Sung, with hymns
The service on the fourth Sunday may take place at another church in the Benefice
Our United Benefice Services are held at one of our four parish churches on the fourth Sunday of every month. They feature a guest speaker and Holy Communion. There are usually refreshments after the service, either within the church or in a church/village hall. The location for each service is published separately along with the start time. Benefice services are held at 10am.
Speaker, Rev Emma Cain - curate from Yarm parish, will join us at our monthly United Benefice Service, with Holy Communion. Afterwards, please join us for refreshments in the church hall.
The first service of the three-day liturgical period commemorating the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
Walk of Witness - meet at the Dudley Arms to process from there to St Andrew's church for a short service of quiet reflection. If you would prefer, just meet in the church at 10:15am.
One of two services in the Benefice today celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
One of two services in the Benefice, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
An Easter workshop for children aged 11 and under at St Augustine’s Church, Kirkby, 1:30pm to 3pm, Tuesday 5th April.
Experience a story, craft and a singalong. Free to attend, drink and snack included.
For all babies, toddlers and their carers. Second Tuesday of the month at 1:30pm in St Augustine's Church, Kirkby.
Join us for Holy Communion. The visiting speaker will be Venerable John Day on Faith Pictures.
Midweek communion service celebrating Ascension day.
Come and celebrate Rogation Sunday at the beautiful St Hilda's church in Chop Gate, Bilsdale.
The Rogation Days (from the Latin rogare, ‘to ask’) are the three weekdays before Ascension Day. However, in practice, many churches have observed Rogation on the preceding Sunday (Easter V in the Prayer Book, the Sixth Sunday of Easter in Common Worship). The Prayer Book Gospel includes the words of Jesus, ‘Whatsoever ye shall ask for in my Name, he will give it you’ – words associated with the heavenly intercession of the ascended Christ.
Originally, the Christian observance of Rogation was taken over from Graeco-Roman religion, where an annual procession invoked divine favour to protect crops against mildew. The tradition grew of using processional litanies, often around the parish boundaries, for the blessing of the land. These processions concluded with a mass. The Rogation procession was suppressed at the Reformation, but it was restored in 1559. The poet George Herbert interpreted the procession as a means of asking for God’s blessing on the land, of preserving boundaries, of encouraging fellowship between neighbours with the reconciling of differences, and of charitable giving to the poor. The tradition of ‘beating the bounds’ has been preserved in some communities, while others maintain the traditional use of the Litany within worship. In more recent times, the scope of Rogation has been widened to include petition for the world of work and for accountable stewardship, and prayer for local communities, whether rural or urban.