The Vicar of Halifax Minster, Canon Hilary Barber, writing in the Yorkshire Post last week, has highlighted the welcome that churches across the diocese havce given to this year's Tour de Yorkshire.
The final dramatic Stage Four of the Tour on Sunday 6 May began in Halifax before heading north into the Yorkshire Dales and then returning for a spring finish on The Headrow in Leeds city centre. And every Episcopal Area of the Anglican Diocese of Leeds has been covered by the cyclists over the four day race.
In his article Canon Barber highlights the role of churches, not just as iconic landmarks for the gloabsl TV coverage but as centres of the community. "The Tour brings communities together, as they reach out to welcome and offer hospitality to the visitor. " he writes.
"This is what churches do so well for their communities, providing community spaces where everyone can gather for significant occasions, be it in the lives of individuals or, on this occasion, to show the world that Yorkshire is the place to be, and that the churches across the region are alive and outward looking."