News & Features

Our November Pie and Pickle Lunch with the village hall went very well and we are grateful for all the support we got with lots of delicious pies and desserts resulting in lots of clean plates being returned for washing. As well as being a fund raising event for both the hall and the church, it has become a good time to meet people, sometimes for the first time, and renew acquaintances.

Our Remembrance Service was well attended, including many from the St James Scout Group. The weather was very kind to us for once and we all finished in the village for refreshments afterwards.

We now look forward to Christmas and our Carol service on the evening of Sunday 22nd December and a service of Holy Communion on Christmas Morning. Lots of other events going on around the Shellrock Benefice which shall keep us all busy and in need of a rest by the time we sit down to our Christmas dinner.

Wishing everyone in our two benefices a Very Happy Christmas and, dare we hope, Peace on Earth next year.

Advent Carol Service
This service is held on the first Sunday of Advent; this year it will be Sunday 1st December. Normally it is a benefice service held in Rockland All Saints. However this year it will also be the day of the Archdeacon’s Visitation and combined with our partner benefice, the Hingham group of churches. So it has been decided that for logistical reasons the service will be held in the church of Rockland St Peter with refreshments provided after the service in Rocklands Village Hall.

Further details may be given later but it is expected that the service will be as normal.

We had a very enjoyable evening Harvest Festival service last month at which Tori kindly preached the sermon. The church was beautifully decorated by our Flower Arrangers for which we are very grateful. All donated items of food were given to the local Foodbank based in Thetford.

We now look forward to our next fund raising event, the Pie and Pickle Lunch. This long established lunch is now done jointly with the village hall which helps us to spread the load. Anyone who has dined with us will vouch for a wide selection of delicious home-made pies and desserts at the very reasonable price of £10. So why not come along on Saturday 2 November between 12 and 3pm and try it for yourself. Further details on the poster opposite.

We shall be holding our Remembrance service again this year starting at St James’ church, Great Ellingham. We then go on to Deopham airfield and then on to our own church for an Act of Remembrance at the two memorials. Refreshments will be served in Little Ellingham village hall.

I am sure we are not alone in welcoming Tori and her family to our benefices with the hope that their time with us will be one of happiness in every respect.

Exciting times as we issue a very warm welcome to our new incumbent, Tori. 

I am writing this just before her Licensing service.  You will be aware of the huge task in front of her – not only taking up the reigns of ordained ministry amongst us after a long interregnum but drawing our two Benefices together.   

The High Oak and Hingham Benefice has traditionally worked in a very different way to the Shellrock Benefice.  We, the ministers, have been meeting and sharing some services, therefore coming to know different congregations across the boundaries.  This has necessarily been limited and there is a long way to go.  At least we have shown that we can work in harmony.  This will be important in the future. 

The virtue we will need most is patience – everything takes time.  Managing our expectations will also be necessary.  It will take a while for Tori to learn who we all are, also how we work.  And, we have to learn what she would like from us in order to help her form a plan for our future.  I know she likes to work with others so we will all have our part to play. 

Above all, we must remember that God has sent her to us.  He will have a plan for the new, enlarged Benefice, mainly that we find ways to proclaim his Word of Love among ourselves and to the wider communities.  Our churches are all working hard in their outreach and, while Tori might have ideas of how we can develop our activities, we cannot leave it all to her.  We must continue as we are and grow with her leadership. 

Tori, our new Rector, is here among us.  I know we will all welcome her.  Alleluia! 

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!

We had a very successful Flower Festival over the two days of the first week-end of June. The church was fabulously decorated out with arrangements that depicted ‘Summertime’, though the weather wasn’t exactly playing ball. We are very grateful to everyone who made this event possible and to those who came along and supported us; thank you. Refreshments were served throughout both days. The week-end was finished off with a splendid Songs of Praise service followed by more refreshments including jugs of Pimms!

Although we have no events planned for the next few months, we are very happy to welcome Bishop Alan, the Bishop of Thetford, to an Evening Prayer service on Sunday 14 July starting at 6.00pm. Everyone is welcome to join us in our worship with the opportunity to meet the Bishop whilst enjoying some refreshments which will be provided after the service.

As the summer approaches we shall be holding our Flower Festival with the theme ‘Summertime’ over the week-end 1-2 June. There will be refreshments available during both days. Entry is free; donations only invited. Come along and delight your senses with what promises to be wonderful arrangements of flowers. The festival will be followed on the Sunday with a Songs of Praise service at 5pm. All are welcome to join us.

Bishop Ian has agreed to visit our church and preside at our monthly service of Evening Prayer on 14 July. We are looking forward to welcoming the Bishop to our service and everyone is invited to join us in our worship and to meet the Bishop.