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.
UNITY POST 2012 - OUT NOW!
The 2012 edition of the WYEC newspaper, Unity Post, has just been. You should be able to get your edition from your local Churches Together group. It will also be online soon. We hope you enjoy reading it!
LET'S HAVE 'FAITH IN YOUNG PEOPLE'!Youth work specialists from Yorkshire churches have produced a colourful A2 poster of many of the ways the churches are making a difference for young people in the region. Get your copies from linda.pennington@dioceseofleeds.org.uk. WYEC Church Leaders will speak out in support of young people on Ash Wednesday, 22 February 2012. |
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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.
DENHOLME SHARED CHURCH - OUR NEWEST PARTNERSHIP
Denholme Shared
Church, the newest single-congregation Local Ecumenical
Partnership in our region has just been launched.
A previous Baptist - United Reformed Church has been
joined by St Paul's Anglican Church for a new 3-way partnership, launched at a special service on 15 January 2012.
WAKEFIELD CATHEDRAL APPOINTS NEW ECUMENICAL CANONS |
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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.
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| Liz Smith, WYEC Chair, watches Roger Walton as he signs the WYEC Covenant | WYEC Church Leaders with Roger Walton (3rd left) |
CHRISTIANS LEARNING ACROSS YORKSHIREOne of the best regional collaborations of the churches is in providing courses for everyone. See the latest CLAY leaflet to find out what's on in 2011-12. |
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WYEC's LATEST NEWSLETTER - OUT NOW
Read all about recent and forthcoming events and developments in the world of churches together in the WYEC region; see the WYEC Newsletter, Summer 2011.
TALKING...
Representatives of Churches Together groups and other ecumenical initiatives across the western part of North Yorkshire came together to share stories, joys and sorrows in a WYEC Consultation at St Andrew's (Methodist and United Reformed) Church, Skipton. People came from Bainbridge or Bentham, Crosshills or Ripon. It revealed the great extent of the (often hidden) ecumenism in the Dales. Read a full report.
... and WALKING
Churches Together groups and others have taken part in walking a section of the Leeds Peace Trail. It included reflection on conscience, on Nelson Mandela, and a guided tour of St George's Crypt.
NEW BISHOP OF BRADFORD SIGNS WYEC COVENANT
The Rt. Revd. Nick Baines has been enthroned as Bishop of Bradford. In an impressive ceremony in Bradford Cathedral, Nick was greeted by leaders of WYEC churches and he signed the WYEC Church Leaders Covenant.
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Signing the Covenant |
Walter Jagucki and Liz Smith greet Nick Baines, with David Ison, Dean of Bradford, looking on |
NEW LOCAL ECUMENICAL PARTNERSHIPS
The close relationship between Methodist and United Reformed churches in Dewsbury has led to them becoming formally linked as a single congregation Local Ecumenical Partnership. Longcauseway Church (United Reformed and Methodist) is now a registered charity. Similarly, a long term relationship in Great Horton has led to the formal recognition of Cornerstone, also a single congregation Local Ecumenical Partnership between Methodist and United Reformed churches.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND THE ENGLISH BACCALAUREATE
Speaking with one voice, WYEC senior church leaders have written to all the Members of Parliament in West Yorkshire and northwest Yorkshire expressing concern at the omission of Religious Studies from the core shortlist of academic subjects in the proposed English Baccalaureate. Read the WYEC letter.
WYEC RESPONSE TO PROPOSED DIOCESAN BOUNDARY CHANGES
WYEC has agreed a response to proposals for changes in the boundaries of the Church of England's dioceses in Yorkshire. 'A merger of dioceses, then, would reflect ecumenical realities, remove many of the obstructions caused by denominational boundaries, and offer new opportunities for cooperation between the churches'. Read the response in full.
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WYEC CHURCH LEADERS IN SHARED PILGRIMAGE
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CONSULTATION OF LOCAL ECUMENICAL PARTNERSHIPS
WYEC has held a Consultation for representatives of Local Ecumenical Partnerships. Read about the issues raised in discussion.
PENITENCE IN AN AGE OF CUTS
| On Ash Wednesday, 9 March 2011, WYEC senior church leaders took part in a service of penitence at St Anne's Cathedral, Leeds. We recognised and repented of the part we have all played in causing suffering in our society, and prayed for the victims of public spending cuts. | |
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The Order of Service, and especially the Prayer for Penitence, were offered to churches and Churches Together groups for local use on or around Ash Wednesday. |
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Before the service, three church leaders - the Revd. Dr. Liz Smith (Chair, Leeds Methodist District), with, left, the Revd. Mgr. Michael McQuinn (Vicar General, Catholic Diocese of Leeds) and, right, the Rt. Revd. John Packer (Bishop of Ripon and Leeds), presented a copy of the prayer to Tom Riordan, the Chief Executive of Leeds City Council. Read the advance press release.
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LENT TOGETHER: SCRIPTURE AND PRAYER
Churches Together groups across West Yorkshire have taken part in shared study and devotions during the season of Lent.
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Many were involved in Praying the Scriptures, a groundbreaking Lent course produced jointly by the Anglican Diocese of Wakefield and the Catholic Dioceses of Leeds and Hallam.
Also, Leeds Churches Together in Mission produced a Lent Prayer Diary, with daily reflections on extraordinary Christian projects in the city. |
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| CONSULTATION FOR CHURCHES TOGETHER GROUPS IN KIRKLEES
WYEC invited representatives from Churches Together groups in Kirklees to come together for a Consultation at Dewsbury Minster. This was an opportunity to share stories, experiences, sorrows and joys, and to give and receive mutual support. Read the report of Churches Together activity in the district. |
West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council consists of church leaders and ecumenical officers from: |
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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 |
The Yorkshire District of the Moravian Church |
The West Yorkshire District of the Methodist Church |
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The Yorkshire General Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) |
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Together, we are committed:
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