Bible Applications – update

While the future investment income of the Lord Wharton Charity will depend upon the economic future of the country, at present we do have funds available to respond to applications from churches or schools for Bibles for children. If applications are for end of term leaving gifts for Year 6 please apply by the end of June at the latest.

Latest donations

As the end of term approaches and now Year 6 in many schools are returning to their desks the Lord Wharton Bible Charity have received a number of applications which we have been pleased to support. These are all to give as gifts to the Year 6 children as the move schools in the summer. Some applications come direct from the schools’ Headteacher, others are at the request of the local clergy or a School Worker who is involved through taking assemblies or on the school’s Governing Body.

Orton Church of England School and Tebay Primary School       18 NIV Bibles

Holy Trinity Anglican & Methodist Primary School, Bradley Stoke   29 GNB Sunrise Bibles

St Sebastian’s CofE Wokingham                                26 Good News Youth Bibles

Richmond Methodist Primary School                  48 Soul Survivor Youth Bibles

Reeth Community Primary and Gunnerside Methodist Primary Schools 10 Soul Survivor Youth Bibles

Horsford CofE Primary School                               35 of 45 GNB Rainbow Bibles

Staveley CofE Primary School, Cumbria                              18 GNB Youth Bibles

Silverstone CofE Primary School                                           30 NCV Youth Bibles

Whittlebury CofE Primary School                                         13 NCV Youth Bibles

Paulersbury CofE Primary School                                         17 NCV Youth Bibles

Flurry of applications

Following publicity through the Baptist Union the Lord Wharton Bible charity have received a number of applications in March and happily been able to fulfil the following:

St Paul’s Community Church, Doncaster – 17 ESV Bibles

St Mary’s Handsworth, Sheffield – 15 GNB Youth Bibles

St Catherine of Siena, Sheffield – 12 GNB Youth Bibles

Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Northampton – 20 NLT Bible 3-Story Youth Bibles

Austrey Baptist Church – 7 NIV Soul Survivor Youth Bibles

South Hanwell Baptist Church, London – 15 NIV Soul Survivor Youth Bibles

New Hope Church, Pioneer Project, Burnley – 14 GNB Youth Bibles

Scunthorpe Baptist Church – 12 NIV Soul Survivor Youth Bibles

Jacob’s Well Church, Bristol – 7 Bibles – 2 NRSV  & 5 NCV Youth Bibles

Cirencester Baptist Church – 16 NCV Youth Bibles

Bibles given in 2019-20

Young people from the following have recently received Bibles from the Lord Wharton Bible Charity:

All Saints Notting Hill (in the shadow of Grenfell Tower) 20 copies of the RSV Bible

Christ Church Ardsley, Barnsley 19 copies of the GNB Youth Bible

Tribute Youth & Kids, Tribute Cluster of Churches, Cornwall 19 copies of the GNB Youth Bible

Exceptional year for Bible applications

At the recent meeting of the Lord Wharton Charity Trustees the news was shared that 2019 had been a very positive year for Bible distribution. After the financial crash of 2008 the trustees had had to restrict applications until the investment fund capital was rebuilt. This was achieved and gradually more Bibles could be given again. Funds carried forward into 2019 meant that all applications were responded to positively. In 2019 1173 Bibles were given away – these were mainly to Year 6 school leavers, but also to a significant number of church young people’s groups. With regular investment income now stabilised the Trustees hope to be able to distribute another 1000 Bibles in 2020. Church applications can be received at anytime; school applications will be dealt with on 1st May 2020 and monthly after that.

Please see the Request Bibles page to make an application.

Bibles given to year 6 pupils


Some of the children at Silverstone Primary School
receiving their Lord Wharton Bibles, 
July 2017

The Whittlewood Benefice, in Northamptonshire, were delighted to receive the bibles from the Lord Wharton Bible Charity for presentation to the children leaving the 3 primary Church of England Schools in the benefice.  Each bible had a book plate with the child’s name and date put in the front.

Silverstone Primary School is the biggest of the three and 24 Youth Bbibles were presented at a Leaver’s Service at the school by one of the Churchwardens, Mrs. Judith Paybody, the Vicar arriving later during the event.   The children were called up individually to the platform to shake hands and receive their bibles and they were very pleased to have such an important and lasting gift.  The other schools’ leavers were also presented their bibles during the last week of term.

Our most grateful thanks to you for this excellent gift to our Village children which we trust will be much appreciated as they grow up.  It would have been quite a big expenditure for us on our limited budget to fulfil this valuable presentation.”

Anne Pullen, PCC Secretary St. Michael’s Church, Silverstone

YMCA White Rose, Sheffield

Jonathon Buckley writes:

We’ve had the privilege of working with a group of young people over the past 18 months in Parson Cross, a estate in North Sheffield. With a grant from the Lord Wharton Bible Charity, we were able to purchase 12 bibles for a group of young people we work with, the majority of whom have never read or owned their own bible before.

Due to our positive relationship with them, they’ve appreciated having their own copy. It’s led to further questions around faith and God and Christianity which we’re looking forward to building on over the next few weeks.

May 2017

Charity gets back to regular Bible gifts

This year the Trustees are pleased to report that Bible gifts are on the increase and much good work is being done to encourage young people to read the Bible.

In 2017 donations have been made to:

Hemsworth Parish Church  23 copies of NRSV

Netherton Methodist Church  10 copies of NIV

Cyngor Ysgolion Sul  28 Welsh Bibles

YMCA White Rose, Sheffield 12 Youth Bibles

Bibles given at Netherton Methodist Church, Huddersfield

Netherton Methodist Church in the Huddersfield Circuit, West Yorkshire, recently celebrated the 150th anniversary of the church on Chapel Street, which was opened in April 1867.  The anniversary was marked by a service led by the Circuit Superintendent, Rev David Bidnell, with the current minister of the church, Rev Nancy Ndoho, assisting.  During the service, 10 members of the Junior Church were presented with Bibles.  The Bibles were provided by Lord Wharton’s Charity and a short history of the charity was given by Adrian Burton during the service.

Adrian Burton, who is a local preacher at Netherton Methodist Church, said: “Presenting Bibles to the children really helped to make the day special.  Hopefully, the Bibles will encourage the children and young people to further grow in their Christian faith.  Several of the young people were seen after the service sitting on their own and reading the Bibles.  Members of the congregation said how great it was that a financial gift from Lord Wharton dating back more than 300 years was being used to bless our church today.”

Bibles given to Carlisle Diocese Youth Churches

Report of the work of the Lord Wharton Charity – Autumn 2015

Having been encouraged to think about how the death of Jesus 2,000 years ago could change their lives today, the young people from the Cumbria Network of Youth Churches were each given a Bible from the Charitable Trust founded by Philip, 4th Lord Wharton who died 320 years ago.

Saturday 17th October saw nearly 100 young people drawn from across Cumbria to “Ablaze”, an event run by the Carlisle Diocese to support the county’s Youth Network drawn from the Anglican, Methodist and United Reformed Churches across Cumbria.  The afternoon was spent in study, activities, talks and games culminating with worship led by a band from Whitehaven and an evangelistic call from Rev Chris Casey.  The day ended with every young person taking home a copy of the Soul Survivor NIV Youth Bible funded by the Lord Wharton Bible Charity.

In 1692, four years before his death, Philip, 4th Lord Wharton put land and money into a trust to be used to give the children of Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire and Berkshire (the counties where he held land and had his various homes) a Bible.  Over 1,000 were given every year.  Ever since the Trust has followed his wishes and children and young people, having learnt a number of Psalms by heart, have received Bibles bearing his name.  Many readers may have one in the house given to them or a relative from an earlier generation.   The Charity Trustees are ordained ministers or lay people from the Methodist, Baptist, United Reformed Churches as well as the Church of England.  Philip, Lord Wharton was from a Presbyterian background but supported toleration during a time of great upheaval including the English Civil War.  He was a friend and critic of Oliver Cromwell but also spoke against the beheading of King Charles 1.  His Bible charity was for children of Anglican and non-conformist churches.

Unfortunately the financial crash of 2008 badly affected the Charity’s finances and since then it has been impossible to make regular gifts; so it was also a great day this month for the Trustees to be able to resume this important work.  The Lord Wharton Charity was represented by the Reverend Peter Sheasby (the Methodist Trustee) who heard Carolyn Dykes (the Project Development Officer for the Carlisle Diocese responsible for the Cumbria Churches Youth Network) speak at Germinate, a Conference held in October 2014 by the Arthur Rank Centre.  She had explained about the work of the Network Youth Church in Cumbria and it seemed an ideal way of restarting the disbursement of Bibles in an area which was part of Lord Wharton’s initial bequest.

 

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