From the Vicar

Dear Friends,

BUILDING

Some of you will know that this year is finally the moment when the long-awaited improvements to the porch and entrance to our village church will be done.; the appeal leaflet went out two Reach Fairs ago, so that we, in our generation, can contribute to the future of the building, and which is daily available for private prayers, a sacred space, in addition to the services most Sundays and weekly Evening Prayer on Wednesdays @ 5.30 pm. While the money has not exactly come rolling in , we have been grateful for the generosity shown at our annual autumn Gift or Thanksgiving Day (St Etheldreda’s Fair), and now we do have the legacy so generously bequeathed to the church last year.

The PCC decided therefore to move ahead with the work, a) moving the font (already done thanks to generous volunteer labour), b) the entrance porch and c) the vestry. We are also anxious to do maintain routine repairs, highlighted in our quinquennial architect’s report on the condition of the building generally, and this we will do. We are planning on holding a public meeting to explain the work in more detail, so please look out for this in the next 2 months, when we should have the competitive tenders in. We hope to save money too by again drawing on local volunteer labour.

The money we do have should guarantee the future of a church in Reach, not only physically, but in being viable financially and pastorally, able to contribute to the wider ministry of the Church. This will need vigilance on our part, to be good stewards of the legacy we have, and will need the continued weekly support of parishioners. Many give a weekly envelope a to sustain the work of the church, and some of you are extremely generous with ‘one-off’ gifts, please keep it up, and encourage your friends and neighbours! Laura Luckyn-Malone, our treasurer will always be pleased to talk to you about all this (tel. 743692), including Gift Aid, when the government enhance your money with another 29%.

The life of our church, though, in human terms, is what often exercises my mind - I have always been pleased with the number of people who clean the church and those who adorn it with flowers, but there is still that nagging sense that the village don’t “own” their church as well as they might. Our attendances are not good, and it has always been difficult to get the pattern and style of worship right. Sadly Miss Whitehead is rarely well enough now to play the organ, and we do need to make some plans for the future pattern of worship in addition the two 8.00 am services on 2nd & 3rd Sundays. ‘Special’ services seem to offer some hope, such as Songs of Praise before the Fair, Blessing of Animals, Christingle, Carol Services, and so on. Do let us know what you would like. because after 8 years with you, I hope you would expect me to say that I am a little disappointed that more people don’t avail themselves of ‘time with God’ week-by-week; if not here, then at St Mary’s Swaffham Prior, the parish church.

But, I am grateful for so many good things that do happen, but it is ‘thin-going’ on many Sundays, so why not give us a try? In addition, there are so many small tasks that need doing on a weekly basis, and we really do need to exercise good stewardship in this area too, so that we harness local skills as best we can. Please have a word with me privately if you would like to be involved in some way but have hitherto been reticent! Please remember it’s not the vicar’s church, it’s yours!

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) will be in the School Hall at Swaffham Prior on Monday 22nd April at 7.30 pm; when the two villages will elect 2 churchwardens, and those on the church’s electoral roll (see the separate note about this) will vote for new parochial church council members ( it meets 5 times per year) . We really need your support and interest on this important occasion; do come for what will be only 1 hour+ of business (packs of APCM papers will be available in church from Easter Sunday 31st March) and will be followed by a glass of wine or two. I hope to see you there.

Yours sincerely.

Your Parish Priest, Mark

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