Dear friends,
Over the next few weeks we celebrate Ascension Day, Pentecost and the Trinity.
Jesus ascends in to heaven (30 May). Ten days later on the Day of Pentecost (9 June) the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles. On the following Sunday (16 June) we celebrate the Trinity, a way of understanding God as community.
We hope you will join us on those days for special services for the Ascension at Pickering (7pm), Pentecost at Rievaulx Abbey 5.30pm for 6.15pm. On Trinity Sunday our Reader Lucy Willshaw and I are beginning a series of sermons reflecting on the Nicene creed which describes Father Son and Holy Spirit. We hope you will join us for these as we to try to deepen our faith.
Between Ascension and Pentecost we will be joining a worldwide movement by having prayers in each of our churches. We ask you to pray with us that we might grow in number and faithfulness.
Further detail of all these services are listed below.
Very best wishes,
Tim Robinson, Vicar
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
‘I believe’ – a short series of sermons at the 9.30am service.
The Nicene Creed follows the pattern of the Trinity. Appropriately, the series of sermons begins on 16 June, Trinity Sunday.
16 June Father, Son and Holy Spirit Tim Robinson
23 June Father Lucy Willshaw
30 June Son Tim Robinson
7 July A break for our 10am Service of the Word
14 July Holy Spirit Lucy Willshaw
21 July Catholic and apostolic Church Tim Robinson
28 July Putting it together – a conversation Lucy and Tim
These will not be dry theological lectures (!) but rather an attempt to tease out the importance of the creed for our faith today.
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."