Thoughts from the Rectory

Dear Friends,

I’m delighted to confirm that St Mary’s Church Wiveton opened again at the start of November! It’s been over 4 years since the beam fell from the chancel roof (during the night, when fortunately no one was in the building), and six months since the restoration work began, so it’s been a long haul. Some of you will remember that we had temporary repairs made to allow us to resume services and activities there, until we had raised the necessary funds to embark on the full restoration. That work is now complete, although the deep clean of the whole building is happening later in November, and services are happening once more.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have been involved in making this work happen. Special thanks go to our Wiveton churchwardens Stephen and Charles, who have been at the helm of everything. But many others have also played a crucial role, particularly with fund-raising. The Friends of Wiveton have been marvellously creative and hard-working, as ever, led by Anthea, and there has been important support from the PCC and the small group involved with the Heritage Lottery Fund bid, and so on. Many people have been extremely generous in terms of finance and time, and it’s been a great team effort. Thanks to everyone for making it happen.

And so we look forward to the usual service pattern being restored: early Communion on the first Sunday of the month; Meditation Service on the second; Evensong on the third; Family Service on the fourth; as well as the weekly Contemplative Service on Tuesdays (NB: start time probably to be changed from 5.45 to 6.00 – do check!).

This month, Wiveton, along with all the churches in the benefice, will also have a service on 12th November, Remembrance Sunday. With the catastrophic situation continuing in Israel and Palestine, not to mention the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and other places, we will all be praying ardently for peace. Please see the full schedule for all the services on that day and for the rest of the month.

Wishing you all a blessed November,

Richard.