A new year

This letter comes with my best wishes for a happy and peaceful start to a new year.
The pattern of services in the benefice will be changing slightly this month. This has been precipitated by the retirement of our Reader, Arthur Brignall, which has meant that we have had to alter the Sundays where services in two villages were taking place at the same time.

The basic pattern will mean that Barley, Barkway and Reed will each have one 9 a.m. and one 10.30 a.m. Parish Communion a month. On top of this, Barkway’s BCP Evensong will continue as normal, and Barley will have a 5 p.m. service once a month, the form of which will vary. Every other month, Reed will have a third service. Barkway’s Discover Sunday continues as does Barley’s Church Mice.

This new pattern is not set in stone, but seems to be the best way forward at the present time. A number of people have worked on it, including myself, the rural dean and the churchwardens. Please talk to me about it once it is up and running, if you have any views. There will also be opportunities for special services, particularly those relating to Church festivals.

The United Benefice services are also set to continue but on fewer occasions than previously. I hope that with fewer of these services, more people will make an effort to attend them. They have, sadly, been the Sundays of the month on which we have had fewest worshippers in church. There is a great joy in coming together with people from different churches and villages to worship - I hope that you won’t miss out on those opportunities.

Of course, all services in the benefice are open to everyone each Sunday. Many people prefer to worship in their own village, but it is always a joy to see people crossing boundaries to worship in a different church or congregation. Sometimes we need to make our worship of God more of a priority and our attachment to a particular building less important - the exciting thing is that when we take risks, God often reveals himself in new ways in our lives.

With best wishes, Sarah

PS A year ago, I challenged you all to take on something creative in 2007. I thought I should report that I took my own advice and have been learning how to play badminton.