District News – 7 October 2025

This Week's News

Free books!

To Preachers, Preachers in training and Worship Leaders.
I have many books which belonged to my late husband the Rev.John Young.
You are very welcome to come along and take any book or books which may be helpful to you. There is no charge whatsoever.
I can be contacted by j.1.young@btinternet.com.
Closing date October 31st.
from Isabel Young (Derbyshire North East Circuit)

Metal Methodist Meetup

Saturday 18 October 3:00 pm

Fresh from their sessions at 3Generate – the Metal Methodists are meeting up on Saturday 18th October 2025 at St Paul's Methodist Church in Dronfield from 3pm. Come along to chat, hang out and worship with Metal music and an alternative vibe.

Dreaming Beyond – Living Well with Uncertainty

22 October – 1:30pm

In a time when many small and rural churches face difficult decisions about their future, this online event offers space to reflect, connect, and discern. Whether your church has chosen to keep its building open, close it, or is still navigating that journey, there is no single “right” answer — only the path that fits your unique context.
Join us as we explore together what it means to live well with uncertainty. This is not just about decision-making, but about discernment — reconnecting with your “why,” listening deeply, and finding clarity in complexity.
Expect honesty, gentle reflection, and a chance to share with others who understand the challenges and possibilities of ministry in uncertain times.
You can book your place here

Wholehearted Monthly

14 October – 7pm

Steve Chalke will be the guest speaker at Wholehearted in October.
Steve is a minister, pioneer of Oasis Church London, founder of the Oasis Charitable Trust, a former United Nations' Special Adviser on Human Trafficking and a social activist. At the beginning of the 'new school year', Steve will be speaking on how education, pioneering church and justice all come together in ministry alongside children, youth and young adults. Wholehearted is a free, monthly online gathering of Christians learning, playing, praying and working for the transformation of the Church and the world God loves.
Hosted by the Methodist Church and open to all – book here

Whirlow Spirituality Centre

We are holding a weekend residential retreat at Ampleforth Abbey in North Yorkshire from 24-26th October. Unfortunately, someone has had to drop out from coming to this. Very generously they have offered their place free of charge if someone would like to take it. The weekend will offer full board, en-suite accommodation in the Guest House at Ampleforth Abbey, giving us the opportunity to experience monastic worship in the Abbey Church, the beautiful surroundings of the North Yorkshire Moors and time to reflect and be still. We will be mostly in silence, and there will be plenty of time to go out and explore or to curl up with a book. If you're interested in this please contact Alison to find out more by emailing chaplain@whirlowspiritualitycentre,org
On Tuesday 21st October the Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox, will be joining us for our Reflective Communion when he will be offering reflection and commissioning Alison in her role as Chaplain. Everyone is very welcome to join us for this, and coffee and cake afterwards. If you are able to park on neighbouring roads and walk up please do (don't park on Whirlow Grange Close itself please!) as there are likely to be more people attending than usual.
We are delighted to host a book launch for "Quiet" by Margaret Wooding Jones on Thursday 6th November at 7pm. Please check this out on our website here and do book to come – it's free, but we'd like to know numbers for catering.
Space to Reflect will be held in the chapel on Sunday from 7pm. The Simple Quiet Day this month will be on Tuesday 14th with places still available here. On Saturday 29th November, Adrian Scott, is leading a day on Vincent Van Gogh, exploring the artist's visionary life and considering the themes of darkness and light. More details can be found here.
We are very short of hosts to help with day events and would love some new volunteers. Events for hosts are free and involve making tea and coffee and generally being available for people. Please email Alison (as above) for further information.

District Office Updates

District Missional Property Enabler

Tom Rattigan has recently left his district post to take up a new role within Methodism. We will soon be recruiting a new Missional Property Enabler to continue to support churches and circuits to be confident development and maintenance of their property assets.
In the meantime Richard Dearden (richard.dearden@trinitycircuit.net), Operations Manager for Trinity Circuit, will be reviewing requests for district project consent. Please direct other property queries requiring support from beyond your circuit to Katrin Hackett, District Administrator (admin@sheffieldmethodist.org). Both will be doing this on top of their own work, so please allow extra time for a response.

Advanced Safeguarding Training

We have now updated the Face-to-Face training page on the District website with details about the face-to-face training sessions which will be taking place across the District in 2026. There is a risk of events being cancelled if the minimum number of places is not met, so please do book in early.
Full details of all the training modules can be found on the District Website here: Safeguarding Training

Events

Trauma Informed Practice Webinar

Saturday 11 October at 9:30am (online)

What is trauma?
We will be looking at the different ways people can be exposed to and treated to trauma and the practical ways we can best support those that have experience trauma.
This training session will look at the causes of trauma; how it is experienced in our bodies and how churches can support people who have experiences of trauma. You may find the content hard, so please look after yourselves. If you need to switch your camera off, do. There will be people who can be contacted for support during the session or afterwards.
Speaker: Rev Karen Jobson
Reverend Karen Jobson is the Chaplain for Staff Wellbeing at North West Ambulance Service. She has previously served as a chaplain in mental health hospitals and at the University of Portsmouth and was a circuit minister. A qualified counsellor, she brings both professional expertise and personal insight to her work, with a particular interest in trauma and emotional wellbeing.
Places are going fast so do book your place here: https://251011-Trauma.eventbrite.co.uk
Bookings will close on 8 October.

Baby Loss Awareness Week

9-15 October

You are invited to join Bolsover Methodist Church on Sunday 12 October at 6pm for a time of reflection to remember those babies we have lost recently or in years gone by.
See more on the poster.
Join us on Wednesday 15th October at 6:45pm at Wesley Hall for a quiet, reflective service honouring babies lost through miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, or infertility. All those affected by such loss, including friends and family are welcome, whether your loss was recent or long ago, this space is for you. Gathering from 6:45pm, at 7pm we will light candles as part of the global Wave of Light, joining families around the world in remembrance and hope.

The Samuel Chadwick Lecture 2025

Thursday 16 October 2025

Our annual Samuel Chadwick Lecture will take place on Thursday 16 October 2025. The theme will be History, Church Growth and the Spirit, and this year the lecture can be attended onsite at Cliff College or online via Zoom.
The keynote speaker for this event will be Professor William K Kay, Professor Emeritus in Theology at Wrexham University and founding director of the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies at Bangor University. Professor Kay's research interests include the history of Pentecostal and charismatic movements, and the lecture will draw on this research. The formal response will be from Dr Ben Pugh, director of the Samuel Chadwick Centre.
Book your place here: https://www.cliffcollege.ac.uk/news-events/samuel-chadwick-lecture-2025

The Ebor Lecture

Wednesday 5 November

This year the lecture is : A Manifesto for Hope – Creating Opportunities for Children,
Young People and Their Families with Steve Chalke.
The Reverend Canon Steve Chalke (MBE,FRSA) is a British Baptist minister, founder of the Oasis Charitable Trust, social activist, author, and former United Nations' Special Adviser on Human Trafficking.
The lecture can be attended online as well as onsite and tickets (free!) for both are available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ebor-lecture-steve-chalke-tickets-1643356065229?aff=oddtdtcreator

And finally ...

Black History Month – A prayer

October is Black History Month. To mark this, we share a prayer from the Revd Dr Vincent Jambawo, Co-chair of the Belonging Together Ministers Group, which this year celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Let us give thanks.
For the ancestors who stood firm when the world bent against them,
who crossed oceans in chains but built empires with their hands.
Who sang freedom into existence and danced resistance into rhythm.
For the present generations whose choirs pick up the ancient songs,
whose dancing forges a story of hope in brokenness.

The Lord be with you all, siblings of the one human race.
And also with you, brothers and sisters of our heavenly Earth.

Lift your hearts to God, who is beyond the universe.
We lift them to this God who comes to dwell among us.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise for Black History.
Amen.