Returning to St Paul’s: Reflections on Ministry in East Leeds - By Bev Monck

I’m back!

I’ve returned to St Paul’s after a three-month placement in East Leeds, where I looked after three parishes while their vicar was on maternity leave. It’s been a rich and rewarding experience—getting to know new congregations, exploring different church communities, and learning a variety of ways of being church. I’d love to share a few reflections with you.

Multiple Churches, Parishes, Buildings, and PCCs!

One of the key things I learned during my placement was the joy—and challenge—of overseeing more than one church. I was responsible for St Wilfrid’s, Halton; St Agnes’, Burmantofts; and St Cyprian’s, Harehills.

A typical Sunday morning began at St Wilfrid’s, where I led their 10am communion service, attended by around 20 adults and 5 children. After a quick turnaround, I would dash over to St Agnes’ for their 11:30am service—often just in time to throw my robes back on and begin!

St Cyprian’s is a smaller congregation, with services every other week. During my placement, it was usually covered by other clergy and licensed lay ministers, so I only led there once.

Each church has a unique congregation and its own worship style. It was a real privilege to work with servant-hearted volunteers in each place, who supported me in my role and taught me about their traditions, histories, and contexts. Of course, three parishes also meant three buildings, three PCCs, and three Annual Parochial Church Meetings!

This experience made me appreciate how blessed we are at St Paul’s to have one vicar (and two curates) for one church. Though we have two services on a Sunday, we are united as one worshipping community in a single place. In multi-parish settings, any vision for mission—such as developing family-friendly worship or children’s ministry—needs to be shaped within the reality of a church leader’s time being divided across different contexts, with varying needs, opportunities, and capacities.

A Multicultural Church Experience

Another valuable aspect of my placement was working with a multicultural congregation. St Agnes’ in Burmantofts is a black-majority church with members from across the world, including Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Serving there has broadened my perspective, especially in prayer. I’ve become more aware of how we can pray meaningfully for different nations—particularly those affected by conflict, like Sudan—and of the importance of holding a global view in our prayers, alongside our local concerns.

I’m really looking forward to being back at St Paul’s, catching up with everyone, and bringing the insights and experiences I’ve gained into my ministry here in Ireland Wood.