Thoughts from the Benefice

 for July 2025

Dear Friends,

A significant month

July is a significant month in the life of the Glaven Valley Benefice. In July three years ago, we enjoyed our first Five Churches Festival of music. This yearly Festival has continued. We are privileged to hear top quality singers and players provide a wide range of music each programme fitting so well into the appropriate church setting. This year, the festival takes place from 9-13 July and features musicians of international acclaim alongside established professional from across Norfolk. They will be providing five days of exceptional concerts with something for everyone – chamber music, evening jazz, a brass ensemble and an idyllic finale of English music for strings. A high point of the week will be the Songs of Praise service to be held at Blakeney Church on Sunday 13th at 11am. We are fortunate to have Michael Wakelin as our speaker for this service. He is a former series producer of BBC’s Songs of Praise and so is a great source of knowledge and inspiration for this special service which is entirely free! You are all very welcome to join us!

Most importantly, we look forward to the induction of Rev Jonathan Dowman as our Rector on Monday 28th July at Blakeney Church. I invited Jonathan to introduce himself to usand he has written:

My wife Emma and our 3 children, (Amber 18, Ethan 14 and Hugo 7) will be moving with me from Market Harborough in Leicestershire where I have worked for Leicester Diocese for 11 years. I have been helping churches to develop new initiatives often resulting in the creation of new congregations, while most recently I have overseen the ministry of 24 rural parishes, helping them to work more closely together. Emma is a teacher by training but has also worked with families of prisoners, led a regional charity and we have often served in churches together.

I was a primary school teacher before becoming a priest and still love going into schools to help and enable children, adults and their households to explore faith for themselves and the difference it can make in everyday life. Outside of this and my work with the church I enjoy photography and have an interest in nature, cars, bikes and coffee (who knows, I might even take up sailing).

I know that all five of the churches in the Glaven Valley Benefice are actively involved in their local communities and I’m looking forward to joining in and seeing how God might lead us together. As a family, we’ve been holidaying in this part of North Norfolk for many years in all seasons and we’re looking forward to making it home.

We in the Glaven Valley look forward to welcoming Jonathan and his family and pray for God’s blessing on his ministry amongst us all.

Rev Dr Claude Scott