November e-News

Welcome to our November 2025 e-News!

Minster Musings

Fear and Faith

I’m writing this on the Monday after Halloween (All Hallows Eve) when the church remembers those who have died and all the saints past and present. Halloween has captured the imagination of the West as a time where we celebrate horror and the macabre. It seems to me that is less a celebration of darkness but a making fun of it, a taming of it. All things scary become the chance for a game – trick or treat, parties and feasting. Fear is recognised, made small and laughed at. Ghosts, zombies, death and violence are predominately given a playful twist. For a small minority it’s a chance to glorify darkness and fear but for most it’s a chance to defy it, laugh in its face with lighted pumpkins, costumes, games and parties.    

Fear is part of human existence. We have it for good reason. Fear makes us think twice when risky things are afoot, whether that’s physical things like the dark, heights or water; social things like making a fool of ourselves in public, or spiritual threats. Maybe you fear climate change, war, or humans being wiped out by an ever-powerful AI network. Whatever we are afraid of, we need to pay attention to our fear, to listen to what it tells us about risk, and how seriously do we need to take that fear. Fear of heights means that I am careful that the abseil set up I’m using is safe. Fear of being swept away to sea, means that when swimming in it, I’m careful of tides, waves and swimming within my competencies. Fear of darkness means that we turn on the lights, both physically and spiritually.

Fear also fuels our survival responses, fight, flight and freeze. It can give us extraordinary bursts of energy and clarity of thinking to make quick decisions for our safety. It makes us cautious and careful, and ready to respond; when it’s working at its best, it keeps us safe. But like all our human emotions it has a flip side, fear can paralyse us. It can cause us to lose our cognitive function and be in such a panic we cannot think through the best next step. It can paralyse us to inaction. It can mean we limit ourselves and others around us.

When fear has too much control in our hearts, minds and lives, it makes our lives smaller. When it has a hold on communities, it makes them more closed, more suspicious, and often more argumentative and volatile. Our society has a high level of fear, it’s fear that fuels the vitriol online, fear that is polarising differences in politics, and fear that is behind the huge rise in anxiety and anxiety related health problems.

Fear unchecked is unhealthy and destructive. Maybe that’s why God says so often in the bible – do not be afraid; like when Jesus calms the storm and says to the disciples do not be afraid. The angel said it to Mary when he appeared to tell her she would have the Child of God. I often read it as a telling off, but I think it’s probably more of an acknowledgement of the fear and an exhortation to look beyond it, or maybe more accurately, to have faith despite it. God calls us to faith, faith in his salvation for us, faith in his love for us, faith in our calling as his children. This love, this grace, this salvation is so much more overarching and powerful that the powers of darkness whatever they may be. Despite the risks of life, despite the pain and hardships the sorrows and the challenges, all of which jangle our nerves and provoke our fear; despite all of this: God’s love is powerful as the sun that dispels all darkness. So, when the fear comes, notice it, listen to it, but let faith hope and love be the lens in which you view it, and the fuel of your reactions to it. That way it will be a healthy tool rather than a strait jacket, an aid to wise action rather than a crippling inner voice.  Amen  

Revd Sam Crook
Curate

October in the Minster

The use of the Minster has grown in recent years as a concert venue. October saw concerts by tribute acts for Queen, the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and Luther Vandross. Grayston Unity hired the Minster as part of the Town Festival, we had our regular ‘Thursday @ One’ and the Overgate Hospice Choir performed Brahms’ German Requiem. Concert hire provides a good income for the Minster. The bar at the Luther Vandross concert raised over £2,300.

Bradshaw Primary School Choir joined with the Minster Choir on 5th October to help celebrate International Choristers Day. The music in the service included the anthem, ‘Holy Spirit, Truth Divine’ by Jeremy Truslove, specially arranged by the Minster’s Director of Choral Music, Charlie Murray.

November at the Minster

Our Harvest Festival on October 12th saw a good-sized collection for the Happy Days Community Supermarket, based at St James’ Rd HX1 1YS. Some of the items were used as cake ingredients for the Community Cafe and the cakes were enjoyed by all! The Minster is a collecting point for Happy Days throughout the year and donations can be left in the box by the Welcome Desk.

November is set to be even busier than October was. Details of the main events are given below. Click on them for more details!

Throughout November, the Minster is acting as a collection point for the charity Mary’s Meals. Mary’s Meals is a global charity that serves life-changing school meals to some of the world’s poorest children. One of the main ways they finance their vital work is through collecting foreign and old currency, – all those coins left over from foreign holidays or old British coins that are no longer legal tender. If you have any knocking around in the bottom of a drawer somewhere, please consider giving them to Mary’s Meals. There is a collection box and further information at the Welcome Desk or click the image to read more.

A Christmas Lunch at the White House, at Blackstone Edge OL15 0LG has been arranged for Thursday December 18th at noon. If you are interested in attending, please contact Margaret Stears or the Minster Office

Parishioner Profile

Name: Geoff Spedding

Born and raised in North Liverpool within 40 minutes’ walk of Aintree racecourse, Anfield and Goodison Park. Saw motor racing with Stirling Moss and Juan Fangio and watched Everton from being 5 years old (Dad played for them as an Amateur in the war years, then played for the RAF alongside Stanley Mortensen). Local schools, then Hull University studying Theology and Philosophy. Postgraduate degree at Cambridge whilst at Ridley Theological College. Ordained 1970 to Bradford Cathedral. Various and varied parishes in six dioceses. Retired (first) in 2005 on grounds of ill health (depression/burn out), and (finally) in 2012 after spells of House for Duty (part time parish work). Played football till I was 35, (Centre Half/ Right Full Back) then cricket till I was 57: (opening bat and off spin). Married Lesley Cheetham in 2009, having met in 2006, whilst she was Curate with Wendy Wilby here at the Minster. We each have two children from previous marriages and share two step-grandchildren. And both of us sing in the Minster choir.

Favourite music: Everton Blue!

Favourite music: …where to start? South American styles eg bossa nova; jazz – Miles Davis “Kind of Blue”, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald & co. Brad Mehldau is a brilliant contemporary jazz pianist. Folk music eg the Waterstones with Martyn Carthy; Coope, Boyes and Simpson specially their collection of Sheffield Christmas Carols. Folk music of Greece and Bulgaria traditional and contemporary. Irish traditional music: the Lament is a wonderful music form. In pop music, my favourites have been Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and Yes. Among classical composers I’ve enjoyed Vaughan Williams and Arvo Part, but my returning favourite has been Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique Symphony. I am lucky to sing with the Minster Choir, and enjoy the range of music we sing, and much of the English choral tradition. I’ve also been fortunate to sing with the Silsden Singers, a Community Choir who have a speciality in Eastern European derived folk music, and earlier with a four-voice folk music group. Oh yes – and when I sang the Litany at a Bradford Ordination, the old Bishop said it brought tears to his eyes…??

Favourite food: Any kind of beef or lamb stew, casserole or goulash – Stifado (Greek) best of all! Smelly cheese!

Work-life and bio: Amongst all the changes in my life I have been sustained by Scargill House in Wharfedale. I first joined community there when I was 17, returned the following year, and later took many parishes on weekend events there. I returned as a community member from 2006-2008, recovering from depression and working as site manager and groundsman. I remain so grateful for the encouragement and support of the then Warden and Community in my journey back to health. And I met Lesley there when she was on a music course!

I have strong links with two countries. I have spent periods of time in Sweden and have often been brilliantly hosted by a Swedish Pastor and his family, friends and parishes. All in the diocese of Vaxjo in the central southern county of Smaland. I researched Church of Sweden youth work for a BD degree and learnt to speak some of the language. I have preached in Swedish and also led sung compline. The Swedish countryside of lakes and forests are so beautiful!

I’ve spent many holidays in Greece – islands and mainland – since the early 1980s. But since properly retiring in 2012, I have acquired a superb niche job, working for an international seasonal community on the Eastern mainland on the slopes of mount Pelion near the city of Volos. (Home of Jason and the Argonauts and the Centaurs) In the chestnut and beech forest above beautiful beaches. The community like to grow their own vegetables and flowers. Each year, I go out for 6 -8 weeks in spring and set the garden, then return for 3 weeks in September to close the garden for the winter. So I’ve met a host of people from many European countries and from Brazil Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand. And I can also manage to speak a little Greek…….

So to my favourite places…no surprises! In Greece the tiny harbour town of Damouchari and the City of Thessaloniki; in Sweden, the town of Vaxjo and the nearby lake of Helgasjorn and the City of Stockholm with its Old Town and Waterside. And, at home, Luddenden Dene takes a lot of beating, as does Wharfedale and the hills on either side.

I am a cancer survivor, having spent much of the last year in the kind and immensely skilled hands of medics. I am a “medical anomaly”: having removed a tumour from my small intestine, they found it was a melanoma (skin cancer). Odd! And there are no signs of a Primary on my skin, nor of any other secondaries. So, I am simultaneously without any discernible cancer and stage four melanoma!! They’re kindly giving me a year’s Immunotherapy to ward off any recurrence just in case.