Sunday 18th May

Fifth Sunday of Easter

10.30 am    Morning Worship    Judith Roberts

Collect

Risen Christ,

your wounds declare your love for the world

and the wonder of your risen life:

give us compassion and courage

to risk ourselves for those we serve,

to the glory of God the Father.

Readings Acts 11:1-18
                  John 13:31-35

Hymns     StF 57 Let all the world in every corner sing

                  StF 397 Walk in the light (v1) 

                  StF 242 A new commandment   

                  HON 509 O Lord all the world belongs to you   
                  StF 685 In Christ there is no east or west 

                  StF 409 All are welcome (vv 1,2,4,5)

This service will also be live streamed and you can watch it here from 10.30 am.

There is a Junior Church Activity sheet available here.

You can read this week's Newsletter here.

NEXT SUNDAY

Sunday 25th May

Sixth Sunday of Easter

10.30 am    Holy Communion   Revd Canon Cheryl Collins

Every Monday

         10.00 am – 12 noon   Knit and Natter Group in Room 1, Shirley House 

Everyone welcome to come and knit, sew, craft or just chat and enjoy a drink and a slice of cake.

Every Tuesday 

           2.00 - 4.00 pm -  Tuesday Café in Shirley House

The café is for those living at home with memory loss or dementia and their carers.  Hot drinks and cakes, music, memories, singing, stories and more.  For further information ring the church office (0114 2678289) or email office@standrewspsalterlane.org.uk.

Every Wednesday 

         10.30 am    Holy Communion in Church

Monday 19th May

         7.30 pm      ECC Meeting in Room 3, Shirley House

NEW! You can listen to a podcast of our recent services here!

Same sex marriage at SAPLC

At St Andrew’s Psalter Lane Church, we seek to be an inclusive church, and a place in which every person is celebrated and affirmed.

We are delighted to announce that we have now received consent from both the Methodist Church and the Church of England to use SAPLC for the solemnisation of same sex marriages conducted by a Methodist Minister according to the rites of the Methodist Church, and we have made an application for the church building to be registered for such occasions.

We welcome enquiries from anyone who is considering getting married and who would like to explore this further. Please contact the Revd Naomi Cooke:  minister@standrewspsalterlane.org.uk 

You can also donate by BACS: Sort code: 05-08-08 Account Number: 36930499
or by cheque payable to: St Andrew’s Psalter Lane Church, and posted to St Andrew’s Church Office, 31 Psalter Lane, S11 8YL.

Don't forget to Gift Aid your donation if you can, as this will increase the amount we receive by 25%!

Regular Giving to St Andrew's Psalter Lane Church  If you do not give to the church through the envelope scheme or by bank standing order, please have a word with Rodney Godber (tel 0114 266 3893) who will explain how this makes your giving to the church easier and more beneficial. If you would like to join the envelope scheme, please contact Janet Loughridge (tel 0114 258 4164)

NOTICES

Monthly house group - new members welcome!  If you would like to join the monthly house group that meets at the Morris' house at 7:45pm on alternating first Sunday and Monday of each month, please message Emma on 07454562180. The next session is on Sunday 1st June.

Christian Aid Week 11-17th May 2025  Christian Aid Week is one of our main Fundraising-for-charity events of the year. Christian Aid works with local development workers in some of the world's poorest countries, many of which are struggling more than ever due to climate change. This year the focus is on Guatemala in South America, where Aurelia and Amelia are farmers who belong to the Indigenous Q’eqchi’ community of the Alta Verapaz region. The climate crisis and industrial plantations have changed Q’eqchi’ land dramatically.

Envelopes are available in church for your own donations, but we at SAPLC have always concentrated on house-to-house collecting and we continue to do so, though since Covid we now focus on fewer streets.

Please volunteer to deliver and collect envelopes in a nearby street. In addition to envelopes for cash we now also offer a QR code for bank donations or you can give here. Many people across the world, especially women and children, depend on these donations.

Thy Kingdom Come - Join the global wave of prayer 29th May - 8th June  Thy Kingdom Come (TKC) is a global ecumenical prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray, from Ascension to Pentecost, for more people to come to know Jesus. For the 10th anniversary of Thy Kingdom Come, this year’s Novena is based on the Lord’s Prayer and is written by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell. The Prayer Journal is also based on the Lord’s Prayer and includes contributions from a variety of voices across denominations and traditions. You can pick up your copies of these in the narthex today; there are also copies of resources to help you to undertake a digital detox. These resources are also available online. 

Is your pension contributing to Israel's attack on Gaza?  You are paying into the South Yorkshire Pension (SYPA) if you are a member of the pension scheme, or through paying your council tax. The pension scheme invests in arms manufacturers that are helping the destruction of Gaza and the murder of innocent civilians, including thousands of children

The South Yorkshire Divest for Palestine Campaign is running a petition to urge SYPA to divest from this harm and instead, to invest in sustainable local enterprises such as green energy, social housing and home insulation. There are postcards in the narthex or you can get more information at

Https://linktree.ee/SYDPC  Anne Hollows

Please pray for lasting peace, healing and the restoration of communities in Gaza and Israel.

Sheffield City of Sanctuary statement

Our church has signed up in support of this statement:

At City of Sanctuary Sheffield we believe in a country where people are safe, welcomed, and treated with dignity. The Government’s new immigration proposals, and the rhetoric accompanying them, take us further away from this vision.

Let’s be clear: yes, there is deep inequality in our society. But it is not caused by people seeking sanctuary. It is the result of political decisions: to underinvest in our public services, to allow a housing crisis to deepen, and to prioritise the super-rich over working people. Scapegoating migrants is a dangerous distraction; one that divides communities, fuels xenophobia, and hides the real roots of inequality.

It’s been less than a year since towns across the UK, including Sheffield, faced far-right violence that targeted people seeking sanctuary and communities of colour. We have seen first-hand the harm caused when government rhetoric and policies encourage hostility. 

These are not the actions of a country committed to building stronger communities. They are the actions of one trying to blame the most marginalised instead of addressing systemic failures. These policies isolate, exclude and punish people who are ready to contribute. People who deserve protection and a fair chance, not hostility.

There is a better way. 

In Sheffield, we see every day how people seeking sanctuary enrich our city: as carers,students, volunteers, neighbours, colleagues, and friends. We know that when people are welcomed, they contribute creatively and help build thriving communities. When people are properly supported and included - to study, to work, to live in a stable home - they thrive. Safety turns into belonging.

We call on politicians, the media and our communities to reject scapegoating and to join us in building a future rooted in welcome, justice and solidarity.

Sacred Space at SAPL This service, offered on the last Thursday of the month could also be described
as ‘church at the edge’. An invitation not only for our regular churchgoers but for those who may not usually walk through the doors of this building for a variety of reasons. 
Many of us find sustenance within a ‘space’ where we can be still, breathe and remember the love which holds us all.
A small, dedicated team plan a themed service for all of us to experience a quiet contemplative hour, being guided to reflect with some meditative self-inquiry, readings, poetry and music. A sacred space to help us reconnect with the inner wisdom of our hearts and cultivate both a sense of calm and self-care for body, mind and soul.
When we nurture ourselves with gentleness, we are revived and feel safely held. As a result, we ultimately have greater capacity to love and give to others in all the ways we feel called to.
Please feel warmly welcome to join us on the last Thursday of each month, keeping a check on dates via SAPL newletter/website.
To express your interest, or for further info: please contact Fiona
Watson: wildgustfiona@gmail.com or Nessa
Hargraves: nessahargraves@gmail.com

Help needed! We are looking for someone willing to act as Health and Safety Officer for SAPLC, to oversee risk assessments, identify hazards and ensure our operations accord with good practice and the Health and Safety policy. This is not likely to be a very onerous or time-consuming role, and training and support would be provided by the Property and Finance Committee. If you think this is something you would be interested in, please speak to John Cripps (Email cripps@uwclub.net Tel 258 8932)

Who to contact for asylum seekers/ refugees

Asylum seekers accommodated in Sheffield will normally be in touch with City of Sanctuary. Melinda (see below) may help in an emergency. The Wednesday ‘drop in’ ( around 150 people) has clothing, conversation, and advice on law, health, accommodation, finance etc. 

For people granted refugee status, for a newly granted case please call 0114 221 1845.

SPRING is the Sheffield Project for refugee integration and growth. For urgent SPRING referral (newly granted refugees in Sheffield only) please email to adminspringcoss@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org

for newly granted refugee referral  please use the link https://sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org/our-work/the-sheffield-project-for-refugee-integration-and-growth/

If you have an urgent request for City of Sanctuary, please contact one of the following people:  

Governance/ CoSS -       Tom Martin ( Director)       (tom@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org)

The Sanctuary  &The Drop In – Anna Aitken (anna.aitken@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org) 

Volunteering : emma.milne@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org

System Change and Advocacy – Melinda Mo Martinez (melinda.momartinez@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org) 

Communications and Media work – Annie Feetham (annie.feetham@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org) 

Finance – Angela Argenzio (angela.argenzio@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org) 

There is a copy of this information sheet on the board in the narthex

  Anne Hollows

Action for Children - Paying the Price campaign launched  Children across the UK are paying the price of poverty but we are campaigning to change that. The government has promised to lift children out of poverty with a new plan that it's publishing soon. Change is possible – but it will require real investment and a commitment from the government to do what's right.
Please join our campaign. We've only got a short time to get our message across to government, before it publishes its plan. By taking action today, you can help ensure more children's lives aren't defined by poverty.
Please sign our open letter here and share it with others.

All We Can Loose Change Appeal

 Thank you so much for all your donations to All We Can. The collection bowl will be out during Sunday service so please bring along any small change. Thank you again.

Revd Kate Bottley on Words of Grace Podcast  “Because of the place I came from in faith, I have such a heart for people who don’t think they belong”. We welcome Revd Kate Bottley today for this special Words of Grace podcast episode.

Kate talks about:

* Growing up in Sheffield not going to church

* the moment she considered ordination, and how it felt when she heard women could be priests in 1994

* Challenging misconceptions about Christians and the media

* Connecting with people who are unsure about their faith

* Sparking conversations about faith through her media work

Don’t forget you can submit questions and express an interest in coming on the show by emailing wordsofgrace@sheffield.anglican.org. Listen now on the Diocesan website, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Clifford All Saints School

Community monthly prayer group If you are unable to attend but would like to share a prayer request for the group please click here. 

The Psalter Lane building is now closed, and the whole school is at the Ringinglow Road site. The Morris School window - originally one of the pair in old St Andrew’s, of which the one in the narthex is the other - has now been installed in the Ringinglow Road building and looks wonderful. There is a photograph of it on the board in the narthex. 

Clifford School Building The old Clifford School building on Psalter Lane is under consultation by Historic England for listing but heavy plant is already on site. It may well get demolished before it is protected. Sheffield could protect it by issuing a Building Protection Notice, but at the moment is not willing to do so. We are being asked to write to the Council’s ‘heritage champion’ at janet.ridler@councillor.sheffield.gov.uk to urge them to protect Clifford. Please do so if you feel inclined.

The Tuesday Café The café is open every Tuesday from 2.00 - 4.00 pm in Shirley House.  The café is for those living at home with memory loss or dementia and their carers.  Hot drinks and cakes, music, memories, singing, stories and more.  For further information ring the church office (0114 2678289) or email office@standrewspsalterlane.org.uk.

Car Parking As an Eco Church we would urge you not to bring your car to Church, but to use public transport, walking, cycling and car sharing if possible. If you do come here by car and need to park in the nearby roads, please do so with due consideration to our neighbours. In particular do not block accesses such as by parking on both sides of Cherry Tree Drive, and leave quietly. Thank You!

If you are parking at church, please take care not to park directly opposite the yellow lines marking the path towards Shirley House and Southcroft, as this blocks pedestrian access for people coming to church from Southcroft