The Flying Scotsman steams through the Wiske Benefice
Benefice of the Wiske
Safeguarding
Diocese of Leeds
Picture shows gateway into St Eloy's church
A fun time was had on the morning of Good Friday making Easter Gardens. Refreshments of homemade Hot Cross Buns and drinks were served.
The results of the workshop certainly look amazing!!
Great Smeaton and Hornby Open Gardens
open on Saturday & Sunday 2nd & 3rd of July, 12noon till 5pm.
Plant stall and teas. - £5 entry
Maps bought at Great Smeaton Village Hall.
New gardens in both villages to visit.
Proceeds in aid of St. Eloy's Church
News and Updates
Praying for our communities this year
You are invited to pray on a regular basis for the life of our villages and their churches. The following prayer is available on a card at the back of each Church, and I will use it daily as part of my own rhythm of prayer.
Loving Lord
Bless this place (name your village/community in this prayer)
Let your love be here
Fill it with your peace
Let your joy be here
Fill it with your grace
Let your light be here
Fill it with your power
Let your hope be here
Fill it with your living water
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Praying for each of the villages in turn around the benefice
This week
Monday Appleton Wiske
Tuesday Birkby
Wednesday Danby Wiske & Hutton Bonville
Thursday East Cowton
Friday Great Smeaton & Hornby
Saturday North Cowton
Sunday for the whole benefice.
Letter from our Clergy
July 2022
Confession time, I really enjoy the Sewing Bee on TV especially where they transform old clothes into something new, creative, and beautiful. As someone who is not good at sewing, I admire both the skill and the imagination. What we wear often says a lot about us, our role, our attitude, our age, something we take great care over.
Summer is a time for fashion but also block buster films, often with a cheesy plot line and caricatures rather than characters. Enjoyable and as unbelievable as they are, the characters do have recognizable traits if a little bit exaggerated. The timid one, the hero, the selfish one the loner, the coward, the fool, and the foolish one, the one learns they can do it, the one who is Ill, or too old. The one who sacrifices themselves for the others.
Our reaction under stress and pressure often tells a lot about who we are. Paul’s letter to the Colossian’s (Ch 3v14-15)invites us to see our values and actions like choosing our clothes. There is a difference between a reflex reaction and a response.
Over the past few years of the pandemic it has probably felt like we are in a disaster movie, full of stress and anxiety and “Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water”, and things might return to something like normal, then the invasion of Ukraine, the fuel shortages and price rises and new variant’s (and we can’t forget that global warming hasn’t gone away) we are find ourselves called to adapt and be cope with new pressures and difficulties, with fresh challenges.
Growing up means I get choose my own clothes, but I still need to choose the right place to get our garments from. The invitation from Paul is to let God provide the right clothing for a good response amid the troubles we face. Choosing to be the ones who respond with kindness, compassion, gentleness, humility, and patience.
As we choose Gods way it’s a bit like the transformation challenge in sewing bee; In Jesus we are transformed into something amazing, beautiful, and full of potential for new things, that’s not always a comfortable process but God’s promise is that it is done in his love and held together with love. And it helps us through the stresses of life.
I Hope you have a lovely summer, not a disaster movie.
St Peter - Birkby
Priest in Charge: Revd. David Bartlett
Church warden: Jonathan McCloy
Secretary: Margaret Owens
Treasurer:
The Church is open several times a week.
Services are usually held twice a month,
on 2nd and 4th Sundays in the month.
2nd Sunday - Holy Communion -9.00am
4th Sunday - Morning Prayer - 9.00am
We usually follow the Book of Common Prayer
Church Information
The Benefice of the Wiske is a group of 5 churches, located in the NE corner of the Diocese of Leeds. Our Benefice comprises several small villages and hamlets near the River Wiske which are largely rural in character, but are also commuter villages, as agriculture, though still important, no longer employs many people and most work in Northallerton, Darlington or Teesside. The population has a high percentage of retired people. There is a Church of England (VC) Primary School in East Cowton and primary schools in Great Smeaton, North Cowton and Appleton Wiske. A Youth Group meets every other Friday during term time at All Saints. The Benefice has a Priest in Charge, supported by retired priests and lay readers.
