St Matthew's Church. Wood Lane, Chapel Allerton, Leeds, United Kingdom LS7 3QF
07484 635886 revsijones@outlook.com or stmatthewschurch1900@gmail.com
Touch Here to Give
And
Thank YOU in Advance
Please visit our Home page for our latest news about Services.
Keep in touch - we will continue to produce our weekly bulletin (an abridged version of this page) available by ‘joining our mailing list’ from the link in the header above. Hard copies available.
Please tell others about this!
OUR WEBSITE IS CONSTANTLY DEVELOPING -
If you have any suggestions for improving it, please contact either Fred Rowland or David Keighley.
PLEASE LET US KNOW
if you are aware of anyone from Church who is poorly, or become housebound or in need of some support, and especially those in hospital, and if you yourselves are going to hospital, so that the Pastoral Visiting Team can arrange for someone to visit. Please contact any of the staff team.
Help us to help Others by donating to the running of St Matthew's Church Chapel Allerton THANK YOU!
Donate Here Thank You In Advance
UKRAINE CRISIS
WE PRAY for the people of Ukraine.
CAFOD has established an appeal to support them at this critical time.
UKRAINE CRISIS
The Church of England has produced a toolkit for parishes responding to the Ukraine crisis, it has lots of good information which might be of interest.
SCRAMBLERS
takes place for children aged 3-6 during the 10am Communion Service
usually on the 3rd Sunday of the month. See Homepage
TEDDY PRAISE
a short informal pram service for pre-school children and their parents/carers, followed by craft/play and refreshments. We are always pleased to welcome new families. In the meeting room at 10am every Wednesday in term time.
DECEMBER ECO TIP from A Rocha UK
Recycle right this Christmas (and beyond!) Since more waste ends up in landfill over Christmas than during the rest of the year, it’s a great time of year to review and improve your own recycling set up at home. Different boroughs offer different recycling provisions, but you can find out exactly what you can recycle at home by entering your postcode here.
For more eco-tips, sign up to A Rocha UK’s Wild Christian email.
COMMUNITY CAFÉ/WARM SPACE
Don’t forget our Community Café is open every Wednesday 9am -1pm and also serves delicious soup lunches. Please come along and why not bring a friend too. (Taking a break 27th December and 3rd January)
CHRISTMAS TREE FESTIVAL
will be taking place this year across two days the Friday and Saturday of 8th/9th December 10.30am to 4.30pm. There will be over 30 illuminated trees, a variety of stalls, musical entertainment, raffle and refreshments.
JOIN US FOR CAROLS
Churches Together are Carol Singing in the Courtyard of Meanwood Valley Urban Farm during their Christmas Fair on Saturday 9th December at 12 midday. Farm advise parking on Meanwood Road and surrounding streets. Entry is pay as you feel (free if you're singing).
CHRISTINGLE/TOY SERVICE
is on Sunday 10th December where we will be collecting donations of new toys for the Ukrainian Centre children. Armadillo’s are offering their 20% discount again this year! See you at 10am.
BRIDGE ENSEMBLE
are performing in Church on Sunday 10th December. Concert includes a selection of festive and winter-inspired orchestra music, Viennese favourites, and some carol singing with the orchestra!. Pay as you decide on the door 5pm. Find out more
POLICE AND COMMUNITY TEAM (PACT)
Meeting in our Choir Vestry Wednesday 13th December 6.30 - 7.30pm. All welcome
SNICKET SQUAD LITTERPICKING
on Saturday 16th December. Meet outside St. Matthew’s at 9.30am. Text 07999 699200 to let us know you're helping (we'll get more grabbers) or to join the WhatsApp group to keep updated of changes (due to weather etc.) and suggest sites for future pickings. Not suitable for young children. Finishing with a coffee at Methodist Church (see below)
OPEN CHURCH AT CHAPEL ALLERTON METHODISTS
Saturday 16th December 10am - 4pm- family friendly fun.
CHRISTMAS MUSIC
Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Sunday 17th December 6.30pm. Please do come along to support our Choir and celebrate the beauty and wonder of Advent and Christmas.
CAROL SINGING AROUND THE ESTATES
We are all warmly invited to join with Stainbeck’s Carol Singing around Miles Hills and Beckhills on Thursday 21st December, finishing with refreshments at Stainbeck Church at 8pm. Meet outside Stainbeck Church at 6.30pm.
PRAYER EVENING
CAMC and St Matthew’s next shared quarterly prayer evening is on Wednesday 17th January at Chapel Allerton Methodist Church at 8pm.
LOOSE WOMEN
Advance notice for Wednesday 8th May 2024 Theatre Trip: Come From Away at Leeds Grand. For further details / tickets - please see Tina
WHERE DO YOU FIT IN?
Please take the time to pick up and read our Vision Booklet which outlines all the many and varied ways people can serve at St Matthew’s living out our renewed commitments, rebuilding our Church and restoring lives. There really is something for everyone to be a part of! Please complete the “Where do you fit in?” forms and post them in the box on the table by the display stand.
COMMUNITY CAFÉ
We are looking for volunteers to join the team who deliver our Community Café every week. If you would be interested in finding out more and how you might be able to serve your church by supporting this wonderful outreach ministry, please talk to either Simon or Helen.
WYDAN NIGHT SHELTER
Please consider supporting WYDAN's Night Shelter, either behind the scenes (please contact Doug Pollock to find out more) or financially WYDAN's work financially (payment can be made online here)
View or download the latest Newsletter from the base of our Home Page
SCOUTING FOR VOLUNTEERS
7th St. Matthew’s Scout Group needs Section Helpers, Assistant Leaders and Leaders! Are you interested in working with and supporting our young people. If you can give an hour a month, a week or more please get in touch for more information at: falcon.stmatthewsbeavers@gmail.com
LEEDS NORTH WEST FOODBANK
is part of the Trussell Trust Foodbank network. The Trussell Trust, working with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has found that Universal Credit is not enough to cover basic living essentials. Around 9 in 10 low-income households on Universal Credit are going without the essentials They are currently organising a petition to send to all political party leaders asking them to support an Essentials Guarantee within Universal credit. Please support this by going to trusselltrust.org/petition
COFFEE ROTA
Thanks to all those who help serve refreshments after the Sunday service. It would be great to have more volunteers on the rota. If you can help, please let us know. Thanks, The Coffee Crew.
BELL RINGERS
The team are looking for new members. Have you got what it takes? Ringing is for anyone aged between 10 and 80 – all you need is to be able to climb a few steps to the ringing room and be able to stand and raise your arms aloft. Initial training would be at your convenience, secondary training would be on Friday evenings. Ringing before Sunday morning 10am service is desirable once trained. If interested - please contact Peter Oldfield, Tower Captain, or pop up when you hear us ringing.
PAFRAS (Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers)
have had a very busy start to 2023 supporting single people, couples and families with children, living in Leeds while awaiting a decision on an asylum claim. They distribute around 70 food parcels a week - almost entirely made up out of donations from supporters. However, every week they reach capacity and are forced to turn people away until the following week. Do you think we could help more please? Read their latest newsletter.
CHAPEL ALLERTON METHODIST CHURCH LUNCH CLUB
New members and volunteers welcome. Booking is essential. The 2 course lunch costs £5, and is served at 12.30pm. Transport can be arranged if needed. Please visit their website.
GENEROUS LIVING AND PLANNED GIVING
If you would like to contribute to the upkeep of our beautiful building and make it a place for worship, meetings, drama and music. Please help by making a regular payment to our scheme this is to help with our charitable giving and payment of the various bills we have to pay to keep this building in good working order, for all that seek to find God and also help our local community and those less fortunate.
Please use the attached form by clicking the donate button this will take you to our donation form which you can then fill in. And if you are a UK tax payer please consider gift aiding your contribution this will not affect your pocket, but the Tax Man will give us .25p for every £1.00 you give us. Thank you in advance and remember click donate.
THRIVE
Thrive Leeds are thankful for £10,000 Lottery grant towards establishing a youth base at Stainbeck URC. Fundraising efforts continue for premises to support youth outreach into this part of our parish. For details of Thrive activities, please see our latest newsletter here. Please continue to pray for this important outreach.
We have a fantastic group of young people who gather on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and are looking to grow the team as we meet again after lockdown. Could you help by...
- welcoming and showing an interest?
- preparing and sharing snacks?
- joining in discussions about faith and life?
- showing young people they are valued?
Totally Tuesday is for 9-12s and meets from 7-8pm.
WOW is for those 13+ and meets from 8-9pm on Wednesdays.
Thank you for the support that you give Thrive - we really appreciate you and how you encourage us!
A couple of ways that you can continue to support us:
By praying - let us know if you would like to join the Thrive prayer WhatsApp group.
By nominating us for the Co-op Community Fund - we are excited that Thrive Leeds have been chosen as one of the local causes for the Co-op Community Fund this year! The money raised will go towards exploring youth work in Meanwood (including the area in St. Matthew's' Parish) - empowering young people to take the lead and shape how things develop, as we build on our current work. If you are a Co-op member, you could nominate ThriveLeeds as your favoured charity. You can do this on the app or by ringing 0800 0686 727. If you're not a member yet, please become one and then nominate us! Check this out.
View or download our latest Newsletter from the base of our Home Page
Contact Hannah Dey or your church's Thrive Trustee (Helen Copeland)
if you would like to explore this opportunity. See our Annual Report.
InterACT
We believe communities are important: they give us belonging, human contact and shape our identity. And we believe that we all have something to learn from one another. Getting to know one another is a pretty important part of community, so when we began as a project around 15 years ago, we were all about meeting other people - mainly through creative arts activities. Since then, we've expanded what we do a little, reflecting the needs and passions of our local area. However, the vision remains to bring people together from across the various neighbourhoods that make up and connect to Meanwood, so that we all have opportunity to share in what it offers, what we can learn from one another, and what we can give. As a partnership of 5 local churches, we seek spiritual wellbeing and fullness of life for all. And because we work alongside other agencies in the area, we are able to signpost people to other services where needed. Our Official Vision Statement:
Hearing Christ’s call to unity and recognising that we are stronger together than we are apart, the Partnership seeks to:
Work together to demonstrate God's love in word and actions
Serve and witness in Meanwood and beyond.
Work with other agencies in reaching out to our local communities.
SUPPORTING GOOD MENTAL HEALTH
A booklet produced by the Church of England. You can read thirteen daily reflections written by Professor Chris Cook and accompanied by "have a go" habits developed by Ruth Rice.
The effects of mental health problems are huge. Nearly nine out of ten people with mental health problems have been affected by stigma and discrimination. Given the challenging times we are living in with coronavirus, the reflections in this booklet were updated and new resources written in March 2020. They seek to provide hope, reassurance and comfort. If you want to speak to someone, please visit the Mental Health Foundation website, which has lots of helpful resources and contacts. Visit www.mentalhealth.org.uk
ROGER QUICK "Entertaining Saints"
Some of us remember that Revd. Roger Quick was curate of St. Matthew’s from 1996-2000. Since 2013 he has been Chaplain to St George’s Crypt, the homeless charity in Leeds which St. Matthew’s has supported for many years. Roger has written a book about life in the Crypt, called Entertaining Saints. He describes every day as being a mixture of laughter and tears. The new Archbishop of York has written the foreword, in which he describes Roger’s book as “Vivid and engaging”. Copies are available in paperback from publisher Darton, Longman and Todd ISBN 0232534896: or from St George’s Crypt Charity Shop on Street Lane. The illustrations are by the Leeds-based artist Si Smith. Roger also has "Sheltering Saints" book available ISBN 9781913657680.
HOME SCHOOLING (from Libby Kennedy)
If you, or anyone you know needs advice on home schooling primary school aged children, please get in touch. I can offer assessments, catch-up lessons, materials to work from, teaching tips for parents or just a chat for reassurance and ideas. Please contact Libby Kennedy.
DAILY HOPE
The Church of England has launched a free national phone line as a simple new way to bring worship and prayer into people’s homes. ‘Daily Hope’ offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services at the end of a telephone line. The line – which is available 24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044.
IBY KNILL
If you would like to order Iby's book ‘The Woman with Nine Lives’ or her first book, now in it's tenth reprint, 'The Woman Without a Number', please search for Iby's publisher's website.
STRUGGLING WITH DEBT?
Free debt counselling for everyone from an award winning charity. This service has recently expanded to cover our area, with sponsorship from Chapel A Baptist Church. If you know anyone who would benefit from this expert service, please ask them to call free on 0800 328 0006.
EVENTS
If you would like to hear about upcoming social events at St. Matthew's (including Loose Women and Men on the Loose), please send your contact details to eventsatStMatthews@yahoo.com to be put on the mailing list. Thanks, Tina.
To submit a notice please contact:
Revd. Simon Jones, Vicar, St. Matthew’s Church, Chapel Allerton
(by Tuesday evenings for the Bulletin on the following Sunday).
Email: revsijones@outlook.com
Mobile: 07484 635886
(St. Matthew's Church is not responsible for content of external websites)