Setting the scene, ‘Welcome to Worship’ ~ with a beautiful photo of Yushan, Mt. Jade – Taiwan’s highest mountain….. And the sun was out at St. Helen’s Church, Sandal Magna, Wakefield, W. Yorks as I arrived on Saturday afternoon for … Continue reading Sandal Parish, Wakefield ~ And what a great CMS Link Visit!
RIP Jo Cox, MP for Batley and Spen, tragically killed yesterday in a vicious act of violence. St. Thomas Church, Batley is one of my beloved CMS Link Churches, full of great people, the salt of the earth. When I last visited Batley in April 2015 it was in the midst of the election campaign in which Jo Cox won the seat for Batley and Spen. Praying for her family, friends, and the whole community of Batley at this sad time. This is my blog post from that visit to St. Thomas Church, originally posted on April 13, 2015…. https://catherinelee234.wordpress.com/2015/04/13/cms-link-visit-to-st-thomas-church-batley-w-yorkshire/ Continue reading Reblog: My CMS Link Visit to St. Thomas Church, Batley, W. Yorkshire
The Church of England’s Holy Week and Easter short film of Psalm 22…. “My God, My God why have you forsaken me ?” The words spoken by Jesus on the Cross from Psalm 22 inspired our new JustPray video for Easter. The film follows on from The Lord’s Prayer advert launched by the Church last Christmas which was banned by cinemas for its religious content. The stars of the film have struggled with drug addiction, crime and homelessness on their journey to faith. Find out more about their stories here: http://www.justpray.uk/Psalm%2022/ Visit http://www.justpray.uk to learn more about prayer and to share your … Continue reading “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
On January 17, 2015, Selby Abbey suddenly became England’s most famous church. Not to the English in England maybe. But in Taiwan and perhaps Mainland China, definitely yes. Suddenly more famous than Canterbury Cathedral, York Minster, St. Paul’s or Westminster Abbey. And the place has been humming with Taiwanese and Chinese visitors ever since. All coming to see the church and town where famous Taiwanese singer Jay Chou 周杰倫 and his wife were married on that day. The internet is buzzing with reports of the great event, the Daily Mail one is here. The couple certainly kept it secret at the time, but … Continue reading Selby Abbey ~ wedding venue for Jay Chou 周杰倫!
Some churches just look kinda amazing on the outside – but then are a major disappointment when you get in. Well, they’re often ancient, beautiful, calm, lovely, but oh so dark, oh so huge, oh so impractical….. St. Thomas Church, Batley is the opposite. Huge, dark, imposing and grim on the outside, especially on a rainy day. But get inside and it’s a whole different world. No pews, they’re long gone. It’s all chairs. And carpet. And the best thing is the big east window. RED, so very RED! And the choir stalls have little red lamps, matching the red … Continue reading CMS Link Visit to St. Thomas Church, Batley, W. Yorkshire
An hour. Never long enough of course. Certainly not to see everything at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. But worth it on a sunny spring day with an hour to spare…. There’s tons of sculptures by famous people like Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and even Ai Weiwei… so many in fact that it’s impossible to look at everything – so a few highlights only! Iron Tree by Ai Weiwei (above) is located right next to what was the old chapel, now used for an art installation about coal. The tree is constructed from branches, roots and trunks from all different trees. Recycled … Continue reading Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Crossing the A66 yesterday on my way from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire to West Kilbride, on Scotland’s west coast ~ and called in at Mainsgill Farm. Been past this place many times in the last few months and noticed camels and llamas in the front field ~ kinda seems strange for the Pennines! But hey, it’s a great place with lots of farm animals, many with babies on show or eating away, and ignoring the visitors! Great place for a coffee break, and to say hi to the animals! Continue reading Mainsgill Farm, N. Yorkshire
From mills to minster ~ Dewsbury used to be famous for its mills, now it’s the minster that has pride of place in the town. Actually there’s been a place of worship there ever since about AD 627 when Paulinus came to visit and soon the ancient minster parish covered 400 miles all across northern England…. These days Dewsbury has a large Asian community, mostly Muslim, and Dewsbury Minster is the designated Christian Interfaith Centre for the area, so lots of groups come to learn about the Christian faith. In the mid 1990’s the minster was completely reorganized – the east … Continue reading CMS Link Visit to Dewsbury, W. Yorkshire
Fantastic church, wonderful people, and a whole lot of lovely new Chinese friends! My links with Huddersfield go back years and years, and Holy Trinity Church, just north of the centre of the town, has always been really supportive of CMS ~ and of me too! When my good friends Pam and Nigel moved to Holy Trinity from Heighington, Co. Durham in the late 1980’s, and there I was, preparing to join CMS and go to Tanzania, Holy Trinity offered their support – and hey presto, they’re still supporting me all these years later. Actually Pam and Nigel have been away … Continue reading CMS Link Visit to Holy Trinity Church, Huddersfield
Catherine Lee 