Looking back it was good to gather on Sunday 8th January at St Mary’s in     Outwood for Fr Jonathan’s farewell service, presentation and refreshments.  Many thanks to all those who were involved in the service and for putting on such a    wonderful tea afterwards.  By the time you are reading this, Fr Jonathan will have been licensed to his new team of churches and will have begun his new life and ministry in the Batley team of churches.  We do continue to give thanks for his ministry here in the North Wakefield Benefice and pray for him and Jo in their new life together in Batley.

Bishop Tony has confirmed that Fr Jonathan will be replaced and it is planned that the new priest will be with us in the summer.  Please pray for the benefice as we and the wider church begin the appointment process and for those involved in the day to day running of the benefice during the vacancy – many thanks.

Looking forward, February begins as usual with the presentation of Christ in the temple which will be celebrated in our churches on Sunday 5th February.  This is a wonderful service as we eavesdrop on Simeon and Anna as they meet baby Jesus in the temple.  At the service we take a look back at the Christmas and Epiphany time before turning our gaze upon Lent and our journey towards Holy Week and Easter. There will be Ash Wednesday services in all the churches see below for details about our Ash Wednesday services.

All Ash Wednesdays services are on Wednesday 22nd February

• 11am at St Paul’s, Alverthorpe
• 2.15pm at St Anne’s, Wrenthorpe
• 7pm at St Mary Magdalene, Outwood
• 7.30pm at St Peter’s, Stanley

In Lent we shall be holding a series of Lent groups at different times and places across the benefice. During Lent, we shall journey with Jesus into the wilderness and explore how his relationship with his Father sustained him and blessed him.  All of us at some stage in our lives have wilderness experiences and the Lent groups will look at different aspects of our faith and how they sustain and support us at these times.  Further details of the Lent course will be available shortly.

Finally many thanks to you for all for your fellowship over Christmas and     Epiphany and for the many people who offer their gifts in different ways across the benefice.  Take care and God Bless, Glenn

Rev Glenn Coggins, Vicar of the United Benefice of Stanley, Outwood and Wrenthorpe and Alverthorpe

Dear Friends,

Well, it is finally happening! Next month, a moving van will arrive to take Mother Jo and I to our new home in Batley, and a new start for me as priest-in-charge of four churches: All Saints’ Batley, St Thomas’ Batley, St Andrew’s Purlwell and St Paul’s Hanging Heaton. It will be a big change and a big challenge. We have been blessed to get to know so many people in our six years in Outwood and Wrenthorpe. You have welcomed us into your homes and shared your lives with us, and we have been so grateful for the love and hospitality you have shown us.

There are two things that I think make for a healthy church: taking what we do seriously and also being serious about the people we do it for. I believe in a welcoming church which expects and plans for people of all ages and backgrounds to come along, as well as in a church which is faithful to the traditions that have shaped us as Christians and which we hope to pass on to the next generation. That is the kind of ministry I have tried to have in St Mary Magdalene’s, St Anne’s and the wider North Wakefield Team, and which I hope to carry to Batley. The challenge is a big one: all four of my new churches are small, with an average of only around 80 or 90 people going to church across the team. The team covers a diverse area, with many families who trace their roots to India and Pakistan, but there are healthy interfaith links and lots of community work going on.

One of the things which encourages me most about the North Wakefield Team as I leave it is that there is so much good which has been done in the last year, and a great deal of it has been led by the people of our churches, rather than the clergy. Whether its the Youth Drop in at St Anne’s, the Drop-In and Lunch Club in St Mary Magdalene’s, the reopened Ark in St Peter’s or the Warm Spaces initiative in St Paul’s, there is so much going on which comes about because of the hard work of parishioners. I hope and pray all these things carry on and grow in the coming years – it was very encouraging to discover the Gardening Club in St Mary Magdalene’s had been awarded a large grant from the Bishops’ Development Fund to continue its work.

Of course, the clergy DO have a role to play, and I shall miss the company and fellowship of Glenn, David and Stuart, as well as all the lay ministers. I have learned a lot in my time with you all and I wish you all every blessing in the months and years to come.

So it’s farewell from me, good luck for the future, and the blessing of God almighty go always with us.

Father Jonathan Bish is priest of Outwood and Wrenthorpe churches in the North Wakefield Benefice