News & Features

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.

Welcome to our December entry!

It is that time of year where we enjoy the festive period and appreciate the friends and family we have around us all that bit more.

We have raised a wonderful £350 for Children In Need with our Pudsey Lunch. Thank you for all those who contributed items, food and time as well as a thank you to those who attended. We had some lovely food and a good chit chat!

Thank you to all those who joined us at the Remembrance Flower Bed. It was very well attended and very poignant. We raised £60 towards the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal 2025. Some of you joined us back at the Village Hall afterwards; thanks for sticking around!

Santa visited our Winter Market on the 6th of December.

Our Winter Market, at the Village Hall, hosted a lovely selection of local treasures that can be gifted for Christmas and enjoyed over the festive period.

We have been made aware of two recent losses. A few weeks ago, we lost Wendy Skitmore, who many people will remember as an integral part of their childhood when they attended the village playgroup. Our thoughts and prayers go to her family and friends. We have also lost another much-loved person, Marshal Skitmore. Our thoughts and prayers go to his family and friends, also.

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!

Winter has arrived at last and Christmas is fast approaching. The festive season is always a busy time with its many services and events in our church and the rest of the benefice. As well as supporting the other churches we have our Carol Service on Monday 22 December starting at 6.00pm and a Christmas Day Morning service of Holy Communion at 10.30am. It is a time to welcome people who do not often, if ever, come to church so it is a special time in many ways.

Our Pie and Pickle Lunch with the Village Hall was very successful. The food on offer was up to its usual high standard judging by the clean plates left behind. There was room for more customers but we were so grateful to those who did attend as well as those who cooked, served and helped in whatever capacity. The funds raised were split equally between the village hall and our church.

Like so many of the churches in both our two benefices, we are surviving only with the support of a relatively small band of people. Cutting the grass, cleaning the church building, flower arranging, our ministry team leading services, and the many other tasks carried out by a dedicated band of almost entirely volunteers. We cannot survive without you; thank you.

On behalf of our PCC, a Merry Christmas and, whatever it brings us, may 2026 be a good year for us all.

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.

Pudsey Lunch Date Change We apologise for any inconvenience but the Pudsey event, which was originally advertised for the 22nd of November, will now be held on the Sunday 16th of November 2025, The location of the village hall remains the same. This is now the closest date to the Children in Need national events so we hope you will join us in raising money for this worthy cause. For those who attend Rockland All Saints on that Sunday, there will be the option of coming straight to the Village Hall for lunch.

Sponsored Cycle Ride Dawn Thacker raised an amazing £180 (before gift aid) for the Norfolk Churches Trust Sponsored Cycle Ride; this money will be split between our church and the Norfolk Churches Trust. Thank you Dawn Thacker and Nick Cardy for cycling for us.

Confirmations We had a lovely celebration with two confirmations in St. Peter’s Church last month. The Bishop of Thetford came to confirm them. Getting confirmed is a follower’s next step in their relationship with God and deepens their connection with Him. Those who wish to follow this next step, usually attend some classes and learn what it means to them before committing to it. If you would like to get confirmed please contact Rev. Tori Venmore-Rowland.

Winter Market We are getting closer to the winter months and with that comes our annual winter market. We hope you can join us on the 6th of December 2025 at Rocklands Village Hall for a festive market and an opportunity to meet Santa. Supporting RSP In order to keep RSP looking its best, we need support and volunteers. We are looking for some people to offer a hand with any of the following roles: cleaning, flower arranging and maintenance. If you are able to offer some hours towards the upkeep of our historic and religious building that would be grand and very much appreciated. Peace be with you. Joan Dove waits patiently for a helping hand on: 01953 483 714

As I write, Autumn is well and truly upon us, with blustery winds, misty, moisty air and leaves falling from the trees. So far, the temperature is generally mild for the time of year but it will soon drop, so we have put the portable gas heaters back in the church ready to keep congregations from freezing! About a month ago, we held the annual Pets and Harvest Thanksgiving service ‘up the hill’. This year, the rain was a very close threat, and we nearly decided to move everything inside the church, but then we saw a patch of blue in the sky ‘enough to patch a sailor’s trousers’ and we made the call to stay outside…… and our prayers were answered as it stayed dry until we had finished. The music was led by the Benefice Music Group, with Colin on guitar and Kathryn on flute, with the usual singers helped by Julie Dekker and Monty and Ottilie (dogs!) We were delighted so many joined us in spite of the inclement weather, and we all enjoyed playing ‘Who Am I?’ as well as singing traditional Harvest hymns alongside more modern songs. The collection went to the Leprosy Mission as usual, and donations of ambient food were taken to the Food Bank after Kathryn explained what a standard food parcel would be likely to contain for those in need. Our annual Harvest Supper takes place on 8th November in Rocklands Village Hall at 7pm. Tickets are selling well but if you would like to come and haven’t yet booked, if you contact me on 01953 483542 before 5th November, we may be able to squeeze you in. Tickets are only £10 for a two course supper+ tea and coffee (bring your own alcohol and glasses if required) and is followed by a performance by the Roskettes as usual. There will not be an Advent Lunch this year.

In November, we have our usual service on the 3rd Sunday, but then on 30th November, we welcome friends from all 12 churches in the new combined benefice to join in the Advent Carol service at 10.30am. This heralds the start of the Anglican new year and is a time of waiting and preparation for the birth of Jesus and is always a very powerful service. It is not the easiest of churches to find, but if you follow satnav, the nearest postcode is NR17 1XW…Google maps calls the lane ‘St Andrew’s Lane’ for some reason but if you ask a local they will say ‘Church Hill’ or maybe Stowlay Lane!!? If you find Rectory Rd and go past the houses, you can see the church on your left so follow your nose after taking the next left!!! An important date for the diary is 7th December when we will be holding our Christingle service at All Saints at 3pm. The children arrive from 2.30 onwards and make their Christingles in the old schoolroom, then we have an informal fun service in church…..which is so meaningful and powerful as children celebrate Christmas without any of the commercial hype that threatens to take over its true meaning. Rocklands School choir will again be singing at the service, which is always a delight to listen to. More in the December issue, but please book the date in your calendar now!

Thank you to everyone who supported our Macmillan Coffee Morning in the church on Saturday 27th September. There was a very good selection of cakes and sausage rolls on offer to go with the coffee or tea. The weather was very kind to us and many chose to take their chosen refreshments outside to sit in the sun and take the opportunity for a good chat. We raised a total of £325 on the day all of which has been sent to this worthwhile charity.

We held our next church coffee morning on 18 October and our final session will be on Saturday 29th November between 10am and 12pm. It has been decided that December is busy enough! We are preparing for our ever popular Pie and Pickle Lunch in Old School Hall opposite the church on Saturday 1st November between 12pm and 3pm. The cost is £12.50 for a slice of Savoury pie with a baked potato, coleslaw and pickles followed by a dessert. Tea or coffee included. Children until 12: £5 This is a joint venture with the village hall which has recently had acoustic panels installed, greatly improving the quality of the noise in the hall. With a good selection of pies and desserts on offer you will be most welcome to join us. For further information and tickets contact Margaret Thomas 07851 749373.

As with most of the churches in our two benefices, it is a continual battle to keep our building in good order. It all comes at a cost both financially and in time and effort by a relatively small band of people. We are always grateful for the support people give us in keeping our church open. As the winter months approach it has been decided to start our two evening services earlier at 4.00pm. This will start in November until February. At present we envisage services will revert to 6.00pm from March; but who knows?

In October we held our second Messy Church! We celebrated harvest so some of our activities centred around food – making bread, planting cress seeds and designing meals using pictures of food. The theme was based on the bible passage, the feeding of the five thousand, so to link to this we also weaved baskets and played a fish game. It was an enjoyable session. Our next one will be on Saturday 10th January and be themed around Christmas and new year. For more information on Messy Church, please drop into the church as we have a display board all about it!

Our pop-up café featured an excellent range of cakes as usual. It is well worth a stop by! Our next dates will be 8th November and 13th December. Open from 10am – 12noon. We continue to offer jams and chutneys, made by Margaret Thomas, priced at £3 each. The heating will be going on and during November and December, there will be some preloved toys. Everyone is welcome, including well behaved dogs. Donations are welcome towards the refreshments – cash and card are both accepted.

Our Harvest Festival café church service on Sunday 12th October was busy with several different faces. Kathryn led the service, with the music group, based on the parable of the sower. The talk reflected on the sunflower seeds planted at our May service and what plants need to survive. Trees and plants link together through the wood wide web (yes, it’s a thing!), making them stronger, and, just like the plants in our environments, we too need food, water and connections with people to thrive. Jesus often met with friends and strangers – in homes, at temples, by lakes – connecting with them and building relationships. As part of the talk, we played a game finding familiar links with others – because people often find it easier to build a connection when they have something in common. Another way to make friends, is through food – something we always have at café church. This then led to our harvest collection of tins and packets, destined for the Thetford foodbank.

The Thetford food bank is part of the Trussel network across the UK. Thetford serves the centres in Attleborough and Watton, alongside Thetford. All the donations are weighed in before being sorted and packed into boxes providing emergency food for individuals, couples or families. These are then given out following a referral– which can come from a number of different agencies including Citizens Advice, health visitors or social services. The referral basis is to ensure additional support is provided to the clients so they can support themselves.

Thank you to everyone who donates to the food bank – whether through harvest services this year or the collection points in Rocklands or Great Ellingham village shops. The donations are hugely appreciated and greatly needed.

There will be no café church in November as we will be commemorating Remembrance, starting at Little Ellingham at 10.30am before moving on to the Deopham Green memorial and finishing at Great Ellingham. Everyone is welcome to attend part or all of the service. If attending Deopham Green, please remember to wrap up warm as it can get very windy across the airfield. Refreshments will be available at Great Ellingham.

Our Christmas Fair is on Friday 14th November 6-9pm and Saturday 15th November, 10am – 1pm. We have some stalls booked for Christmas wreaths, soaps and candles, decorative lamps, silver jewellery, jams and ceramics, wood turned gifts, dog toys and a selection of vinyl printed gifts. There will be a raflle and tombola, plus fresh cakes and hot drinks. On Friday evening we will have mulled wine available. This will be replaced on Saturday morning with tea and coffee, alongside fresh bacon rolls. There will be some variation on stalls between the two sessions. Do come along and support our fundraising!

On Sunday 2nd November, there will be an All Souls service. This is a reflective service and anyone who has been bereaved this year is welcome to attend.

As I type this, the weather has definitely has an autumnal feel in the air and the heat of the summer seems a distant memory! Our pop-up cafés con nued throughout August and September, with a varied number of visitors. There are always plenty of home-made cakes on offer, plus hot drinks and squash. Dona ons are welcome towards the refreshment - cash and card are both accepted. We have recently been offering a jams and chutneys, made by Margaret Thomas, priced at £3 each and they have proved popular! The hea ng will be going on when it gets cooler and there will be some pre-loved toys during November and December. Everyone is welcome, including well behaved dogs. Our next dates will be 11th October, 8th November and 13th December. Open from 10am – 12noon. In June, we experimented with our first Messy Church on the theme of Pentecost. Our next Messy Church will be on Saturday 11th October, star ng at 10am. Our theme will be harvest and based on the Bible story, the feeding of the 5000. Children are welcome with their parent / carers and we have a selec on of cra and food ac vi es planned. A er the ac vi es, the session will end with the bible story, a short prayer and me for refreshments. There is no charge, although small dona ons are welcome. We’d love to welcome you! Our Harvest Fes val will be the café church service on Sunday 12th October. During the service we welcome dona ons for the food bank. Par cularly in need at the moment are nned fruit, nned soup, UHT milk, nned meat and fish, and pasta sauce. As usual, if you’d like to join us for food before the service, breakfast is available from 9.30am comprising cold meats, cheese, eggs and rolls or toast with jams, fresh coffee or tea. The service will start at 10.30am, led by members of the music group. It is an informal service and everyone is welcome, whether they usually come to church or not. There will be no café church in November as we will be commemora ng Remembrance with visits to Li le Ellingham church and Deopham Green memorial. Save the date: Our Christmas Fair is Friday 14th November 6-9pm and Saturday 15th November, 10am – 1pm. We have some stalls booked for Christmas wreaths, soaps and candles, decora ve lamps, silver jewellery, jams and ceramics, wood turned gi s, dog toys and a selec on of vinyl printed gi s. We do have space for a few more tables, so please get in touch if you’d like to book – contact Kathryn on 01953 572159 or sunflowerjones@hotmail.com

There has been a lot of discussion about the repair of the vandalised stained-glass window at All Saints church and it has now been agreed that we will have the conservation job done on all three panels on the east window, including the installation of a protective guard so that it doesn’t happen again! The professional company who will do the work have advised that as the lead matrix is stretching on all panes, the window is vulnerable to water ingress which would cause even more problems with the structure, so we need to future-proof as much as we can. We are very grateful to villagers who have pledged support and made donations already; if anybody else would like to contribute towards the approximate £20 000 that the repair is likely to cost in total, please see Cor Dekker, the church Treasurer.

Voice Junction, the youth group who practice their singing in the VH on Mondays, have also offered to put on a concert to raise some funds so look out for details of this event too and get a ticket! A very small proportion of the cost should be covered by our insurance policy but the bulk still has to be found by us. The PCC has agreed that a bequest by Evelyn Harrand will be used to cover the shortfall as we think dear Evelyn would have approved of that!

When you read this, our Pets and Harvest Thanksgiving service will be over (we have everything crossed for a dry day so that it can be held outside as usual). The collection from this will be donated to the Leprosy Mission.

Our next fundraiser is the Harvest Supper which is on November 8th at 7pm in the Village Hall. (OK, harvest is well and truly over by then but we had to delay it for reasons beyond our control and we couldn’t think of a suitable alternative name that people would recognise as an event they like to come to!) There will be the usual delicious homemade supper with two courses followed by entertainment by the Roskettes. Tickets will be available in October so watch this space (or ring 483542 to reserve your ticket in advance) It is always a lovely event.

With Autumn arriving it can only mean thing for the church, Harvest Festival. We held ours in September giving thanks for all that the land produces. The church was wonderfully decorated and the gifts people generously gave were sent to the Thetford Foodbank. Apparently, the Foodbank is struggling. There is no sign of the need going down, but what has gone down is the giving. So please support your local Foodbank if you can.

We shall be holding our Macmillan Coffee Morning in the church on Saturday 27th September to support this worthy charity. There can be very few people who have not been affected by cancer in one way or another. Many of those people have been grateful for the support the charity has provided them so hopefully we shall have had a good turnout.

Our next church coffee morning will be on Saturday 18 October between 10am and 12pm. Everyone is welcome to join us for some refreshments and a chat. We always hope to have some plants for sale too. You may also wish to put in your diary the date for our everpopular Pie and Pickle Lunch in our village hall: Saturday 1st November between 12pm and 3pm. Cost is £12.50 for a slice of Savory pie with baked potato, coleslaw and pickles followed by a dessert. Tea or coffee included. Children until 12: £5 For further information and tickets contact Margaret Thomas 07851 749373.

We held our first Church Coffee Morning for a very long time in July; thank you to everyone who came to support us. This used to be a regular event but lapsed due to several factors; not least the lack of people to run it. This is part of our attempt to improve the engagement we have with our community. We have several ideas how this could expand into something more than coffee and cake, so we shall see how it develops. Our intention is to hold this coffee morning on the Saturday before the third Sunday each month, so the next one will be on 16 August between 10am and 12pm.

For the same reason we have been opening our church daily since Easter and all appears to be going well.

Both initiatives have been born from questions raised about what functions our church needs to perform today apart from holding services of worship. But like many other rural churches we have to be realistic as to what we can achieve with the resources available. We shall continue to pray and listen.

In September we shall be holding our Harvest Festival, though it is unsure how much this will be a celebration for farmers as it appears to have been a very difficult year with the lack of rain.

There has been a flurry of events held at St James during July. The month started by hosting the Teddy Festival art exhibition, on one of the hottest days of the year so far! Even the icing on the cakes was melting! The church was full of lots of different pieces on display. The afternoon tea was fully booked with visitors to listen to local artists Christine and Pete.

We had a first for the church on Friday 11th July – a joint sleepover from Squirrels and Beavers from Great Ellingham (St James) Scout Group. 22 young people stayed the night, sleeping in pop up tents set up in the chancel. A lovely opportunity for them to experience something a little different – and they seemed to have scared the bats away, as they were disappointed not to see any. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and hope to come back again.

This was followed by our monthly pop-up café, another warm morning but a much quieter affair. Still, plenty of delicious cakes on offer. These continue through the summer – our next will be on Saturdays 9th August and 13th September.

Our café church service was combined with Teddy Thanksgiving so our focus was solely on teddy bears! We enjoyed familiar hymns led by the music group and our reading was from 1 Corinthians 12 – about how parts of the body are all important and work together, just as any team need to. We had a newly written story, all about a bear visiting the teddy bear festival, including reference to around 50 of the 80 bears on display around the village. As with all stories, it had a happy ending with our bear finding some new friends! The talk reflected on the start of the festival and, as usual, we gave thanks to all those involved in bringing the festival together. Teddy related activities were available after the service and several young people took the opportunity to make a small teddy parachute!

Next month, our café church service will be on Sunday 10th August. Although the theme is yet to be decided, the format will be the same – breakfast available from 9.30am comprising cold meats, cheese, eggs and rolls or toast with jams, fresh coffee or tea. The service will start at 10.30am, led by members of the music group. It is an informal service and everyone is welcome, whether they usually come to church or not.

Save the date: the Norfolk Churches Trust Bike, Walk, Drive is just around the corner on Saturday 13th September. Dust off those wheels or boots so you can get out and explore our local Norfolk churches!

Chris Riddell

We are very grateful to Chris Riddell, who kindly donated his time, talent and resources to our most recent event. With his support we have managed to raise a much needed and appreciated £1860 on the day. Many visitors walked to the church afterwards to view his artwork in the toilet too and left lovely comments in the visitor book. Thank you to everyone who baked, gave up their time and contributed to making this event happen. It would not have run so smoothly without you!

VJ Day

On the 17th of August we will have a VJ service at 12 noon. There will then be a bring your own picnic at the village hall which allows for inclement weather.

Barn Dance

On the 6th of September we will be hosting a barn dance at the village hall in the evening. Tickets will be on sale soon! Adults £10 Children £5 The Fezziwig Ceilidh Band will be teaching all the steps so no need to be a dancing expert!

Pudsey Lunch

Our annual fundraiser, in aid of Child in Need, will be on the 22nd of November – more details to follow.

Winter Market

Our winter market will be at the village hall on the 6th December. A fantastic way to buy some lovely gifts for a loved one or a treat for yourself! We will be having a raffle so please join us for that. If you are unable to join us but wish to help out, we would love donations to the raffle prizes.

First, the good news……. the annual Flower Festival that we were so busy preparing for last time took place over a very hot weekend at the end of June and I am pleased to say that we raised more money than last year. We had fewer arrangers this year, as we were a bit earlier than previous years so some regular contributors were away on holiday but our wonderful boss, Barbara, worked like a Trojan to make sure there were no bare patches in the church and the whole display looked and smelled as wonderful as ever! The girls in the tearoom also worked their socks off in difficult conditions, so a HUGE thank you to them as well. With no water or electricity in the church, even keeping the flowers watered is a challenge, not to mention providing hot and cold drinks and lunches all weekend for a large number of visitors!

The other exciting event recently was also a joyous occasion when the entire school walked to the church on July 4th in order to plant crab apple trees to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Rocklands School (in its present building, that is, as the first village school was built in All Saints churchyard in 1851 but was superseded after Forster’s Education Act of 1870, which required each village to provide a school for its children; it was to be a little while before education became compulsory or free, but it was a start!) The schoolchildren were joined by Little Rocky’s babies and toddlers who came armed with a motley collection of buckets and spades in order to plant one of the trees and the three classes of the school each planted a tree. Julie Dekker (Executive Head) gave a moving speech about the importance of a village, and expressed a hope that in 50 years’ time, when the school is celebrating 200 years, some of the children would come back and look at the trees they planted in 2025. Now, of course, we have the challenge of carting water up the hill every day to water the trees; we have installed water butts round the schoolroom but the small amount of rain we have had hasn’t been enough to even reach the taps! Our particular thanks go to the Grandads and one great-grandad who dug the holes for the trees (‘helped’ by 3 year old Freddie) during the Flower Festival and have been back daily to water and have also put wire guards round them to prevent wild animals from eating them. Fingers crossed that they will all survive (both trees and grandads!!)

We were very pleased that a local builder came and replaced the ceiling in the shed that houses our primitive loo and also made the roof watertight. The walls have been painted and although it’s still very basic, it’s a whole lot less scary using the facilities than before, as the spiders have been encouraged to live in the next shed, for the time being at least!

Now the bad news….we have had a couple of people out to look at the repairs to the vandalised window behind the altar and it is looking as if a five-figure sum will be needed to do a proper job. A small percentage will be covered by our insurance but removing the panel that had the rock thrown through it will compromise the surrounding Victorian window so to repair it so that the window will be there for future generations to look at, will cost a lot of money, which we will need to find ourselves. Many thanks to those who have kindly donated towards the repairs already…..we are looking into CrowdFunding to see if more funds can be raised.

Finally, please note that there is a slight change to the order of services in Rocklands in August as the first Sunday (3rd)will be at All Saints and St Peter’s will be leading the VJ service at the memorial gardens on Wayland Rd at midday on 17th August followed by refreshments at the Village Hall. Please join us if you can.