Following the announcement by the Prime Minister on the 

31st October, the church building is only open for private 

prayer Wednesday evenings and alternate Sundays. (see below, 

church diary or facebook page)

_{Message from our Minister Rev Suzanne Nockels}

Dear All, 

We think it's important to provide a space for prayer amid what might be a difficult

month. Therefore, the Church building will be open on Wednesdays 6.30pm-8pm. There

will be quiet, perhaps some instrumental music and readings with reflective pictures on 

the screen. The idea is that you come as individuals or in your household and sit and 

reflect for 10 minutes or so and then head home. I must stress that we must not chat in 

a group inside or outside the building. Our hope is that this time will help you connect with God and still feel connected to the Chapel. If nothing else it will make the day different 

from the others which is important for mental well-being. I will of course be posting online

sermons and services each week which are available on Tapton church blog. 

Bible Studies on Skype are now held Tuesday afternoons at 3pm. 

Every Friday at 2pm you are welcome to join me for coffee and a chat by the 'zoom'

communications platform. 

There is no agenda other than keeping connected. It will be the same link each 

time. You do not need to have Zoom on your computer, phone or tablet it should

still work. We get 40 minutes free so it will not be a long meeting. 

Hopefully see you there. 

Please don't be overly anxious. As a Church we have learnt lots of ways to be 

supportive and stay connected over this time. While I will be ringing you, you can

always ring me on 0114 2325790. 

All God's blessings

Suzanne x

Message from the Church Secretary Darryl Lomas

Dear Friends

As we approach Christmas, all be it a different on I thought a quick recap of what is happening at Tapton.

Boris has announced ‘collective worship’ will reopen so from early December we can join together. That is good news. Unfortunately we will not be having the Church party this year which is a shame also the Church Post Box will not be open, Postman Pat is still on furlough. Unless Boris has a change of heart we will not be singing in Church, so no sung carols. So join the Zoom Carol sing and get your carolling fix.

Enough of the bad news, as Suzanne has said ‘Christmas isn’t cancelled!’

We will be able to meet in Church on 13^th December at 2.45 pm. Christmas Eve at 6.30pm (please note this is the Thursday instead of the Wednesday that week) and at 10.15 am on Christmas Day. If you want to come to the Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day Service please book with Suzanne. We will have a service on the 27^th December at 2.45 pm and from then every second and fourth Sunday plus every Wednesday plus on line. The Greek Orthodox Church will not be using the Church on the Sundays we are in to ensure distancing.

The Memory Tree (see below) will be going up on Sunday, it is there to hang a decoration for a loved one, or the memory of a loved one or just to hang a decoration on it! On the 13^th to 15^th we have our lanterns (jam jars) these will be coming out in your Christingle bags ready to decorate along with Carol sheets for the Zoom Carol sing and Christingle Service goodies.

During December some of the Church members windows will be decorated with nativity scenes, so do have a wander round and a take a look at these.

Don’t forget the Friday coffee afternoon at 2 pm on Zoom, always good fun

So it wont be a usual Christmas, but there will be plenty at Tapton to see and do

Take care and stay safe

Darryl

Sermons from our services have been recorded and are shown on our 

church blog.

As we have been unable to sing in church we have been joining together in using 

the sign language for our final Blessing. We are now very pleased to have Natasha 

one of our congregation teaching us the Lord's Prayer in British Sign Language.

If you wish to learn it yourself please see https://youtu.be/ZWEx4TXmvm4 

Bible studies are shown on the church blog

 

Rev Nell Shallow wrote this prayer.

En-bubble us Lord

Bless those who will hold a newly born child
the grandparent and uncle
the auntie and cousins
may those infant snuggles be a tender restoring

En-bubble us Lord

Bless those whose beloveds live across a border
the partners divided by boundary
the families still separated by geography
may the bittersweet possibility of togetherness bring hope

En-bubble us Lord

Bless those who must make hard choices
the torn and troubled
the conflicted and anguished
may their decisions be met with compassionate understanding

En-bubble us Lord

Bless those who remain alone and lonely
the shielding and unwell
the ones without friend or family
may neighbours notice and offer genuine companionship

En-bubble us Lord

Bless those who rejoice in longed-for togetherness
the grandchildren and siblings
the best friends and lovers
may their hugs and holds be more precious than they imagined

En-bubble us Lord

Bless those whose loneliness can now welcome company
the single and separated
the widow and the mourners
may their hearts be filled with the comforting of presence

En-bubble us Lord we pray.
Amen

 

Who are we?

As a Congregational Church we are independently run by the members through our Church Meetings, where Spirit led we can all have a say in how we feel is the best way to worship 

our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

(see Church Diary page or Tapton facebook page for details)

Although independent we belong to the Congregational Federation and are part of Churches Together in Hallam who we occasionally join for ecumenical fellowship 

We are pleased to also offer a home to the Greek Orthodox Community Church in Sheffield.

To get a flavour of what we have been doing please read the reports of our Church Secretary and Minister from the Annual General Meeting on the 'About us' web page.

Congratulations Suzanne

We are pleased our own Rev Suzanne Nockels will become the next National 

President of the Congregational Federation. 

This was due to occur at our National Assembly in May this year but has now

been postponed until 2021. Presidential duties will be shared between Rev Dr 

Janet Wootton as Immediate Past President and Suzanne as President Elect.

Children and Young People

Tapton has a Safe from Harm policy and is inspected regularly. To find out more about the various activities please go to our Junior Church page

 

Memorial for victims of conflict

The memorial should have been dedicated on 11th April but this has been 

postponed until the end of the coronavirus crisis.

The bench has been restored and is again available to sit and reflect on beside 

the memorial.

Community Memory Tree

You may see a giant wooden Christmas tree go up in the garden soon. This is our

Community memory tree. From December 1st you are invited to hang a decoration

on it to remember a loved one, something you are thankful for this year, or a place/situation you want to be mindful of. Obviously nothing expensive and sadly, you'll not be able to

get it back. Some ideas might include;

- a pine cone/holly to remember this year's walks

- a star to remember someone who has been a star to you.

- a blue bauble with NHS on it. 

- a decoration in your loved one's favourite colour. 

So get thinking! 

Thank you to Graham, Darryl and Andrea for this. It is amazing.