Placement in East Leeds:- By Bev Monck

I’m now in my third year (of four) of curacy (a bit like a trainee vicar) at St Paul’s. As part of my training, I have the opportunity to do a placement in a different context. So, as of Sunday, 16th March, I will be spending the next three months covering a maternity leave in East Leeds in the parishes of St Agnes Burmantofts, St Wilfrid’s Halton, and St Cyprian’s Harehills. An interesting fact I learned recently is that St Cyprian’s was designed by the same architect – Geoffrey Davy – who designed St Paul’s.

As I have prepared for the placement, I have been gradually handing over my various areas of responsibility, such as Warm Welcome and pastoral care, to name a few. I am very grateful to everyone who has stepped up to help out and take on extra responsibility during my placement, not least because we are in a time of limited resources while we are without a youth or children’s worker. Please continue to pray for Mark, Dave, and Lisa, as well as our many volunteers at St Paul’s, as they adjust to change once again.

My placement in East Leeds will provide many different experiences. Instead of being in one church and one parish, as we are at St Paul’s, I will be getting to know three different churches and communities and learning from moving between churches on a Sunday morning. I am also looking forward to learning from different traditions and cultures.

St Agnes runs a warm space every Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., where they provide a constant stream of cups of tea, sandwiches, soup, and cake. I’ve already visited and was warmly welcomed by their committed team of volunteers. St Cyprian’s runs a food bank every Monday, where they support many families and individuals who are new to English. As well as having the privilege of supporting such ministries across the three churches, I am also keen to bring back my learning to St Paul’s and share ideas and examples of how different Christian communities show the love of Jesus to those in their parishes.

I have been reflecting on some words from the Nicene Creed, which we say every week at midweek communion at St Paul’s: "We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church." These words in the Creed remind us that, while we are part of St Paul’s Church, we are also part of the wider Church. Connecting with, supporting, and learning from other churches helps us grow in our understanding and appreciation of what it means to be one holy catholic and apostolic Church. In keeping with the generosity of St Paul’s in sending Matt to be the vicar of Bramhope and the plans for Dave and me to plant a church at the end of our curacy, this placement is another example of the generosity of St Paul’s in sending our resources to support the wider Church in Leeds.