Great Ellingham

Good Friday was the first ‘church’ event of April. It was perfect weather – not too hot or raining - for the annual walk of witness from St James’ Church to Rockland All Saints. A small group of nine (and two dogs) took part, carrying the cross from St James’, through the village and along Penhill Road. At the crossroads half the group headed straight up to All Saints Church and the remainder turned right onto Mill Lane to walk through into Rocklands. We made good time and arrived before the start of the 2pm service. We’d love a few more faces to join us – staying for the service at All Saints is optional and you don’t have to be a member of our ‘usual’ congregation.

Easter Sunday dawned bright and early with some of us attending the Dawn Service at All Saints Church. It was a little breezy, but eventually the fire was lit and we watched as the sun rose in front of us.

The ‘normal’ Easter Sunday service in St James was a benefice Holy Communion. The church was decorated beautifully with flowers on the windows and moss, bark, nests, eggs and flowers artistically arranged on the sills in the porch. A magnificent sight welcoming visitors – thanks to Anne, Anita and all those involved. The choir assisted with the hymns. Their anthem after communion was ‘No scenes of stately majesty’ led by Colin on guitar and Kathryn on flute. Easter wouldn’t be complete without eggs, so the chocolate variety was distributed at the end!

Our Pop-up café was well supported with a stream of visitors. On offer during April was Tia Maria cake, sausage rolls and the ever-popular cemetery buns!

In April is St George’s Day. As the patron saint of Scouting, members of Great Ellingham Scout Group paraded through the village to hold a service in St James’, including renewal of their promises. The parade and service were complete with a decorated dragon. Thanks to everyone involved!

If you read this in time – on 25th and 26th April, we are excited to welcome Heather, Judy and Matt into church for their local history exhibition, with archaeological finds. The event will be open 10am – 4pm and refreshments will be available. This is always very popular and everyone is welcome – if you have connections with the village, an interest in local history or perhaps looking for help to research your own family, then this is a worthwhile visit. The theme is ‘Every house has a story – Every story has a family’.

Looking ahead to events in May we have the following: Saturday 9th May - Big Breakfast for Christian Aid. 9am – 11am, in church. Come along for hot food (bacon or sausages or a cheeky both), plus cereals, toast or fruit. All donations gratefully received and will be raising money for Christian Aid as part of their annual fundraising week. Cash and Contactless donations accepted.

STOP PRESS! - we have just booked a Grand Second Hand Book Sale on Saturday 27th June, 10am – 4pm. There will be thousands of books on sale, from just 25p.

FOODBANK – Did you know we support Thetford foodbank with a collection space in the church? There are desperately in need of tinned tomatoes, tinned fruit, sponge puddings and instant mash. Donations can be dropped off at church, or at either Rocklands or Great Ellingham village shops.

Our annual Spring Fair was held on Saturday 7th March. We had a lovely selection of stalls selling different crafts including jewellery, jams, wood and metal work, plants and paintings. Children from Great Ellingham Primary School entertained with their lovely singing, accompanied by Colin and Margaret. The BBQ was in full flow cooking bacon rolls and Anita and friends provided a gorgeous selection of cakes for sale. Emily and Lexi ran a children’s stall with tombola and ‘hunt the egg’ game. We thank everyone for supporting our event – whether donating raffle prizes, baking cakes, manning a stall or helping with the washing up. We raised an amazing £730, which is a great boost to church funds.

The funeral of Pat Partridge, a long-standing member of our PCC and church family, took place on Friday 13th March. She had chosen the hymns – Here I am Lord, Be Still for the presence of the Lord and Jerusalem. We welcomed Father Ken to preside over the service and give the address. There was a beautiful tribute read by her daughter Tina and grandson Robbie as well as a poem/reading from Elia and Michael. The church had been decorated with spring flowers. The service was a lovely tribute to an amazing lady and she will be fondly remembered, especially as our path through the churchyard is named after her, ‘Pat Partridge Way’.

The music group led our services of Café Church and Mothering Sunday. Café Church focussed on the theme of Lent and considered the bible story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). This was particularly well timed as the day was also Internation Women’s Day. At our Mothering Sunday service, we made flower posies which were then distributed to the female members of the congregation.

We are looking forward to hosting the Shellrock Benefice service to celebrate Easter on Sunday 5th April. This will be a Holy Communion service, starting at 10.30am. Please come and join us – there may be chocolate!

We will also have our popular pop-up café on Saturday 11th April, followed by café church on Sunday 12th.

On 25th and 26th April, we are excited to welcome Heather, Judy and Matt into church. They will have amazing displays, showcasing their latest village history research and archaeological finds. The event will be open 10am – 4pm and refreshments will be available. This is always very popular and everyone is welcome – if you have connections with the village, an interest in local history or perhaps looking for help to research your own family, then this is a worthwhile visit. The theme is ‘Every house has a story – Every story has a family’.

Can you help? We are looking for help to wash up and serve cakes over the history weekend (25th & 26th April). If you can spare a couple of hours please get in touch. Alternatively, if you can donate a cake, that would also be very welcome.

Foodbank

Did you know we support Thetford foodbank with a collection space in the church? There are desperately in need of tinned tomatoes, tinned fruit, sponge puddings and instant mash. Donations can be dropped off at church, or at either Rocklands or Great Ellingham village shops.

It was with great sadness that a much-loved member of our congregation and longstanding member of the PCC, Pat Patridge passed away during February. She could frequently be found manning the refreshments, not only at services but at events too. She organised flowers, church cleaning and held the role of verger, attending to funerals, weddings and baptisms. She had also been an active member of the benefice choir until ill health meant she had to take a step back. After a bad fall at home, four years ago, she had been living at St Edmond’s care home in Attleborough. Her funeral will be held at 11am at St James’ Church on Friday 13th March.

Our social Pop-Up Café was held on 7th February. It was a slow start to the morning, but there were plenty of delicious cakes available as usual. The PCC members who were on church cleaning, appreciated the refreshments! Next month we have our Spring Fair, instead of pop-up café.

The Spring Fair will be held on Saturday 7th March, 10am – 12.30pm. There will be plenty of cake available, but we also have the school singers joining us for provide a few songs from their repertoire. We have a number of craft stalls joining us – some new ones, some returning – selling a range of goods including crocheted items, plants, silver jewellery, jams, cards and resin gifts. Please come and support this event as it raises vital funds to keep the church open.

Our February café church followed the reading from Genesis, looking at creation. Instead of a formal talk, we each used our creative skills to draw how we thought the world looked at each stage. There was plenty of discussion about ‘now’ but the one thing standing out from the artwork was God being at the centre of the whole of creation.

On 17th February, we celebrated Shrove Tuesday with our annual Pancake Races. Thanks to Charles for organising the races, ably assisted by Pete, Sylvia, Colin, Emily & Samuel. The sun shone – up until we started the races – and there was an icy wind, so thank you to all the participants. Certificates were presented to those placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Under 5s: Marley (1st), Bradley (2nd), Bobby (3rd). Ages 5 - 7s: Florence (1st), Charlie (2nd), Macie (3rd). Ages 8 - 11s: Arthur (1st), Asher (2nd), Elsie (3rd). Ages 11 & over: Oliver (1st), Chloe (2nd). Apparently, there was a distinct lack of adult participation – maybe next year! Thank you also to the pancake makers (too many to mention), Margaret for supervising the toppings, and all those who lent a hand with washing up!

FOODBANK – Did you know we support Thetford foodbank with a collection space in the church? There are desperately in need of tinned tomatoes, tinned fruit, sponge puddings and instant mash. Donations can be dropped off at church, or at either Rocklands or Great Ellingham village shops.

VOLUNTEERS WANTED! We are in need of a couple of volunteers to run our raffle / tombola tables at our upcoming Spring Fair. Can you lend a hand for an hour? We’d love to hear from you.

We are still in need of help cleaning in church or with running coffee at our services. Can you spare an hour? It doesn’t have to be regularly, but our regular band of volunteers are struggling to manage on their own.

January started cold – but we embraced the first Sunday in the month by celebrating Epiphany and marking the door with chalk at our Morning Prayer service.  20 + C + M + B + 26  Christus Mansionem Benedicat – Bless this House.

We continued the theme into the second weekend with a Messy Church on Saturday.  The children that attended enjoyed the activities on offer – decorating a crown for the kings (plenty of opportunity here for glue and jewels), baking and decorating star shaped biscuits (for the star in the Nativity story) and making calendars for the start of the new year.  Thank you to our volunteers for running this session.  There isn’t another date planned yet, but we’re hoping to have an Easter theme – if we can fit it in!

Alongside Messy Church, was pop up café.  The numbers were small, but the cakes were splendid!  Charles tried out a new recipe – Eccles cakes.  There were several second helpings!  Our next pop up will be on Saturday 7th February.  Do stop by. 

Our second Sunday was Café Church – again with the Epiphany theme.  The talk centred on stars and included a hunt for stars hidden around the church.  We also used the opportunity to move the kings from the east window above the kitchen to join our stable scene.

We received six completed Christmas quizzes in our box – the draw for the winner is to follow....  Thank you to everyone who bought a copy (or who purchased Christmas cards) and supported us with our fundraising.  We will be planning our next event dates soon so watch this space....

FOODBANK – Did you know we support Thetford foodbank with a collection space in the church?  There are desperately in need of tinned tomatoes, tinned fruit, sponge puddings and instant mash.  Donations can be dropped off at church, or at either Rocklands or Great Ellingham village shops.

VOLUNTEERS WANTED!  We are desperately in need of some help with cleaning in church or with running coffee at our services.  Can you spare an hour?  It doesn’t have to be regularly, but our regular band of volunteers are struggling to manage on their own.  We have some who need to take a step back for health reasons.

Rain through our roof is becoming a challenge.  If you are interested in fundraising for St James, we’d love to hear from you!  Perhaps you could help organise an event – or have a suggestion.  Do let us know.

Happy new year to all! May it be a blessed and peaceful one.

Are you looking for a new resolution? We have the perfect idea! We are desperately in need of some help with cleaning in church. Can you spare an hour or two on the second Sunday in the month? It doesn’t have to be each month, but our regular band of volunteers are struggling to manage on their own. A whizz round with the hoover or duster would be amazingly appreciated – and there is the reward of a fresh home-made cake too. The next date will be Saturday 10th January, from 8.30/9am.

If you are reading this before the end of December, there is still time to get your Christmas quiz in! These have been available at £1 each (with the chance to win £20) and contain a mix of fun questions on carols, pantomimes and Christmas characters. There’s been quite a bit of rivalry from some of the congregation. This may become an annual fundraiser!

In December we had a Christingle café church with several young people attending. All made their own Christingle with a mix of raisins and fruit pastilles. It was a lovely service, led by Sue, who told us all about the history of the Christingle. We hope the candles were re-lit over Christmas to remind us of Jesus, the light of the world.

Our next Messy Church is on Saturday 10th January at 10am. This will be themed on Epiphany –the arrival of the kings. There will be craft and cookies to make, alongside our bible story. Everyone is welcome and this is especially suited to families with primary age children. Adults need to stay with their child/children. Refreshments are available as this runs in the chancel at the same time as Pop-up café.

Our monthly cafés have been well attended and we look forward to continuing these on the second Saturday. Cakes are all homemade, mostly dairy free, and we usually also have gluten free options available (shop bought though). Donations are welcomed for this, card or cash. Anyone can drop in, and well-behaved dogs can come too! Our next will be on Saturday 10th January, 10am-12noon. If you’d like to help with these, do let us know.

Rain through our roof is becoming a challenge. If you are interested in fundraising for St James, we’d love to hear from you! Perhaps you could help organise an event – or have a suggestion. Do let us know.

As this is being typed, the busyness of the Christmas Fair weekend is fading! The weekend was not without its challenges as Storm Claudia brought rain – which found its way through the roof. With water dripping down the tower for several hours, it unfortunately made its way into the electrics and created some hastily amended plans for lighting on the Friday night. It also led to a pond underneath the kitchen area – again requiring changes to powering the hot plate for the mulled wine. We got there though! (Luckily, Saturday proved to be drier with only a momentary power cut!) So, thanks must go to everyone involved in the Fair. We couldn’t put on the fair without support.

• Thank you to those who braved the elements to support it (particularly on Friday evening)!
• Thank you to our stallholders for bringing their creative wares and beautiful gifts!
• Thank you to the cake bakers, sausage roll cookers and bacon roll fryers!
• Thank you to the volunteers drafted in to run the ‘church’ tables – tombola, raffle, games and refreshments.
• Thank you to Charles for rigging some lighting, to those who helped move chairs and tables.

It was a successful event raising over £1000 for church funds. To put this in context – that is slightly over a third of our annual insurance premium or covers 60% of our gas bill or pays all our electricity with a little left! It costs approximately £18/day to pay the basic bills and keep the doors open to the church - without considering the maintenance and upkeep of the building.

With November being the month of Remembrance, St James was the last stop on the route this year for Remembrance Sunday, which started at Little Ellingham and went onto Deopham. With the weather warmer than previous years, the service was held outside in front of the tower, where a stone commemorates villagers lost in WW1.

In December we look ahead to Christmas! We are selling Christmas cards – with designs by Christine Fuller – at £5 for a pack of 12. This is alongside a fun Christmas Quiz, just £1 (you have until the end of December to complete it). This goes towards our church funds. Both will be available at events and services at St James throughout December.

Look out for your Shellrock benefice Christmas card which will be delivered through your door – it contains all our December services. If you aren’t on a delivery route, stop by at Rookery Meadows Farm Shop or Great Ellingham Village Stores where you should (hopefully) find a spare one or two.

We also have pop up café on Saturday 13th December, with the jigsaw puzzle and preloved toys returning, alongside jams and chutneys by Margaret, the Quiz and Christmas cards! Our Café church service on Sunday 14th December will be a Christingle service. Breakfast from 9.30am and Christingle making from 10am. Do come along!

If you enjoy singing, don’t forget our popular Carols around the tree on Thursday 18th December at 6.30pm.

Finally, if you are interested in fundraising for St James, we’d love to hear from you! It would be great to put together a plan towards roof repairs. Likewise, if you are free on Saturday 13th December (or any second Saturday) and could assist with some cleaning (1/2 – 1 hour will be sufficient), then call in. The church is a parish building and the PCC are a small band of willing volunteers, but they are in need of a boost!

Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year from St James’ Church.