<span style="font-size: 1rem;">At the time of writing this (10th April) we are all in the depths of the very odd but necessary restriction brought about by the Coronavirus Pandemic. this has completely disrupted everybody's lives and plans. The Church is no different and we have had three weeks now since we were allowed in the Church and are looking forward to a very strange Easter. Looking forward we are having to make decisions about those events in our Church calendar that are established parts of our community life. None of us knows what the situation will be in a month let alone several month's time. Below is the latest status of events over next 4 months.</span>Annual Church Fete This was planned for 6th June. With the type of fun event this is and the amount of food serving we anticipate that there will still be restrictions in place that allow this to proceed. We have therefore taken the decision to postpone this event in the hope that we can rearrange latter in the year on Saturday 5th September.Open Air Picnic Concert at Barham HallWith a limit of 499 people attending including the band; it being held in the open air in a wide open space; and no food being served, we are still very hopeful that this event can go ahead on 27th June as planned. Mr & Mrs Burrows and the Band are still happy for it to proceed if the regulations allow. The band have the music and are practising in their homes so that they are ready when they can get together. If in the event this proves impossible in June, we will look to rearrange it later in the summer - we all need something to look forward to. In the event that the concert is postponed all ticket holder will be able to claim a full refund by returning their tickets if the new date is not convenient or if we cannot arrange a new date. Therefore tickets are very much still on sale at the discount price of £12 until 20th May and thereafter £15 each. You can obtain tickets from Roger Colthorpe 5 Phillipps Road.with Cheques payable to Claydon & Barham PCC. Please ensure that you include a self-addressed envelope and an email address or, if not, a phone number so that you can be advised of any changed arrangements.At the time of writing over a third of the tickets have been sold.J-Team Holiday ClubThis is scheduled for 12th to 15th August when we hope the restrictions will have been lifted and it will be safe to proceed. The leaders are taking advantage of this time of confinement to prepare early so that they can be free to enjoy the summer. Applications for this year's J-team will be invited from 1st May and will be allocated on a strict first come first served basis in each age group. Application forms will be emailed to all previous attendees and others can receive an application form by emailing rogercolthorpe@aol.com. The club is open to all children currently of primary school age and the fee for the three days is £12 per child. In the unlikely event that this event has to be cancelled the fees will be refunded.
During this unprecedented crisis we will not be holding any services in order to safeguard as far as possible our congregation and our ministry team. This follows the announcement made by the Archbishops made on 16th March. We encourage our congregation to join in Sunday Worship broadcast by the BBC or streamed on Facebook by our Cathedral.Our Church will remain open during this period seven days per week between 10am and 4pm at least for private prayer. If you encounter others whilst in the Church please maintain the recommended minimum distance of 2 metres from others.
It was announced in December that The Revd Carl Melville, currently Rector of Claydon and Barham, Henley and Gt Blakenham, has been appointed Rector of the Bacton Benefice (Bacton, Wyverstone, Cotton, Wickham Skeith, Old Newton, Gipping).Rev Carl's Sunday will be 15th March and will be marked by a 10.30 Benefice Service in Claydon High School followed by a shared lunch in the nearby Community Centre. His licencing and installation as Rector of the Bacton Benefice will take place on Thursday 2nd April at 7.30pmPlease pray for Carl and both Benefices during this period of transition.Revd Carl says: 'I look forward to the next stage of my ministry with the Bacton Benefice. I will of course find it very difficult to leave Claydon having built up many friendships in and out of Church circles. The love and sense of community that has surrounded me over the past 3.5 years has been immense.”
On Sunday 8th September we were joined in our 10am service at Barham by thirteen guests who presented our Church with a very unique and very valuable gift. These were members of the Church Recorder Group who have, together with others, spent hundreds of hours over the past three years researching and compiling a detailed record with photos of every single thing within our ancient Church. The record spreads over three huge lever arch folders and covers everything from our world-famous Henry Moore Sculpture of the Madonna and Child and our beautiful stained glass through to the jars and vases we use for flower arranging. Some items are centuries old whilst others had only been in the church a matter of weeks. Some items are worth thousands of pounds and others have little or no financial value. Of course, the Church is continually changing, so this is a detailed snapshot as at this point in its history and will be a source of interest for generations to come. This work was sponsored by the Arts Society and a copy will be held by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London as well as in our County Archive. In due course we will arrange for some form of cabinet for the Church where these folders can be held safely and access granted to those who are interested. We consider ourselves very fortunate to be chosen from the hundreds of Churches in Suffolk as the subject of this study and we thank all those involved for their time, dedication, attention to detail and vast expertise in so many different areas.
