News & Features

Welcome to the mini edition of the Benefice News as many of the contributors are away.

However we wanted to share our good news!  Following recent interviews we are very happy to say that The Revd Tori Venmore-Rowland has been appointed as Priest in Charge of the High Oak, Hingham and Scoulton and Woodrising, and Shellrock benefices, subject to a DBS check and safeguarding training.

Tori is currently Assistant Curate in the Mattishall and Tudd Valley benefice in our diocese.
 
Details of Tori’s institution by the Bishop of Thetford will follow in due course, but in the meantime please do keep Tori, her husband Luke and their family in your prayers.

An introduction from Revd Tori
I grew up in Norfolk, and even though I’ve left a few times, I’ve always managed to find my way back again. Following a time at Norwich School of Art and Design, I joined the Royal Air Force as a Weapons Technician, and then spent ten years in light blue. Eventually, God made it clear that there was a rather different purpose for me, and so I left the military to train for ordination. I was ordained Deacon in 2021 and Priest in 2022. My curacy started in Swaffham and Sporle, had a brief period in Dereham and then finished in Mattishall and Tudd Valley, where I have served for the past year and a half. Along with me and supporting me are my fantastic husband Luke, and our children: Cora, Lexi and John. We’re hoping to move to Hingham in the summer where I can start getting to know everyone and seeing what God has in store for the next chapter of my life!

For our June pop up café, the weather was a bit dull, but several people popped in for a warm welcome with coffee and cake. On offer this month was carrot and maple syrup cake alongside Charles’ cemetery buns!

At café church, our regular congregation was joined by family and friends of Lottie who was baptised, along with her Dad, during the service. Lottie and her family recently moved to Great Ellingham and it was lovely to meet them. They commented on the enjoyable service and the welcome they received.

During June, the Village Singers used the church for their 15th anniversary concert – a mix of modern, folk and choral pieces. This was the final show for their musical and production directors, Tina and Neville Moon. We wish them both well in their ‘retirement’ and hope the Singers will be back in the future under new directorship.

Heading into the summer we look ahead to a busy fortnight, hosting a number of Teddy Festival events. This starts off with the art preview party on Friday 28th June. The art exhibition is then open during the weekend Saturday & Sunday 10am -4pm and Monday 10am – 1pm. This is followed by a local history exhibition on Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th July. Both events have free entry and refreshments available. The festival finishes on Sunday 14th with a service of celebration and thanksgiving. Bring along your favourite bear and nibbles, so we can join together for a teddy bear’s picnic afterwards.

Our pop up café will still be open on Saturdays 13th July & 10th August. As always, the coffee machine will be on and fresh cakes will be available! We hope to see you there!

During May we held our annual Big Breakfast raising money for Christian Aid. There was a range of cereals, toast with a variety of spreads and fresh fruit donated by Rookery Meadows. Freshly cooked bacon, sausage and/or egg rolls were available during the morning – 55 in total. It was a lovely event and raised just over £300 for the charity.

Our May café church service was a quiet event, reflecting on the story of ‘feeding the crowd with fish and loaves’, alongside the start of Christian Aid week. We hope to have a baptism at our June service.

The next St James Pop-up café will be on Saturday 8th June. The Village Singers also have their concert on 15th June - tickets are now available from Rocklands and Great Ellingham Village shops. Looking slightly further ahead, we will be hosting a number of events as part of the Teddy Festival including the art exhibition over 29th/30th June and the local history exhibition on 6th/7th July. Both events are free and refreshments will be available.

Our Good Friday walk was undertaken by a small number of participants. As Rev Sue prayed with us before we set off, she used a Celtic blessing containing the words ‘may be wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon the fields...’ We’d all seen the forecast and we looked up to the sky, and yes, amazingly, our walk to Rocklands All Saints was once more a dry one!

Our Easter benefice service was full of reasons to be thankful – the Easter candles were rededicated and we renewed our baptismal vows, complete with the sprinkling of water across the congregation. Rev Sue seemed to particularly enjoy that point! The service was followed by bubbly and cake to celebrate together.

The April pop up café was blessed with gloriously sunny weather and a decent turnout, including some new faces. It’s an event we hope will bring the community together to see that there is life outside a service. The cheese biscuits by Margaret and cemetery buns by Charles were particularly well received.

We held our APCM this week and are delighted to report that Charles has agreed to continue as churchwarden for another year. We also have two new members on the PCC, Caroline and Richard, to whom we are hugely grateful and we look forward to them being part of our team.

The Christian Aid Big Breakfast is coming up on Saturday 11th May, 9 – 11am. Everyone is welcome! Offers of assistance with the washing and drying up will be gratefully received!

For your next diary dates, the next St James Pop-up café will be on Saturday 8th June.

The Village Singers have their concert on 15th June - tickets are now available from Rocklands and Great Ellingham Village shops.
KD