Do try and make it for the Benefice service involving all 3 parishes at St Mary’s this Sunday 31st at 10.30am.

The next communion service on Sunday 14th June will be taken by Mark Thomas.

The Benefice service will include a celebration of retiring PCC members …

… and in that vein, our resident author and poet has penned a tribute to all those volunteers:

The Faithful Servant

You have been one of the faithful who, over the centuries, laboured to keep this small rural church functioning. Not for fame, fortune, thanks or self-promotion, but as volunteers who loved the ancient building and gave of their time, effort, skills – indeed of themselves – to ensure that others who came here, be it to pray or sightsee, would find a place that was welcoming, cared for, loved.

Unsung, and oft-times unnoticed, the work was done; you rallied round whenever help was needed, shivered through evening PCC meetings, turned out in all weathers, undertook endless efforts to fund ever-multiplying expenses; baked and flower arranged, stitched and crafted, cleaned and dusted – battled cobwebs; removed leaves from gutters and gullies, kept graves tidy and picked up litter….not to mention climbing ladders, painting walls, repairing rusting radiators, replacing light bulbs (some dangerously high in the nave) and a whole litany of physical work needing to be done by somebody. Daily the church was opened and shut.

All this to ensure that the life of the church, its services, baptisms, weddings and funerals, could continue – which entailed an immense amount of admin, not just paperwork, but also dedication, time, effort and stress. “The preacher or organist – or both – can’t come, get replacements. Two notes on the organ are sticking and there’s a loose pipe at the back, get the tuner! There’s another leak in the roof, buckets needed please; the electricity has failed, borrow gas heaters; a bough on that big tree looks dangerous, action needed urgently; there are bats roosting in the nave again, emergency cleaning required; the vestry key has gone missing, any ideas, anyone?; there’s someone locked inside the church by mistake – somebody go to the rescue!”

And always, somehow, someone was found to help – another faithful servant.

The church looks picturesque in the snow; in spring with snowdrops, celandines and crocuses, the trees fresh with newly green leaves. Lovely in summer when the great chestnuts give shade and form their conkers to fall in autumn as the leaves change to a different glory, clad now in orange and bronze. Then winter when the bare branches are silhouetted against the sky. All so beautiful.

The little church still stands there quiet and calm, watching over the land and her faithful Servants. She has kept faith with them; they have kept faith with her.

April 2026

From Lene Bussell.

Apart from the fact that May spoils us with two bank holidays, it is also the month when we celebrate the anniversary of the Coronation of King Charles 111 on 6th May 2023, the 40th monarch to be crowned in Westminster Abbey since 1066. It’s hard to believe that three years have passed already since that momentous occasion. When the late Queen was crowned in 1953 I was a small child and not having a television, we listened to the proceedings on the radio, imagining the horse drawn carriages parading through the streets of London with all the Royal family decked out in their fine clothes and jewellery. It was all very different this time with wall to wall TV coverage of every detail from every angle and all in gorgeous colour on our big screens.  Being able to see the whole spectacle and listen to the wonderful music filling the Abbey was certainly a day to remember so I hope we can all raise a glass on 6th May and say ‘God Save the King’.

We have three services in May, the normal Communion on the 10th and Evensong on the 24th plus a Benefice service on the 31st at 10.30 a.m. As usual our friends from our sister churches will be joining us in communion and fellowship afterwards with coffee and cake for all. It’s a warm friendly service so please try and join us.

All good things must come to an end I am told, and so it just leaves me to tell you that I have stepped down as churchwarden after twelve years in the job. During the last ten years the PCC has reroofed the chancel, the nave and the south porch, repointed some of the masonry bee damage to the walls, replaced the heating system, installed a kitchen and toilet, maintained the big trees in the churchyard and refurbished the church path and parking area. And let’s not forget the refurbishment of the bells after a silence of nearly 60 years! This is all a huge achievement for such a small village of 200 souls and I give sincere thanks to all those who made it happen.

Our good friends Jeremy Lane, Richard Betteridge and Jane Jones have also stepped down as PCC members, so for the moment there are only two members still standing, Simon and Lawrence, along with Lyndsay Baker and Rev Barry. As there is no-one to take on the role of churchwarden the future is an open book. It may well be that we merge with St John’s for the day to day running of St Mary’s, but once Rev Barry has had discussions with the Area Dean and  Bishop Gavin I am sure things will become clearer. So this is my last offering of church news for you all  – hopefully next month the baton will be taken up by Rev Barry.  But before I sign off I must thank all of you in this lovely village whether churchgoers or not, who have given me such a lot of support over the years. I couldn’t have done it without you – God Bless you all.

Lene B.