Visit from Brno

On Friday, 19th June six members of the congregation of the United Methodist Church in Brno arrived in Leeds to spend the weekend as our guests. Last September Adrian Burdon and Ken Tait went to Brno, in the Czech Republic, as part of the Leeds City delegation. Brno is twinned with Leeds.

The party was led by the Revd Jana Krížová, their pastor. After tea and cake at Oxford Place where they were welcomed by some of the congregation, they were taken home by their hosts.

On Saturday we went sightseeing. Jana said she would like to visit Epworth, the birthplace of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, so Angela and Ken Tait took Jana and her son Miky to this small Lincolnshire town where they had a guided tour of the rectory where John Wesley was brought up. The others went with Deacon Ruth Hinch and her husband Rayto York where the visited the minister, walked on the walls and had tea in the Treasurer's House. In the evening vistors and hosts went to Adrian and Janet's to meet more of the Oxford Place church family.

On Sunday Jana preached at morning worship which was attended by the Lord Mayor of Leeds (Councillor Judith Elliott). Jana took her theme from Chapter 4 of Mark's Gospel where Jesus tells the parable of the mustard seed. Jana said that it does not matter how happy and enthusiastic we are, or how sad and desperate we might be in our Christian endeavour we can only prepare the ground and protect the plant because only God can make the seed grow. This is how it is with the spreading of the gospel and the growth of God's Kingdom.

After the morning service we had a Church Family lunch and Jana gave a presentation about the Czech Republic and about the church and attitudes to Christianity. She answered question about life in the Czech Republic now and what is was like during the communist era.

When our friends left after what had been an enjoyable and successful weekend we agreed that we must visit them soon.

Anniversary 2009

On Sunday 3rd May we held our Anniversary service. The worship was led by our superintendent minister, the Revd Adrian Burdon, and our invited preacher was Deacon Sue Culver, Warden of the Methodist Diaconal Order. The service was attended by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Frank Robinson, and the Lady Mayoress, and the Chair of the Leeds Methodist District, the Revd Liz Smith.

Sue Culver took Feet as the theme of her address using the washing of feet as a a symbol of Christian service. She had selected for her Gospel reading the passage in Luke's Gospel about the woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and dried them with her hair.

During her address a large sequence of pictures of feet and the washing of feet were projected on to the wall behind her. The photographs and drawings showed feet of all sizes, and conditions. She invited us to take off our shoes and socks and look at our feet. And then to look at the feet of a neighbour and to touch them and bless them, and have our own feet touched an blessed by a neighbour.

Feet are not always attractive. We may delight in the feet of babies but as feet get bigger and older they usually become less attractive, calloused, and possibly dirty. Touching such feet, washing them and blessing them is a caring act which recognises the worth of the person whose feet are being touched or washed and should not be thought of as demeaning the person carrying out the act of service.

Each time we as Christians or as a church provide a service in our building or out in the streets of the city we are 'washing the feet' of those we meet and serve. When we come together in worship we are washing the feet of each other.

30th Anniversary Celebration

On Sunday 1st February, Oxford Place Church celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the congregation's return after the conversion of its building from a 2000 seater place of worship to a smaller worship space surrounded by meeting rooms and offices – the Oxford Place Centre. Since 1979 the building has been further modified in a number of stages.

The celebration took the form of worship followed by a lunch for the church family and friends who had been part of Oxford Place in 1979, but who have since moved away.

Unfortunately, the Revd Richard Davison, who was superintendent minister from 1974 to 1989, was unable to be with us because of a problem with his train. However, we were pleased to welcome Sister Ruth Baudains (deacon at the time), Joan Oliver (who was involved in the planning for the return and later became our first lay worker), the Revd Albert Jewell (university chaplain) Ken Wilson (who oversaw the reconstruction work and became our first administrator, Marie and Frank Hudson (Frank was the first caretaker of the new Oxford Place Centre), and several other friends.

Some photographs...

This celebration is the first of a series of events that will conclude with the celebration of the 175 years since the church was originally opened in 1835.

Street Chaplains – on the streets again

Now looking for volunteers for January, February and March. [More...]

On Friday 22 November from about 11.00pm until 1.30am in the early hours of Saturday, several small teams of Street Chaplains could be seen in Leeds between the Corn Exchange and the rail station.

The volunteers from a number of the city centre churches gathered in the café at Holy Trinity Church in Boar Lane at 10.15pm to be briefed by the Revd Adrian Burdon who is the link with Safer Leeds, West Yorkshire Police, and British Transport Police.

High visibility tabards with STREET CHAPLAIN on the back were handed out to most of the volunteers. There weren't enough to go round as more had turned up than had been anticipated. Telephone numbers were given out so that we could report serious incidents, but the strong advice was not to get involved if there was violence and to call the emergency services if necessary.

The two Police Community Support Officers who patrolled the area introduced themselves and gave out a contact telephone number.

Out on the streets there were groups of mainly young men and women, inadequately dressed against the cold wind, making there way to clubs and bars. Near the entrances the clubs (entrances which are often no more than a door leading down into a basement underneath the neighbouring shops and restaurants) there were small crowds waiting to go in, smoking, chatting, occasionally shouting.

The traffic was light – dozens of taxis, the occasional bus, one or two private cars.

The rail station was busy with people in more suitable clothing looking to get a train. Away from Boar Lane, Duncan Street and the area around The Calls and Call Lane the streets were quieter.

Each team stayed out for about 40 minutes, returning to base for a hot coffee or cup of tea and maybe a biscuit provided by the base team before returning to the cold street. Most teams went out three times before we gathered together at 1.30am before going home.

The teams had not gone unnoticed. Every team had spoken with someone. Often it was no more than to give directions or exchange an brief greeting. One team had encountered someone who needed to talk, another had helped someone find and get into a taxi. The view of the PCPOs was that it was rather quiet for a Saturday night.

The group was probably too big, and five on-the-street teams too many. The Street Chaplains will be out again on 12 and 19 December, and it is hoped that there will be 12 volunteers on each occasion with three teams on the streets.

Adrian would like to have a number of such groups of 12 who would each go out once a month throughout the year. If you would like to become involved please get in touch with Adrian.

An earlier item on street chaplains ...

Visit to Brno in the Czech Republic

Our superintendent minister, Adrian Burdon, and Ken Tait were part of the delegation from Leeds to Brno in the Czech Republic. The visit (from 20th September to 23rd September) was organised by Leeds City Council as part of the twinning relationship between Brno and Leeds.

The delegation was led by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Frank Robinson, and other members of the group included the Leeds-based band, Bassa Bassa.

Jana and Adrian

On the Sunday of the visit, Adrian and Ken attended worship at the Evangelické Církve Metodistické when Adrian preached the sermon and Ken gave a short presentation about Oxford Place. Later they shared a meal with members of the congregation at the home of the pastor, the Revd Dr Jana Krížová. On other days Adrian and Ken joined in parts of the civic programme including an exhibition by the East Street Arts group and a concert by Brno schools which was followed by a reception. More about this visit can be found in the Autumn issue (97) of Life and Work.

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