St. Michael le Belfrey
Encyclopedia
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated directly next to York Minster
York Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
in the heart of the city.
History
The present church building was built between 1525 and 1536 and replaced a church that dated back to at least 1294. The church is famous for being the place where Guy FawkesGuy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes , also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Fawkes was born and educated in York...
was christened on 16 April 1570. Fawkes was christened an Anglican but later converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
which led to the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
. The church was also the scene of the wedding of Christopher Levett
Christopher Levett
Capt. Christopher Levett was an English writer, explorer and naval captain, born at York, England. He explored the coast of New England and secured a grant from the King to settle present-day Portland, Maine, the first European to do so. Levett left behind a group of settlers at his Maine...
of York, the English explorer, to Mercy More, daughter of Rev. Robert More of Guiseley, Yorkshire, in 1608.
Recent history
In the early 1970s the parish of St Michael le Belfrey joined with that of the nearby St Cuthbert's Church, which had experienced revival in the late 1960s under the leadership of David WatsonDavid Watson (evangelist)
David C. K. Watson was an English Anglican priest, evangelist and author.-Biography:Watson was educated at Wellington College school and St. John's College, Cambridge where he converted to Christianity. He became involved with the ministry of E. J. H. Nash by the invitation of David Sheppard,...
, and could no longer be accommodated in the building. Growth continued in the 1970s, and the church became known as a centre for charismatic renewal
Renewal
Renew or renewal may refer to:*Urban renewal, a function of urban planning*Renewal theory, a branch of probability theory*Renewal , a 2008 documentary on the religious environmental movement...
.
The parish and congregation of today
The church continues to reflect the creativity that was encouraged under the David Watson era. There are six services usually held on Sunday and two during the week, some of which are registered as Fresh Expressions of ChurchFresh expressions
Fresh expressions are any of a number of new church groups that have developed within the Church of England since 1990. These believe that 21st century British society is very different from the society when most British churches were formed and that traditional expressions of church have become...
. These include an informal café-style service held at Burnholme Community College (G2), an alternative worship
Alternative worship
Alternative Worship is "what happens when people create worship for themselves," according to Steve Collins. As a phenomenon it began mainly in Europe, Australia and New Zealand in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
service ("Visions Multimedia Worship"), as well as an all-age service. The church maintains links with Riding Lights Theatre Company
Riding Lights Theatre Company
Riding Lights is a British independent theatre company which has toured shows nationally and internationally since 1977.Based at Friargate Theatre, York since 2000, the company has staged numerous original productions such as "Science Friction" and "Dick Turpin", that have toured nationally...
, York Schools and Youth Trust (YoYo), Alpha UK
Alpha course
The Alpha course is a course which seeks to explore the basics of the Christian faith, described as "an opportunity to explore the meaning of life" . Alpha courses are currently being run in churches, homes, workplaces, prisons, universities and a wide variety of other locations...
as well as numerous parachurch organisations involved in mission work both locally and internationally. The church is a member of the One Voice York network of churches.
Approximately 800 people attend the church and the present incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
is the Reverend Matthew Porter.