WELCOME TO THE WYEC WEBSITE

Thank you for visiting the website of West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council (WYEC).

WYEC brings together the churches of West Yorkshire

and much of North Yorkshire in common witness and mission.

CHURCHES TOGETHER GROUPS CONSULTED

WYEC has held a Consultation for Churches Together groups in and around Wakefield Metropolitan District. Seven Churches Together groups were represented, including CT Wakefield which alone represents 42 churches. There was an emphasis on the importance of local unity and of 'doing things ecumenically, rather than doing ecumenical things'. Mention was made of:

There is life in local unity! See the full report.

HALIFAX CHRISTIAN PROJECT WINS BIG SOCIETY AWARD

Street Angels - Christian Nightlife Initiatives, which has transformed the well-being of city centres across the country, has won a prestigious national Big Society Award. Find out more.

SOLIDARITY WITH YOUTH WORKERS AND YOUNG PEOPLE On Ash Wednesday, Senior Church Leaders from eight traditions met in Bradford College to express in prayer and conversation their solidarity and support for youth workers and young people. They were welcomed by the Students' Union President, Nabeel Hussain, who spoke warmly of his experience of interfaith work. The Church Leaders' prayers admitted a parent generation's responsibility for the state of the world being handed on to young people. They celebrated the unique value of every person and the 'flicker of God-light' in each one.

Church leaders and youth workers holding a poster celebrating the youth work of the churches.

22 FEBRUARY. WYEC HAS ISSUED A NEW PRESS RELEASE IN ADVANCE OF A MAJOR ASSEMBLY OF CHURCH LEADERS IN BRADFORD ON TODAY. (See also an earlier PRESS RELEASE) 
 

CHURCH LEADERS' PRAYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

_{West Yorkshire Church Leaders are publishing on Twitter a set of prayers for young people.}

_{The prayers are also available on a set of postcards.}

_{See them all at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.233287536765588.52293.100002530290965&type=3&l=0605366325}

NEW SIGNATORY OF THE WYEC COVENANT
The West Yorkshire Church Leaders' Covenant has been signed by the Revd. Graham Ensor, newly inducted Regional Minister of the Yorkshire Baptist Association. In a powerful service at South Parade Baptist Church, Leeds, Graham (left) was supported by a number of other WYEC Church Leaders.

UNITY POST 2012 - OUT NOW!

The 2012 edition of the WYEC newspaper, Unity Post, has just been published. You can get your copy from your local Churches Together group. It is also available online. We hope you enjoy reading it!

MORE THAN GOLD

The Olympics are coming ... Teams and families based in West Yorkshire include the Chinese and Serbians. Churches will be offering hospitality to various national sporting teams based in West Yorkshire, from Serbians to the biggest contingent, the Chinese. Churches Together in Central Keighley will be holding a children’s mini-Olympics as the torch goes past; Leeds City Centre Churches will be involved in an event in Millennium Square. In Wakefield, some churches are planning a Prayer Marathon; also a Wakefield Churches Together 'Alternative Olympics' outreach funday in Thornes Park, with bandstand music, from 1pm on 21 July. The Olympic torch route will pass this way: 

19 June: Boston Spa, Wetherby, Harewood, Knaresborough, Harrogate, Ripon

20 June: Aiskew, Bedale, Aysgarth, Leyburn, Richmond

24 June: Marsh, Huddersfield, Brighouse, Halifax, Bradford, Keighley, Skipton, Ilkley, Headingley, Potternewton, Harehills, Richmond Hill and Leeds

25 June: from Leeds to Hunslet, Beeston, Morley, Batley, Dewsbury, Wakefield, Castleford, Pontefract, Ackworth, going on to Barnsley and via Yorkshire Sculpture Park into South Yorkshire. 

LATE NEWS: Street by street details now available! Will the torch pass near YOUR church?

WAKEFIELD CATHEDRAL APPOINTS NEW ECUMENICAL CANONS

A service led by the Rt. Revd. Stephen Platten, Bishop of Wakefield, included the installation of the Revd. Dr. Liz Smith (pictured), Chair of the Leeds Methodist District and Chair of WYEC, and Domprost Anders Alberius, Dean of the Lutheran Cathedral at Skara, Sweden. The international and ecumenical context was further enhanced by the presence of church representatives from Wakefield's twin town of Herne, Germany.

CHURCH LEADERS SPEAK OUT IN SUPPORT OF BBC LOCAL RADIO 

WYEC's senior church leaders have all signed a letter to the Director General of the BBC expressing their concern over planned cuts to the Corporation. In particular, the church leaders wanted to support BBC Radio Leeds, which has a unique role to play in promoting cohesion across the communities of West Yorkshire. Read the full text of the letter, and see the list of signatories. 

NEW CHAIR OF METHODIST DISTRICT SIGNS WYEC COVENANT

The Revd. Dr. Roger Walton, the new Chair of West Yorkshire Methodist District, has signed the WYEC Church Leaders' Covenant, in the presence of Church Leader colleagues from across the WYEC region.

Liz Smith, WYEC Chair, watches Roger Walton as he signs the WYEC Covenant	WYEC Church Leaders with Roger Walton (3rd left)

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West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council consists of church leaders and ecumenical officers from:
The Anglican Diocese of Bradford	The Yorkshire Baptist Association
The Anglican Diocese of Ripon and Leeds	The Yorkshire Synod of the United Reformed Church
The Anglican Diocese of Wakefield	The Yorkshire Division of the Salvation Army
The Catholic Diocese of Leeds	The Lutheran Church in Yorkshire
The Leeds District of the Methodist Church	West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council, Hinsley Hall, 62 Headingley Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS6 2BX West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council © 2012