News & Features

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.

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?

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.