The last Sunday service of 2023 was a contemplative Taize-style service reflecting on the last year and on the coming year. Emma and Lydia’s voices blended beautifully in leading us in the Taize songs.
Take Faith
Take Faith, a poem by Jay Gadhia, read to us by the poet themself on Christmas Day
Start with an empty 10 ounce heart.
Combine shreds of scripture along with a generous spoonful of sage ... like wisdom.
Allow thousands of years of practice down an ancient bloodline.
Light an oil lamp and burn resin along with herbs until the wisps of smoke settle on every fibre of you. Let the wind claim it as a physical prayer being sent to anyone who catches scent of it on an Easterly breeze.
Grease environment generously to prevent the sweetness getting stuck.
Measure out and combine two parts compassion to one part empathy and sift to ensure any hard lumps of hatred do not find their way into the mix.
If any lumps remain in your saviour sieve, discard.
Use your bare hands placed palm to palm and ensure warmth to create a direct pathway between a now filled good quality heart towards a 1 and a half kilo brain.
Check for seasoning by tasting the blood and body of a sacred prayer on your tongue.
It will often taste bitter but will become sweet if left to one side and allowed space for reflection.
Leave to prove over several pilgrimage journeys until you achieve a ribbon drop consistency of connection with the nature of beauty, of identity, of self and of home.
If this technique is performed correctly, once baked, the mixture should rise like the swell of music in your soul.
You will find yourself in hot water occasionally, the trick is to use the scalding liquid in a Bain Marie to gently melt a lifetime of questions and challenges and offer it to God in the small hours of the morning in the hope for answers.
As a final garnish, I dare you to you look God in the eye and tell him you are pure.
And that you’re sorry.
The question is whether he would believe you.
And if he decides to answer you back, he will leave jasmine petals in your mouth, so that every person you speak to going forwards will feel like they too are in the garden, feeling the sunshine on their face.
Successful outcome may vary based on the recipe passed down from your ancestors
For best results, not all complaints are to be referred to your manufacturer.
Serve warm.
Sunday 25 December 2023 - Christmas Day
Sometimes
Words are not enough
for everything we have to say
Words can’t beat like a heart
A verb won’t sweat or bleed
A noun doesn’t get thirsty
An adjective doesn’t feel pain.
Something gets lost
in translation into words.
So when God
needed to express
A love deeper than words
he used body language
Of a kind not known on earth before
(Godfrey Rust)
Sunday 24 December 2023 - last Sunday in Advent
Today is the last Sunday in Advent and also the last day before Christmas. Adriaan preached a “shit hot” sermon to stir our bowels!
A roofing award?
Our roof was nominated and shortlisted for a roofing award!
Native Architects designed us a fully recyclable roof made from zinc with insulation made from recycled jeans and velvet! This roof, installed by GNR Roofing, is truly sustainable and replaced the old concrete tile roof that has plagued us with leaks and cold drafts for many years. We really notice the difference - it is warmer and there are no more buckets!
Sunday 17 December - All Age Nativity
This morning was our annual All Age Nativity service with fun, frolics, some finking and reFlection.
Sunday 10 December 2023 - Second Sunday in Advent
Today is the Second Sunday in Advent and our focus this morning was on John the Baptist
World Soil Day 2023
It is said that God took soil from the ground and formed a man who he named Adam - Adam comes from adamah meaning soil or earth.
Today is World Soil Day and we earthlings rely on soil for our food and yet we are using it up - it is running out.
What can we do?
One thing is to source our food from sustainable or regenerative farms.
Another is to not waste the food we have grown.
Want to find out more? Then let's talk!….
Or read more on the World Soil Day website
Sunday 3 December 2023 - First Sunday in Advent
Sunday 26 November 2023 - Safeguarding Sunday
This morning. Penny led us in thinking about safeguarding
Detail depicting St. Perpetua and St. Felicity from a 6th-century mosaic in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna. Photo courtesy of Lawrence OP via Flickr. View the image license.
Perpetua and Felicity: Emily's Saints for Same-sex Couples
This was the story Emily shared during our All Saint’s Day service:
One of the ways that I find God is through romantic love. Finding a deep connection with another soul reminds me of my connection to God. I believe Perpetua and Felicity may have had a similar experience when they were imprisoned together for being Christians in Africa in around the year 200.
From the years between 193 to 211 Roman Emperor Septimus Severus ruled over North Africa where Perpetua and Felicity were from. At this time, it was still punishable by death to declare yourself a Christian. Eventually, they would both be executed, accounts from Perpetua’s diary and others who knew her mean that we can keep their stories alive.
Perpetua was a well-educated noble woman who decided to follow her mother’s path of being a Christian. Her father, who was not a Christian, was extremely worried and tried to dissuade her from being a Christian. Then Perpetua was 22 with a son, she was married but her husband is never mentioned.
In response to her father’s concerns Perpetua pointed to a water jug and asked, ‘See that pot lying there? Can you call it by any other name than what it is?’
Her father answered, ‘Of course not’.
Perpetua replied, 'Neither can I call myself by any other name than what I am- a Christian’. Perhaps this inspiring sense of being her most authentic self is what helped her to bravely express her sexuality later.
Perpetua was baptised before being imprisoned with four other Christians including a slave, Felicity. Felicity was eight months pregnant when they were imprisoned in a dark and cramped cell. During such testing times their relationship grew as Perpetua supported Felicity in giving birth to her daughter. This was an important moment in their relationship as it was illegal then to kill a pregnant woman and Felicity had a deep desire to be killed with Perpetua by her side. It was a few days later that they were to be killed. After suffering public humiliation, they were sent to the gladiators where they publicly kissed one another before being killed.
Known by some as the saints of same-sex couples, as a lesbian woman myself, I connected with Perpetua and Felicity’s story particularly Perpetua’s words when she says, ‘Neither can I call myself by any other name than what I am’. Before I discovered my own sexuality I was told it was a choice, let’s follow the example of the Perpetua and Felicity and celebrate the diversity of God’s creation even under opposition.
— Emily Harris
You can hear all the stories that were shared during our All Saint’s service by watching the recording, and you can also read Pauline’s story here too.
Sunday 19 November 2023
Compassion, compassion, compassion!
Marina (in red) being brought to a monastery by her father Eugenius. 14th century French manuscript. Public Domain.
The Amazing Story of Saint Marinos the Monk, Pauline’s Patron Saint of Trans People
A couple of weeks ago, during our special All Saint’s Day service, we heard some inspiring stories. All Hallows-ers Pauline and Emily, and long-time friend of All Hallows, the Imam and youth worker, Adam Aslam told us of their own favourite saints. Mahalia France joined them to talk about her father, Arthur France, one of the founders of the Leeds West Indian Carnival. Finally, Rachel Weston, cantor at Sinai Synagogue sang a song of peace. It was a service jam-packed with good things!
You can catch up on all of this via the link above. We’re also sharing Pauline’s story here (with Emily’s to follow soon):
Let’s face it – the words “trans” and “saint” are not often seen together. As a group trans people have been more often demonised than canonised. One however has been canonised: Saint Marinos or Marina the Monk who lived in the 5th century. Marina was raised as a girl but followed a calling to enter a monastery as a monk. He excelled in spiritual practice and virtue. While on a visit outside the monastery he was accused by an inn-keeper’s daughter of fathering her child. He offered no defence. Expelled from the monastery and living in abject poverty he brought the child up as his own. He was eventually re-admitted to the monastery on condition of performing hard and menial labour. It was only when he died that it was found he had been assigned female at birth. He has been adopted as a kind of unofficial patron saint by the trans community. His feast day is 18 June. There have always been trans people. Some have been saints.
I’ve been coming to All Hallows for two years or so as a refugee from a non-welcoming church. I have not found saints here: just people deeply committed to building a loving, outward-facing community which punches way above its weight in showing the Gospel in action to the people of Leeds. And with rare servant leadership that delights in making room for others to grow and flourish and contribute gifts they may not even have known they possessed. I have been welcomed, I have been trusted, I have grown and thrived. Perhaps there are saints at All Hallows after all…..
—Pauline Fleck
Sunday 12 November 2023 - Remembrance Sunday
This morning we welcomed Adam and friends to share with us about the many non-white, non-western, non-Christian people who died in the two World Wars and other wars. We remember all those who have died as a result of the violence of war.
Sunday 5 November 2023
All Hallows All Saints Sunday Worship 29 October 2023
‘If you want to know where God is, find the space in your heart that is open to all of humankind’ — Joan Chittister
On Sunday these super humans shared their favourite saints and inspirations with us: patron saints of racial justice, of the trans community, of same-sex couples, and of PEACE (Muslim and Jewish peacemakers- Cantor Rachel Weston thanks for being with us in spirit and on video!). Catch up on this special service here.
Sunday 22 October 2023
This morning Heston and Megan led us in our service and Heston shared with us about Jubilee in the Bible and in our lives.
Sunday 15 October 2023
This morning the amazing Marvina Newton visited us to check out our privileges. Watch to find out more!
Sunday 8 October 2023
This morning our children led us in a fun-filled but thoughtful and worshipful service
Sunday 1st October 2023
This Sunday we wrapped up Creation Season with a thoughtful, story-filled sermon from Jan. Catch up here: