The Vicar Writes – Page 25 – The Church of England in Marsden and Slaithwaite

A line from Psalm 118: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good

A Psalm for Palm Sunday

April 5, 2020 Rev Holdsworth Scripture

Taking Holy Communion this evening, Psalm 118 seems remarkably upbeat for a Church unable to physically meet, and yet as we gathered in heart and mind to take communion, and as I thought about all the homes and businesses, the countryside and the schools – the places we work and play; this beautiful place in which we live and dream…[…]

A photograph of part of Rublev's Trinity

Sunday Worship during lockdown

April 4, 2020 Rev Holdsworth Scripture

The question I’ve been struggling with for over a week is, “How can we worship publically, when the church buildings are closed and gathering physically will put people’s lives at risk?” This coronavirus pandemic is changing the face of the country we live in, and challenging how we remain both ‘together’ and ‘public’. After writing to everyone on the electoral[…]

What does today’s church look like to you?

April 1, 2020 Rev Holdsworth Church life, Reflection

This website for St James’, St Bartholomew’s and Shred is a new one, and I’m collecting photographs, drawings and images to help illustrate what the life of our churches looks like. When creating a church website from scratch, the obvious thing to do is populate it with lots of images of the gorgeous and awesome ancient buildings we worship inside…[…]

Image of book with words, "To you O Lord I lift up my soul"

Let us pray with one heart and mind

March 26, 2020 Rev Holdsworth Church life, Prayer

One the the most significant stages in the growth of my faith, was learning to say Morning Prayer from the Church of England’s Daily Office. It isn’t the only form of regular prayer devotional, but it was the one which resonated with me. There was something about the liturgy (here I mean the words we say together as a church)[…]

Kirklees Community Response (Covid19)

March 25, 2020 Rev Holdsworth Church life, Letter

Kirklees Council have opened a new dedicated helpline as part of their Covic-19 Community Response. The Council are working alongside our citizens and local organisations to make sure that together we can all support our neighbours and communities over the coming weeks. They are working especially closely with local voluntary sector organisations through our partners at Volunteering Kirklees (part of[…]

A letter to our community

March 24, 2020 Rev Holdsworth Church life, Letter

To the people of Marsden, Slaithwaite and the surrounding communities: Peace be with you. I’m the new Vicar of St Bartholomew’s, St James and Shred and I pray for everyone in our towns and villages every single day. I try to picture in my mind, aspects of our community; our schools and homes, our businesses and the places we play,[…]