What a response to the 2020 Shoebox Appeal!

With the uncertainty as to whether the appeal could go ahead earlier in the year with the pandemic and after the national collection week was put back due to lockdown #2, we were finally able to be that “church collection centre” that we had put ourselves forward for and Portholme opened its doors for a week in December.

A willing band of volunteers turned up every morning to receive any shoeboxes from the general public which seemed to mean that the last 15 minutes were always the busiest with big donations being brought in on two of the days.

A particular highlight was two little sisters coming in with their shoeboxes on Saturday morning and jumping up and down with excitement when they got a certificate — their Mum was so proud of them.

We also had another Mum say “what a lovely church, I always forget that you’re here”

The final count is a whopping 203 shoeboxes which were packed into 20 large boxes and collected by the charity on 16 December.

To put this into perspective we collected about 40 boxes last year — massive thanks to everyone who helped out and also to all of you who either donated boxes or donated money to Operation Christmas Child

This was another brilliant production from the BadApple touring theatre company. The audience, which included quite a number of children, enjoyed this winter tale with an eco twist.

Anastasia Benham and Danny Mellor were remarkably talented actors who could also sing and dance. They each played three main characters and brought to life a number of woodland creatures. It was uncanny, the way that they could switch in an instant from one character to another, each being completely believable.

The story is set in The Great Wood where the animals are desperate for a long sleep. But, with the onset of global warming, it is just too warm. Everyone is going around in circles and sick of nuts before Christmas is even in sight. They seek out the mysterious Snow Dancer and have their own ideas for improving the environment and bringing back the seasons as they should be.

Photograph kindly provided by BadApple – see their website for details of current productions www.badappletheatre.co.uk

This was an evening full of fun, good songs and terrific acting. We’re looking forward to welcoming BadApple back with another production in 2020.

The Portholme Church Parents and Young Children Group (“PYC”) celebrated 25 years of happy Friday mornings in June this year. It was great to have a reunion of past and present children, parents, and helpers who have enjoyed PYC over the years.

Sharing light refreshments and a chance to meet up with old friends, so many people came along on Saturday 29 June 2019 to re-kindle old memories. All the present PYC team were there and even a couple of the original helpers from when PYC started in 1994 were there, too.

The format on Fridays has not changed greatly over the years and, judging by past photos, some of the original toys are still in use!

The Badapple Theatre Company came to Portholme Church on Friday 24 May 2019 when they filled the church hall with music & laughter with their production of ‘The Frozen Roman’. With their own stage, sets, scenery, lighting and sound they transformed the hall into a “theatre”.

The “The Frozen Roman” was a brand new comedy written by Kate Bramley with music & songs by Jez Lowe. The plot centred around a clandestine meeting at the Phoenix pub where the discussion got heated as the villagers racked their brains to find a way to prevent developers building a large housing development that would threaten village life as they knew it.

When you throw a ghostly “Ancient Roman” and 21st century Syrian refugee into the mix, you’ve got a recipe for fun and chaos! The young cast of professional actors took on multiple roles with lightning fast quick changes. It was an evening that the 100+ folk who attended will never forget.

We look forward to welcoming The Badapple Theatre Company back with a new show some time soon.

We were delighted to have John Barker perform for us at Portholme Church on Saturday 23 March 2019. John is one of Britain’s finest trumpet players and he easily justified this epithet with his playing on the evening. John performed a wide range of music from his vast repertoire – songs from the shows, pop hits, old-time favourites, classical pieces, hymn tunes and brass band items.

In between the music, John regaled us with us stories about his career as a solo artist. He was told many times over that it was impossible to make a living as a full time musician but he has certainly proved his critics wrong! His story is one of hard work, a strong determination to succeed and lots of practice. John plays the trumpet at least 4 hours every day in order to keep at the top of his game.

After a wonderful evening of varied music, John concluded the evening with an amazing rendition of “Jerusalem” – the audience were enthusiastic in their singing along and, incredibly, everyone seemed to know the words from memory!

Thought provoking, informative, moving, funny, inspiring were all words that came to mind as we reflected on the training on Dementia led by Rev Pat Malham.

Pat is a Methodist minister in the Ripon and Lower Dales circuit but has previously been a psychiatric registrar and a GP. She talked about the different forms of dementia and the many varied ways in which it manifests itself – everyone who was there will have learned something new.

Pat talked about the importance of focusing on the person and what they are able to do and working to maintain that and encouraging as much independence as possible. As a minister, Pat went on to help us think about the church’s role and if we believe that God loves all people and the gospel is for all people, it includes people with dementia. We were urged to adopt a positive attitude and to encourage supportive relationships. We were told that people with dementia may not remember what we said to them but they may, and often do, remember how we made them feel.

Pat gave some very practical suggestions of things we can do to make an accessible environment as well as to encourage creativity and participation. As the church, we can do these things in fellowship, in worship and in walking alongside them on their continuing journey of life. Pat included in her presentation art work, sculptures, poetry and prose created by people living with dementia.

This memorable event was held on Tuesday 12th June 2018.

 From the comments afterwards, it seemed that everyone had appreciated Dan’s friendly, unassuming manner and melodic singing. Dan interspersed his gentle songs of a simple faith with stories and anecdotes. We learnt that Dan was a high school theatre teacher until May of 2016. After 31 years in the classroom, he retired and began working, once again, as a full-time musician! In addition to his two tours of the UK, he has performed at over 150 churches in the USA.

He certainly demonstrated his mission: “Through the sharing of music, we can celebrate what God is doing in us, for us and through us! I am an old school singer/songwriter bringing a gentle Christian message of hope! I pray that our paths will cross and we can celebrate together!”

As an interlude in the middle of Dan’s concert, a short video was shown appealing for donations to Hope School Beit Jala, which provides education and boarding for disadvantaged children aged 3-6 and 11yrs-18yrs from the West Bank area of Palestine. The children come from the neediest of families, and Christian and Muslim alike are brought up in a loving, Christian environment. The images were accompanied by voice-overs read by our members.

After the concert we were treated to a fine buffet of savoury and sweet delights together with tea and coffee. During this time there were collection buckets ready for our donations to Hope School and a further bucket for contributions for the buffet which, like the concert itself, was not charged.  There was also the opportunity to chat to Dan and his wife and to purchase from his selection of CDs.

And the outcome:
£385.50 raised for Hope School
Donations for refreshments raised £71.48 for church funds

WE HOPE TO MEET DAN AGAIN IN 2020 ON HIS NEXT UK TOUR!
Visit Dan’s website at danholmesmusic.com

Portholme Church is proud to be an active member of “Churches Together in Selby”, an umbrella organisation uniting all Christian denominations who are active in the town. This year’s annual “Walk of Witness” on Good Friday was very well supported.

Portholme Church was packed for the pre-walk service which was led by our own minister, Rev David Coote. Following the service inside Portholme Church, the congregation walked together through the Market Cross shopping precinct to the town’s market place in front of Selby Abbey where an open-air service was led by members of King&rsquos Church. The congregation were warmed with refreshments inside the Abbey after the open-air service.

“Good Friday” is the bleakest moment in the Gospel story. When we read the story of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion today, we have the benefit of knowing that it’s all leading up to the triumph of Easter. But to the Jesus-followers present at the scene, it must have seemed that the world as they knew it was falling apart.

We have recently made some significant progress in creating a new and more colourful worship area. From the very beginning, our aim has been to ensure that Portholme Church is not just given a facelift but is renewed and ready for worship in the 21st century.

All the chairs were re-upholstered early in the autumn and the upgrades to our audio visual equipment were completed just before Christmas.

This year, the sanctuary cross has been given its new wooden surround. The cross is now much more prominent and, pleasingly, the feedback has all been positive.

New wall banners have been produced and are now in place on the walls. Copies of the new “Portholme Church” banner, which was made for us by Yvonne Bell^*, are available as bookmarks.

Visitors to Portholme Church cannot miss the new artwork that is on display in the foyer. We hope the pictures will prove spiritually uplifting and inspirational – we’re looking forward to hearing people’s reactions.

The installation of our new LED lighting has now been completed. Besides giving a brighter light in the Sanctuary, the new units will give us savings of over 80% on electricity

This is the full list of work that has already been completed or is still being undertaken:

1. Re-upholster all the sanctuary chairs ✓
2. Build a new removable communion rail ✓
3. Highlight the sanctuary cross with a bold wood surround ✓
4. Craft new furniture – communion table, book stand, lecterns and flower stands ✓
5. Upgrade the existing audio visual system ✓
6. Install energy-efficient LED lighting ✓
7. Replace the sanctuary and foyer carpets ✓
8. Install wall banners and artwork to proclaim our faith in a dramatic way ✓

^*You can see more of Yvonne Bell’s work by visiting her website: Yvonne Bell: Christian Art and Church Vestments

At a local arrangement service in September, we thought about journeys in a number of different ways. We looked at the journeys some of us took across the UK and further afield before settling in Selby.

We were then challenged to think about our spiritual journey – not only as individuals but collectively as Portholme Church – how we can see God at work now and where He may be leading us in the future.

Throughout the service we made a note of some key words that came through the bible readings, the thoughts that were shared and also from the congregation. After the service people added to the list those words that were important to them when thinking about Portholme Church. We promised that we would use all of the words and make them into a “Wordle”.

The following week everyone was given a copy of the Wordle and were encouraged to think about any other words that should be added before we produce a final (for now) version that we hope we can make into welcome cards for anyone visiting or wanting to know more about Portholme Church. We have also updated the large version and put it on the notice board in the foyer so that people can see at a glance what is important to us as a church family.

People will use the Wordle in different ways. For some, it is really useful as a focus for reflection and prayer, picking out different words and those relating to activities that are part of our church life or that we support, helping us pray for them and the individuals that lead or benefit from them. Other words lead us to ponder on what God may be saying to us as individuals or as a church and what He may be saying about where He may want us to go over the coming months and years.

It will be interesting to produce another Wordle in a year or two and see how much has changed. Some of the things that are fundamental to our faith will remain but it would be good to see new words appearing as we continue to move forward together as a church.