District News – 13 January 2026

District Stories

Tickhill Angels

Quite a number of years ago, Susanna Brookes encouraged the chapels in Doncaster Methodist Circuit to knit or crochet Angels which would then be delivered to houses in each chapel's surrounding area.
Tickhill, along with quite a few other chapels joined in this venture and apart from a couple of adverse comments on social media (which were soon shouted down by more receptive people) the Angels have been welcomed into homes.
It must be our third or fourth set of Angels that have been produced this year, with ladies from the Craft & Chat Group knitting for over twelve months to produce 2,480, exceeding the 1,600 of last time three years ago.
On 5th December at the end of our Craft & Chat session, Rev John Henry came to dedicate our angels before they took flight the week beginning the 8th – and social media has been alive with comments. They have brought a smile to people who were feeling a bit down, and children look out for them on their way to and from school. A lot have been placed on Christmas Trees!
Thank you to the ladies who did all the knitting – one who is 95 produced 600!!! and thank you to those who helped them fly to most of the streets in Tickhill.
Mrs E Randall – Tickhill Methodist Church

Six Months of ‘Open Church’ in Hathersage

Since the start of July 2025 Hathersage Methodist Church has had its chapel space open to visitors every day of the week. The congregation was aware that, whilst the church hall was a very well-used space, the chapel side of the building was only being used for a service once a week. We wanted to find a way to share the chapel and its story with more people, and explore new ways of serving the community. We decided on the 'Open Church' approach and set up various points of engagement in the church, including a display about the history of the church, a children's play area, a prayer point and a second-hand bookshop. A 'people counter' was also installed in the entrance, to keep track of visits.
Open Church has been a great success so far – in the first six months we have had over 8,000 visits (average 46 per day), sold nearly 3,000 books, had many prayers added to the ‘Prayer Tree’, and lots of enthusiastic feedback both from visitors to the area and from local residents. The chapel remained open every day over Christmas, which turned out to be a busy time, including 69 visitors on New Years' Eve! We have also learnt some lessons along the way, and are now thinking about the next stages of building our engagement with people during the week.
If you've not been before, Hathersage Methodist Church is in the centre of the village, opposite the Main Road bus stop and five minutes walk from the train station. The church and bookshop are open 9 to 5 every day and everyone is welcome.

District Grant award

District Leading Team have awarded a £20k grant towards £0.4m upgrade, modernisation and expansion of Brightholmlee Methodist Church's premises. In recent years this church has become revitalised through intention conversations with people from across the village, which have already led to the starting of new activities and partnerships, including a thriving cafe and community development association. New people have become church members. The premises redevelopment will enable activities that the village needs but there is no other venue for, whilst creating a more accessible and welcoming space. In the words of a local resident, “There is already a brighter sense of the village life because of what the church is doing.”

This Week's News

Relationships with building users: share your thoughts

January 21st at 2pm and 7pm (online) for one hour

Do you have lots of building users but are unsure how to build relationships with them? Do you have good relationships but don’t know how to create faith-sharing opportunities?
Thousands of people unaffiliated with church and faith spend time in Methodist buildings every week, and there is an increasing appetite for churches to build welcoming, authentic, and ultimately faith-sharing relationships with the groups that use their premises.
We’d love to hear your experiences, challenges, and hopes to help us shape some future resourcing in this area of mission. Join us online for an open discussion around:

• Who are the people that use our buildings and what are our relationships with them currently?
• What kind of relationships do we hope for with building users?
• What barriers are there to greater engagement?
• What resources or training would help?

Please register for the time that suits you best – there is a daytime and an evening option.
Book on here

New Churches Gathering

Saturday morning 28 February

For anyone who is involved in leading (in any capacity), or preparing to lead, a new Christian community. An opportunity to spend quality time with the growing network of fellow pioneers following similar callings in other places across or affiliated to Sheffield Methodist District. There will be opportunities to share stories, compare what you are learning in a supportive environment, discuss what support you need, and celebrate what God is doing. Our guest speaker will be Dr Heather Major, Research Fellow in New Places for New People, Evangelism & Growth at Cliff College. Hosted by Jonathan Hood and our district New Places for New People pilot.
Further details and register your place at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/sheffieldmethodistdistrict/1994267

Flourish Festival 2026

The Yorkshire North and East District are honoured to be inviting you to join them at Flourish2026. Happening over the 13th-15th of February 2026 at the University of York, Flourish is an event created to draw people from the Methodist Church together to worship God, attend workshops and share in fellowship together.
Flourish 2026 is hoping to gather over 1000 people from across the District and beyond to explore the theme 'Woven Threads'. Key speakers include Dr Ruth Valerio, Trey Hall, President and Vice President of the Methodist Church, John and Jade Reynolds, with music from Siskin Green, Zac Carpenter and local groups.
We are so excited to see what God will be doing at Flourish – to find out more and purchase your tickets please click the link below
FLOURISH Festival 2026 – Woven Threads

Other Events

Family Movie Afternoon

Sunday 18 January 3:00 pm

St Andrew's Psalter Lane Church invite you to come to a Family Movie Afternoon!
We will be screening "How to Train Your Dragon" (2010, PG) in the church, on Sunday 18 January from 3-5.30pm.
There will be refreshments and craft activities available.
Pay as you can.
This is the second of our movie afternoons. It follows on from the success of the first one where families fed back that they enjoyed the opportunity to watch a film in an unusual venue, and that they could pay what they could afford.
All welcome to this family event.
Children please come with an adult.

Vacancies

CEO of The Foundry

The Foundry at Victoria Hall is recruiting a CEO to lead our mission of supporting Sheffield’s vulnerable communities. We are looking for a values-led individual to steward our charity into its next chapter of growth and service. Full job description here

Finance and IT Manager

Unlock – resourcing
growth & discipleship for Urban Christians Location – Station Road, RotherhamSalary – £4,973 annually for part time post
Hours – 7 hours per week
Start date – 1st quarter of 2026
Responsibilities – To establish and maintain effective finance management systems with appropriate external support, to establish and maintain effective IT systems for a small office.
Details from: – Unlock,
15 Station Rd, Rotherham, S60 1HN / 01709
380 318 / office@unlock-urban.org.uk
Closing date: – 25 January 2026

St Marks, Broomhill ,Soup Run

Volunteers & Leaders Required

The Soup Run has been operating for many years and provides food and drinks for those unfortunately living on the streets of the City. The number of people served varies from month to month, but a few months ago we served over 20 people on one evening.
Over the last few years our numbers have dwindled and we now have only one group going out each month. Prior to Covid we had sufficient numbers to cover every week and we would like to try and get back to that position.
As a volunteer you would be involved in preparing sandwiches and drinks in the kitchen at St Marks and then walking around the city centre serving anyone in need. If you are interested in becoming a Leader, you would be additionally responsible for liaising with team members and ensuring that there are adequate stocks of drinks & food.
The current group meets on Sunday evenings at 5pm and are generally finished before 7pm, a relatively modest commitment.
If you are interested a taster session can be arranged, the current team will be next out on the 15th February
Contact for further information
Andrea Clark – Mobile 07715982874
Paula Jones – Mobile 07729 7414970 / Email- paulajones024@gmail.com
Tim Wilson – Mobile 077659 15830 / Email – timwilsontring@yahoo.co.uk

And finally...

A prayer for the tables of our lives

Tender God,
meet us at the tables we sit this week
the kitchen tables and office desks,
the café tables and meeting tables,
the hospital tables and school tables,
the tables where we plan,
and the tables where we simply try to get through.

Meet us at tables where we laugh,
and tables where we grieve.
Meet us where we listen, and where we long for answers.
Meet us at the Lord’s Table
and in the ordinary places where bread is shared and hearts are opened.

Make every table a place of blessing,
and every shared space a place where your love is made known.
Amen.
Revd Vicky Atkins