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.

We hold a coffee morning every Monday at Portholme Church to raise the funds necessary to keep the church open but, once a month, we dedicate the funds raised to a charity that has been nominated by one of our members. We aim to support a wide range of charities who are working to help others locally, nationally and internationally.

In July, we raised a record amount of £151.25 to go to the Grenfell Tower Fire Relief Fund. In August, a more usual amount of £44.96 went to the Peter Pan Nursery in nearby Sherburn-in-Elmet and in September people responded again with great generosity to give a total of £102.45 to Macmillan Cancer Care.

The Coffee Morning is “open” every Monday from 10am to 12 noon. Everyone is welcome and it’s a wonderful opportunity to meet up and chat with friends. Do join us!

The theme for our annual HOLIDAY CLUB this year was “The Guardians of Ancora”.  The Holiday Club was open every morning from Monday 14th August to Friday 18th August. Portholme Church was transformed into the Guild and Hall of Memory for the city of Ancora and we played host to 30 keen and eager young Apprentice Guardians.

The Guardians of Ancora is a fantastic, week long, programme of activities (developed by the Scripture Union) which is crammed full of exciting activities, great Bible teaching and introduces children to Jesus and tells of the amazing things he did. During the week, the world of Ancora, the City of Hope, is introduced. At the summit of Ancora stands the Spire of Light which lights up the whole city. The stories of the Saga (the Bible) are told there every day, and the power of storytelling fuels the light of the Spire.

Each story of the Saga is represented by a story-treasure (some sort of object or artefact): these are stored in the Hall of Memory. Once, the Hall of Memory in the city of Ancora was filled with wonderful story-treasures, but now, many of these objects have been lost. The people of Ancora are determined to recover the lost story-treasures so they can, once again, tell the stories. The existing Guardians have recovered some of these but others still need to be found and so they have sent out an appeal for new recruits and this is where the Apprentice Guardians join the story. Each day the Apprentice Guardians set out – with the help of the Keeper of the Keys and Kal the Aquaneer – on a quest to find a story-treasure, return it to the Hall of Memory and explore the story it represents.

What happens during the Holiday Club? Well, there’s laughing, learning, singing, dancing, praying, talking, listening, thinking, laughing (yes we did a lot of that!) and let’s not forget this is a way of reaching out to some of the estimated 95% of children and young people in England and Wales who aren’t in church and providing a way in for children to find faith, grow in faith and reach out to their friends in faith.