Rockland All Saints

It has been an eventful month at All Saints. Just before Holy Week, the stained glass East window, that had been removed at the beginning of January for specialist repair following some mindless vandalism last May, was finally returned and reinstalled. It is true that you tend not to notice what you have got until it is gone, and so it was with our window! The whole church seemed dark and dismal with the light from the east removed by the boards- and of course, with no electricity, it was difficult to rectify the issue! Now the window is back, we have all looked at it with new eyes and appreciate its full glory! Even the side panels are bright and clean and sparkle in the sunshine! The anomalous man in a Victorian ‘bowler’ hat lurking at the foot of Jesus is resplendent again and the subject of many a conversation! A neat guard has been put in place outside to prevent any further problems with vandals and the whole episode is behind us, hopefully. We are extremely grateful to all who generously contributed to the eye-watering cost of the repairs, as the insurance was only able to cover a small proportion of the work that was necessary to safeguard the future of the window. All are invited to the blessing of the window- date to be confirmed at time of writing this!

On Good Friday we welcomed those taking part in the Walk of Witness from St James, Gt Ellingham at a quiet reflective service led by Rev Sue and our LLM, Carol Bennett. In total contrast, on Easter Day, at dawn, about twenty of us from all corners of the new combined benefice met in the churchyard and welcomed the risen Christ to the accompaniment of the Dawn Chorus, watched by rabbits, deer and hares. It was truly magical, even though it was a shock to my system getting up at 5.15!! Most of us then went on to more traditional Easter Sunday services at other churches in the benefice, but the memory of watching the sun rise in such a beautiful ‘thin’ place, will stay with me for a very long time.

In May, we are holding the Pets Service on 17th, and all pets and their well-behaved owners are welcome at this informal outdoor (weather permitting) service. It is always good fun so do please come and join us. (It has been decided to separate it from Harvest Festival this year, if you were wondering why the change of month from the past few years!)

Following the success of the last one, there will be another Coffee Morning in the Village Hall from 10.00-12.00 on May 23rd, in collaboration with St Peter’s church. Please come and join us for good coffee, tea, delicious homemade cakes and lots of chat and laughter! We look forward to seeing you there!

We are pleased to say that the ‘pop up’ Coffee Morning held in the Village Hall on the last day of February was a great success and each Rockland church went home with a profit of over £100. Very many thanks to all who came and donated generously, creating a lovely atmosphere, but especially to those who baked the delicious cakes and help during the event by setting up tables, serving, washing up and clearing the hall afterwards. It is hoped to repeat the event again later in the year! Watch this space!

Our next fundraiser is on April 11th when the Cheese and Wine Evening will be held in Village Hall from 7pm. The Roskettes have been busy practising their repertoire for weeks, so please get your ticket (£10) from the Community Shop, John Brown, Julie Dekker or Cath Jones. Not only does this cover the entertainment but also a very substantial buffet during the breaks and a glass of wine. There is a bar, where further supplies of drinks can be bought! All profits will be divided between the Rockland churches.

The vandalised East Window at All Saints was removed for repair at the beginning of January and we are pleased to announce that it is being returned at the end of March. It has been heartwarming to receive so many donations towards the eye-watering cost of repair from so many villagers and thanks to them, the window should be there for a few more generations of Rocklanders to enjoy. The window will be dedicated by Revd. Tori as soon as possible and all will be welcome at the service.

On Good Friday, the reflective service following the Walk of Witness from St James, Gt Ellingham will be at All Saints at about 2pm, depending on when the walkers arrive. It is always a very meaningful service to which all are welcome. On Easter Day (Sunday 5th April) there will be a different kind of whole new Benefice service to celebrate the risen Christ at All Saints, when we are holding a short service at sunrise as we watch the sun come up from the east (onto our newly restored window!) According to the little man in my phone, dawn should be at 6.28 that morning but please check that before you come!! There will be bacon sandwiches to follow, we are told! We haven’t tried a dawn service at All Saints before (at least in living memory!); we did attempt fireworks at midnight a few years ago which was great fun but sadly upset the local ewes about to give birth, which wasn’t our intention, so this looks like a good alternative that will not disturb anyone!

What a lovely ‘special’ service we had on 1st February celebrating Candlemas. The Shellrock Benefice music group led the singing of some lovely hymns, finishing with a rousing ‘This little light of mine’. Sadly, the homemade biscuits shaped like angels and doves met with a sad end after being accidentally dropped on the floor resulting in a pile of crumbs,but otherwise all went well and I think everyone went home feeling enlightened! We learnt about various customs around the world that take place at Candlemas (40 days after we celebrate Christmas and exactly halfway between the Winter Solstice and Spring equinox, so we rejoiced that this heralded brighter days!) We all made bracelets in red, black and white wool, following a Hungarian Candlemas tradition that should be worn until Easter Saturday (unless, like mine, they fell apart after only a couple of days). The moment when all the congregation held lit candles as the music group sang ‘Like a candle flame’ was very moving, as always, and made even more poignant on a dull, wet day in a church with no electricity and the East Window still boarded up after the vandalism last year. (The broken window is currently being repaired and is in the workshop.)

Details of the Easter services will be available elsewhere, so I won’t duplicate them here!

On February 28th we are holding a Pop-Up coffee morning from 10am till midday in Rocklands Village Hall together with our friends from Rockland St Peter’s church, raising funds for the upkeep of both churches. There will be an endless supply of coffee, tea etc and delicious homemade cakes (with a pot for donations) and a stall with second-hand books for sale, as well as lots of chatting and laughter. Please come and join us if you can!

Looking forward, we are holding a Cheese and Wine Evening with entertainment from the Roskettes on April 11th from 7pm, again in Rocklands Village Hall and again together with Rockland St Peter’s church. Tickets will soon be on sale for this popular evening so please watch this space! It is always a fun event, so book early to be sure of getting a place!

As we approach the end of Epiphany and the Christmas season, we are looking forward to a special Candlemas service at All Saints on February 1st (10.30). This will be an informal service with music led by the Shellrock music group…….and lots of candles. All are very welcome to join us as we celebrate Mary’s purification in the temple forty days after the arrival of her firstborn son. In time-honoured fashion we will be dismantling the crib too. I am reminded of a poem I learned many years ago:

The baby had a birthday,

We made the brandy sauce,

We drank his health,

and spent our wealth

Upon ourselves , of course.

We had a lovely party,

and brightened up the place;

Profusely strung, the tinsel hung

But you couldn’t see his face.

Then, when the feast was over

and we’d run out of cheer,

We packed him in the trimmings tin,

Till Christmastime next year.

Many thanks to all who attended the Advent Carol service at All Saints on the last day of November (St Andrew’s Day) from across the whole benefice. Somehow, we managed to fit everybody in, and all cars were parked safely. As always, it was a very powerful service to ‘kick off’ the new church year and to start the preparations for the birth of Jesus. It was lovely to meet so many lovely folk from the Hingham and High Oak benefices.

Just a week later, the church was packed again for a very different service- the annual Christingle. This year, 48 children and their families made Christingles in the old schoolroom (many many thanks to Emily Donald for helping to create the individual packs of materials in the morning) and made their way safely in the gloom and heavy rain across to the church where the Shellrock music group led some lively singing and clapping before the mood changed, the candles were lit on the Christingles and the children all sang ‘Away in a Manger’ a cappella. It was a magic moment……then we had a communal blowing out of the candles and the adults breathed again!!! We were very pleased to welcome children from the Rocklands School choir who sang beautifully for us- thank you! The youngest children present helped to set up the crib and a mental note to self was made to try and make the camel stand more firmly next year!! Once again, the service helped to remind us that even though the world can be a horrible place, there are pockets of hope if we know where to look, and our children are a good place to start the search!

Sadly, a third funeral in recent weeks took place at All Saints on December 5th when we said goodbye to Marshall Skitmore. Our love and thoughts go to his family at this sad time.

The PCC join with me to wish you all a very happy Christmas….see you next year!

The Harvest Supper was another successful event for All Saints, with nearly 70 people enjoying a lovely meal, followed by entertainment from the Roskettes. Very many thanks to all who bought tickets, provided a contribution to the loaded food table, helped set up and clear away, washed up, returned various bits of crockery and cutlery to their rightful place or did anything else to add to the enjoyment of the evening!

We have had two funerals in the last couple of weeks, one of which was exceptionally large, but we managed to squeeze almost everyone inside, out of the rain. Again, thanks to those who came to help with parking (we were grateful to a local farmer who offered the use of his farmyard for overflow parking). Both services were a lovely memorial to men who were obviously well-loved by their friends and family, who had both expressed the wish to be buried in All Saints churchyard near their parents and other family members, even though they themselves did not live in Rocklands. RIP Mick and Paul.

As you know, the ‘Big Benefice’ Advent carol service is being held at All Saints on November 30th at 10.30. This is always a lovely service, and we look forward to welcoming you all. Please be reminded that parking is VERY limited along the lane to the church, so please car share as much as possible. Those who are able, may prefer to park in the village and walk (it’s about 10-15 minutes and can be wet underfoot).

The following Sunday, December 7th, is our annual Christingle service which is always a magical service held as the light fades and only the candles on the Christingles light the way home! A more traditional ‘Midnight’ Mass is held on Christmas Eve at 10pm, which is also candlelit. Looking at my calendar with all the events and services taking place over the next 6 weeks or so, I realise how busy we will all be, so RAS PCC join me in wishing everyone across the Benefice a blessed and happy time…..especially Rev. Tori and the rest of the ministry team who will be completely exhausted by the end! Happy Christmas everyone!