News & Features

With the lovely sunshine we have had recently, it is easy to believe Spring is just around the corner….at least when viewed from indoors!! By the time you read this, the vernal Equinox will have been and gone, the days will be getting longer and the clocks will have ‘sprung forward’ and hopefully, the temperature will have warmed up a bit!

The ‘Evening with Graham Cole’ event towards the end of February was a great success……many thanks to Graham for giving his time to help raise money for the church. Unfortunately, I was not well enough to attend but all reports have been excellent – thanks to all who supported as well.

As I write this, we are looking forward to the annual Cheese and Wine Evening at the Village Hall with the Roskettes providing the ‘cabaret’ act. I have no doubt those who attend will thoroughly enjoy the evening!

April brings Easter Week, starting with Palm Sunday on the 13th which we are celebrating as a benefice at a Café Church service in Gt Ellingham St James. Breakfast starts at 9.30 with an informal service at 10.30- if you have never been to a Café service, do please come along- it is all very relaxed and friendly and probably very different from the sort of service you imagine. On Maundy Thursday our friends at Rockland St Peter’s host an agape communion -again not a traditional style eucharist but nonetheless very meaningful and thought-provoking. (Agape is a Greek word for ‘love’ meaning the highest form of love or charity there is.) At All Saints we have the usual Good Friday service at 2pm on 18th to look forward to. This follows the Walk of Witness from St James’ church in Great Ellingham that leaves at midday. All are very welcome to join the walk and the service, including dogs. To celebrate Easter Day, we have a Shellrock benefice service at St James at 10.30, always a joyous occasion. We look forward to seeing you at any of these events/services.

Day Lent Course

This will take place on Mondays, starting on Monday 10 March, and on the following Mondays; 17th, 24th & 31st March, 7th & 14th April. This course will be held in the Tower Room, St Andrew’s Church, Hingham at 11am, followed by a soup lunch afterwards. Donations for the lunch to the Bishop’s Lent Appeal 2025 raising money for YANA (You Are Not Alone) to help fund its telephone helpline. YANA provides rural mental health support for those involved in agriculture and other rural businesses affected by stress and depression.

To help us plan for the Lent course session and cater for the lunches, please email Caroline to let us know if you are coming to this; admin@standrewshingham.org.uk

Evening Lent Course

This course will take place on Tuesday evenings, starting on Tuesday 11 March and on the following Tuesdays; 18th, 25th, (1st April, 8th April). Time will be 7.00pm for a 7.15pm start. This course will be held at Orchard House, Church Street, Great Ellingham (Charles Mason’s
home).

To help us plan for the Lent course session, please email Colin to let us know if you will be attending; colin.thomas196@btinternet.com

Discussions will focus on Faith Journeys - how we came to faith and what it means today.

On behalf of RAS PCC, many thanks to Rev Tori for organising the Vision Day on February 1st. Seven of our PCC were able to attend ,and we found it an uplifting experience. Thanks too to those who provided refreshments etc – a good event all round!

On the following day, we celebrated Candlemas with an informal yet meaningful service remembering the presentation of Jesus as a 40 day old infant at the temple in Jerusalem, which included an impromptu dramatic presentation of the story with makeshift ‘costumes’ (aka tea towels!) and two origami doves that were launched by an 11 year old Joseph with enthusiasm. The Shellrock Music Group led the music, minus a couple of key members, but the congregation sang lustily, nevertheless. Everyone lit a candle remembering that Jesus is the Light of the World as we finished with ‘This little light of mine’ and we enjoyed homemade biscuits in the shape of a dove with our coffee after the service.

On February 17th the church held the funeral of Maria Christina Gathergood -Standley who had lived a very simple life in her isolated family farm on Swangey Lane almost all her 94 years of age. The service was well-attended and reflected her love of nature and all creatures. RIP Christina.

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) for All Saints will be held on March 15th at 10.00am in Rocklands Primary School hall (by kind permission of the Executive Headteacher). As this is the year for renewing the Electoral Roll, (where have the last six years gone??) current members will be contacted with a new form to complete. If anybody else would like to be included at All Saints, please let Cath Jones (cath@jones871.plus.com) know. We have been managing without a church warden for several years now, but we live in hope that, maybe this year, someone will be willing to take on that commitment. In the meantime, we continue to share the workload between us, where possible.

Following the Evening with Graham Cole, the next joint fundraiser with our friends at Rockland St Peter’s church is on Saturday March 22nd in Rocklands Village Hall (7pm) which will be a Cheese and Wine Evening. Tickets (available in Rocklands Community Shop or from John Brown, Julie Dekker and Cath Jones) are £10 each and include a glass of wine and food as well as entertainment by the Roskettes, who have been busy practising their repertoire for months. There is also a licensed bar and a raffle (donations of raffle prizes always welcome!)

We shall be holding a ‘Vision Day’ in Little Ellingham village hall on Saturday 1st February for all the churches associated with Tori’s Role as Priest-in-charge. This event is primarily to identify how we are doing now and what the future is to be as we move towards becoming one benefice. This will be an opportunity for individual members of our churches to have their voice. To put forward ideas, concerns, hopes and expectations.

Although maybe not the most important consideration, one question that needs to be answered is ‘What do we call our combined benefice?’ Currently it is ‘Gt and Lt Ellingham, Hingham, High Oak, Rockland All Saints, Rockland St Peter and Scoulton with Wood Rising’. Quite a mouthful, so if you have a better suggestion, please bring it with you.

Coffee and Tea will be available on arrival and throughout the session. There will be a break for lunch of soup, rolls, cheese and cake around half way.

If you cannot make this session but feel you have something to contribute, please inform Tori or Sue. Their contact details are at the end of these Ramblings as usual. Alternatively they both will be at the Benefice service on Sunday.

In January, we do not hold services at All Saints as it is so hard to heat the church and make it comfortable enough for our congregation so the next service will be Candlemas on February 2nd, which falls 40 days after Christmas and exactly halfway between Christmas Day and the Spring Equinox so the days will soon be getting noticeably longer very soon! It is an informal family-friendly service so we would love you to join us, even if you are not a regular church goer.

We have a couple of fundraising events to be held in conjunction with St Peter’s church in Rocklands Village Hall coming up. The first is ‘An Evening with Graham Cole’ (aka PC Tony Stamp from ‘The Bill’ ) who is going to talk about some of his experiences at 7pm on February 22nd. Tickets are available from Rocklands Community Shop and 07802 433611 priced at just £5 each and there will be a licensed bar and snacks too. This promises to be a really good evening so do please join us. Graham lives locally and his grandchild attends Rocklands School and we are very grateful to him for offering to do this evening for us.

The second event is the Cheese and Wine Evening, same place, same time but on March 22nd when we will again have a licensed bar, a cheese-based buffet and entertainment from the Roskettes. More details in the March ‘Rocklander’.

First of all, a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy 2025 to all our friends from across the two benefices from all at All Saints’ PCC. After ~3 somewhat challenging years, we have finally got a new priest-in-charge in 2024 and we welcome Revd. Tori to our fold with open arms! Next year is looking good!

Very many thanks to all who came to the Advent Sunday carol service on December 1st, to hear Archdeacon Steven Betts preach. We are especially grateful to John Brown and St Peter’s PCC for allowing us to use their larger (and warmer!) church for the service. Thanks too to all who provided delicious cakes etc for us to nibble on during the ‘chat’ at the village hall afterwards and for providing teas and coffees. All those I have spoken to found it a very productive morning and it was lovely to socialise with people we hadn’t met before.

At RAS we held the annual Christingle service in the afternoon on December 15th. We were so pleased to welcome 96 people to the service (46 youngsters and 50 adults) , most of whom are not regular worshippers. Rocklands School choir sang beautiful renditions of ‘A little road to Bethlehem’ and ‘When Santa comes to town’ all a cappella….and all the children from all year groups remembered every single word and hit the correct notes in the right order!! When the Christingles were lit and we could see all the little faces in the candleglow , and they sang ‘Away in a manger’ as generations of children have done before them at that very spot, there was an amazing sense of history and magic. The collection for The Children’s Society was made up to £100 by the PCC.

We have no services in January, as without electricity it is hard to make the church comfortable, so, after the ‘Midnight Mass’ on Christmas Eve (10.30pm) our next service will be Candlemas on February 2nd. This is an informal service which is always fun and lively….but please wrap up warm!

As I write this, the temperature outside has dropped several degrees, and it is starting to feel like winter now! Adverts for festive goods have been flooding the TV screens for weeks and shops (and even some homes) are putting up their decorations, so it must be time to talk about Christmas!

As we mark the start of a new year in the church when we begin to think about the coming of Christ and prepare for his arrival, Advent Sunday falls on 1st December this year and we are holding our traditional Advent Sunday Carol service on that day at 10.30. However, this year the venue has had to be changed to St Peter’s Church, Rocklands, as we are expecting a larger than usual congregation from all over the new benefice, and there is more room for both seating and parking there (as well as good heating!!). Archdeacon Steven Betts is preaching at the service and all are welcome afterwards at Rocklands Village Hall, where light refreshments will be laid on for all to enjoy. We would love to see you there. For those who don’t know, St Peter’s is on the left off the B1077, just after the crossroads in Rocklands in the Watton direction; it is clearly marked from the main road. (What3words is transmit.gathering.committee for those who use that app!) Alternative access is via The Street, where the lane to the church is on the right by a bungalow. The village hall is a bit further down the Street on the right at a bend in the road opposite Mill Lane.

On December 15th, we are holding another Christingle service at All Saints. Children come at 2.30 to make their Christingles in the old schoolroom near the gates, then there is a short informal service in the church at 3pm. As the light fades, the candles are lit and the children sing ‘Away in a Manger’ in the candlelight……and Christmas has begun for me! The Christmas crib is set up by the little ones, where it will remain until Candlemas on February 2nd. We are hoping that Rocklands School choir will be there again this year which will be amazing. BUT, as you may know, our church is very small so we have to think carefully about numbers and it is essential that we know in advance how many children are coming. Please book a place by emailing cath@jones871.plus.com as soon as possible. Thank you!

Finally, our popular candlelit ‘Midnight Mass’ is to be held as usual at 10pm on Christmas Eve. This is a traditional service and very atmospheric……I suggest that if you come you bring a torch as we have no electricity and when the candles are blown out, it is very dark!

All that remains is to thank you all for your support over the past year, to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy 2025 from all the PCC at All Saints church! See you 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.

It doesn’t seem a month since I last wrote the news from All Saints……..but then, it seems impossible that we are again now cranking up for Christmas!! I must be getting old! I am sure there were more months in the year when I was younger!

We held our annual Harvest Supper at the Village Hall on 5th October and it was again a very successful event that everybody seemed to enjoy. We were grateful to the Roskettes who not only entertained us with a medley of popular songs after the meal, but also helped to speed along by serving food! Very many thanks to all who attended, bought raffle tickets or helped by providing food, washing up, clearing the hall afterwards etc…..as always Barbara masterminded the food, which was scrumptious and plentiful- just as a Harvest Supper should be! We were glad to welcome our new priest-in-charge, Revd. Tori, who came along and joined in the fun.

November services are as usual, with a service at RAS on the third Sunday at 10.30. There is, however, a change to the time and venue of the service on Remembrance Sunday (November 10th) which will this year be held not at St Peter’s church but outside at the Remembrance Garden in Wayland Rd (near the crossroads by the telephone box library) at 10.45. There will be the traditional silence at 11am as we remember all those who have died in conflict, including those who fell in the two World Wars during last century. It will be a similar format to the 80th anniversary of D Day in June, so it is hoped as many will attend as possible.

Early warning about December services at All Saints:

December 1st is the traditional Advent Carol service with not only the Benefice choir, but also the Archdeacon Revd. Steven Betts and members of the new benefice that includes Hingham and High Oak as well as the Rocklands and Ellinghams. Please join us at 10.30 as we begin a new year in the church calendar with Advent and the coming of Christ.

On December 15th, we will be holding our usual Christingle Service in aid of the Children’s Society at 3pm (children come from 2.30 to make their Christingles in the old Victorian schoolroom) which is always an informal but magical service! Rocklands School choir are planning to make another appearance- something to look forward to!

On December 24th, we have an informal Carol Singing session outside Rocklands Community shop at 11am with mince pies and mulled punch…..all are welcome to come and go as they please and a joyous time is had by all! What the singing perhaps lacks in quality is far outweighed by the enthusiasm and enjoyment of the singers! A collection for charity is made to add to whatever Santa collects on his rounds through the villages earlier in December…..another event not to be missed!

Later on Christmas Eve, we will be holding a more formal service at the candlelit ‘Midnight’ Mass, held at 10pm at All Saints. Again, this is a very moving service as we celebrate Christ’s birth in the church up the hill just as villagers have been doing for centuries. Please book the date in your diaries now.

Another month has sped by, and Autumn draws on apace! As I write, we have sunshine although ‘the North wind doth blow’!! On September 15th we celebrated our Pets and the Harvest in a lovely service at All Saints. After a dodgy start, the weather was kind to us and, once again, we were able to sit outside without feeling cold or wet! This year, we had two cats (including Stripes, a small tabby kitten, who had travelled from Caston for his f irst outing since his jabs at vet) and several dogs and I am pleased to report that all behaved impeccably! There was a collection amounting to £100 which has been given, as always, to the Leprosy Mission and the congregation also brought food donations that were received by Kathryn to be taken to the local Food Bank. Many thanks to the Benefice Music Group who led the singing (assisted by Julie Dekker) and to all who attended. A couple of dog walkers who happened to be passing came and joined us for coffee and ‘animalshaped biscuits’ together with their 5 dogs so we hope Tracey and Lexi will join us again next year!

Our next fundraising/social event is on October 5th at Rocklands Village Hall, starting at 7pm, when we hold our annual Harvest Supper. This includes a substantial (and delicious) home-cooked two course meal + tea and coffee. (Please bring your own drinks and glasses if you want to have anything other than water during the meal!) Tickets are £10 each (£5 for children) and are available from Barbara Scase (483420), Cath Jones (483542) or Julie Dekker (advance booking essential!) The meal is followed by entertainment from the Roskettes as always and the evening is always a joyous occasion. Do come and join us!

By the time this is read, our new vicar, Revd. Tori will have been inducted at a service at Hingham and will have started her ministry in twelve churches in the area. We do not yet have a date when she will be visiting Rocklands officially, but we are sure she will have a good welcome when she does, and we look forward to getting to know her and her family. We are also very grateful to Revd. Sue for all she has done in the past few years for Rocklands, much of which has been over and above the call of duty! Thanks Sue!

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!