Author: DigiComms

Join us for our District Gathering – a day of inspiration as we explore the theme: Transforming (not maintaining) the status quo.

Representative Synod is a District event held in autumn and spring each year. In addition to discussing formal business, Synod is an opportunity for us to gather from across North & East Yorkshire to worship, learn and share stories. It’s a place for conferring, conversation, talks, and workshops.

Everyone is welcome to attend, and it is open to any visitors.

Connect with others from all around the district in sharing experiences, challenges, and discussions.

Find more details, synod papers, links, and more here:
https://www.yorkshirenemethodist.org/district/synods/

Saturday 10th May 2025
9.30am – 3.00pm
Manor Academy
(Millfield Lane, Nether Poppleton, YORK, YO26 6PA)

Flourish Festival: Woven Threads Tickets are live!! Following on from our successful events in 2019 and 2023. Come to York in 2026 for this diverse all-age festival of inspiration, celebration, worship and renewal.

A diverse programme across a 3-day event, Friday evening to Sunday lunchtime, to help us grow as Flourishing Missional Communities. Our theme for 2026 is WOVEN THREADS
Rediscovering our place together in God’s big tapestry.

Click the links below to be the first to purchase your Flourish2026 tickets!

General Admission – https://bit.ly/Flourish26
Children Youth and Family Streams – https://bit.ly/FlourishCYF

Are you looking to flourish in your faith?

SAVE THE DATE

Join us in 2026 for FLOURISH Festival – Woven Threads

Rediscovering our place together in God’s big tapestry…
speakers | workshops | worship | activities | inspiration

13-15 Feb 2026 at the University of York
The largest all-age Methodist gathering in the UK

Find out more, FAQs, and sign up to email updates, here:
https://www.yorkshirenemethodist.org/flourish26/

Programme coming soon!

A weekend exploring our diversity with sessions across four streams (threads!):

– Rediscovering curiosity at the heart of faith
– Rediscovering justice at the heart of life
– Rediscovering God’s call at the heart of you
– Rediscovering revolution at the heart of church

Join us for an exciting day of inspiration, workshops, and conversation as we explore together the theme “The Kingdom of God is like…” Open to everyone – we are hoping to have 250 people from around the district gathering at York Manor Academy.

SATURDAY 11TH MAY 2024 | YORK | 9.30am – 3.00pm

We hope to have an exhibition space, opportunity to learn and discuss, formal workshops, and creative spaces for craft and prayer. The day will start with worship and include a small amount of Synod business. Please bring your own lunch and reusable cup for hot drinks. 

Find out more, and book to come, here:
www.yorkshirenemethodist.org/district/synods/

Flourish is returning in February 2026. New location. New speakers. New focus. Save the date!

13/02/26 – 15/02/26
University of York

Flourish 2026 will be exploring the theme ‘Woven Threads’ – a phrase that recognises that we are individuals that feed into the body of the church, and that each thread has a role in building the tapestry of the Methodist Church.

Stay tuned for more details in due course…

You can find out more about Flourish, along with a recap of the 2023 event here:
www.yorkshirenemethodist.org/flourish23/

“Don’t wake the baby!” has returned for a second series and is the perfect way for your church to connect with or support parents of babies and toddlers in 2024! The podcast is hosted by (and the creation of) Emma and Elliot Crippen, who are young parents themselves, and is in partnership with The Kairos Movement and Yorkshire North & East Methodist District.
Find out more here: www.kairosmovement.org.uk/dontwakethebaby/
Listen to the show on YouTube, or on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

HOW CAN YOUR CHURCH USE THIS RESOURCE?

Many churches, whilst providing great community groups for babies, toddlers and families, often struggle to offer anything to engage with the parents who bring their children. Initiatives like Messy Church and Stay-and-Play toddler groups often attract many non-church goers from the community, but the only follow-on opportunities are often inviting them to church on a Sunday morning. This is not likely to work for busy parents (outside of whether your Sunday service is suitable for them). This is where a digital initiative (online church or “grace space”) is ideally suited.

As a district, we recognised that local churches and circuits were unlikely to have the time, skills or resources to create something like this themselves but that we could create a district-wide project that could be used by all. We want to free you up so you can minister to children while we minister to the parents. Remember we are all working together to grow God’s kingdom. Our aim shouldn’t be to get these parents to come to your church on a Sunday – and it doesn’t matter where they get their spiritual belonging or discipleship from. It may be online, it may be in person. It may be at your church midweek, it may be at a different church, it may be through a podcast, it may be talking with other parents, or it may be within The Kairos Movement.

If you have Church baby/toddler groups, Messy Churches, or anything aimed at families… Then here’s how you could utilise the podcast:

Support parents you’re in contact with by sharing the podcast with them

If you’d like flyers, cards or other publicity material get in contact with Elliot and he can send you printed advertising for the podcast that you can display or give out. Or you can find lots of digital publicity (videos, graphics and more) to share on social media here: YouTube | Facebook | Instagram

Send details of your (Yorkshire) CYF groups to be shared with podcast listeners

As part of this two-way offering, we are signposting to our listeners the various groups for under 5s that are available around the District. We want to promote your church so we can both flourish, so I’d love to hear from you if you run or host a group! Take a look at the list and let me know:
www.yorkshirenemethodist.org/baby-and-toddler-groups/

Use the themes, topics & questions as ideas for talking points with parents at your church

Listen to the podcast yourself and learn about current issues and life experiences of young parents today (how things have changed) so you cater your family ministry or Sunday service to be more relevant to their lives, or just so you have a better sense of what to talk to parents about.

An example of what something new and creative online could look like

This project is a digital “new places for new people” (NPNP) and partly an experiment in trying something completely new to reach people outside the church. Use it to inspire you to explore how you might engage with non-churchgoers in your context.

Let’s work together!
digital@yorkshirenemethodist.org

Elliot Crippen works as Digital Enabler for Yorkshire North & East Methodist District

About the project

Here’s how the podcast describes itself:
Unwind on sleepless nights to a wholesome mix of parenting, humour, and crafting. A fun, honest and unscripted conversation between Emma and Elliot on non-judgemental parenting and millennial-based topics, as we relax in the blanket fort with a craft or creative activity.

Find out more, or listen to the podcast, here: www.kairosmovement.org.uk/dontwakethebaby

WHAT IS A PODCAST?

The term “podcasting” was first used in February 2004. A podcast is like a radio show that you can listen to on demand. You subscribe to it on your smartphone and listen to it whenever you like. They can be any length, from a 1 minute news snippet, to a 3 hour in-depth interview. They can be any frequency, from daily to monthly. They can be any format, from simple solo shows up to multi-person audio dramas. Each episode is normally run by one or two regular presenters, talking about that subject. A lot of podcasts are really simple, just a few friends chatting about something that they’re all really passionate about.

WHAT ABOUT FAITH?

Emma and Elliot are open on the podcast about being Christians but the main topics focus on parenting. They are following the Fresh Expression pathway of initially “loving and serving” and “building community” first and in time more elements of “church” will take shape. In many episodes Emma and Elliot share the work, vision and values of The Kairos Movement – exposing it to a larger audience outside the church (also offering follow-on opportunities for those wanting to connect or explore more). They also occasionally share small snippets of their faith journey, however, they keep it very ‘light’ and non-preachy. Emma and Elliot are the face of the project (hoping to showcase Christians as “normal” people who can have liberal views), and listeners feel they are relating to them as individuals, not to a church.

HAS IT BEEN FRUITFUL?

The podcast launched in July 2023 and produced 10 episodes over the summer plus a bonus outtake episode. Series 2 launched in December 2023 and there are now a total of over 18 episodes to listen back to (they are topic-based so can be watched in any order at any time) with new episodes each week on a Thursday.

There have been over 1,500 Listens* of the podcast so far, and an engaged audience of 30-40 people who tune in each week. 

More importantly are the stories that emerge from those tuning in, with some comments including:

Read more here: www.yorkshirenemethodist.org/news-events/successful-podcast-launch/

The weather recently has been mild but very wet. As the sleepout approaches, I am not sure which is worse, cold, or wet. That of course assumes that we get to choose one or the other, and do not have to endure both!

The sleepout this year is on 20^th January, Lidgett has kindly agreed to host us once more. As previously, we encourage you to run your own campsite and can offer support to help you do this. Or, as many homeless people sofa surf, we would love it if you boycotted your bed if this feels more doable.

This is the fifth year of the sleepout. In that time, we have raised over £20,000, which has gone to local charities, Carecent, Inspire North and SASH. This year we are once more supporting Carecent and InspireNorth.

As many of you know Carecent is a breakfast centre for all homeless, unemployed or otherwise socially excluded members of our community. It operates from Central Methodist church on St Saviourgate in the centre of York. They provide food, clothing and fellowship in a friendly and non-judgemental environment. The volunteer staff listen, offer support and advice, collaborating with other agencies, when appropriate, to move people forward to an improved lifestyle. For more information please visit https://www.carecent.org.uk

Inspire North (charity number 1180693) is the parent organisation of Community Links and Foundation, two charities leading the way in mental health and housing support across the north of England. Their goal is to create a world where everyone matters, building brighter futures for people within the health and social care sector through their family of organisations. For more information please visit www.inspirenorth.co.uk

If you are going to join us in any capacity, please sign up at  https://bit.ly/3vuySS0 so we can cheer you on.

If you can support us by giving please go to https://bit.ly/3S0wkEf

If you need more information contact Victoria victoria@methodistyouth.org.uk or Keira Snaith admin@carecent.org.uk

Join Elliot Crippen, Ben Clowes and Rory Dalgliesh for an opportunity to drop-in and discuss more around the themes from the recent “Exploring Digital” online conference run by The Methodist Church (although it’s open to anyone, not just those who attended). We hope to offer practical steps you can take, beginner help, and where we go next within the context of our district. Focusing mostly on the themes covered in the conference: AI, Online Church, and Social Media. (watch a recording of the Conference on YouTube)

Monday 13th November
10am – 12pm
On Zoom (link below)

We’re aware that the time may not suit everyone, and we apologise – due to the nature of the open conversation, we will not be able to record the event, but would consider offering another opportunity for discussion at a different time if there was enough interest.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97031490291?pwd=TVVCUmtYVUtVN1g2UjViWS9yeGEvQT09

Meeting ID: 970 3149 0291
Passcode: 957433

Our hope is that this session will offer some of the following, although we will be guided by those who drop-in and may not be able to cover everything within this conversation:

• Capitalising on the momentum of the “Exploring Digital” conference to keep conversations around digital going
• An attempt to disseminate some of the learning (to those who didn’t attend the conference)
• Offering some follow-on and practical application / training opportunities (from our District Digital Enabler) that weren’t prominent during the conference.
• Sharing a district vision on where we might be heading with digital in a Methodist and District Context – particularly with the online church and social media conversations. Some practical templates for what could be ‘next steps’.
• Gathering those who are involved in digital in local churches around the district – those who “get it” – and offering support to those often isolated voices, spread around the district – finding ways we can support you.

Find more digital resources from our District Digital Enabler, Elliot Crippen, here:

Also note this follow on event from the Connexion:
Exploring Digital Lunchtime Learning – Wednesday 15th November
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exploring-digital-lunchtime-learning-tickets-732332665717

A STUDY ON THE MUSICAL PRACTICE OF CONGREGATIONAL SINGING WITHIN THE YORKSHIRE NORTH AND EAST METHODIST DISTRICT.

Following an Undergraduate Masters which looked at the role of hymnody within the 21st Century Methodist Church, our District Administrator, Naomi Prince, is continuing her studies by looking at the relationship between congregational singing and evangelism. 

In 2020, the Methodist Conference voted on the ‘God for All’ strategy, which is a 5 year strategy about evangelism within the Methodist Church. Although aspects of this strategy look at how the church can reach to those who are not already churched, but what about those already in the church. How do we empower those in the church to be evangelistic?

The starting base for this research is a section of the God for All strategy titled  ‘Making Beautiful Worship: Beautiful Worship within the Gathered Community of Faith’. It talks about worship needing to ‘connect people to God and transform them for mission within the world’ and ‘inspire [them] through worship to serve God in daily life’ so therefore one of the questions that I am asking is: How does congregational singing fit into all of this? 

Nidd Valley Methodist Circuit continues to produce a short reflection online each Sunday – these mini “TED Talks” on a particular theme by members of the Circuit Team are done (mostly) in sets of three and are available on YouTube for other churches around the District to utilise.

(Do get in touch if your church/circuit has a particular resource that you’d like us to share more widely!)

History and Development of these online talks:
Since the beginning of lockdown, the Circuit provided weekly online pre-recorded services on Facebook and YouTube which were well-received by many people. As part of working out how these could help people grow as disciples of Christ, and also ease the pressure on staff and resources needed to create them, the circuit decided to change the format slightly from the beginning of January 2023. The videos no longer have music or hymns, were changed to 9am (not 10.30am), and moved to a TED talk style format. They are now short, informal but punchy talks. The preacher opens with a prayer, a short Bible reading, and then a talk of about 8-10 minutes finishing with a closing prayer. They are grouped together on YouTube into playlists so people can go back and listen to several successive talks on similar themes.

Here are the sermon series options so far available as playlists on YouTube (each with 3 videos on a theme) which you can link to, show, or use in your context:

“The Infancy of Jesus” – by Revd Ruth Parry (Supernumerary)

“Eating with Jesus” – by Revd Moses

“Once upon a time” – a journey through Ruth (by Revd Ben Clowes – 4 videos)

“Women of the Old Testament” – by Revd Lesley Taylor

“Walking through the Book of Revelation” – by Clair Webster (Local Pastor)

“Water” – by Revd Ruth Parry (Supernumerary)

“Faces of Failure” – by Revd Moses

“The Outrageous Grace of God” – by Revd Ben Clowes

“Moses: Call, Conversation and Co-operation” – by Revd Lesley Taylor

Nidd Valley Methodist Circuit is very open to others being involved in this and offering a set of studies – so if you would like to contribute to this ongoing resource, do get in touch with Revd Ben Clowes (Superintendent Minister).