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| Welcome to York Minster! |
The great west door of York Minster was flung open this afternoon to welcome the intrepid walkers of St Luke's, who had walked the 'Whitby Way' overnight in twenty nine hours for the sixty-six miles, raising money for Christian Aid.
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| Forging up Deangate on the home straight |
Local Christian Aid Secretary Mark Comer and St Luke's Parish Priest Steve Benford were supported by half a dozen other walkers from St Luke's who each walked lengthy sections of the route, crossing the North York Moors in the middle of the night and putting up with lightning, thunder, rain and hail along the way.
Supporters included Mike Tyler, Artistic Director of this year's York Wagon Plays, who walked over twenty miles in darkness and rain - dressed as a Roman soldier... Other church members provided support services in the form of hot drinks and bacon sandwiches at points along the way.
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| All the walkers and supporters gathered on the Minster's west steps |
What a stonking performance! Well done to all concerned and thanks be to God for their safe return.
Sponsorship or donations to Christian Aid are welcome after the walk: contact Mark Comer, 171 Burton Stone Lane, York YO30 6DG, or use the 'Contact Us' box from the menu on the left.
- Christian Aid Week runs from 14-21 May. It started in 1957 - making it the oldest door-to-door collection campaign in the UK. Last year, Christian Aid Week collectors and campaigners raised more than £14.8 million which was used to support the charity's work in more than 50 of the world's poorest countries. More than seven million people get involved in Christian Aid Week, with around 19,000 volunteers taking part in door-to-door collections using the famous Christian Aid red envelope in Yorkshire. Hundreds of sponsored events take place around the country. Donating £19 / EUR28 could buy another sheep for a Bolivian family while £57/EUR82 can buy a hive and train a beekeeper in the DR Congo. Donations to Christian Aid Week can be made at www.caweek.org or by calling 08080 006 006.
- A comprehensive walking guide to the "Whitby Way" by Leslie Stanbridge is available from Mark Comer. Please send a cheque for £5.25 payable to CHRISTIAN AID to: Whitby Way, c/o 171 Burton Stone Lane, York YO30 6DG.
- All profits from the book go to Christian Aid.
13 May 2006
Away to Wydale - St Luke's Church Council takes time out
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| St Luke's PCC at the Emmaus Centre with Malcolm Grundy (3rd from left) |
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| Coffee time |
11 May 2006
Onward and Upward! St Luke's heading for soccer glory again
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| St Luke's magnificent Under 16s team |
Again the 6 teams in this league battled each other with no quarter asked or given. Alright, its a bit melodramatic. Yes, it was that time again for Round 2 of York's answer to the premiership race for the title. St. Luke's boys and girls football teams strode out with victory emblazoned upon their brows. Good this, innit?
No seriously, we again met at Archbishop Holgates School for the next round of matches. St Luke's boys won 4 of their matches and lost 1 whilst the girls battled overwhelming odds (and many dodgy decisions), to keep their heads up. They gave a good account of themselves so much so that the offer of 2 subs in the shape of boys was vehemently refused. The loudest cheer of the afternoon was reserved for the girls as the attitude of 'never say die' sailed through. We should all be proud of our girls team (the only church that has a girls team is St Luke's), and that fact that they want to still keep playing. In fact, when the girls played the boys there were 7 females on the pitch. Such is the friendship at our church.
On the day Acomb Methodists won all 5 of their matches and leap-frogged to the top of the league. We stayed in 2nd place whilst Heworth Christ Church dropped from 1st to 3rd.
So all you footy fans, I know the World Cup is nearly upon us but remember the valiant efforts of not only our youth teams but of all the other churches and groups in this tournament.
God is reaching out in a special way and keeps the youth interested in his message through events like this. Please pray for continued success. Amen.
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| St Luke's victorious Under 13s team |
Here we go again, the footy season may be over but this delayed round of matches went ahead amid the threat of storm like rain. It had rained all day Saturday and through the night with the possibility of a further cancellation. But, praise God, it stopped at about 1 pm on the Sunday afternoon. So 11 teams tarried forward to do battle. Ten of these teams trying to wrench the cup from the holders, St Luke's Church. What would be the outcome???????
It was nip and tuck all the way as match after match passed with two teams forging away from the rest. The weather was turning for the worse with the rain clouds trying to make an appearance. It went down to the last match when, lo and behold, the winners were......... St Luke's again.
I must admit, it is getting harder for our youngsters as there are many good teams coming up. It is fantastic to see the number of young children playing in this tournament and it is all credit to the hard work of John Eckersley at Heslington Church.
The next round of matches are in June and I will let you know the date later. For the record St Luke's played 10, won 9 drew 1, scoring 17 and conceding 0.
Sports reporter Lee Sculthorp
9 May 2006
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| Cresting the old Drovers' Road |
Once again, a group of hardy souls set out from St Luke's on Easter Monday to get some fresh air and revel in the beauty of some of our nearby countryside.
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| Lunch by Sheepwash Reservoir |
Rather mysteriously, about twenty five people got out of two Vauxhall Vectras and two 'people carriers' - another miracle, perhaps?
It was a varied circuit, sampling bleak moors and lush woodland, with a pause in Osmotherley itself to make good use of the famous and award-winning public loos. On this crystal-clear morning you could see from the edge of the Hambledon Hills across the Vale of york to the skyline of the Yorkshire Dales to the west.
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| Shola paddles across Sheepwash Reservoir guided by Steve's right ear |
Thanks be to God for the great outdoors - and especially the wonderful parts of it within easy reach of York. What a great time to get out and see and breath the new life of spring, just as we celebrate the new life of the risen Jesus Christ.
18 April 2006
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| Maggy Ellison |
Maggy Ellison has ended her placement at St Luke's by helping lead the morning service in Sunday 2nd April. Over to you, Maggy...
"As part of the Foundation Degree in Theology and Ministry at York St John’s this term I’ve had to undertake a three month placement in a church different to my usual place of worship, St John’s in Stamford Bridge. As I come from a strong Methodist family and have attended fairly evangelical Anglican churches for many years, I requested to come to St Luke’s which has a very different churchmanship and it’s proved to be an extremely enriching experience.
"I guess that I felt rather apprehensive at the start– I’ve had no experience of incense and the gospel procession, and there are some differences in the liturgy. However I’ve gradually become familiar with the St Luke’s tradition including the intricacies of the thurible - thanks to expert tuition from Paul and Jim! I’ve come to appreciate the ceremony and begun to understand more fully its significance.
"I’ve been impressed by the centrality of prayer underpinning the life of the church and I’ve enjoyed attending the variety of services held week-by-week from the lively Sunday Eucharist to the more reflective evening services and the Tuesday communion. It’s great to see so many youngsters involved, especially the older teenagers. There’s certainly a feeling of being part of the St Luke’s church family in which all ages are welcomed and important.
"St Luke’s is very privileged to have such talent amongst the congregation – evident particularly in the music and the polished performance of Salad Days. I’ve been lucky to be on placement during Lent and have been to most of the Lent meetings with some interesting and challenging speakers – the mission of the church in a city presents different issues to the rural parishes where I live.
"The time has flown by and I feel sad that the placement has come to an end. It’s been a great experience in which I’ve been able to see God at work in a different context. I’m very grateful to everyone for accepting me and making me feel so welcome. I now have to write the dreaded essays to keep Lynn happy!!" *
*That's our own Lynn Comer who keeps an eye on Maggy at York St John University College - Ed.
8 April 2006
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| Johan Bergström-Allen |
Johan Bergström-Allen, Projects and Publications Officer for the British Province of Carmelites, was the final speaker in St Luke's 2006 Lent Course, CITY VISION, on Tuesday 4th April.
He's a member of the Carmelite Third Order - the Lay Order - who lives in York and works with the Carmelite community who run the Roman Catholic Chaplaincy at York University.
Johan explained the origins of the Carmelite rule of prayer, community and service, and the extraordinarily long history of the order in York before the Reformation. In the twentieth century that presence has been re-established by the communities of Nuns at Thicket Priory near Thorganby; the Sisters in Lawrence Street and the Friars in Heslington.
He pointed out that St Luke's Mission Statement (see the Home Page) has a very Carmelite ring to it!
We considered and discussed questions such as whether or how we should be Christians on our own, or in some sort of community; whether service to others prompts us to pray, or it is prayer that prompts us to serve (or both!); whether it's a good thing or a bad thing (or both!) to be part of a world-wide movement or church.
Johan's visit taught us something about our own history as Christians in York, as well as giving us food for thought about the way we receive and respond to our own calling by God to be the Body of Christ in today's York.
5 April 2006
SatNav error keeps the peace in St Luke's parish
A faulty 'SatNav' (satellite navigation system) in the bus bringing the Roll Doates Deanery Bellringers to St Luke's for the 1 April ringing record attempt (see below) led to disappointment for local residents.
Hopes that the first of three full peals would start promptly at 3.00am were dashed and a call to the ringers' leader, Rural Dean of Roll Doates the Revd Eddie Breck established that the team was actually heading for St Luke's, Staten Island, New York.
They are expected to arrive there in the next three or four days and are hoping the church has a belltower comparable with our own.
St Luke's belltower has been locked up again for at least another year. The echoes of RSM 'Bonger' Boardman and his team remain undisturbed.
1 April 2006
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| Christian Selvaratnam |
Now What?
Director of Alpha North, Christian Selvaratnam, was the fourth speaker in St Luke's 2006 Lent Course, CITY VISION, on Tuesday 28 March.
Christian is based in York at St Cuthbert's Church, Peasholme Green, but of course his 'vision' is much wider than just the City itself.
The Alpha course is an opportunity for anyone to explore the Christian faith in a relaxed, non-threatening manner over ten, thought-provoking weekly sessions. It's low key, friendly and fun, and it's supported by all the main Christian denominations.
Christian spoke briefly about the history of the Alpha Course, which may have its origins in York. The late David Watson of St Michael-le-Belfrey seems to have written courses or talks with the same titles as some of today's Alpha materials!
He also outlined the growth and adaptation of Alpha in schools, prisons and the armed forces.
How can we help new Christians to feel part of church? Christian shared one approach with us - 'G2' is the 'church plant' of St Michael-le-Belfrey at a Gym - and the results are very encouraging.
7.30pm on Tuesday 4th April: Johan Bergström-Allen, Lay Member, British Province of Carmelites, "Community Service".
30 March 2006
A Spring Ring to greet April at St Luke's
St Luke's is honoured to have been chosen as the venue for an attempt on the all-England record for the longest continuous peal of church bells beginning at 3 o'clock on the morning of Saturday 1st April.
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| RSM 'Bonger' Boardman, St Luke's Tower Captain 1919 - 1928 |
St Luke's belltower has seen little use since 1928 when the Tower Captain, RSM 'Bonger' Boardman, was caught in the mechanism by his bootlaces and remained dangling for ten days.
Church records show that the original ring of six bells was cast in 1743 by Ethelbert Stockpot in his Tang Hall foundry. It is probable that two or three were recast from pre-Reformation bells and the heaviest was 6 cwt. In 1812, the six became seven when Obadiah Thripplehume of Haxby donated money for another bell which became the new Tenor. Eighteen years later Ethelbert Stockpot was commissioned to cast a new Treble giving St Luke's its first ring of eight.
At the time of the rebuilding of the church in 1876, a representative of the Grungewanglers' Company of Todmorden inspected the bells and the ringers and reported that both "needed rehanging". The bells were taken to the Whitechapel Foundry, where they were retuned and the second, being cracked, was recast.
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| St Luke's Vicar, the Revd Dr Steve Benford, will be on hand in case of a repetition of the Boardman incident in St Luke's belltower |
The bells were rung for the first time from the new Ringing Chamber on the first Sunday in October 1877. The bells however were not very good musically and following complaints from the nearby abbatoir it was decided in January 1926 to launch a public appeal for them to be recast. In just one week over £600 was raised, which was more than enough to cover the recasting costs. The following year the bells were taken to Taylor's Bellfoundry in Loughborough. They were recast and retuned in the key of F. All the names, details and dates on the Stockpot bells were faithfully reproduced on the shoulders and waists of the recast Taylor bells. The Treble weighs 3 1/2 cwts and the Tenor 12 1/2 cwts. The bells are not heavy when compared with many other bells and because they swing so well they are not difficult to ring.
A garland will placed on the memorial to RSM Boardman 28 feet up the tower.
Apologies to St James, Christleton, Chester.27 March 2006
Pray Without Ceasing
The Revd Stephen Burgess, Chairman of the York & Hull Methodist District, was the third speaker at CITY VISION, St Luke's Lent Course for 2006, on Tuesday 21st March.
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| Stephen Burgess |
Pray Without Ceasing began with a proposal to the Methodist Conference by a group of young people, and is now sweeping around the country as each District in turn takes up the 'baton'. The York & Hull District is organising the rota from the 21 July to the 4 August, and the York North Circuit (which includes our neighbours at Clifton Methodist Church) is in charge on the 30th and 31st July.
Stephen gave us much food for thought about the purpose of praying as individuals or as a church; praying for others or ourselves; prayer as adoration or intercession; praying out loud or in silence.
Finally he asked us to think how we might use a two-hour 'slot' for prayer as allocated under the Pray Without Ceasing programme; what we though might be the pros and cons of a special 'year of prayer' of this kind, and why some people seem to find it easier to pray than others. Our discussions about how this wave of prayer might impact on us or our various churches in York opened up many lines of thought.
For more on the Pray Without Ceasing initiative see www.praywithoutceasing.org.uk, and there's more on the York & Hull District's part of the programme here.
7.30pm on Tuesday 28th March: Christian Selvaratnam, Director of Alpha North, "Now What?".
22 March 2006
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| Liz Ransford |
At the Edge of Church
CITY VISION, St Lukes' Lent Course for 2006, continued on the 14th March with a talk about the 'Exodus Project' in and around Acomb, York, by Liz Ransford.
Liz began by saying that she's not used to 'church' as a formal gathering of people sitting in rows, so this must have been a strange experience for her.
The Exodus Project is supported by a number of York churches, but it's a network of people who live and spread the Gospel in some of York's most socially difficult areas. They meet informally in groups around people's kitchen tables - never all at once in a large pointy building.
The top priority for Exodus is evangelism - bringing needy people to Christ whether or not their lives seem to be in order. Often this will involve helping to meet their daily needs too, but Liz told stories of people who had found Jesus - or been found by him - while still in the midst of the troubles that beset their lives. This could include drug or alcohol abuse, financial trouble, violence within families or neighbourhoods - her message is that God comes into any and every situation where he is asked to do so.
Liz challenged us with a number of questions for discussion. How as a church can we show our commitment to troubled people who it is all too easy for us not to see? How can we extend our own sense of 'belonging' to those beyond the walls of the church building? How would we feel about the slogan she suggested for a tee shirt, saying on the front, "I don't go to church..." and on the back, "I am the church!"?
The short discussions didn't come up with many neat answers, but there can be few speakers as moving and thought-provoking as Liz, and she left us with much to think and pray on.
7.30pm on Tuesday 21st March: Stephen Burgess, Chair of the York & Hull Methodist District, "Pray Without Ceasing".
17 March 2006
Here Today - Gone Tomorrow: Ministry among Students
St Lukes' Lent Course for 2006, CITY VISION, began on the 7th March with an evening led by the Anglican Chaplain to York University, the Revd Dr Stephen Nicholson.
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| The Revd Dr Stephen Nicholson, Chaplain to the University of York |
How can the church relate to a needy and sometimes vulnerable group like this without being 'preachy' and intrusive? It seems that a large number of students want some kind of relationship with the chaplaincy without making any commitment (sometimes only making contact on line or by text!). How do we respond to this as a church 'programmed' to "go out and make disciples"?
While there were a number of students present, this was an interesting and thought-provoking insight into a fairly self-contained ministry for some of us - just one dimension of the Church's task of 'being the body of Christ in today's York'.
7.30pm on Tuesday 14th March: Liz Ransford of the Exodus Project, "At the Edge of Church".
9 March 2006
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| St Luke's girls and boys played each other... |
March 5th 2006 Archbishop Holgate School
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| St Luke's girls |
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| St Luke's boys |
This tournament format is on a league system, so many 'rounds' of matches will be played. It was a close run meeting as cut and thrust altered the positions of the participating teams. At the end of this meeting Christ Church is top of the league with St Luke's boys in 3rd and the girls in 6th. But this is only the beginning!!!
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| Christ Church goalkeeper floored by Dom Benford's penalty in the final shoot-out for KitKat Chunkies! |
Be there or be square.
Sports reporter Lee Sculthorp
11 March 2006
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| Rowena the Dressmaker's Assistant, PC Boot and the Rt Revd Ben Stevenford, Bishop of Bells and Smells |
A magical piano is having strange effects throughout London - according to the Sunnydene Players, St Lukes' home-grown musical drama group...
"People dance to it - on quite a grand scale," said the Rt Hon Augustine Williams MP, Minister of Pleasure and Pastimes.
The Rt Revd Ben Stevenford (pictured), Bishop of Bells and Smells, is among those who have found themselves dancing uncontrollably in the park.
According to the Daily Scare (2d from all good newsagents), the piano's reputation blazes on the page reserved for crazes.
PC Lancelot Boot confirmed that its owners are requested to appear and be arrested. "It makes the park congested when it draws so large a crowd", he said.
Salad Days
Thursday 23 February; Friday 24 February; Saturday 24 February
7.30pm, St Luke's Church Hall, Shipton Street (behind the church)
£4.00 / £3.00 concessions
Check last-minute availability at the Sewing and Knitting Machine Centre
on Burton Stone Lane, tel (01904) 655751.
23 February 2006
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Come to St Luke's on five Tuesday evenings in March and April to think, talk and pray about the different visions that Christians bring to the task of Being the Body of Christ in our City today.
Once again, members of other local churches (and everyone else) will be more than welcome.
Each session begins at 7.30pm in church (straight after the 7.00pm Holy Communion Service - at which you are most welcome) with a talk from one of our speakers, followed by some time in large groups to talk over some of the issues raised. Don't feel you can't come if you're more of a listener than a talker!
Here's the programme of speakers:
- 7 March Here today: Gone Tomorrow! - Stephen Nicholson, Anglican Chaplain to York University.
- 14 March At the Edge of Church - Liz Ransford, The Exodus Project, York.
- 21 March Pray Without Ceasing - Stephen Burgess, Chair of the York & Hull Methodist District.
- 28 March Now What? - Christian Selvaratnam, Director of Alpha North
- 4 April Community Service? - Johan Bergström-Allen, Lay Member, British Province of Carmelites.
See you there!
7 February 2006
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| Strange goings-on in the kitchen |
Rehearsals are getting serious for Salad Days, this February's show by the Sunnydene Players, St Luke's own musical drama group.
This was the view through the serving hatch into the kitchen in St Luke's Church Hall last Sunday afternoon.
If you want to know more, you'll have to come along on the 23rd, 24th or 25th February to see the show!
Sunnydene has been in business since 1988 and has brought a wide range of people together on stage and behind it. Friendships have been forged that strengthen the bonds of the church family, and encourage people to develop talents that get put to all sorts of uses in other walks of the church's life.
Please pray for this year's Sunnydene production; that God will use it to attract people from the edges of church life into His family; and that through it many people will glimpse his sense of fun.
TICKETS
£4.00 / £3.00 concessions
Available from Mark Comer or Marjorie Sharp, or from
the Sewing and Knitting Machine Centre on Burton Stone Lane.
23 January 2006
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| Miss Hilda Whitehouse |
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| Miss Whitehouse and Vicar Steve Benford cut the birthday cake |
Miss Hilda Whitehouse was born in 1906, when the new Chancel of St Luke's was just about complete and stood in splendid isolation waiting for the Nave to be built!
She has lived in the parish all her life, moving ten years ago into Marjorie Waite Court where she is well cared for.
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| A toast for Miss Whitehouse: (from left) Eddie Errington, Steve Benford, Hilda Whitehouse, Pauline Wright and Pat Adams |
Alfreda Alderson's magnificent hundredth birthday cake was enjoyed by the whole church in the hall after the service.
19 January 2006
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| Do these ring a bell? |
- dial S for Sunnydene!
The Sunnydene Players, St Luke's own stage performers, are looking for a couple of old telephones to borrow for three performances of 'Salad Days' on the 23rd, 24th and 25th February.
It's a musical show set in the early 1950s, so when we say telephones we mean those heavy old black bakelite jobs with the dial and the cloth-covered wire.
If by any strange chance you have something like the phones in the picture tucked away in your loft, the Sunnydene players would love to hear from you. Your old phone could be a stage star!
Use the 'Contact Us' button on the left of your screen to drop a line to St Luke's Webwarden: he's a smooth operator who will connect you to Sunnydene for an exchange of views...
Just don't forget to push button B!
9 January 2006
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| Angels on High |
St Luke's joins celebration of the world's greatest Good News story
As 2005 ends, St Luke's joined the celebrations for history's Main Event - God himself becomes a human baby and is born as one of us!
On Thursday 2nd December the children and young people of St Luke's staged 'Angels on High' - a musical re-telling of the story by the angels travelling to Bethlehem to announce the news to the shepherds - and the rest of humankind.
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| The greatest show on Earth - or in the Heavens! |
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| The timeless scene - Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus |
On Christmas morning a good crowd gathered again to sing the praises of our God, who has chosen to come to be one of us - not as a superstar or a 'celeb' - but as a baby, born to a poor family away from home, surrounded only by the love of his parents and (like us) by the love of God who sent him.
O come let us adore him - Christ the Lord!
31 December 2005
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| York City Defender James Dudgeon reads a lesson at the YCFC Carol Service in St Luke's on the 14 December |
On the 14th December St Luke's hosted the second annual Carol Service for our next-door neighbours, York City Football Club.
City's Sophie McGill wrote wrote in the matchday programme for the game against Northwich Victoria three days later:
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| Back row from left: Ian McAndrew (York City Stadium Development Director), Billy McEvan (manager of York City), James Dudgeon (City defender), Revd Chris Cullwick (Club chaplain). Front row: Sophie McGill (York City Communications & Community Director), Alex Bedingham (City supporter), Jason McGill (York City managing director), Martin Davies (City supporter and St Luke's worshipper), Dave Merris (City midfielder). |
At least St Luke's Christmas tree stayed upright this year, and it was good to welcome the City family and friends again. Here's to next year!
20 December 2005
A Diocese of York News Release about a St Luke's member!
 Peter Warry | |
16 December 2005
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| St Luke's Young People's and Four Part Choirs prepare for Sunday's Carol Service |
final rehearsals for Sunday's Carol Service
St Luke's Young People's and Four Part Choirs were hard at work on the evening of Thursday 15th December preparing for the Carol Service on Sunday the 18th.
It's a great occasion every year and marks the beginning of our journey from the season of waiting in Advent towards the joy of Christmas, when all our hopes and needs are met in the birth of a baby.
15 December 2005
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| Steve Benford, Vicar of St Luke's |
St Luke's Vicar, Steve Benford, writes for Grapevine magazine...
“Shhh, we mustn’t wake the baby. Ahh, aren’t they beautiful when they’re like that!”
There’s something about a baby that so often generates that response, isn’t there? I find it hard to pass a pram without taking a sneaky glimpse inside; memories of what ours were like at that age.
But sometimes being quiet for the baby can take over a household – we all creep around, fearful of what can happen when the baby wakes up.
For many of us Christmas is a time when a baby becomes the focus of our thoughts – because in spite of pressure to buy and to sell, Christmas is not just a celebration of shopping.
There’s nothing wrong with shopping (there can’t be many people who haven’t had to buy for a new baby), but it need not be the main feature. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of a baby, Jesus Christ!
The familiar carols remind us of the baby lying in a manger, but not many of them ask us to think of the baby crying. I wonder if perhaps a few of us are frightened of the thought of Jesus waking up and crying. Wasn’t Jesus just the perfect baby who lay quietly in a manger and never made a fuss?
Actually no!
Jesus was not a story-book character like Peter Pan, the child destined never to grow up. Jesus was real, and his birth was real, and his life was real.
So was his death – and the way he conquered death and rose to life again.
Far from being the story-book figure who never made a fuss, and never made any demands, Jesus actually created a massive stir wherever he went.
He confronted authority; went against the flow; challenged those who tried to hold people or put them down in any way. Jesus was a liberator, and he still is.
As we rightly celebrate and marvel over the mystery of his birth, let’s not be too quiet. It might be surprising just how much he wants us to wake him up, and allow him to make a difference in our lives.
Have a fantastic (and hopefully a liberated) Christmas!
Steve
1 December 2005