News & Features

Just like that, another year has drawn to a close and we are at the December Rocklander entry already. We have also had a flurry of snow as I write this. Where does the time go? After the Christmas period we have a chance to recollect ourselves before all the events start again in the new year. Before then, though, we hope to see you at our upcoming events.

Pudsey Lunch

We would like to thank all involved at the Pudsey Lunch. Without people volunteering we could not host such events jointly with Little Rockies. We pride ourselves, as a Church, for having opportunities throughout the year that raise money for other charities. Children in Need is widely fundraised for in the village, by various groups, so it is great to see that so many of you turned up and donated towards this cause.

Remembrance

It was heartwarming to see that so many of you turned up at Wayland Road’s Remembrance Flowerbed on the 10th of November to remember those lost. We are aware we usually host this event in the church but felt a great connection to the village as a whole by hosting it around the flowerbed. Thank you, also, to those who joined us at the Church afterwards for tea, coffee and nibbles.

Winter Market

We are hosting a Winter Market at Rocklands Village Hall on Saturday the 7th of December. It will run from 10am to 2pm and we hope it will serve you as a fine opportunity to get some Christmas presents. We have a wide variety of traders offering you their goods. FREE ENTRY so come and shop with us!

Santa’s Grotto

See Santa for just £5 a child – includes gift! When we host the Winter Market, Santa is resting in Rocklands Village Hall at the same time too! Children will have the opportunity to meet Santa for a gift and a great photo opportunity for you to cherish.

Festive Café Church

Join us at Rockland St. Peter’s Church at 10:30am on the 8th of December for a crafting event suitable for adults and children alike! There will be nibbles following the crafting fun! Grab a friend and bring them too, there will be lots of crafting fun to do!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at Rockland St. Peter’s Church!

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.

Welcome to November!

Where has the year gone? The clocks have changed and the nights are going to feel longer. For some of us, getting up in the dark is also going to be a tough one. On the upside, it is the time to wear puffy ski jackets that hide how many mince pies we have had or how many Christmas puds we have snuck into the weekly shop.

Harvest

Thank you to those who attended our Harvest Service. We hope you enjoy a selection of pictures from the day.

Remembrance

We are hosting a Remembrance Sunday Service at the memorial flowerbed on the 10th of November at 10:45am.

Pudsey Lunch

Saturday 16th of November at 12pm to 2pm, we are hosting a Pudsey Fundraising Lunch. We will be serving an array of wonderful food delights from bacon rolls and soup to cake delights. There will also be a raffle. Pudsey, himself, will also grace us with his presence! No need to book in advance; just pop in and visit us on the day.

If you wished to get involved and help out with baking or serving a table on the day, please contact Mr Brown on 07802 433 611.

November

Welcome to November

A month where we remember,

And a month to recall,

Those who wished parliament To take a large fall.

 

The five-fingered ivy,

Hath graced us with bright red

And many trees have started

To look quite, quite dead.

 

A month where winter whispers,

That it is ever near;

The last month of autumn

Before it disappears.

KYT Poetry

Welcome to our October entry!

Cycle Ride

Thank you to Dawn Thacker and Nick Cardy who rode for us in the annual Churches Trust Cycle Ride and Walk. They travelled 47.1 miles and visited 24 churches. What a brilliant effort! Dawn said, “We met some lovely people along the way. It was a lovely day, the sun shone although it was a bit breezy at times.” We would like to thank everyone who was involved in the event, from the welcomers across the churches, those who cycled, rode or walked and those who sponsored. So, thank you!

Welcoming Our New Reverend

The Licensing of Reverend Victoria Venmore-Rowland BA will be held at St. Andrew’s Church, Hingham on the 24th of September. I am sure everyone will join us in making our new reverend most welcome to our communities.

Dates For Your Diary

Join us on Sunday the 16th of November for Pudsey Lunch where we aim to raise money for Children in Need.

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!

Rev Leonard James was murdered
In 1608.
By the hands of Lowe
He did meet his fate.

A treacherous wife
Was burned at the stake
And Lowe was killed
For the lives he did take.

KYT Poetry - 2022

We were reminded of this poem, and the events that allowed it to be, as a relative of Rev. Leonard James has recently come forward to our Churchwarden, John Brown, to investigate their family history. Mr Brown has sent Ian Abel’s book to North Carolina for them to peruse. You will note that Rev. Leonard James lives on with us on our village sign with his church.

Rev. Leonard James’, to our knowledge, is buried somewhere in the graveyard but we know not where. If anyone is up for the challenge of finding it please contact the Churchwarden and you will be welcome to search the undergrowth.