District News – 10 June 2025

This Week's News

Cliff Festival 2025: Holiness Calling

Cliff Festival 2025 ran from 23-26 May and was an amazing time of encountering God together in worship, learning and fellowship. It was a joy to welcome hundreds of people of all ages to the Cliff College site for the weekend, and to celebrate nine baptisms and reaffirmations of baptismal vows together on the Monday.
We know that not everyone can join us onsite at Cliff College and so the Bible studies and evening services, along with some seminars, were livestreamed over the weekend and are available to watch now on YouTube. In the Bible studies you can join Dr Ben Pugh for a deep dive into Isaiah 6 and how the holy God calls Isaiah to a holy calling. Or, in our seminars, explore the story of Hagar in Genesis 16 and what happens 'When Good People Do Bad Things'; or how hospitality can be part of the mission of the church.
You can watch all of these sessions on the Cliff Festival YouTube channel here.

MWiB Day Out

An invitation for you to join us for an interesting day in the countryside in Conistone, Upper Wharfedale, visiting with Rev. Lisa Quarmby on Tuesday 22 July.
The coach will leave Pond St. Bus Station at 8.30am from Platform E5-6. The fare will be £14
Please let Carol Wignell (01246 433216)/Pam Meek (0114 2302477) know by June 30th.

Faith, Hope and The Journey – Podcast

New District Chair Vicky Atkins

We are back with a new episode of our podcast, Faith, Hope and The Journey. In this episode we had a great chat with our District Chair (from September) Revd. Vicky Atkins.
Vicky shares her faith journey from being brought up in the Brethren Church to becoming a Deacon in the Methodist Church and then to be ordained as a Presbyter plus everything in between.
We hope this episode allows you to get to know Vicky a little more and also what she has planned for the district. You can listen via our website or from where you usually access your podcasts.
District website – https://www.sheffieldmethodist.org/podcast.html
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/episode/4tk9TuvXLtWUUgG9UHGrAo?si=76f4b7c24dab4191
Amazon – https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/8d864f47-7ab6-4a12-b471-77b1e8b12082/episodes/10fedf48-ba00-46db-b1d4-27956685080c/sheffield-methodist-district-faith-hope-and-the-journey---new-district-chair-vicky-atkins
Sound Cloud – https://on.soundcloud.com/KbRASMIQS9A1qcMt4F

District Safeguarding Update

Suicide Awareness Webinar, Tues 15 July, 11am – 12.30pm

Organised by the Connexional Safeguarding Team, this 90 minute webinar will be facilitated by David Brown, Head of Training and Development at If U Care Share foundation, a suicide prevention charity based in the North East of England.
The webinar will cover:

• An introduction to suicide prevalence
• Language around suicide
• Impact of suicide
• Available support

Please sign up for the webinar here:
www.methodist.org.uk/safeguarding/webinars/suicide-awareness-webinar-tuesday-15-july-2025/
If you or anyone else you know are personally affected, you could contact
www.samaritans.org
www.giveusashout.org
www.papyrus-uk.org

As ever, if you have any questions or concerns, please give me a call on 07483 362 735 or email me at safeguarding@sheffieldmethodist.org
Many thanks
Alison Hill – District Safeguarding Officer.

Events

Church at the coast, challenges and opportunities

Mon, 7 Jul 2025 13:00 – 14:30 online

The Power of Partnership: Stories of Hope and Transformation from the Castle Eden and Dorset South & West Circuits
Join us online for a heartening lunchtime event as we explore The Power of Partnership--a celebration of how collaboration between churches and communities is creating spaces of transformation and hope.
Through five real-life stories from across the Castle Eden Circuit and the Dorset South & West Circuit, we'll hear how local partnerships are bringing renewed life and purpose to church buildings and the people they serve:

• In Easington Colliery, a church and local councillor joined forces to create a vibrant community hub open seven days a week.
• At Horden, leasing space to a drama group has sparked not only artistic success but also pastoral connection.
• In Peterlee, collaboration with East Durham Trust is enriching both community support and worship.
• In Seaton Carew, The Thrive Hive--a community initiative led by a local resident--is now thriving five days a week.
• And in Westham(Dorset South & West Circuit), a partnership with Weymouth Foodbank has grown into much more than food provision. What began as a Foodbank now includes a warm space, a parent and toddler group, and visits from a Citizens Advice worker--offering holistic support to the local community. When one guest asked, "You're churchy people, aren't you? So what's this all about?" it sparked the launch of Thrive, a monthly café-style church where people can gather, share, and explore faith together.

Come along, be inspired, and consider how partnership might look in your own setting – although both circuits are coastal, we're sure that the learning can be applied in-land too!
Book your place here

District Farewell Service

Sunday 20 July at 3pm

All are welcome as we say goodbye to the Revd Gill Newton at Greenhill Methodist Church, Sheffield. The service will be followed by light refreshments.
At this service, we will be presenting her with gifts from the District. If you would like to contribute towards this, you can do so via the online Collection Pot: https://app.collectionpot.com/pot/3358452
You can also leave a message for her, which we will print out for her to read later.

Join us for a Journey of a Lifetime at 3Generate!

3Generate is back this October, and this year we are encouraging children and young people to take the next steps on their 'Journey of a Lifetime' – our theme for this year's event.
With sessions to cater for those at all stages of their faith journeys, children and young people can feel supported to open their minds to God, and explore big questions and key issues more deeply.
This year, our main stage will be even bigger, meaning even bigger, bolder collective worship, and with 8 new venues, children and young people can tune into God in even more ways!
Find out more and book tickets here!

4-7s at 3Generate!

The 4-7s area is back at 3Generate this year and even bigger than ever! With a whole new, larger space, your little ones can play, dance and create as they come together in worship.
This year, are delighted to announce a meet-up area for those with family or friends at the main 3Generate event, meaning you will be able to spend some time together and share your 3Generate experience across a whole family!
Find out more and buy tickets here!

Vacancies

Did you know that many vacancies are also advertised via Instagram and Facebook?
Why not follow at @ukmethodistjobs (Instagram) and @methodistlayemployment (Facebook) to help them reach a larger audience!

Finance Officer

Sheffield Circuit

The Sheffield Circuit seek to appoint an experienced Finance Officer to support and develop the professional function of financial matters within the Circuit.
Main responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively with and support the Circuit Superintendency and Circuit Treasurer in all finance related matters;
• Support and develop the professional function of financial matters within the Circuit;
• Work well with the Circuit Finance Group (CFG)

Enquiries and informal conversations about the role are encourages. We ask that you direct such contact to Matt Irons, Circuit Treasure, by email at matirons@gmail.com
The job description and an application form can be downloaded from the Vacancies page of the District website: https://www.sheffieldmethodist.org/recruitment/vacancies/circuit-vacancies.html

Growth and Sustainability Coordinator

Girls' Brigade

We seek to appoint a Growth and Sustainability Coordinator to lead the Growing GB project which is funded by DCMS. The post holder will be responsible for enabling GB Ministries to fulfil its vision and mission goals by leading the delivery of the Growing GB Project.
Key aspects of this role will be:

• Supporting existing GB groups to re-establish and grow
• Providing operational support to existing groups and volunteer leaders
• Supporting churches to develop new Girls' Brigade community groups / expressions of mission
• Mission contact with key external agencies
• Co-ordinate delivery of core training
• Gather relevant information for grant reporting

Full details can be found here: https://www.girlsbrigadeministries.org.uk/.../Growth-and-Sustainability-Coordinator.pdf

Volunteers Needed

PXI-Parson Cross Initiative is a small, local charity based in North Sheffield. We promote social inclusion through a range of activities on different days of the week, these include:

• Dodgeball Club (at Yewlands School)
• Social Cafe, Food Hub and Music Group (Tuesday at Mount Tabor, Wordsworth Avenue)
• Community allotment (Wednesdays on Norwood allotments, Herries Road)
• Art Group (Thursday morning at Mount Tabor, Wordsworth Avenue)
• Autism Hope (Friday morning support group for carers of children with autism, Cross at Yew Lane)

We are particularly interested in recruiting volunteers to the following roles (both will require DBS checks to be carried out):

• Charity Trustees. To help ensure good governance and management of the charity. We are particularly interested in people with skills and / or experience around fundraising and marketing.
• Session Hosts. To ensure that each session is run safely, and in a way that provides a safe & welcome space to everyone who wants to attend and take part.

For further information or a chat about either of the roles please contact Nick Waterfield via email: pxi.nick@gmail.com

South Yorkshire Chaplaincy & Listening Service (SYCLS)

Are you motivated to support others, or know someone who is?

We're currently recruiting people to serve as Chaplains supporting organisations across South Yorkshire. We have both paid Staff Chaplaincy positions (30 hours per week) and voluntary Chaplaincy roles (from a few hours per month to weekly).
The deadline for our Staff Chaplaincy jobs is Friday 20th June; our voluntary positions are available on an ongoing basis.
If you're available on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis and willing to undertake chaplaincy training, get in touch with us.
For more information or an application form, email our People & Officer Co-ordinator using roxy@sycls.co.uk or give us a call on 07903 899751.
We hope to hear from you!

And finally ...

A prayer for closeness with God

Loving God,
help me feel connected to you so that you may use me where you have placed me.
Help me draw close enough that I may see with your eyes, hear with your ears and think with your mind, because you are a just God and justice is a part of loving.
Let me support victims who aren't recognised and people excluded from the accepted circle.
Enable me to help people who are suffering because others seek to increase their wealth.
Empower me to advocate for children who cannot fulfil their potential or for those whose voices aren't heard.
Bring me out from my comfort zone.
Stop me just acting in my own interests.
Let me do right!
Amen
Margaret Lee, steward, Borders Mission Circuit