John Sherbourne 
After what must seem like an endless drag up Stonegate Road I can only imagine the relief that the near on 9,000 runners in this year’s Half Marathon dwhen they saw that once again MBC was stepping in with a much needed sustenance.
Okay, so maybe jelly babies and popcorn aren’t the top of every athletes dietary plan but I can assure you that for many they were exactly what the doctor ordered.
Below is a gallery of images captured as the runners streamed past us.
After two years worshipping and ministering here at MBC Caroline Brown said her farewells on Sunday when she told the church that she was “returning to her roots.” In other words, returning to the Church of England, but this time with the intention of becoming a priest.
Revd Caroline began her final Sunday standing on the roundabout watching out for her sister who was competing in the Leeds Half Marathon. It was then a quick sprint in to church to announce her news.
Surrounded by members of her Home Group and also by regulars at our Monday Morning Café Caroline was thanked for all the work she has done here at MBC and wished God speed as she takes her next steps in ministry. 
Once again MBC’s Plant Sale has proved a great success. With only a few specimens left unsold and with a very healthy contribution coming from the donations for coffee and cake Jenny Dixon and her green fingered team are well on the way to sending more than £1,000 to this year’s chosen charities.
From the word go there was a steady stream of visitors each of whom left us carrying considerably more than they had brought.
Simon on the Streets and The British Heart Foundation are this year’s beneficiaries so very soon a cheque will be heading their way.
Alongside Jenny’s adult helpers there was this year a new member of the team… 10 year old Nikou Mohammadai who when not helping arrange the cakes was our assistant photographer. In fact, so good were her pictures that almost half of the images in the gallery below are hers.
So all in all a good day, once again many thanks to Jenny and all the team… see you all next year.
This coming Sunday, May 14th, runners taking part in the Leeds Half Marathon will once again be streaming past us at just about the time our Sunday morning worship starts. This means you will need to plan your journey carefully as there will be a certain number of road closures.
However, unlike in previous years this time MBC finds itself sandwiched between two feeding/water stations which means there will be no need for us to give out drinks. We are though keeping up the tradition of handing out jelly babies. If you want to help just turn up on Sunday, make your way onto the roundabout and join in the fun.
Sorry about the missing newsletter. A couple of weeks ago IT gremlins somehow managed to sabotage our last issue by wiping all the stored images from the website library. However, we are pleased to say normal service has been resumed and provided they don’t strike again there will be a newsletter tomorrow (12 May).
In it you’ll not only find links to a few new stories but also some which if you haven’t visited the website directly you may have missed.
Although some of us might have felt a bit like Brenda from Bristol, when the General Election was announced, it remains a great opportunity for us to build the power of Leeds Citizens and advance our campaigns.
We are running a special action over the next month to make the most of this and are asking for your help to make it a success.
Leeds Citizens is organising meetings with candidates in all Leeds constituencies in the run-up to June 8th. We will be asking them directly to:
1. We need volunteers to join the teams to meet with candidates in their local constituency. The teams will be briefed and supported by our Senior Organiser, Tom. If you live in one of the following constituencies and would like to take part please contact us now:
2. We need organisations who are willing to host a meeting with a candidate on their premises. All we need is a hall or meeting room, nothing fancy. If you’re able to host, please let me know ASAP.
3. If you are a leader in your community, please promote this opportunity to people in your community and send us a list of people who want to join the team. We want to match people to meetings within their own constituency, so please ask volunteers to note their constituency (or post code, if they aren’t sure), so they can meet the right candidates.
4. For those who can’t make these specific events, but are attending other hustings or meet a candidate on the doorstep, we will be providing a short briefing on our campaign areas with key questions for candidates, to help you contribute to this action and keep candidates on their toes!
We are prioritising this action over the next month as it has potential to help advance all our campaigns. Please let us know if you can volunteer ASAP. We need to move quickly.
Please also remind people to register to vote. The deadline is Monday 22nd May. You can register online at: www.gov.uk/register-to-
As much as we seek relationships with elected officials, the most important office is the one which we all share: citizen. Let’s use this election period, through voting and action, to build a bit more trust and participation in our democracy.
There’s an old adage that says “you’re never too old to learn” and whilst that’s undoubtable true four MBC members are proving that there’s also no age limit when it comes to encouraging others to learn.
That’s why each week Jan Brown, Jan Fennell, Diane Sunter and John Sherbourne sign in at Allerton Church of England Primary School to hear pupils read.
Currently the two Jans are working alongside children in Year 5 whilst Diane and John are focussing on Year 6 – that’s the children’s final year in Primary school. The three ladies, as either former teachers or TA’s all have experience in the field of education whereas John who is also one of the school’s co-opted governors comes from a very different world: journalism.
So if you can spare a couple of hours a week and would like to join the team have a word with John because he’s in absolutely no doubt that if you do either Allerton C of E and/or at least three other local Primary schools will snatch your hand off.
Many thanks to Martyn Gray and Kate Slater for sending in this brilliant set of pictures, and also to everyone who was involved in organising this great weekend.
Just one year on from its official opening The Barn Coffee Shop, a social enterprise café based in the grounds of Meanwood Valley Urban Farm, is proving so popular that it has been able to give three local community groups grants totaling £5,000.
They are: Stainbeck United Reform Church, InterACT (a joint church and community partnership) and the café’s neighbour Meanwood Valley Urban Farm.
At a party to mark the Coffee Shop’s first birthday project manager Andrew MacBean reminded guests that besides serving some wonderful coffee and cakes The Barn provides a warm and welcoming meeting place for a number of local community groups which in turn gives them the opportunity to develop and promote new and challenging initiatives.
“Today” he said, “on our first birthday it’s not only a real treat to be able to hand over such a significant amount of money, it’s also a chance for me to say a huge thank you lto our directors, our staff and to all our brilliant volunteers.”
