Dear friends,
This month of remembering
If re-membering means putting things back together in our minds and hearts then we do a lot of that in both sacred and secular celebrations this month.
The first of November marks Helmsley’s Patronal Festival, All Saints. The New Testament refers to the Saints as ‘followers of the way’ – those who believed in Jesus – and so this festival is a celebration of being a Christian in the world today. On the following day all those who have gone before us are commemorated, our loved ones and perhaps too those from the past whom we hold in high regard. On the morning of 3rd November we will celebrate All Saints and in the evening All Souls.
Guy Fawkes is remembered on 5th November and then on the 10th November we will gather as usual at the war memorial in the churchyard for Remembrance Sunday and in church for a short service afterwards. Finally, on the 11th of the 11th we commemorate Armistice Day.
May you be blessed in your remembering. It is this that can give us, in part at least, hope for the future.
Very best wishes,
Tim Robinson
Helmsley Parish in the Diocese of York
Helmsley's parish church, dedicated to All Saints, dates back a thousand years and more. The present building , built on Norman foundations, was dedicated in 1838. Helmsley Parish also includes Anglican churches at Ea
st Moors, Rievaulx and Sproxton.
On Sundays in Helmsley there are two well-attended services and a regular midweek Holy Communion. Locals and visitors alike, of all traditions, are always very welcome to all our services. After Sunday's main 9.30 am service at Helmsley there is an opportunity to meet one another over refreshments.
Helmsley Church is open every day as a place of interest and for private prayer from 9am - 5pm (summer) and 9am - 4pm (winter). St Columba's Chapel, in the south transept, has votive candles to aid people's own particular prayers.
A Christian church has existed in Helmsley since AD 200, according to the 19th century wall-paintings in the north aisle. Certainly there was one on this site by the time of the Norman Conquest. (There's a 10th century hog-back tombstone in the porch and an entry in the Domesday Book of 1086.) The present building's splendid chancel arch, one of the largest in Yorkshire, dates from the 12th century (as does its counterpart over the entrance). Otherwise the handsome present day building is largely the result of major restoration in Victorian times, with the stained glass as well as the murals from this period too. All this variety of history and interest makes Helmsley Church a very special place to visit and worship in. More information about our other churches is elsewhere on the website.
Tim Robinson, our vicar, says: "I love being vicar here. Helmsley is a great community and I aim to serve everyone here be they part of the Church or not. Members of the congregation and I work with other community organisations for the common good. We have a special relationship with Helmsley in Business. Recently I accompanied the Archbishop of York (on his Pilgrimage of Prayer, Witness and Blessing around the Diocese) to celebrate Helmsley's win as best Market Town in the Great British High Street competition at the The Feathers Hotel before he answered questions at an event called 'What's on your Mind' at Helmsley Church.
"We are delighted you have taken the trouble to look at our website. We hope you will come and visit us soon."