St James' Church
Briercliffe
USEFUL RESOURCES
Online Worship this Sunday
An Act of Worship from Blackburn Cathedral will be available every Sunday from 9am. You can view this on the Cathedral YouTube Channel or on Facebook.
A Church Near You also enables people to find a livestreamed service in a local church. Just use this link and enter a postcode.
A Resource for Urban Churches – and for others too!
Unlock-Urban is a small charity that supports urban churches and they have produced an excellent resource called ‘The Year we Stayed at Home’ to help parishes emerge from lockdown. Whilst designed for urban churches, it will have much wider use and is free of charge. Follow this link to see more.
The Daily Prayer
Lectio 365
www.24-7prayer.com/dailydevotional Lectio 365 is a devotional resource that helps you pray the Bible every day and is inspired by Lectio Divina, a way of meditating on the Bible that’s been used by Christians for centuries. Written by leaders from the 24-7 Prayer movement, and produced in partnership with CWR, this resource helps you engage with Scripture to inspire prayer.
BIOY
www.bibleinoneyear.org With Bible In One Year each day you will receive a Psalm or Proverbs reading, a New Testament reading and an Old Testament reading. It also provides daily audio and written commentary to walk you through each day’s reading, to provide fresh understanding of the texts.
New look Weekly@ Lectionary Resource
Our free Weekly@ Lectionary based resource has got a fresh new look and even more content for the start of the new year. We have included lots of alternative ideas and adaptations so that the resource can be used with groups meeting online, and when the time comes, in socially distanced settings. Don’t forget, the materials also include an all-age talk suggestion and a ‘chat and pray’ sheet for each week, which can be passed on to families to support faith at home.
Weekly@ January 2021 – Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education (bdeducation.org.uk)
News from the Diocesan Board of Education
As always the intrepid DBE team have been incredibly busy resourcing parishes and schools.
For toddlers…
Many parishes are starting to re-establish toddler groups and prayer is vital in this task. The Toddler Group National Month of Prayer is coming up in June. The Board of Education have supported this initiative for a number of years by posting on our social media platforms every day in June a series of creative prayer activities aimed at under 5s which can be used both in toddler groups and by families at home. For more details follow the Facebook page: (4) Blackburn Diocese Board of Education | Facebook
For young people…
Youth Camp from Home. Youth Camp has gone online with a range of resources and materials to create a youth camp from home for young people. The pack will contain ‘how to’ videos and pre-recorded talks so you can explore the Bible verse Micah 6:8, PLUS activity plans and an interactive scavenger hunt. More details can be found on the website here: Youth Camp 2021: Not So Far From Home – Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education (bdeducation.org.uk)
Fathom is a resource that guides young people through the processes of change. It is easily adaptable to work both online and face to face. It's an ideal resource for young people who are struggling with how much things keep changing and can help them to process the past year too. It can be found here.
The Youth Work State of Mind podcast encourages those who work with young people. It can be heard here and from that link you can subscribe with your preferred service.
Keep us, good Lord,
under the shadow of your mercy
in this time of uncertainty and distress.
Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may rejoice in your comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Further resources can be found by looking on the following websites:
www.blackburn.anglican.org or www.bdeducation.org.uk