Sunday 27th April

Easter 2

10.30 am    Morning Worship    Local Arrangement

Collect

Risen Christ,

for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred:

open the doors of our hearts,

that we may seek the good of others

and walk the joyful road of sacrifice and peace,

to the praise of God the Father.

Readings   Psalm 150

                   John 20: 19 – 31

Hymns       H&P 191 Good Christians all, rejoice and sing  

                   StF 309 The Spirit lives to set us free v.1

                   HON 67 Be still, for the presence of the Lord   

                   StF 360 Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us

                   H&P 190 Christ is alive, let Christians sing

This services includes a talk about the Firvale Food Bank by Sue Vinall

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 4th May

Third Sunday of Easter

10.30 am    Holy Communion    Revd Prof Frances Young

Revd Prof Young was Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham. She was made OBE for services to Theology in 1998, and elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2004. She did the opening Lent Talk on Radio 4.

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

Tuesday 29th April

10.30 am    A Talk on Heathen Devotional Practices by Suzanne Martin in SH Interfaith Centre

Saturday 3rd May

         9.30 onwards  Working Party in the church grounds. Please come along and help if you can – even one hour will make a difference. Coffee, biscuits and conversation at 11.00 am – all welcome!

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

A statement on the death of His Holiness Pope Francis 

The Methodist Church in Britain receives with deep sadness the news of the death of His Holiness Pope Francis, and gives thanks for his life and Christian witness.
Even to the final days of his long life, by his actions and his words, Pope Francis continued to set forth the gospel of God's love in Christ. He spoke plainly of the hope that is to be found in Jesus Christ, showed profound compassion for those who are poor and marginalised, and gave particular emphasis to God's demand for global justice. Through his papacy, Francis has fostered an openness to Christians sharing together in the Church's life and mission, in ways which have broken new ground for the Catholic Church. In all these ways, for many Methodists Pope Francis's witness to the Christian faith holds a special resonance, and his loss is deeply felt.
Methodists join in these days in prayer and sympathy with our Catholic sisters and brothers, who have lost their Holy Father, recognising the pain that this brings. Methodists will also offer prayers in the days ahead for the Catholic Church, as she navigates this period.
As God receives Pope Francis into God's arms of love, we pray that he may rest in peace and rise in glory.

Good News from Gaza - a message from Anne Hollows  Friends, I’m sure you will share my delight that our dear friend child psychiatrist Dr Bahzad Al-Akbar’s has been awarded a fully funded 4 year scholarship to study for a PhD at Manchester University (the only humanitarian scholarship). There are some outstanding issues to resolve, and hopefully for your prayers. First he has to be able to leave Gaza - and Caitlin has managed to get his name on a list for Foreign Office urgent action. Second, his passport was being renewed when the war started and is presently stuck in Ramallah. We are confident that can be resolved. Most crucially, Bahzad himself is deeply anxious about leaving his family if the ceasefire is not implemented. As far as that is concerned your prayers are essential. I hope that sometime next autumn you will be able to meet him and hear, first hand, about the realities of life in Gaza

Anni Hollows

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

Supreme Court Ruling on Definition of Woman - Message from the vicar of St Mark’s, Broomhill

The news of the recent court ruling has raised many questions and concerns. We recognise the deep

 tensions that arise when the rights of protected groups appear to be in conflict. No one wins when

 the rights of one group are used against another.

We hope that careful and compassionate work will now be done to ensure the rights of women —

including trans women — are upheld in public spaces and in the provision of services.

We are particularly concerned for members of our community and beyond who feel less protected

today. We are also deeply troubled by the level of hate and hostility seen across social media in

response to this ruling. At St Mark’s, we remain committed to being a place of welcome, dignity, and

safety for all.                                                          Revd Dr Beth Keith, Vicar of St Mark’s Church

We at SAPLC also remain committed to being a place of welcome, dignity, and safety for all.

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