St. Matthew's Church. Wood Lane, Chapel Allerton, Leeds, United Kingdom LS7 3QF
07484 635886 revsijones@outlook.com or stmatthewschurch1900@gmail.com
Please visit our Home page for our latest news about Services.
Join our online worship and access more resources
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.
UKRAINE CRISIS
WE PRAY for the people of Ukraine.
CAFOD has established an appeal to support them at this critical time.
UKRAINE CRISIS HELP VIA WHATSAPP
In an effort to bring locals together (church and non-church, intentionally agnostic) for ‘Homes for Ukraine’, a new community WhatsApp group has been created to share information, stories and encouragement. Group rules: 1) Be nice 2) No politics/religion." Feel free to join or not join
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
on the 3rd Sunday of the month.
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.
COMMUNITY CAFE
Wednesday mornings between 9 -11am serving tea, coffee, squash, toast, cakes and fruit. This is a fantastic resource for pastoral support, if you are aware of anyone who might be lonely or struggling a little since the pandemic then why not invite them along, or better still bring them along.
Pay as you can.
JOB ADVERT
THRIVE YOUTH SUPPORT WORKER
This neighbourhood project is looking to grow and develop its work by appointing a part-time Youth Support worker to lead WOW, our Wednesday night youth group. We have a team of volunteers and employed staff – a Project Coordinator/Youth worker and Children and Family worker. Hours are 5-8 per week, mainly worked in term time, with flexibility to cover Holiday Club and residentials.
Further details and an application form can be obtained from Hannah Dey or at Chapel Allerton Methodist Church office: 07918 029840. Closing date for applications is Friday 30th September and interviews will be held in the late afternoon on Monday 17th October.
ST. MATTHEW'S GARDENING GROUPCome and join us for an hour or two on alternate Thursday mornings from 10am. Our next session is planned for Thursday 6th October. There are opportunities for other gardening tasks throughout the year to maintain the beautiful space around the Church for all to enjoy. Experience not essential but please bring any gardening implements, if you have them. If you might be able to help please contact Doug Pollock.
PAFRAS URGENT APPEAL
Thank you to everyone who has brought donations of tins of tomatoes, tins of chickpeas and packets of rice in the past couple of months. There is still a shortage of enough food for the Asylum Seekers and Refugees who need their help at the moment. Please deposit these items in the green box at the back of Church. - Donating money - more details here.
Clothing - drop off any weekday between 10am and 4pm at St Vincent’s Support Centre, 4 Berking Avenue, Leeds, LS9 9LF Tel. 0113 248 4126
Any queries please contact Doug Pollock. Many thanks for your help.
WYDAN NIGHT SHELTER
returns as a 'static' shelter in a Church in Gipton, East Leeds from 1st November to 31st March 2023 (just 3 miles from us here in Chapel Allerton). Doug Pollock with Andy and Jennie Firth are putting together a team to manage the shelter for the fortnight between 21st November and 4th December. with help from volunteers. WYDAN will provide full induction, training and ongoing support and where needed also cover gaps in our rota. If you feel that face to face involvement is not for you at this time, this is fine. There are many other opportunities to support WYDAN's work behind the scenes and your help here is appreciated just as much. If you are interested in helping in any of these ways, please contact Doug Pollock. In the meantime if you would like to contribute financially, payment can be made online here.
View or download the latest Newsletter from the base of our Home Page
LOOSE WOMEN
New members always welcome. Wednesday 7th December: Les Miserables at The Grand. There are still a few tickets left for this, please see Tina for more details.
LOOSE WOMEN Meet on the second Wednesday in the month, usually at 7.30pm in the Meeting Room. For information and to be added to the WhatsApp group, please email your name and mobile number.
WINE TASTING FOR WELLBEING!
Join us in the meeting room at 7pm on Saturday 21st January for an evening of wine tasting led by wine expert, Emily! Journey through a variety of different wines, all whilst raising vital funds for Golddigger Trust, a charity supporting young people with their mental health and wellbeing. Tickets £20, available from Sophie/Tina. Limited spaces available. You can find out more about the life saving work of Golddigger Trust here.
LEEDS NORTH AND WEST FOODBANK
are still collecting Emergency Food for local people in crisis. Currently Tins of: SOUP especially; tomatoes; vegetables; meat; spaghetti; potatoes; fruit; custard and rice pudding along with chocolate; crisps; pasta and rice are needed please. Donations can be deposited in the collecting bins at Co-op Stainbeck Lane and Lidl Harrogate Road. Financial donations can be made here.
ST. MATTHEW'S ECO TEAM
We would like to encourage all our congregation to think about changes to their everyday living that could have a positive impact on the environment and the future of our planet. Our lifestyle Eco Top Tip for this week: Consider Serious Tissues for plastic free carbon neutral toilet paper made in the UK. Please visit.
CHAPEL ALLERTON METHODIST CHURCH LUNCH CLUB
has restarted - 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.
HELPERS NEEDED
for care of the lawns and gardening at St. Matthew's. Predominant activities are grass cutting Spring/Summer & leaf-clearing in Autumn organised by rota but there are opportunities for other gardening tasks through the year to maintain the beautiful space around the church for all to enjoy. Currently there is a small group of us (6) but if you might be able to help for an couple hours per month please contact Doug Pollock.
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.
P.S. this request has been in the bulletin for a while and the Coffee Crew could still do with some more volunteers. Please don’t be shy in coming forward – thanks Simon.
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
OXFAM'S MOORTOWN SHOP
is currently looking for some fantastic new volunteers to join a great team. "Ideally, you’ll be able to provide 4-8 hours a week; but we're very flexible to people’s situations and exiting commitments!
Right now, we’ve got volunteer roles from Monday through Saturday, such as:
Till Operator, Donation and Pricing Volunteer, Online Shop Volunteer, Books & Music, Social Media, Shift Leader. Interested? Click here and type in Moortown. We’d love to hear from you!"
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.
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)