St Paul's Church, Drighlington

18/06/2026

A Date for your diary,please come and join us for this popular event.

14/06/2026

Some days
harassed and helpless
feels less like a Bible verse
and more like a description of life.

Too many demands.
Too many voices.
Too much bad news
arriving before breakfast.

Emails unanswered.
Bills unpaid.
Relationships strained.
Worries carried quietly
because everyone else
seems to be carrying enough already.

Harassed and helpless.
Jesus looks at the crowd
and sees it.
Not weakness.
Not failure.

People trying to keep going
while carrying more
than they were meant to carry alone
People longing for direction.
For hope.
For someone to notice.

And His first response
isn’t frustration.
It’s compassion.

The kind of compassion
that sees beyond the smile,
beyond the brave face,
beyond the words “I’m fine.”

The kind of compassion
that recognises the weariness
hidden beneath the surface.

And that’s the good news.

Before Jesus asks anything of us,
before He sends anyone anywhere,
before there’s mission or ministry or service,
there’s compassion.

He sees.
He understands.
He knows the weight we carry.

The God who made us
doesn’t stand at a distance
shouting instructions.
He steps towards us.

Towards the anxious.
Towards the exhausted.
Towards the overwhelmed.
Towards all those moments
when life feels like too much.

Because the kingdom begins
not with people who’ve got everything together,
but with people who know
they need grace.

People like us.
People who are sometimes
harassed and helpless,
but never beyond
the reach of God’s compassion.

© E Hamilton 2026

11/06/2026

07/06/2026

A touch.
So ordinary and light
we barely notice it.

A hand on a shoulder.
An arm around someone who’s grieving.
A hand held across a hospital bed.
A child reaching for a parent’s fingers.

Small things.

Until they’re not.

A woman reaches out,
through the crowd,
through her fear,
through years of being overlooked.

Just the edge of a cloak.

A touch.

A father falls at Jesus’ feet,
desperate for his daughter,
desperate for one more chance,
one more breath,
one more touch of hope.

And Jesus responds.

Not with distance.
Not with indifference.

but with presence.
and touch.

Because that’s how love often arrives.

Not in grand speeches.
Not in dramatic gestures.

But in casseroles left at a door.
In messages sent at the right moment.
In sitting beside someone
when words are hard to find.
In choosing not to walk past.

We underestimate touch.
Not only the touch of hands,
but the touch of a life.

The way kindness lingers.
The way encouragement stays with us for years.
The way one act of compassion
can become a turning point
in someone else’s story.

Jesus touched lives wherever He went.

Not just bodies,
but hearts,
souls,
communities.

And He still does.

Through people willing to notice.
People willing to stop.
People willing to reach out.

We may never know
how far our touch travels.

How a word spoken gently,
a kindness offered freely,
a moment of compassion given without thought,
becomes part of someone else’s healing.

But love leaves fingerprints.
And every time we choose
to touch the world with grace,
something of Christ
is made visible.

© E Hamilton 2026

05/06/2026

05/06/2026

Bereavement Cafe Open Tomorrow 10.00am till 11.30am.

Saturday 6th June.

A gentle,welcoming space for anyone experiencing grief,please just call in.
Everyone Welcome.

03/06/2026

All are welcome to join us at St. Peter's on Sunday 14th June for Immerse Worship.

01/06/2026

Three in one.

Which sounds like a puzzle,
a maths problem,
something to be solved
rather than lived.

But perhaps the Trinity is less about explanation
and more about experience.

The God who creates,
whose fingerprints are found
in rivers and mountains,
in blackbirds at dawn,
in laughter around kitchen tables,
in the first breath of a newborn child.

The God who comes close,
walking dusty roads,
sharing meals,
touching wounds,
showing us that love
looks like something.

The God who moves among us still,
like wind through trees,
like fire in cold hearts,
like courage arriving
when we thought we had none left.

Father.
Son.
Holy Spirit.

Not three gods.
but one God
whose love is shared,
given,
received.

A dance of love
that has been going on
since before the stars were hung in the sky.

And we are invited in.

Not as spectators.
Not as outsiders.

Participants.

Held in the love of the Creator.
Welcomed by the grace of Christ.
Filled with the presence of the Spirit.

Three in one.

Not a problem to solve,
but a mystery to enter,
an ocean to wade into,
a song still being sung.

And every act of love,
every moment of grace,
every breath of hope,

echoes with the life
of the God
who is relationship,
community,
and love itself.

© E Hamilton 2026

29/05/2026

Saturday 6th June. Bereavement Cafe.

10.00am till 11.30am.

Come and join others for support,friendship and a cuppa.
You will be very welcome.

27/05/2026

The walkers follow an ancient Christian route that leads to Holy Island – Lindisfarne – yet Ashley was the only practising Christian the BBC included in the programme.

He told the BBC why he took part: “As a Christian I wanted to do this pilgrimage, to continue my journey of discovery” and “the chance to explore my faith”.

He has always believed, but it’s only in the past few years that he’s really “embraced” a “personal relationship with God”. On Premier Christian Radio, he called himself a “baby Christian”.

A Facebook post shows him reading a Bible on Lindisfarne, and he writes: “I know God exists because I’ve seen the difference in my life with and without him. Jesus changed my life.

“Not too long ago I went on a walk… Across a causeway at low tide to reach what is known as Holy Island. I sat at the top of a small cliff edge and read Psalm 136. I’m so grateful for that moment.

“I tried to use my phone to capture the peace I felt and the beauty that surrounded me… I didn’t understand at the time, but what I encountered was the Holy Spirit in the most beautiful way.

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