Bramham Benefice

Joanna Davies

beneficeconnectionsminister@gmail.com

Jo started as the multiply lay leader for the Bramham benefice in September 2021 and is now in her 5th year (as of January 2025). The aim is to grow a multigenerational new worshipping community gathering at a weekly Saturday morning cafe church called “connections”.

Connections café church weekly on a Saturday with a “pause for thought” continues to thrive with lots of spin off conversations and “connections happening”. (50 people a week) 

In September 23 Jo started “Flourish” on a Sunday evening monthly aimed at adults to build on the Connections Café Church (deeper engagement with Scripture, prayers, sharing testimony and stories of faith, some video-led worship materials). 

Jo continues to co-lead a monthly support group for parents of children with additional needs and has this year trained and led “When Dreams Change course” (a Christian course for parents of children with additional needs) 8 of these families have come along to Café Church. She is currently praying about starting a new mid week gathering with an emphasis on the parents and exploring wellbeing to replace a historical toddler group that has closed. 

February 2024 Update

Jo says: “Café Church has now been running since September 2021 and most weeks we have around 50 people attending ages 0-90! It is a “Pay as you feel” Café space serving homemade cakes, toast, crumpets and a selection of hot drinks. We have an area of the room for the children including a craft table, toys, board games and table football. We have our local regulars that drop by most weeks and quite often people who are passing through Boston Spa on a journey and see the coffee sign!

Halfway through the morning we ring a little bell and stop for our “ Pause for thought” this a 5 minute slot where one of the team will share something that God has been either speaking to them about or doing in their lives and we relate this to a verse from the Bible, the Bible verse is printed out and on the tables.

This part of the morning has become really special with some people turning up just in time to hear it and being disappointed if they miss it! One lovely story is that in the early days of Café church a couple came along thinking it was purely a coffee morning, when realising that there was a pause for thought the lady was concerned that her husband (who was not a church goer) would either not want to stay or not want to come back however it was quite the contrary, he really enjoyed the Pause for thought and now even attends on weeks when his wife cannot! After discussion with him he said he likes this because they are about everyday life and that they are short!

One of the team has reflected on their experience of leading the pause for thought “ I had never really spoken in Church before and was initially nervous to do this but I was so encouraged that after my first one someone came up to me and said that it had really spoken to them. I think the fact that I’m not someone wearing a collar also encourages others that God can speak through them and the ordinary things in life.”