On Saturday 18th June, 16 of our children made their First Holy Communion. It was so wonderful to have a full church once again. Please pray for the children and their families from today, as we look forward to the next celebration this Saturday.
A small but eager group tackled parts of the church garden. Despite the hot weather the group did a grand job. After all their hard work, they had a lovely social time, delicious cakes were served, lemon drizzle, chocolate cake, banana fruit cake and beautiful rhubarb and meringue cake with refreshing tea and freshly brewed coffee and home made lemonade. The next meeting is on 16 July 2 to 5pm. It is a wonderful way to spend the Saturday afternoon.
Come along on Saturday 11th June, 2-5pm, to join a group tidying up the church grounds. Tea and cake on offer 🙂
Would you be interested in being part of a new group to ‘renew’ our parish?
COVID arrived and found us all lacking in preparedness for such a life-changing situation; the Synodal Pathway has challenged us to think differently about ourselves, our faith, our parish and our life within the community; the Parish
Forum (unfortunately attendance was affected by COVID) identified there is much to be done in our parish, practically, spiritually and socially.
The following is a quote from notes taken from one of the Synodal Pathway meetings:
“There was consensus that we had a great opportunity as a parish, carefully and
thoughtfully, to build on the foundation of existing and past team work, shake off the last two years and have a sense of newness. As well as renewing existing teams, there was an opportunity to start new groups or revive groups that had ended. There was a sense that, as the laity, this was our responsibility, we should
not be relying on Father David to take the initiative or make us take the initiative.
We should actively try to involve more people.”
How can we take this forward?
The Diocese has initiated a new programme called “Stewardship”. It is an invitation to share ‘time, treasures and talents’ and provides a framework which covers all aspects of parish life. The aim is to encourage every single person,
young and not so young, to play an active part in their church in a variety of ways which suit each individual. Each parish can tailor the framework to focus on the needs of its community and the people it serves.
So how do we get it started?
What’s needed is a group of people to look at the framework and identify the priorities for St Etheldreda’s. Then we can work together to adapt the templates, consider timescales, link with the Diocesan coordinator to produce the necessary paperwork, and generally plan for the roll-out of the programme to the parish. Interested in at least finding out more?
Let us have your contact details by signing up at the back of the church, emailing
them to admin@elyrcchurch.com or phoning 01353 662759