Dan continued the theme of Acts, and we looked at Acts 2 at the start of our Church year. Dan asked us to reflect on major news events that had influenced us in the past, and to then reflect on how the Day of Pentecost would have appeared to the people of Jerusalem. A lot of younger couples attended today’s Service, which was lovely to see. For those of them who are to be married in the near future, we wish you all the best at the start of your married life together. The new BCP leaflets are certainly making it easier to follow the Service, and were welcomed by our younger visitors today.Dan asked us to continue praying for the future of Bradfield Church as we start our new journey with Rev Jordan Betts and Rev Sara Goodman.
Before the Service this morning, we want to deliver you some very good news about the future of Bradfield Church.3 representatives from Sheffield Diocese came to our PCC meeting on Monday night. They told us that Bradfield has been selected as one of 5 Churches in Sheffield Diocese to receive funding from the central Church of England for a 6 year period. This funding will enable us to appoint our own Stipendary Minister, which is excellent news. During that period we will be expected to grow our congregation and discipleship and show that by June 2030 we can be in a position to maintain our own Rector. We hope to start the appointment process in the very near future.During the period we will be given lots of assistance, and additional funding to help us attract children and young people into Church and to enable us to work more closely with our local schools.We will be working closely with Wadsley Church and Reverend Dan Brown and to help with our growth, we will receive a graft of people from Wadsley Church who feel that their calling from God is more suited to the type of Worship we can offer at St.Nicholas.We always felt that to keep Bradfield as a viable place to worship, we needed to retain the Rectory. That has also now been confirmed and the Diocese have paid for it to be renovated and redecorated. In the short term, for a period of 6 months, Reverend Jordan Betts and his family will be living in the Rectory, and then our permanent Rector will live there once the appointment process has finalised. To help us move forward and start with all the planning needed Reverend Jordan Betts and Reverend Sara Goodman are going to be working more closely with St.Nicholas, and the PCC have approved their involvement.As Churchwardens we hope that you all feel as positive about this news as we do. There is going to be a lot of work to do but we know with Gods help, we will be successful.We are sure you will have many questions, as we did on Monday night, and we will be around after the Service if you want to ask us anything at all.God BlessJohn, Judy, Sandra & Jane
