Here at St Philip's we have a strong programme of outreach, worship and ministry as we seek to encounter Jesus, praise and service Him, and tell our neighbours about His love. From September to June we have a packed programme of beacon events, special events and midweek activities.However, God commands us to rest. To pause and recharge.God has set a principle that 1 day in 7 should be set aside for sabbath. So important is this rhythm to God, He placed this instruction in the ten commandments. Consider carefully: God thinks resting is as important as not murdering or lying!1 in 7 is about 14%.So, as well as a weekly rhythm, at St Philip's we try to set aside 2 months from 12 (16%) as months of rest.As we head into July we have no special events, and we're winding down our midweek activities.From Sunday 20 July we suspend most midweek groups, and the six Sundays in the school holiday are all All Age services with no groups for children or youth to provide much needed rest to our brilliant volunteers.What does continue are our services:- Family Worship on Sundays 10.30am- Book of Common Prayer Morning Prayer on Wednesdays 10am- Our Father's House service on Wednesdays 7pm in the church hallWe also continue to host the much needed Foodbank.Autumn 2025When we enter back into the school term in September we have a brilliant programme of Connect Groups, Community Beacon Events, and special services and times of worship. This autumn we'll be hosting the following:- Back to School Sunday, 7 September- Prayer & Praise Service, 21 September (subject to confirmation)- Harvest, 5 October- BIG TREAT (Halloween Alternative), 31 October- Community Bonfire Party, 1 November- All Saints Service, 2 November
You are invited!Holy Week and Easter 2025 - full flier herePalm Sunday - Sunday 13 April10.30am - All Age Service of Procession with Palms and Passion Reading (starts outside Festival Foods)Monday 14 April10am - Morning PrayerTuesday 15 April10am - Morning PrayerWednesday 16 April10am - Morning PrayerMaundy Thursday - Thursday 17 April9.30am - Prayers in Chapel11am - Chrism Mass at Ripon Cathedral7pm - Holy Communion with optional Feet Washing8-10pm - The Watch: prayers and silence in chapelGood Friday - Friday 18 April10.30am - Family Service with Prayer Stations and Dramatic Reading of Passion2pm - Hour at the CrossEaster Sunday - Sunday 20 April6am - Dawn Vigil and Service of Light starting in Hall8.30am - Easter Breakfast in Hall10.30am - Easter Celebration with Baptisms
2025 will be a full year.The first four months, January to April, take us through the seasons of Epiphany, Lent, culminating in our Easter celebrations on 20 April.As well as our usual Sunday worship we'll be marking the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, 5 March, with three special services to cater for the various types of household we support.Prior to Lent starting, we host an Annual PANCAKE OLYMPICS, which is our family event encouraging people to think about the deeper meaning and significance of Pancake Day - as well as having lots of fun with pancakes!There's lots more beside this. Here is a list of the special events we've got coming up:January5th Epiphany All Age ServiceFebruary2nd Christingle Candlemas All Age ServiceMarch2nd Transfiguration Sunday All Age Service4th Pancake Olympics, 4-6pm5th ASH WEDNESDAY (Lent begins)10am BCP Morning Prayer with Litany and Commination 4pm Family Service 7pm Holy Communion with Ashing23rd Annual Parochial Church Meeting, 12.30pm30th Mothering SundayApril6th Passiontide Begins – Service of Service HOLY WEEK13th Palm Sunday17th Maundy Thursday18th Good Friday: 10.30am Family Service; 2pm Hour at the Cross20th Easter Sunday: 6am Dawn Vigil, 7am Service of Light, 8-9.45am Breakfast, 10.30am Celebration 21st Family Event - walk to and picnic at Temple Newsam
St Philip's invites you to come and participate in the joy of Easter through the entire season - not just one day!We've taken a break after Easter for the school break, but from mid-April all our usual activities are back on - check the events page or our Facebook page!We have some exciting SPECIAL EVENTS coming up...Thursday 9 May, 7pm ASCENSION DAY service of Holy Communion.Saturday 18 May, 11-3pm FAMILY FUN DAY and SPRING FAIR, building on last year's massively successful (and sunny!) community event, we're hoping for another great occasion for all the community - activities for children and young people, games, arts and crafts, information about the church, live music, food including our BBQ, spring fair with jumble sale, and a raffle and tombola. We hope this event brings people together and creates new friendships.Sunday 19 May, 10.30am PENTECOST service and INTERNATIONAL MEAL. The day after the Family Fun Day EVERYONE is invited to come and celebrate the birthday of the church. 2,000 years ago the first Christians were formed into the church by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On that day people from across the world came to follow Jesus - St Philip's is a diverse church and we want to celebrate this! After the joyful service (which you are encouraged to wear RED for) we will gather for an international meal, where people are invited to bring along their favourite national food. This will be a fuddle with a bang! Free to everyone - come for worship, fun and food!Do get in touch if you're interested in these events. All these events have their own page on achurchnearyou
