Thackley Methodist Church and Community Centre

In late November 2025, we celebrated the anniversary of the installation of our solar panels and battery storage.  In their first year, the solar panels generated a total of 8,350 kWh.   This is roughly enough electricity to power 4 average UK homes for a full year.  Of the total: We used 2,458 kWh ourselves – either straight away or stored in our batteries to use later – saving us £706 as we didn’t have to buy this electricity from the grid. We exported 5,892 kWh to the grid (this was spare overflow electricity when our batteries were full) and got paid £942 for this.  The total financial benefit for the Church over the year was £1,678.  Sincere thanks to our Treasurer, Anthony, for this overview, and thank you to those who contributed to their installation for making this possible.  

We've done it! At the beginning of the year installing solar panels was just a pipe dream. In March we had hope of turning the dream into reality when we received our first funding - see our previous post Stepping Towards Net Zero . Well, as we enter Advent to prepare for the coming of Jesus, the light of the world, here they are, installed and working! Massive thanks to our funders: WY Mayor Community Climate Grant - £10,000 Benefact Trust Methodist Grants Programme - £4,300 Bradford North Methodist Circuit (10% Property Grant) - £2,202 Bradford North Methodist Circuit (Net Zero Grant) - £1,362 Yorkshire West Methodist District Advance Fund Grant - £3,564 John Devereux Bequest (remaining balance) - £378 Remaining funding came from our church funds. Huge thanks to our Lettings & Property Team for seeking the above grants and preparing the plant room, and to Carlo and Ian from Yorkshire Energy Systems for their excellent work and attention to detail during installation. Wit...

Christmas is loud, isn’t it? So much expectation. So many voices. Telling us how to celebrate, what to wear, what to eat and drink, what to watch and what to buy. Instead, this Christmas we’re inviting everyone to hush the noise. To listen for the love song that the angels bring, this and every year. They sang it for the first time more than 2,000 years ago, on the midnight clear. They’re just waiting for us to join in. We want to share that same song of love by crafting angels, adding a tag with a message of love, and distributing them across Thackley in the week before Christmas.  We hope that they will bring joy to those who make them, and bring a smile to the faces of those who see them and take them home this Christmas. How you can help We would love as many people as possible to get involved by creating angels, using your preferred crafting method eg knitting, crochet, felting, sewing etc, and adding a tag with a message of love. There are links to a few patterns below, but f...

We care for creation and all God's gifts The universe is an expression of God’s loving, creative nature. We are currently in a climate emergency requiring urgent action, but the good news is that by learning about God’s love for creation and our place within it, we can learn to take care of the world we live in. The Methodist Church has set an aspirational target of becoming a net zero carbon emissions Church by 2030. We have already made good progress to reduce our carbon emissions by: Switching to LED lighting and smart switches to avoid lights being left on accidentally. Installing recycle bins, and recycling printer cartridges. Moving winter worship into the Community Hall.As an example, last year’s Advent worship cost an average of £56 each Sunday to heat the main church. The heating had to come on at 4.00 am and even by 10.30 am the church didn't feel overly warm. During January, it cost an average of £15 to heat the community hall. It doesn't need to come on until 8 ...

OUT OF THE ORDINARY: GOD IN US Bible readings Isaiah 9:2-7 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—  on them light has shined. You have multiplied exultation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Great will be his authority, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lo...

PREPARING FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY: LISTENING Bible readings 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 Now when the king was settled in his house and the Lord had given him rest  from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now,  I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” Nathan said to  the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.” But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my  servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live  in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel  from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a  word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd  my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ Now  therefore thu...

PREPARING FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY: POINTING TO THE LIGHT Bible readings Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. For I, the Lord, love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their ...

PREPARING FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY: CHANGING YOUR MIND Bible readings Isaiah 40:1-11 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass; their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers; the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers; the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Get you...

PREPARING FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY: LETTING STUFF GO Bible readings Isaiah 64:1-9 O that you would tear open the heaven and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down; the mountains quaked at your presence. From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on your name or attempts to take hold of you, for you have hidden your ...

As we journey through Advent, we explore the wonder of how God’s love is revealed in the ordinary…  How a seemingly ordinary birth becomes God’s out of the ordinary world-saving event through Jesus.  How every day, ordinary acts of kindness can breakthrough to the extraordinary. This year we are using Advent & Christmas materials produced by the Methodist Church of Great Britain that encourage us to scratch beneath the surface to explore and reflect upon what God is saying to us. You can engage with these through either this blog, or our Facebook page .  The following links will become live each Sunday commencing 3 December 2023. Advent 1 - Preparing for the extraordinary: Letting stuff go . Advent 2 - Preparing for the extraordinary: Changing your mind. Advent 3 - Preparing for the extraordinary: Pointing to the light. Advent 4 - Preparing for the extraordinary: Listening. Christmas Day - Out of the ordinary: God in us . Advent Baubles In previous years we have decorated our...

Being built up as ‘living stones’ for God’s work was the theme of this month's all age worship led by Claire Nott. It was a wonderful service. As we entered church we were invited to choose a painted stone which we used at the beginning of the service to settle and focus our minds on God. Claire used a multitude of boxes to build a tower, a wall and a pathway. She then used a series of images to challenge us to consider whether we are a church steeped in the past, whether we are deliberate in the way we lend support, or whether we are constantly refreshed and renewed, ready to explore new opportunities. Our bible readings ( 1 Peter 2: 2-10 and John 14: 1-14 )  and songs had references to stones, towers and roads and linked beautifully together. Claire is a Local Preacher in training and this was one of her assessed services. We were richly blessed through her words, visual aids and thoughtful organisation of the service. Our prayers are with her as her training progresses. We...

Palm Sunday All Age Worship - 2 April 2023 What a joy it was to welcome Brownies, Squirrels (well one of them!) and 1, 2, 3 Jesus Loves Me! to our Palm Sunday All Age Worship led by Rev Phil Drake. During the service we reflected on Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, how He rode on a donkey rather than a horse, and related this to April Fool's day! We looked at a picture of a donkey and the cross that often appears on the donkey's back, and we made Easter crosses to use throughout Holy Week.  We also watched a video, The Easter Poem, which tells the Easter story. What a wonderful time of worship to start our journey through Easter Week. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

  We love getting such positive feedback! A big thank you to all who contributed to our Christingle Service to make it a special time of worship. Rev Pat Malham Using a story box full of intriguing props, Rev Pat Malham told the eternal story of God's Light of Love - how the Light always was, that through the ages the prophets pointed to the Light, then how Jesus was born at Christmas to be the Light with us in human form. Pat reminded us that we are the current carriers of that Light, encouraging us to continue shining God's Love into the world today, looking forward with hope and joy to the time when Jesus will come again and there will be no more darkness at all. We made our Christingle to take away to share the Light of Jesus with others. The orange represents the world. The red ribbon symbolises the love and blood of Christ. The sweets and dried fruit represent all of God’s creations. The lit candle represents Jesus’s light in the world, bringing hope to people living in d...