District News – 14 April 2026

Stories from across the District

April is 'Pilgrimage Month' at Hathersage Methodist Church

"When April with its showers sweet with fruit
The drought of March has pierced to the root...
Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage."
(Opening lines of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales)

According to Chaucer, April was the time of year to set off on a pilgrimage. April 2026 also marks two years since the launch of the Peak Wesley Way, a six-day walking pilgrimage from Matlock to Edale, with overnight stops in Methodist chapels overnight.
The Peak Wesley Way has attracted lots of interest in its first two years and the route is welcoming its 200th pilgrim this April.
Hathersage Methodist Church is one of the overnight stops on the Peak Wesley Way, and the church is marking the April milestone with a celebration of pilgrimage throughout the month. There are pilgrimage-themed books to browse and buy in the church's second-hand bookshop, displays in the church about the Peak Wesley Way and other contemporary pilgrimages, and a range of themed activities for visitors to join in with. The church and bookshop are open daily 9am to 5pm.
www.peakwesleyway.com

District News and updates

District Gathering

We are really looking forward to having some Courageous Conversations at the District Gathering on Saturday at Greenhill. Those who have booked on will be recieving more information in the next day or so. If you hadn't managed to get round to booking on, you are still welcome to come, but please bring a packed lunch.

Full details will also be on the District Website

Regional Safeguarding Officer's Update

Spiritual Abuse Awareness training dates 2026

Tickets for the 2nd Spiritual Abuse Awareness session of 2026 are in high demand, and the remaining 2026 dates are:

• 4 June 2026
• 24 September 2026 and
• 19 November 2026.

The course looks at what spiritual abuse is, the impact of the experience and how to build healthy cultures.
All the sessions are on Thursdays, from 10.30 – 15.30
To book, please use the Eventbrite link: Methodist Spiritual Abuse Training
The details have been added to the Spiritual Abuse – The Methodist Church webpage.
 Christine Kennedy, Safeguarding Training Lead Officer

As ever, if you have any questions or concerns, please give me a call on 07483 362 735 or email me at hilla@methodistchurch.org.uk
Many thanks
Alison Hill

Other News

Church Action on Poverty – save the date!

This year's Church Action on Poverty Sunday will take place on Sunday 18th October, with a theme of "Food, faith and fellowship".
A record number of churches took part last year, and interested churches are encouraged to register now.
Resource packs will be sent out over the summer, containing bring & share lunch ideas, worship materials, prayer cards, Scriptural reflections, activity sheets, and inspirational stories of churches already doing great work through food. 
To sign up, visit church-poverty.org.uk/sunday

Latest from Whirlow Spirituality Centre

A note from our Chaplain, Alison: It was a great joy to welcome so many to our Holy Week and Easter services and events. Journeying together in the steps of Jesus and his disciples is made all the more meaningful when we do it as part of a beloved community. A particular thanks to those who helped host and support these events over the last week. A lot of furniture was moved around, food prepared and served, washing up done and cleaning undertaken. Many hands made light work of it all. My grateful thanks and appreciation to all who were involved.

Future events

Thresholds Retreat at Whirlow Spirituality Centre
Saturday 13th & Sunday,14th June at Whirlow Spirituality Centre
A weekend retreat in which we can slow down, be present and connect with ourselves, each other, nature and the Divine.

Exploring Embodied Spirituality
Saturday, July 25, 2026-10am- 4pm at Whirlow Spirituality Centre
This taster day on embodied prayer and spirituality invites you to explore wordless, playful and contemplative practice using your whole being – body, mind and spirit to worship, pray and encounter God.

Upcoming events

Urban Gospel Coffee Time

Monday 20 April 2026 11:00 – 12:00

This month the session will be on the third Monday of the month.
You are warmly invited to UTU's next Urban Gospel Coffee Time.
Make yourself a drink, pull up a chair and get comfortable.
Hosted by Andrew Crowley (RC Deacon, Chair of Sheffield Interfaith)
This group will meet monthly online, 11.00am to 12.00am 2nd Monday of the month, where the conversations will be on the coming Sunday's Common
Lectionary First and Gospel reading.

National Day of Street Worship 2026

Saturday 9 May 12:00 pm

If you've been thinking about giving street worship a go or you're already leading street worship and want to join in with other Christians around the UK, the National Day of Street Worship is for you! Join Christians and churches around the country on Saturday 9th May at 12pm, as we head to local parks, town centres, and city streets to sing "The Blessing" over the UK, followed by as much street worship as you like. Registration is optional, but if you would like register your event, we will keep you updated with plans and future street worship initiatives.

You can register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdd2wyhqtd7ZqF3yy-iyWvbqxSTSMq5CzEcqQ2NYwjPfgNFkQ/viewform?usp=send_form

Ebor Lecture: When Every Hope Has Gone: Grief, Rage and Refuge in a Merciless Age

Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Education, Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow

7.00-9.00pm, Wednesday 20 May, York Minster

Our next Ebor Lecture is now open for booking! Please join us in the Minster and share the invitation to this free event with your own networks.

• In the lecture Professor Alison Phipps will explore the theological and practical failures exposed by recent genocidal assaults in Gaza, Sudan and Tigray. Drawing on decades of work with refugees worldwide, and especially from her home in Scotland, she will consider the resistant work of offering refuge in apocalyptic conditions and what heartbreak might teach us of our betrayal of refugees. In the face of immense grief, she will offer poetic and prayerful resources for courage, faith and cheerfulness from her tradition within The Iona Community
• 7.00 – 8.00pm Talk by Alison Phipps with Q&A, 8.00 – 9.00pm drinks reception for in-person attendees
• Hybrid event – in person at the Minster and live online
• Free to attend
• All welcome!

Find out more and book your places at this link

And finally

A prayer that God's story be our story

Story-telling God,
as you gathered the crowds in Galilee,
and stretched the imaginations of the affluent and defeated,
enter our world today.

Where the lonely stare at screens,
and deception comes via glamourous lies,
when we cultivate the ethos of insiders and outsiders –
speak into our hearts the depths of your love story.

A story of grace, hope and beautiful mercy.
A story of joy-filled expectation.
A story of new beginnings.
A story of hope.

Enable us to make love real.

May your story be our story.
Our end, our beginning and our whole life’s journey. Amen.

Helen Hollands, District Chair, East Anglia District