District News – 20 May 2025

This Week's News

Faith, Hope and The Journey Podcast

Series Two, Episode Four

We continue Series two of our podcast with Sue Souch from Hope Methodist Chapel in the Peak Circuit.
Sue share's a miraculous story of survival following a serious accident whilst horse riding in Texas. She talks about giving her life to Jesus at the age of 15 and no matter what life has thrown at her He has never left her, even when she walked away from Him following the death of her Mother. We hope you enjoy this podcast and that it helps you on your faith journey.
https://www.sheffieldmethodist.org/podcast.html
You can also listen here:

• SoundCloud : https://soundcloud.com/sheffieldmethodist/faith-hope-and-the-journey-sue-souch
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/8d864f47-7ab6-4a12-b471-77b1e8b12082/episodes/2c9e1a8a-1f8f-404f-b2b4-2773380f2bfd/sheffield-methodist-district-faith-hope-and-the-journey---sue-souch
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7vcCYZ8ryXZPcoagVcE20n?si=13983d16121c4ce6

Christian Aid Night Hike

The 2025 Sheffield Night Hike will be on Saturday 5 July 2025. Starting from Hathersage Methodist Church, Hope Valley, S32 1BB, with check-in from 7:30 pm and walk start at about 8:00 pm.
The route is about 9 miles from early evening to midnight from Hathersage, alongside the River Derwent, up Padley Gorge, through the Longshaw Estate, passed The Grouse Inn, down through Hay Wood and alongside the River Derwent back to Hathersage.
This is a brilliantly well organised and supported sponsored walk through a beautiful part of the countryside, ideal for youth, older uniform groups, or families with older children.
If you would like to walk in 2025, see details and Eventbrite registration below:
https://sheffieldnighthike.org.uk/
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-sheffield-night-hike-for-christian-aid-registration-1298173906099

Broomhill Methodist Centre – Bouldering wall

Could you help Broomhill Methodist Centre build a space for community, wellbeing and faith?
A crowd funding page has been created to raise money to install a climbing wall which can be used by beginners to seasoned pro's and a creative play space and what's even better is that if £15,000 can be raised, Sports England will match it with another £15,000.
At Broomhill we believe that buildings should serve the community and we have the chance to create a hub of activity to promote wellbeing, connections and faith. Please join us in this adventure.
Find out more about these exciting plans and to donate visit this webpage.
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/broomhill-methodist-centre-bouldering-wall

District Office Updates/News

Computer Skills Audit

Most people nowadays will be using computers as part of the life of the church, but how well do you use the technology? We have created a short form to try and gauge what software is being used, for what purpose, and if you would like to be able to do more with what you have.
https://forms.gle/k5hS5zY4sGonTmsC6
So far we have had 11 responses. We will close the audit in 2 weeks time so there is still time to register your interest.

District Chair's Farewell Service

The Farewell Service to the Revd Gill Newton is on Sunday 20 July from 3pm at Greenhill Methodist Church, Sheffield, followed by light refreshments.All are welcome!
At this service, wee 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.

District Safeguarding Update:

DDC Updates – information for all who complete DBS checks on behalf of their Church, Circuit or District.

Upcoming User Security Enhancement
Multi-factor authentication is already in place for high-level users accessing sensitive areas of the system. To further strengthen security, DDC are introducing multiple Knowledge Based Verification (KBV) checks for all users. All users will be required to set a minimum of three security questions and responses when they next log in to the system.

This feature will be going live on Thursday 22nd May 2025, when the system will prompt users to set their responses. Your access will not be affected before or after this date.
If you have any questions regarding the above, please do get in touch with the DDC team on 0845 644 3298.
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

"What in the world is going on?"

"Understanding different faith perspectives onIsrael/Palestine"

Saturday 7th June 2025 : 9:30am – 12.30pm at Killamarsh Methodist Church, Sheffield
Dr Chris Hewer returns for the second session of our Study Mornings on the theme 'What in the world is going on?". This time he is taken us into deeper understandings of the competing narratives that are involved in the conflicts in Israel / Palestine. This is part of our commitment as Christian disciples to be lifelong and whole life learners.

All are welcome. Entry is free. Donations to support the costs of this and future events are welcome.

Praise Evening

Holy Trinity Church, Thorpe Hesley, are having a Praise Evening on Saturday 24 May.
The evening will consist of Music, led by our live Worship Group, Poems and readings, a time of reflection for family and friends who are no longer with us, prayers and then hot food in our Community Centre, next to church, after the service.
All are welcome (although we do require numbers of anyone attending for catering purposes).
This is a free event.

3Generate 2025 tickets are ON SALE NOW!!!

Join us for an even bigger weekend of faith, fun and worship this October, as 3Generate returns to the NEC in Birmingham!
We're delighted to announce 6 new venues this year – including the Orb Stage for larger worship and performances, Sound Studio for jamming and music making workshops, and The Lounge for those in School Year 11+, offering a chance to go deeper into many of the topics discussed over the weekend. Keep an eye out for more information on other new venues in the coming weeks!
See the link below for all the info you need, and the ticket purchasing page. Make sure to read through the information as there have been changes to our safeguarding/DBS processes since last year:
https://www.3generate.org.uk

Vacancies

Minute taker

Who is Your Neighbour? facilitates community about difficult things such as race and immigration where people are able to be honest and there is also space for reflection. These conversations can help people be more open to the beliefs and opinions of others. We were originally set up as a project within Sheffield Methodist District and are now an independent charity.
We're looking for someone to take the minutes at our Board meetings. We hold four a year, each two hours long. Most, nearly all, are on Zoom and we record them, so the minutes can be taken at the time or afterwards from the recording if that feels easier. We can pay 14/hour. The next meeting is 1.00pm 12th June.
For further details, or to arrange a chat about the role please contact Cath on cath@whoisyourneighbour.org.uk

And finally ...

A prayer from the Methodist Prayer handbook

Mary sings, "My soul magnifies the Lord".
But how can I make God greater?
Lord of life, in the way I live, move and inhabit my being,
mirror in me your extravagant love and expansive goodness.
Enlarge my soul: to bear witness to human destruction, riven by unspeakable violence.
Enlarge my soul: to rail against relentless consumption, upending the gentle balance
of the earth.
Enlarge my soul: to speak out against power-seeking policies, indifferent to hunger and dismissive of need.
May my spirit dance to the intricately woven melody of prayer, praise and protest.
Be ever greater within me, that my soul may magnify the Lord forever.
Amen.
Helen Hollands, District Chair, East Anglia District