Newsletter June 2025

PENTECOST

Dear friends,

On 8 June, we celebrate with churches across the world—the day of Pentecost.

The scene of Pentecost is vividly depicted in the Bible. Roughly one hundred and twenty people are assembled in a room, feeling rather lost and despondent and unsure about what to do without Jesus. Then suddenly they experience an extraordinary storm. A violent wind, sparks, flames. And they are ‘bewildered’, ‘amazed’, ‘astonished.’

The people, both in this room as well as in the growing crowd outside, break out in wild chatter. Chatter in dozens of languages from across the globe. In the Bible, the Gospel writer, Luke uses the verb ‘hear’ three times in his narrative. A better translation would be ‘to listen’. It is important to capture the active, purposeful nature of the verb. The emphasis of the passage is on listening rather than speaking. Listening to where the Holy Spirit is leading by listening to one another.

Similarly, in Jesus’ encounters with people have you ever noticed how He listens deeply to their story. In listening to their stories, He gives people His full attention which shows their story, their lives matter and are worthy and important. THAT is God’s love in action.

And we can do the same. We can embody and share God’s love when we take the time to listen to another person’s story. Giving someone our time and full attention shows them that their life matters and is important.

There’s a beautiful quote by Epictetus:

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”

So, this month I invite us to embody the spirit of Pentecost by opening our ears and hearts to one other in our churches, communities and world.

Nicola

CALENDAR
1st	SUNDAY	10.45am	Morning Worship led by Rev Phil Chilvers
8th	SUNDAY	10.45am	Morning Worship, including the Sacrament of Holy Communion, led by our Minister, Rev Dr Nicola Robinson
		12 noon	CHURCH MEETING
10th	Tuesday	12.30pm	Guild Lunch
15th	SUNDAY		No Morning Worship—Leeds 10k Run
22nd	SUNDAY	10.45am	Morning Worship led by Rev Phil Chilvers
29th	SUNDAY	10.45am	Morning Worship led by Rev Angela Hughes

LENT APPEAL – a Thank You

On behalf of Zarach, we would like to thank everyone at Headingley St Columba United Reformed Church for their donations of £1274.65 (plus gift aid).

Our Every Head a Bed commitment means that for every £150.00 raised another child will receive one of our bed bundles ensuring a good night’s sleep and an equal opportunity to learn.

A Bed Bundle consists of a brand new bed with a mattress, duvet, pillow, sheet, duvet cover, pyjamas and a story book. Your donation will go towards paying for 10 beds and bed bundles, enabling those children to improve their opportunity to engage with their education and a chance to break the cycle of poverty.

We know there are many charities you could have chosen to donate to and would like to thank you sincerely for choosing to support Zarach.

And from the ‘Food Bank’.

I am sorry it is a while since I last Emailed you with news of our work. Sadly, demand has meant that we have been very busy and with the proposed cuts to benefits, I can only see this increasing.

In the last year to April 25, we experienced a 19.4% increase in parcels given out. Over this period, we supported over 18.000 people. However, we have experienced an 8% drop in public donations of food. I felt on the Tesco food drive at Christmas that donations were down on previous years and I think that on-going difficulties arising from the cost of living increases is a contributing factor.

So, we have had to increase stock purchases by 264%. As I mentioned previously, we are now buying to fill our food parcels rather than selected items which we didn’t have.

Clients when asked about their experience of visiting the foodbank use words like “helpful, “kind”, “understanding”. One client said “If not for you, I would have really struggled”.

We are so grateful for your donations.

Please thank everyone.

Best wishes,
Audrey

GUILD LUNCH

We shall meet on Tuesday, 13th June at about 12.30pm for lunch at 1 o’clock. All are welcome – if you fancy a change, why not come along for a simple meal and a chance to chat with friends.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I am writing this on the ‘Spring Bank Holiday’—the last weekend in May. Sorry, even after fifty years of use it still does not feel quite right because surely it should be called ‘Whit Monday’. (Although that is not due for another two weeks!).

Whitsuntide was celebrated as a holiday long before Bank holidays were put into law and in medieval times was a week set apart from the agricultural year. The tradition continued for generations when it took the form of fêtes, fairs, pageants and parades. There were Whitsun ales and Morris dancing often in the south of England and Whit walks, Club Days and wakes in the north.

In Manchester during the 17th century the nearby Kersal Moor Whit races were the great event of the year when large numbers of people turned the area into a giant fairground for several days. As cities grew and became industrialised Whit Week became a traditional ‘wakes week’ when towns were almost closed down so that the machinery in the mills and factories could be cleaned and serviced.

A report in John Harlan and T.T. Wilkinson’s Lancashire Folk lore (1882) reads:

‘It is customary for the cotton mills etc., to close for Whitsuntide week to give the hands a holiday; the men going to the races etc. and the women visiting Manchester on Whit-Saturday, thronging the markets, the Royal Exchange and the Infirmary Esplanade, and other public places: And gazing in at the shop windows, whence this day is usually called ‘Gaping Sunday’.’

[My social life as I grew up centred on our Church and as we entered our teens there was always a Whit Monday hike, followed, when we were older, by a dance and social. I still have photographic evidence of the hike—my friends and I sitting on the branch of a tree in traditional hiking gear—Wellington boots and school blazer! Happy memories – hope you have them, too. If so, do share them.]

And where does the title ‘Whit Sunday’ come from?

Perhaps from the white garments of the catechumens, those expecting to be baptised on that Sunday. However, Augustinian canon John Mirk (c.1382–1414), of Lilleshall Abbey, Shropshire, had another interpretation. He thought the root of the word was “wit” (formerly spelt “wyt” or “wytte”)—rather than ‘white’ and Whitsun was so-called to signify the outpouring of the wisdom of the Holy Ghost on Christ’s disciples.

In the church we now tend to call the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples as the Festival of Pentecost. This comes from the Greek word pentēkostē which means fiftieth as it falls on the fiftieth day after Easter. It would have come at time when Jewish people were gathered together to celebrate ‘Shavuot’; a harvest festival that is celebrated seven weeks and one day after the first day of Passover and also to celebrate God’s coming to Mount Sinai when the Ten Commandments were presented to Moses.

For us Pentecost and the Coming of the Holy Spirit is also the ‘Birthday’ of the Christian Church.