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Dear friends,

Doing things differently doesn’t always come easily to us. Especially if we have been used to particular patterns, places and times. Over the next few months we have a number of opportunities to do experience our worship differently.

As a part of the Holy Habits theme focussing on fellowship, we are planning an away day on 22nd June to be held at the Peverell Centre in Castleton. We will explore the theme of hospitality and fellowship during the day.

The plan is that for our Sunday service the next day we will return to Castleton to share with the people there in worship.

Different, yes; the chance to meet and with worship with others, yes; the opportunity to reflect on our community out of the familiar situation, yes.

We will of course be looking at arranging transport for all who need it.

Another aspect of our Holy Habits experience is linking with other local congregations in order to appreciate and learn from one another, and also to reduce the pressure on preachers over the summer. We will be visiting our friends at Carterknowle on Sunday 4th August, they will be joining us on 18th August, when Chris Bishop will be preaching.

On 25th August we will be joining our friends at Millhouses for worship.

We also plan on Sunday evenings from May to have a gathering of people to worship, share fellowship together but with no appointed preacher. This is a response to having fewer numbers, but recognising that it is a meaningful time for those who attend. So, another fresh approach.

I wonder what we will discover through these different approaches and experiences?

Peace

Tim

Services during May

Holy Communion & Holy Habits

Save the Date

We are planning to have an Awayday to the Peveril Centre in Castleton on Saturday, 22nd June. The theme of the day will be Fellowship as part of the next Holy Habit.

More details to follow but wanted people to save the date.

Paula

Church Family News

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Please pray for Lawrie Ginn and all his family at this very sad time, his daughter Helen having recently passed away. She was always glad to share fellowship at Banner Cross. It's been wonderful to get to know her over the years she's been coming to stay with her Dad.

Please continue to pray for Duncan and Jane Storey; Steve and Alison Russell, and for anyone else who are in any sort of distress.

We were delighted to witness the Baptism of Rachel Elizabeth Barker at the Palm Sunday evening Holy Communion Service.  We know her as "Lizzie", daughter of Ann and Chris, of course.

Congratulations to Jenny Dunn who ran the Sheffield Half Marathon on Sunday 14th April. Amazing!

Congratulations to our Little Fish Toddler Group - who celebrate their 10th birthday on 14th April.

Chris.

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Our Little Fish Toddler Group is

Ten Years Old

On Monday, 15th April during our morning session, we celebrated with balloons, party hats, face masks and buns for the children, after their healthy snack. Parents and carers had yummy buns too ! At 12 noon, past and present helpers came

To celebrate and our Minister Tim, said a few words and then two beautiful cakes were cut and served tea or coffee. For those that could not make it, cake was delivered to them in their homes.

If anyone can give up three hours on a Monday morning and is willing to help on a rota, please contact me, as we are struggling for helper in our sessions. Thanks.

Hazel Harrison

Banner Cross Schoolroom Sale
The sale progresses and now, we have an Auction Sale date from the Auctioneers, Messrs Mark Jenkinson & Son. The sale will take place on Wednesday, the 10th of July, 2019.

Just to remind you that on that day, we will lose all access rites into the Schoolroom, and as a consequence, any items left in the Room on that date will no longer be ours. In theory, we are to sell the Room will vacant possession, so please ensure that anything that we wish to retain is cleared from the room after the Garage Sale on the 18th of May, as we shall organise clearance of articles remaining subsequent to the 18th.

Thanks

Phil Brown

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May Day Trek

Monday 6th May

I have registered a group from Banner Cross to take part in this walk as we normally do. Please consider joining in even if you don’t normally. It’s only 6 miles so even at a dawdle it takes less than 2 hours and the Lodge Moor route is quite flat.

We meet at St Luke’s Church, Lodge Moor at around 9.30am ready to leave at 10am.

I always take a bag but never get anything out of it as there’s refreshments provided on our return.

Please let Chris Rowe know if you would like to come and we can sort out some car sharing for the day.

We will also collect some joint sponsor money if you would like to sponsor us for this great cause please? I’ll bring a sponsor form to church.

Thank you.

Chris

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Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.    John Heywood

Desperate Plea !

Owing to the well-deserved retirement of several members, we are now desperately short of helpers in the weekday Coffee Lounge, especially on Thursdays and Fridays, so much so that some people are scheduled to be on duty on alternate weeks – far too much to ask ! Please consider whether you could join the team, hopefully on a 4-week rotation. If you see me bearing down on you, don’t run away but be prepared with a very good excuse.

Jackie

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Community Partnership

Sponsored bike ride along Lon Las Cymru

(Wales’ Blue Lane)

  Sean, his daughter Amelia and her partner Kurt will be riding the length of Wales from Chepstow to Holyhead to raise money for our community partnership.  

We are currently supporting a Christian Aid initiative to help internal migrants from the Syrian conflict and those crossing the border to neighbouring Iraq and Lebanon. The project focuses particularly on helping young people and people with disabilities. More information can be found at https://www.christianaid.org.uk/community-partnerships/community-partnerships-syrias-refugees or on the notice board in Room 1 at Church.

Literally translating as Wales' Blue Lane, this is a gruelling 250 mile ride through the heart of Wales, taking in the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia, as well as the Black Mountains and Cambrian Mountains of mid-Wales. More challenging and twice as long as the Coast-to-Coast ride, the route sticks to quiet lanes and old railway paths, with more than 5500 metres of climbing along the route. It would be great if you can sponsor us - please see Sean in Church or email him at svm_ashton@yahoo.co.uk

Welcome to My World

Joyce Waterhouse

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Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I was born in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, on the 25th of April 1927. I had an older brother and a younger sister. As a child, I went to lots of schools in Shrewsbury, and then in Wolverhampton.  I was 12 when the Second World War broke out so my education was disrupted because we were always having to run into the shelters. When I left school, I went to work in the office at the Co-op. Then when I was 17, I went to see Matron at the local hospital. I was allowed to start my training as a nurse a year early at the Royal Hospital, Wolverhampton.

After a few years nursing, I met my future husband, Arthur, who was in the Army. We met at my brother’s 21st birthday celebrations. Arthur was the first Yorkshireman I had ever met. We got married in 1949 and went to live in Leeds, before moving to Sheffield. We had three daughters: Brenda, Carol and Kate. When my youngest girl had gone to school, I started midwifery training at the Jessop Hospital for Women here in Sheffield. I was a midwife for over 20 years and delivered Sylvia Graves’ and Doreen Farrier’s daughters. Arthur was awarded the MBE when he worked for the Civil Service so we were able to go to Buckingham Palace. 

What roles did you have in our church?

I have helped at Lunch Club, been an active member of the Women’s Fellowship, arranged flowers and still help at coffee mornings. 

What were your first impressions of Banner Cross Methodist Church?

Arthur and I were members of the former Endcliffe Methodist Church at first, and then we moved up the road to Banner Cross. At the time, the Minister was Reverend Michael Brown. We met him at a coffee morning and he invited us to come to church. We were made very welcome by everybody and I have enjoyed being here ever since.

What hobbies or interests fill any ‘spare’ time?

I enjoy reading and pottering about in the garden. I have always been interested in nature. I love spending time with my black cat, Salome, mostly trying to convince her that I am in charge! She is called Salome because when she stretches out her long legs, she looks like a dancer. I love coming to Banner Cross Church, to the coffee lounge, the Luncheon and Friendship Club, and the Thursday Bible Study.

What books do you enjoy reading?

 I read mainly non-fiction and autobiographies.

What music do you enjoy listening to?

I prefer live orchestral music, but I can’t remember the last time I went to a concert.

Please give us one fact about yourself that we may find surprising

I once climbed the volcano Vesuvius; saw the boiling lava and felt the heat of the steam – and descended, thankfully. I have no desire to repeat the experience!

If you had one prayer request for moving forward the life of this church in any way, what would it be?

I would love to see our Sunday School re-instated. 

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Holy Habits Book Club

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Charlotte Gray is the next book to be discussed by the Holy Habits Book Club.  We will be meeting on Sunday 30^th June, after the morning service.  Everyone is welcome to join us. This book, recommended by the writers of the resource booklet for the Holy Habit of Fellowship, is a novel by Sebastian Faulks, and is published by Vintage Random House (1999).

Charlotte Gray is a young Scottish woman who goes to occupied France in 1942 to run a simple errand for a British special operations group, and ends up being drawn into an extraordinary Fellowship of resistance fighters and assimilated French Jews, forging lasting bonds amidst the worst of humanity.

Alison Russell

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So. please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookcase on the wall.

Roald Dahl

Services, Events and Meetings at Banner Cross in May and June

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The Holy Habit for May and June is “Fellowship”

Wednesday 1st May

Holy Habits Planning Group Meeting.  7.30pm in Room 5, All are welcome.

Sunday 5th May

Launch of the Holy Habit “Fellowship”. 10.45am, at the Morning Service led by Rev Tim Crome. Evening Service at 6.30pm led by Rev Phill Borkett.

Monday 6th May

Christian Aid “May Day Trek” See Christine Rowe if you wish to walk with a group or if you wish to sponsor our walkers

Wednesday 8th May

Property and Finance Committee Meeting. 7.30pm

Saturday 11th May

 “An Italian Evening”. 6.30pm in Room 2. Good Food – Good Music – Good Friends – Good Cause. Tickets are £10per person from Lorna Marshall. Proceeds for our new Christian Aid charity project supporting those in Lebanon and Iraq affected by displacement. 

Sunday 12th May

Café Worship. 10.45am led by Godfrey Chikaviro. Evening Service at 6.30pm led by Rev Will Fletcher.

Saturday 18th May

Eco Open Day. 10.30am–2.30pm. Plant sales; produce from our allotment; crafts for the kids; cakes; environmental info stalls; bees; pets corner, and a bouncy castle.

Sunday 19th May

Parade Service. 10.45am led by Rev Tim Crome. Evening Service at 6.30pm led by Rev Henry Ohakah.

Sunday 26th May

Morning Service. 10.45am,  led by Neil Craig.  Evening Service at 6.30pm will be a Local Arrangement. 

Friday 7th to Sunday 9th June

The Walking Group will be walking around the Filey/Brampton area

of North Yorkshire. All are welcome.  See Paula Jones for more details.

Sunday 9th June

Pentecost. 10.45am Service of Holy Communion led by Rev Tim Crome. 

Saturday 15th June

The film, “The Lion King” will be shown at 1.30pm in Room 2.  Popcorn and ice-cream will be served.

Monday 17th June

Communications Group Meeting. 7.30pm. All are welcome.

Saturday 22nd June

Our Church Away Day at The Peveril Centre in Castleton, when we will be considering all aspects of “Fellowship”. 

Sunday 23rd June

We shall be leading the Morning Service at Castleton Church. 

Monday 24th June

Worship Group Meeting.  7.30pm in Room 6, All are welcome.

Wednesday 26th June

Church Council Meeting.  7.30pm in Room 2. All are welcome, but only Church Council members can vote.

Sunday 30th June

After Morning Service, there will be Holy Habits Book Club discussion about the novel, “Charlotte Gray” by Sebastian Faulks. 

Information correct as at 18 April 2019.  Some events are subject to change. 

There is also a Calendar on the noticeboard in the coffee lounge which is updated every 2 weeks.

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A while ago I printed some funny labels on products, well I’ve found some more :

• Serving suggestion: Defrost. (On a frozen dinner.)
• In order to get out of car, open door, gets out, lock doors, and then close doors. (Car manual.)
• The appliance is switched on by setting the on/off switch to the 'on' position. (Instructions on an electric kettle.)
• Do not attempt to stop the blade with your hand. (Instructions on a chainsaw.)
• Do not recharge, put in backwards, or use. (On a battery)
• Do not use while sleeping. (On a hair dryer.)

Eco Open day

Banner Cross Methodist Church will be hosting an 'Eco open day' on Saturday 18th May 2019, 10:30 – 14:30.

The event will include the opportunity to visit our allotment, a plant stall - veg and flowers for sale, a cake stall, jams and home-made produce, learn about beekeeping, activity - nature craft table, environmental side stalls and a pet's corner, Fair Trade, hot sandwiches and cream teas and a bouncy castle! 

Please come and join us at Banner Cross Methodist Church, Ecclesall Road South, S11 9PE. Bus route: 4, 6, 81, 82, 88

For more details, contact Sean Ashton on svm_ashton@yahoo.co.uk

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Sheffield Circuit

Celebration and Workshop

The People On Saturday 13th April 2019, Jackie, Janet, Christine and I attended a Circuit Event at Wesley Hall in Crookes. In the lead were Rev Sally Coleman, from the Holy Habits Programme Support Group, and Siggy Parratt-Halbert, Learning and Development Officer, The Methodist Church. Many people were there from all around the circuit: local preachers, worship leaders, a few Ministers, and members of numerous congregations. 

Written Resources We had been asked to bring along the Holy Habit resource booklet, ‘Fellowship’. We were all given copies of ‘Worship: Foundations An introduction to preparing and leading worship in the Methodist Church’. Siggy mentioned a Methodist resource pack formerly called ‘Twelve Baskets’, but now called ‘The Worship Cloud’. (Our Worship Leader, Jackie Dunn, has a copy.)

The Workshop

The purpose of the workshop was to make the thought of taking a Local Arrangement Service less scary and to encourage people to use resource books, the media and other people when planning an LA, maybe for the first time.  Seated around tables, we were all asked to consider some questions and respond to them out loud while a roving mike went around the audience. Responses were written onto flipcharts and pinned up for everyone to read.

What’s a Church Service ? Responses included: worshipping God; music; praise; prayers; fellowship; re-charging batteries; renewal.

What’s Worship ? Responses included: giving God the glory; thinking about the Bible in a different way; silence and listening; two-way communication; encountering God; giving oneself to the Holy Spirit.

What’s This “Talky Bit” ? (that is, what do you do if there’s no sermon?)  We are told not to preach in an LA if we are not preachers. Responses included: What authority do you have if you have not been trained as a preacher? What’s the difference between preaching and teaching? Making Bible passages come alive and relating to people. There isa process of training and study for those who have ‘received the call’, but these days, not everyone has the time to undertake the study. Give the congregation time to discuss relevant questions.

Does Sharing God’s Word Have to be “Words”? Alternatives included: music; dance; drama and mime; art; creative writing; showing videos; the sense of touch.

What Makes a Service Awesome? The place (especially if outside in God’s natural world); everyone present engaging and joining-in; an uplifting service; a warmth, peace, closeness; the right music; you can put yourself in the centre of the message. 

“The Biggie”, that is, content, especially, Where do you Get Ideas From ? Sources included: TV, radio and films; that is, soaps, challenging dramas, programmes on social history (eg A House Through Time), nature programmes (eg Blue Planet); the News: world, national and local. There will doubtless be biblical equivalents, such as the stories of: David, Joseph, Peter, the parables.  Make these relevant to the modern age in which we live.

We were then asked to spend an hour in small groups designing a Local Arrangement using what we had learned from the ‘answers’ to the questions above, and referring to extracts about worship from the resource booklet on the Holy Habit of Fellowship. Jackie, Janet, Christine and I worked together and came up with the bare outline, on a flipchart, of a possible Local Arrangement on the theme of Fellowship. If you ask us nicely, we might spend more time finessing it so that we can take an LA at Banner Cross one evening in June! 

Some people (not us, we hadn’t quite finished planning our ‘service’) spoke about their group’s discussions to the whole audience.  We were all asked what we thought about that exercise.  We agreed that it had been difficult to be creative and go ‘off piste’ thereby moving away from a traditional service. It was also difficult to plan worship as a group rather than as an individual.  And it takes time!

The Celebration

Each church’s representatives had been asked to bring along an A2 poster setting out what had been done for the Holy Habits of: Prayer; Gladness and Generosity; and Breaking Bread. At Banner Cross, we have done so much over the last eight months, that we brought along three posters. Paula Jones has done a first-rate job producing them, using pictures and photos as well as text, so please look at them when they are displayed at Banner Cross. They are a colourful reminder of exactly what we have done, for others as well as ourselves. We can take joy in our achievements. We were a little disappointed that we could only go around the room looking at all the posters after our ‘work’ designing an LA. Although we were able to share ideas with everybody else about the ‘Worship’ facet of Fellowship, and could ‘nick’ a few ideas from other churches, we did not have the opportunity to talk about our experiences on the Holy Habits Programme.   

The Feast

After our hard work planning an LA and lots of discussions in small groups and as a large one, we all came together for a bring-and-share lunch when we were also given the opportunity to look more closely at all the posters outlining draft LAs and also Holy Habits activities. The organisers photographed the posters and the images will be uploaded to the Circuit’s website. Our team tried to record some of the ideas on the posters. And of course, we all completed a feedback questionnaire. The event was more of a training session than a sharing of Holy Habits experiences, but nonetheless, it was an interesting and worthwhile morning. 

Alison Russell

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There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.

Norman Vincent Peale

Notes from the Worship Group Meeting

held on Monday 1 April 2019

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Present: Rev. T. Crome, J. Southgate, P. Jones, H. Harrison,

M. Spooner, J. Dunn and A. Russell.

Apologies: R. Tomlinson, A. Barker and C. Rowe

Matters Arising from the Last Meeting

World Day of Prayer. Rachel will be in the lead when Banner Cross Church hosts the event in 2021.

Audio-Visual Concerns.  In the light of a meeting Brian Speed and Chris Barker had with an IT engineer, this issue will be discussed by the Leadership Team and the Property Committee.

Feedback on Services held since the Last Meeting on 7 January

Services led by Wendy Cartwright and Andrew Maxfield were well received. 

Evening Services. A short discussion took place about the type of evening services to be held when the current quarter has ended. It was agreed that, from the start of next quarter, except for a monthly Holy Communion service, evening services would be advertised as Local Arrangements. It was suggested time could be built into the

LA Evening Service on 28 April, led by Jackie, to discuss. Also agreed that the Worship Group's decision to plan LAs for every evening service except for the monthly HC Services, should be publicised.

Current Plan

Sunday 28 April. The evening Local Arrangement will be led by Jackie, assisted by Christine.  This will take place after an afternoon baking bread, and then eating it with jam or cheese. 

Sunday 19 May. The morning service will be a Parade Service. Uniformed Organisations to be informed.

Sunday 26 May. Evening LA. Local Preachers or others interested in leading worship to be consulted as Jackie away. 

Preparation of the Plan for June, July and August

Sunday 23 June.  The congregation will be invited to Castleton Methodist Church The Peveril Centre where some will lead an LA Morning Service in the Café Worship style. Lifts to be arranged. No Morning Service here. The service at Castleton Church will be based on discussions held there during a Church Awayday on Saturday 22nd.

Sunday 7 July.  Launch of the Holy Habit Biblical Teaching. Rev Graham Wassell to be invited to lead the Morning Service.

Sunday 4 August.  No service here. We will be joining members of Carterknowle Church for worship starting at 10.30am. We have also been invited to their breakfast at 9am.

Sunday 11 August.  Tim to lead a Holy Habits morning service on Biblical Teaching and after it, the Book Club discussion on "The Great Spiritual Migration" by Brian D McLaren.

Sunday 18 August.  Chris Bishop will lead the morning service.

Sunday 25 August.  No service here. Suggested our members attend morning worship at Millhouses Church instead.

Notices to be placed around the church stating that there will be no evening services in August; and no morning services here on 4th or 25th.

Preachers to be invited back. Wendy Cartwright, Andrew Maxfield, David Green and Rev Graham Wassell.

Looking Further Ahead

Sunday 1 September. Covenant Service and Launch of the Holy Habit "Making More Disciples"

Sunday 6 October. Harvest Festival Cafe Worship followed by Lunch in Room 1. A suggested date for a Parade.

Sunday 10 November. Remembrance Service

Sunday 17 November. The Annual General Meeting will follow the morning service

Saturday 30 November. Christmas Fair. Lorna has said she would be the Co-ordinator this year if no-one else had volunteered.

Saturday 21 December  The Longest Night

Sunday 22 December. 10.45am, Carol Service.  No service in the evening, instead, carol-singing was suggested. 

Tuesday 24 December. Christingle

Wednesday 25 December.  Christmas Day Service

Circuit Celebration and Workshop on Sat 13 April at Wesley Hall

Janet, Jackie, Christine and Alison attended. Paula produced

posters about our activities for the Holy Habits of: Prayer; Gladness & Generosity; and Breaking Bread. Feedback will be given.

Any Other Business

Amendments to the Welcome cards, to be put in a more obvious place.  Suggested any publicity states, "See website for current activities".

Inderjit Bhogal's booklet "Sanctuary for All" - a course of four sessions, followed by an Act of Worship, which he has offered to lead. Both items to be put on the agendas for future meetings, but to be discussed in more detail within six months.

Rotas for Sunday mornings.  A small groupdiscussed and a survey was produced, for completion by all Church members by 21 April. 

Date of Next Meeting  = Monday 24 June, 7.30pm in Room 6.

Notes as at 11th April 2019

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As we are going to be considering the Holy Habit of Fellowship throughout May and June.

We are hoping some of you will feel inspired to write a piece for our magazine on the theme of Fellowship.

It may be a poem or an account of a time when you experienced the joys of fellowship with a group of people. If you feel inspired to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, please send your piece to Terry, Alison or Christine (or all of us) by the15th of the month.

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Items for the June edition of the

Headlines

can be sent via e-mail to

 terrykirkwood@virginmedia.com or by using the good old-fashioned methods of either popping it into the pigeonhole at church, through my front door or even by phoning me on 255 3771 but whatever method you use, can I have it no later than 15th May please. Thank you,

Terry

Join us for an

AN  ITALIAN  EVENING

Banner Cross Methodist Church

on Saturday 11th May at 6.30.pm

with

GOOD FOOD

GOOD MUSIC

and FRIENDS

Three courses will cost you £10

Tickets from Lorna

All profits for our charity. Christian Aid For Displaced refugees in Lebanon and Iraq.

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The image is one thing and the human being is another. It’s very hard to live up to an image.

Proposed visit to the Holy Land

October 2021

Christine and I are exploring the possibility of going on an organised trip to the Holy Land in October 2021. We can't go before then due to other commitments. We've got a rough quote and itinerary together through All Saints Travel who specialise in this sort of thing. Their itinerary is on the church notice board but can be adjusted. They suggest staying in Nazareth and Bethlehem. We wondered if any Banner Cross friends would be interested in going with us ? It would be nice to go in a group. If not we'll just do our own thing. Please let us know ASAP (see below for price details).  Thanks

Jonathan and Christine

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The Holy Land 2021

A Biblical and Historical Tour ‘Following in the Footsteps of Jesus’

See the Gospel come to life by following the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land. From Galilee to Jerusalem, you will find yourself immersed in spirituality and culture. This beautiful, tried and tested itinerary promises to bring the faithful pilgrim an unforgettable experience, including a non-stop return flight from the UK to Tel Aviv airport, a touring coach and professional local guide, as well as en-suite accommodation at a 4* hotel in Nazareth and a 3* hotel in Bethlehem.

Date: 12 – 19th October 2021

from £1,189 - 8 day/7 nights, HB

Spiritual Leader: TBC

Organised by Mr Jonathan Rowe

Tel. 07946 176 735 / 01793 608844 (AST)

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Faith, like muscle, grows stronger through exercise.

Bits ‘n Bobs

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Church holiday

A holiday has been arranged for 21st to 25th July (Sunday to Thursday) to Dumfries. If you are interested please speak to Janette as soon as possible for more information. We are a happy crowd, out to enjoy each other’s company and have a nice time together. You are very welcome to join us.

The Walking Group plans to have a Weekend Away in June: Friday 7th to Sunday 9th. More details regarding accommodation for campers and non-campers to follow. We plan to visit the Filey/Brampton area of North Yorkshire.  We will plan to eat together in the evenings. Walkers and non-walkers.  All are welcome.  Paula

Film Club

The Film Club is STILL taking place . The first Saturday in each month starting at 1.30 and refreshments are served during the afternoon. For reasons beyond my control I have had to change    some of the films.

So here is the revised programme

March 2nd Flower Drum Song: April 6th Calendar Girls:

May 4th South Pacific: June 1st My Fair Lady.

It is open to all so please do come along. You will be most welcome.

No booing at the projectionist though!!

Alan

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Where does this month’s name ‘May’ come from ?

The month is connected with the goddess Maia. Perhaps less well known now than the other deities with months named after them, Maia (in Greek mythology) was daughter of Atlas and mother of Hermes. She was considered a nurturer and an earth goddess, which may explain the connection with this springtime month.

Are Cheap Car Washes Too Good To Be True ??

A new app (Safe Car Wash App) has been launched by the Church of England’s anti-slavery arm, the Clewer Initiative, and the Catholic Church with the aim of getting the public to help report car washes where they saw fearful workers, a lack of protective clothing, and signs that workers lived on-site — potential indicators of labour exploitation.

Some 930 cases out of 2,271 reports submitted through the app between its launch in June 2018 and December 2018 were identified as likely cases of modern slavery. In those 930 cases, users were then advised to call the Modern Slavery Helpline. However, as the BBC reports, only 18% of users ended up calling the hotline.

Mick Duthie, a former senior detective with the Metropolitan Police now working with the Catholic Church’s anti slavery unit, said that response may change. “People from a faith background want to do the right thing but may not have full confidence in what to actually do. So I think the app is great start.” Bishop Alastair Redfern said the 18% call rate should still be celebrated, but there is clearly a need to improve upon it.

If you want to get involved in combating modern slavery information and campaigns can be found on the Freedom United website.

Andrew

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The merry month of May !

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Although summer does not officially begin until June, May Day marks its beginning. May Day celebrations have been carried out in England for over 2000 years.

The Romans celebrated the Festival of Flora, who was the goddess of fruit and flowers, which marked the beginning of summer.

May Day has many traditions and celebrations but they moved to the new May Day Bank holiday, when it was ‘created’ in1978 and is

now always the first Monday of the month.

Many of the May Day celebrations take place at the weekend as well as on the 'May Day' Monday. The weekend is known by some people as bank holiday weekend because it comes with the extra day holiday on the Monday.

One such tradition is Dancing round the Maypole.

On May Day, people used to cut down young trees and stick them in the ground in the village to mark the arrival of summer.

People danced around the tree poles in celebration of the end of winter and the start of the fine weather that would allow planting to begin.

Maypoles were once common all over England and were kept from one year to the next. Schools would practice skipping round the pole for weeks before the final show on the village greens.

The end results would be either a beautiful plaited pattern of ribbons round the pole or a tangled cat's cradle, depending on how much rehearsing had been done.

Maypoles are still a part of some village life and on May Day are still danced around.

An interesting fact: The tallest maypole is said to have been erected in London on the Strand in 1661; it stood over 143 feet high. It was felled in 1717, when it was used by Isaac Newton to support Huygen's new reflecting telescope.