Join us this Sunday 13th September at St Bartholomew’s Church for the #Meltham Civic Service & Procession as we celebrate all things Meltham and welcome our 2026/27 Town Mayor – Cllr Lisa Coates.
Everyone is invited to join us as we celebrate our vibrant community, local volunteers, emergency services, and community groups.
Procession Gathering: From 10:15 AM between The Carlile Institute & St Bartholomew’s Church
Procession Departure: 10:30 AM led by the brilliant Meltham & Meltham Mills Brass Band
Church Service: 10:45 AM at St Bartholomew’s Church
The service will feature performances by the Meltham Community Choir, readings from local youth and voluntary groups, and a musical selection to bring our town together. Whether you’re marching in the procession, watching along the route, or joining us inside the church, we would love to see you there! Everyone is welcome!
There will be a short service of Holy Communion beforehand at St Bartholomew’s – 9:30am. No other services in the parish.
Come & Dine Church – Friday 4th September – 6pm onwards at the Church Hall
After the long hot summer, the school hols are finally over and it’s already September with the nights getting darker rather early now. The good news is that Fellowship Fridays will be restarting with Come & Dine Church on the first Friday and Pizza Church on the third Friday of each month. Everyone is welcome, whether you came previously or not. If you’re not sure if it’s for you, come along and give it a try anyway – you can read all about it below.
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What are Fellowship Fridays?
These are new sessions that will take place in the parish at #Meltham Church Hall between 18.00 and 19.30 on Friday evenings, aiming to provide a welcoming and comfortable environment for anyone who’d like to come and share food, socialise, explore and talk about their faith with friends.
There is no cost to attend, although donations towards expenses will be gratefully accepted.
There will be two different sessions………….
Come & Dine Church: 1st Friday of the month – restarts on Friday, 4th September
Come together to share a simple cooked meal—examples include shepherd’s pie or chicken casserole. Following the meal, there will be time to discuss and explore a biblical topic using a video to stimulate thinking, to pray together, and to enjoy each other’s company. While teenagers/young adults are welcome, there are no specific activities provided for children under 11. Continuing the ‘How to pray’ course, if you’ve not been before, you are very welcome. The course can be dropped into as and when as each week is a self contained subject so don’t worry if you can’t make it every time.
Pizza Church:3rd Friday of the month – restarts on Friday, 18th September
Similar in spirit to the one above, Pizza Church will serve finger food such as pizza or hot dogs. In addition to discussion, prayer, and socialising for the adults, there will be a fun activity planned for children during the discussion time. However, please note that Pizza Church is not just for people who’ll bring children—anyone is welcome to attend.
The previous sessions were enjoyed by many and we hope that more from across the parish will come along to join together for fellowship, and that it will continue to become a firm favourite on everyone’s monthly calendar.
TGI Friday! See you there!
PS – Added bonus, you don’t need to think about what to make for dinner/tea at home!
Yep. You can come to church in your pyjamas (if you wish).
Join us for a special ALL-AGE PYJAMA PARTY SERVICE. PJs, onesies and dressing gowns encouraged Teddies welcome Music and Worship Bible story Games Something for every age!
Sunday 6th September 10am at St James’ Meltham Mills (the church by the park)
If you enjoyed Lego Church last month, join us again for this! If you missed Lego Church last month, don’t miss this!
Please share our facebook event and invite your friends and family along too! https://fb.me/e/4Mkg4G12H
13th Sept 9:30am St Bartholomew’s Holy Communion 10:30am St Bartholomew’s – Civic Service / 11:15am St Mary’s
20th Sept 10:00am St James’ / 11:15am Christ Church Helme
27th Sept 10:00am St Bartholomew’s / 11:15am St Mary’s
Fellowship Fridays
Come and Dine Church – 4th September – Church Hall 6pm to 7.30pm Pizza Church – 18th September – Church Hall 6pm to 7.30pm
Come and share some food and talk about and explore your faith with friends. There is no cost to attend although donations towards expenses will be gratefully accepted. Pizza Church will include a fun activity for the children.
OASIS
The next OASIS quiet day will be on Tuesday 15th September at St James Meltham Mills. 10.30- 2.30 Coffee available from 10.00 The theme will be – How do we care for God’s Creation? Rev Elizabeth Snowden will be our guest speaker.
Please bring a packed lunch if staying all day. Everyone is invited.
Crisis Fundraising Morning
Saturday 21st November: 10am until 12 noon: The annual charity fundraising morning for ‘Crisis’ and other charities will take place at St. James’.
The Christmas Journey
What could be better in August than looking forward to Christmas?
Meltham Churches Together are looking for volunteers to help run the Christmas Journey this year. We are planning to offer eight sessions from Tuesday 8th December.
For those who don’t know about it the Christmas Journey is an interactive re-telling of the story of the Birth of Jesus. We invite classes from the local schools to come and take part. There are six scenes that the children visit; In the Beginning, Mary’s Kitchen, A Hillside near Bethlehem, In a Stable, The Wise Man’s Palace and a New Beginning. The session lasts about an hour and a half and we offer refreshments to the children and staff. There is also a Christmas card making craft activity for the children to make something to take away.
We plan to have one session in the morning and one in the afternoon in the Methodist Church. The event is aimed for children in years 2 or 3. We will need about 12 people for each session. There are various roles; welcoming, guiding around the scenes, storytelling, narrating the scenes, preparing and serving refreshments, chatting and helping with crafts. We have had a really positive response from the children and schools when we have done this in the past. If you are able to help at one or more of the sessions, please let Sarah G know (Tel: 07946593498). It would be good to have a team of volunteers in place by the beginning of September so that we can make firm plans with the schools.
Church Flower Rota
6th Sept – Jane A 13th Sept – Mrs Val P 20th Sept – Vacant 27th Sept – Freda W 4th Oct – Glover Family
Contacts
Vicar: Rev John Dracup: email: revjohndracup@gmail.com
Our next OASIS day will take place on 30th June, 10-00am – 2.30pm at St James Church. if you wish to stay for lunch please bring with you a packed lunch.
For several years OASIS days have taken place at St James’ Church, Meltham Mills (the church by the Park) and another two have been planned for this year.
WHAT IS AN OASIS DAY? – It’s a day set apart which gives us the opportunity to listen to God and spend time in quiet reflection alongside other people.
So many people today comment on the pace of life and the difficulty of finding enough time to fit in all the tasks which seem to be demanded by our modern lifestyle.
Jesus knew, only too well, what it was like to be at everyone’s beck and call but there was one way that He could find the peace he needed. He would seek out a quiet place which gave him the opportunity for prayer and renewal. If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to seek quiet and connection with God, how much more do we need to spend time apart in God’s presence.
Not everyone lives in the fast lane, of course. There are others who live alone and crave for the companionship of fellow travellers but no matter what our circumstances it is always good to stop and have an opportunity to be still, to be reflective and to listen to what God might be saying to us.
During an OASIS Day there will be a period of led Meditation accompanied by visuals and music, there will times of quiet for personal reflection, and the day will close with a short Holy Communion Service. It is a day where everyone is free to come for as little or long as they wish. For those staying the whole day, we stop at midday for our packed lunch.
Our next OASIS day will take place on 30th June, 10-00am – 2.30pm at St James Church. if you wish to stay for lunch please bring with you a packed lunch.
For several years OASIS days have taken place at St James’ Church, Meltham Mills (the church by the Park) and another two have been planned for this year.
WHAT IS AN OASIS DAY? – It’s a day set apart which gives us the opportunity to listen to God and spend time in quiet reflection alongside other people.
So many people today comment on the pace of life and the difficulty of finding enough time to fit in all the tasks which seem to be demanded by our modern lifestyle.
Jesus knew, only too well, what it was like to be at everyone’s beck and call but there was one way that He could find the peace he needed. He would seek out a quiet place which gave him the opportunity for prayer and renewal. If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to seek quiet and connection with God, how much more do we need to spend time apart in God’s presence.
Not everyone lives in the fast lane, of course. There are others who live alone and crave for the companionship of fellow travellers but no matter what our circumstances it is always good to stop and have an opportunity to be still, to be reflective and to listen to what God might be saying to us.
During an OASIS Day there will be a period of led Meditation accompanied by visuals and music, there will times of quiet for personal reflection, and the day will close with a short Holy Communion Service. It is a day where everyone is free to come for as little or long as they wish. For those staying the whole day, we stop at midday for our packed lunch.
