Readings: Jeremiah 28:5-6; Matthew 10:40-end This reflection is by retired Vicar, Brian Lipscombe. We are delighted to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Jonathan’s Ordination. We want to praise God particularly for his faithful Ministry here at St James and in the wider Diocese. We thank God for both Jonathan and Rebecca in their shared ministry, and for the support of all the family, Jonathan’s mum and the lads Nick, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, and Arthur's wife Holly, who

Readings: Readings: Jeremiah 28:5-6; Matthew 10:40-end Today’s reflection is by the Vicar, the Revd Canon Jonathan Cain. Hospitality of the heart Thursday marked ten years since I was ordained priest. Anniversaries have a way of making us look back—sometimes with gratitude, sometimes with surprise, sometimes with a quiet sense of “how did we get here?” And as I look back over these ten years, one theme rises again and again: hospitality. Not simply the hospitality o

Readings: Genesis 21:8-21; Matthew 10:24-39 Today’s reflection is by Reader, Cal Bailey. God’s promise always remains. Relationships can be the greatest blessing to us. And they can be our greatest difficulty too. We’re going to see today that those statements can be true at the same time. They aren’t contradictory. I wonder if you can think of a relationship which has been difficult for you? With a boss or colleague perhaps; with a partner or member of the fami

Readings: Exodus 19:2-8a; Matthew 9:35-10:8 Today’s reflection is by Reader, Pete Gillions. “When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Two thousand years ago when life for many people was brutal and short, when oppression and poverty were a part of everyday life, Jesus looked at the crowds who followed him, and the passage says that “he had compassion on them, because they were harasse

Readings: Hosea 5:15-6:6; Matthew 9:9-13,18-26 Today’s reflection is by the Vicar, the Revd Canon Jonathan Cain. Two stories This week our news channels have been dominated with the chilling story of the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak. Journalists have attempted to piece together the sequence of events in attempts to satisfy public demand for information. Body-cam footage has raised questions about policing. Anger boiled over into violence on the streets o

Readings: Isaiah 40:12-17,27-end; Matthew 28:16-end Today’s reflection is by the Vicar, the Revd Canon Jonathan Cain. Trinity in five words I want us to begin this morning with the questions the prophet Isaiah poses in that first reading — questions that are as unsettling as they are beautiful: “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?” “Who has used his hand to mark off the heavens?” “Who knows the exact weight of the mountains?” Or, as Eugene Peterso

Readings: Acts 2:1-21; John 7:37-39 Today’s reflection is by Reader, Cal Bailey. What are you looking for? Three years ago, a group of us started looking after the peat moor above the Wharfe near Denton village. It had been dried out about 50 years ago, and the peat was slowly dying causing enormous carbon emissions. We did some homework and learned that peat grows in conditions I found very surprising - when it’s cold, dark and wet. So we set about creating the righ

Readings: Acts 16-14; John 17:1-11 Today’s reflection is by the Vicar, the Revd Canon Jonathan Cain. Citizens of a different kingdom Friends, it was a former Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, who allegedly coined the phrase, A week is a long time in politics. Well, we’ve seen that in the UK over the past few days. Local council elections, mayoral contests, devolved parliament results — all reshaping the political landscape. Questions raised about the suitability of

Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:15-end; Luke 24:44-end Today’s reflection is by the Vicar, the Revd Canon Jonathan Cain. What were the chances of that? Katherine Brunt, Arran Brindle, Charlotte Edwards, Clare Connor, Lydia Greenway, Isa Guha, Jenny Gunn, Beth Morgan, Laura Newton, Jane Smit, Claire Taylor. The names of eleven women. Do you recognise them? Well, these were the England women cricketers who won the Ashes Series against Australia in 2005. This was the sa

Readings: Acts 17:22-31; John 14:15-21 Today’s reflection is by the Vicar, the Revd Canon Jonathan Cain. People of Woodside! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around the St James’ campus and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I found the Parish Centre, the Horsforth Shed, the Horsforth Pantry, and this fine building. I even found a banner with this inscription: TRY PRAYING. Now, I’ve borrowed that opening from Paul’s sermon in Athens

Readings: Acts 7:55-end; John 14:1-14 Today’s reflection is by Reader, Pete Gillions. If this passage from John was accompanied with mood music, it would be dark and foreboding because Jesus is well aware that he will soon be facing His death. Jesus is together with His disciples and John gives us a very intimate insight into Jesus trying to assure his disciples. What is very clear to see is that the disciples desperately struggle to understand what is really going on. But i