - the past, the resolution and the present.

Write down in a sentence your answers to these questions to form the dialogue to your short video: The past - what

You can increase your reach on most social platforms by applying hashtags (#) which help increase the chances of people discovering your content.

Choose hashtags that make sense in the context of your content, tagging the location #Sheffield and things that

connect with the locality such as #iLoveSheffield #SheffieldIsSuper and #iBelieveInSheffield. Tag your church, tag people that you think will positively engage with the content and you can also geotag your content if you think that’s appropriate.

Then what? Well, if people comment, reply. If they disagree, be sure to respond with kindness. If people ‘like’ the content but don’t comment you can leverage that moment to message them directly (not publicly) to thank them for doing so and inviting them into further dialogue.

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Faith at Work

ARISE!

Faith at Work

Husband, father, follower of Jesus, Dave Warman has worked in the Education sector for over 15 years, helping vulnerable children in times of crisis. He is currently the CEO of Shaped, an organisation set up to support young people struggling in the mainstream school environment. We caught up with Dave about his experiences of living out his faith in the workplace.

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Q: When did you find God? I don’t know if it was me finding God, but more God finding me. My parents were lay leaders in our church as a kid, so they had their careers as well as being actively involved in leading the church we attended. One of my earliest memories of committing myself to God was when I was ten, where I started to understand personally how much God loves us. So that process of transformation and maturing in my faith has been a journey I’ve been on for most of my life.

A big part of how I follow Jesus now is in looking for – and seeing - him at work all the time, in my life and the lives of others, in this city, country, and the world. I try to look for what God is doing, and then ask myself, “What is my role in this?”. On some days I do this better than others, but this is my walk with Jesus: him with me, me with him, looking for what the Father is doing.

It has been the process of transformation at work in me: Jesus renewing my mind, to see with his eyes, be his hands and feet, in whatever I find myself doing.

Q: How have you navigated being a Christian in the workplace?

an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.’ (Romans 12: Verse 1 and 2, Message Translation)

I got into working in secondary education because I was offered an opportunity and I accepted it. I did not think it would be something I would do for the rest of my life. I’d often ask God, ‘What I’m doing now is great, but what do you actually want me to do?’ I was often looking for the next thing to do in life. It wasn’t until I was about 30 years old when I really felt God say ‘I’ve got you exactly where I want you.’ It was around then that I started to recognise the process I was going through. It’s not so much about what I do, but more about who I am. It’s about developing a character in me which is able to honour Him in any situation.

“Being a passionate Christian is about helping to put love at the heart of our communities”

For me, it’s about continuing to walk with Jesus out of Sunday and into Monday and throughout the week, in all the interactions that day-to-day life throws at you. It has been a process of learning to be more attentive to what is driving the way I behave and respond to people, and seeking to better understand those around me. Absolutely key to this has been the search for integrity and transparency in my life, finding an alignment between my internal life and values, and how I can express them in the world around me. Then continuously seeking God’s heart for the work that I have been involved in, and doing my best to respond to this in a way that honours God. Q: How do you find the balance of staying true to your faith and respecting the boundaries of others?

There are two verses in the Bible that have really stuck with me throughout my working life: ‘So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-towork, and walking-around life—and place it before God as

Faith at Work

Q: What can Christians offer in the workplace?

Once I started to develop confidence in who I am in Christ, and how I want to honour God in everything I do, it changed how I responded to some very difficult situations that I’ve been in as part of my job.

Whether it’s a disagreement with a headteacher or member of staff, or helping young people in crisis in some way, I often feel out of my depth, but I do know who I am, and Who I have in my corner.

That’s the posture that I adopt when I enter the workplace. I know who I am in Christ, and I know that whatever I’m faced with, I’ll be attentive to what’s going on around me, and respond in a way that honours God and honours those around me.

I also think that being a passionate Christian is about helping to put love at the heart of our communities, whatever our workplace or sector.

When we do that, we’re inviting the love of God into those communities, and bringing that love into my interactions in my day-to-day life has been one of the joys of being in contact with lots of people who haven’t yet encountered Jesus. I was on a training course a few months ago - part of a national trauma-informed schools agenda which was discussing how we need to bring

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Faith at Work

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professional love and empathy back into the workplace: stuff we as Christians have been talking about and doing all along.

Q: How do people react when you tell them you’re a Christian?

That’s an interesting one. I’m not shy about saying I’m a Christian, but I don’t try to squeeze it into every conversation. So if or when someone asks me what I’ve been up to at the weekend, I’ll say what I did and just mention ‘and I had a great time at church on Sunday’. Sometimes people are surprised, sometimes they’re intrigued, sometimes they’re puzzled. More often than not though, most people are very relaxed about it. By just saying, ‘This is who I am, this is what I believe’ in a very simple way, you are also inviting them to discuss their own experiences, with church, what they believe or otherwise. It’s more of a conversation; it’s a process and a journey, like all relationships. And that’s what I try to reflect in the workplace.

The other part of that is investing in people and relationships - whether colleagues or young people - with no ulterior motive, not trying to get them to believe in Jesus. God is already doing that, and He’s way better at that than me. But what I will do is, I will show love to people, and try to see people as they truly are, the way God sees them.

Because I think that’s what Jesus did; He saw people, and looked for what was going on beneath the surface, on the inside, and responded in a way that honoured God. And that’s the key thing: staying true to yourself and true to God, even when things get difficult.

There was an instance where I was part of a leadership team in a school and during a particularly stressful period of time, my line manager - the deputy head - asked me how I cope with it all. I could only be honest with them so my response was: ‘I pray and I get peace from God.’ In work - where sometimes the challenges can be overwhelming - we need to know the Source of our hope, and then we need to go there regularly.

Q: What are some of the results of being open with your faith?

Being open with my faith has helped me connect with other Christians in my workplace. Wherever I’ve worked, I’ve helped organise Christians to pray together, for the students, for our colleagues, for each other. And there’s something really

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empowering in that community of faith within the workplace. To know that there are other Christians in your workplace, and to be able to pray with them, is a wonderful privilege.

As well as that, I’ve found that being comfortable and open about my faith gives others an opportunity to see Jesus in my own character and express interest in learning more about him. There’s that saying that salvation happens at the speed of relationships, and relationships happen at the speed of trust. So people need to be able to trust you before they can open up about themselves. I have found that being open and letting my own guard down, whilst risky, also invites this from others, and I have found God often moves in those opportunities, when you connect with someone on a deeper level.

Q: How can Christians in Sheffield get involved with what you are doing?

Well, ‘Shaped’ is an education organisation that has been set up to create alternative education environments for young people struggling in mainstream schools. We are growing and developing our curriculum all the time, and you can find out more about us at www.shaped.org.uk.

One thing that you can do is to continue to pray for all our young people in this city, that God will be working for the good of all young people and for the peace and prosperity of this city.

Also as an Education Ambassador with Together for Sheffield, one of the communities we’re building is ‘Together for Schools’, which we hope will create a prayer and support network for all Christians that work in schools across Sheffield.

We’re meeting over Zoom each half term, and the next meeting is taking place on Thursday 18 November. There are loads of Christians working in schools across Sheffield, and my hope is that they can all be a part of this network where we can pray for each other, and for the world of Education in Sheffield. It is one thing to discover and be confident in our own identity in Christ, but it is another thing entirely for us to operate within a confident collective identity, which is His church, within the Education Sector. This is my prayer.

If you work in a school - in any role - Together for Schools would love to invite you to pray with them over Zoom on the third Thursday of each half term. Email beth@togetherforsheffield.co.uk to join the mailing list for reminders and Zoom links.

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Sharing Faith Simply

By Giles Holloway

ARISE!

Who is my Neighbour?

I recently moved house and if you’re familiar with that experience you’ll know how much it can put you in a place of weakness – in unfamiliar territory, lacking local knowledge, tired and probably stressed. It just so happens that a place of weakness is one of the best places to be in to find out who your real neighbours are! When you haven’t got everything sorted yourself it empowers others to help you and gives you a good indication of their openness to you. When we bought our first house, the guy next door was a decorator and offered to do the best bit of wallpapering I’ve ever seen! He and his wife became good friends to us.

After our recent move the guy opposite introduced himself straight away and offered to take the bins in every week. We have already had some deep conversations together.

A lawyer once tried to sound wise in quizzing Jesus about who we should call our neighbours. In the story Jesus told in reply he used the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) and then asked the same lawyer – “Who was a neighbour to the man lying beaten in the road?” The lawyer answered: “The one who had mercy on him”: essentially the one who rescued him, put him up for the night, fed and watered him and checked in on him from time to time.

Jesus asks us to love our neighbour and here he turns the tables and suggests that we will know who our neighbour is when we are shown mercy at

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a time of need. If we don’t allow others to show us mercy we may never know who our neighbour is.

This is so counter-cultural – it goes against our English and Christian psyche! But Jesus is trying to press home his strategy which we find in the wider context of Luke 10. Before the Good Samaritan story, Jesus sends out the 72 to go out sharing the good news village to village telling them to travel light and looking for the “person of peace” when it came to seeking food and shelter. A ‘person of peace’ is someone who shows us hospitality, and we should focus on such a person.

Jesus’ strategy of sharing faith simply is to share with the person who naturally welcomes you and looks after you. Immediately after the Good Samaritan story Luke tells of Jesus practising what He preaches, residing at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha enjoying their hospitality.

So what is Jesus teaching us? Are Christians to pursue free lunches and never offer to pay for coffee? I think that might be stretching it somewhat! I am saying that the next time you are in position of weakness, or new to a place or situation, don’t pretend that you’ve got it all together, but simply ask for help and accept what help comes your way and note who comes to your rescue – someone with whom you can naturally build a relationship and share your faith simply.

Is there something you can ask someone for help with at the moment? Who wants to show you kindness?

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Prayer for the City

Let There Be Light!

By Rachel Hall, Together in Prayer

Recently I’ve been reminded of the power of using the Bible to pray. Below are some scriptures with the theme of light and short example prayers. Let’s pray together for the Light of the world to shine in our city this season.

John 8:12 I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Thank you, Jesus, that you are the Light of the world: because of you we will never walk in darkness. As we come to pray we acknowledge your wonderful light in our lives and the power of your gospel at work in us.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Lord, thank You for Your word, as we meditate upon it let it transform our hearts and reveal more of who You are. Light up the way, show us where You are leading us this season.

Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the

same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Lord, give us boldness and courage to shine for You, to be Your light to those around us at this time. We pray for the ‘Streets of Light’ initiative, and the Advent calendar giveaway. Let these actions shine in the darkness. We ask that our neighbours would experience the love and truth of the gospel at this time. (Pray for your street, your friends/neighbours, ask God to give you opportunities to shine your light with those around you).

John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Thank you Jesus that nothing can overcome Your light. We pray for those who feel in darkness at this time, for those who are struggling that they would experience your light and love. (Name people you know who need to encounter the light of Christ at this time; the sick, the bereaved, the lonely, the desperate).

Finally, we declare that Sheffield is a city of light and truth. Amen!

Search for ‘Together in Prayer (Sheffield)’ on Facebook Groups to join a community of believers praying for our city.

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