In July 2023 our leadership team will grow as Dr Karen Smith will join us as a full time Curate. Karen will then be with us for 3 years.Karen says “I’m really delighted to be joining such a beautiful and interesting Benefice as your new Curate from next July. I think that there will be many wonderful mission and pastoral opportunities to get involved in and I can’t wait to get started! I’m particularly looking forward to getting to know everyone and being part of the worshiping and wider communities. Please pray for me as I complete my final year at Westcott House, Cambridge and prepare to move to the Benefice."We are excited to welcome Karen to our Benefice and for the opportunities to learn and minister together. Karen will be ordained Deacon in St Edmundsbury Cathedral in July 2023, and will be Ordained Priest the following year.About Karen:I am from Glasgow but came ‘down south’ to study at Cambridge University in my early twenties and loved it so much, I stayed.I was an academic (neuroanatomy) and then became a management consultant for several years. I returned to academia (working at Cambridge, UCL and UEA) as a specialist in developing high value transformative research initiatives through partnerships with private, public and third sector organisations. In recent years I have been training for Ordination at Westcott House, an Anglican theological college in the heart of Cambridge.I have two grown up sons and enjoy sailing, travelling all over the world and pottering about in the garden, dojang and on the golf course. I am looking forward to lots of countryside walks in the stunning Stour Valley.
Suffolk’s most senior Church of England clergyman has spoken of his profound sadness at the death of Her Majesty the Queen - and said her decades of service are without parallel. The Rt Rev Martin Seeley, Bishop of the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocese, expressed his deep sorrow at the death of Her Majesty the Queen.Bishop Martin said: “We send our sincere condolences to her family. Her Majesty visited the Diocese on a number of occasions during her reign, and during each visit the warmth of feeling the people had for her was clear. I know she had a particular affection for Suffolk.“Through her decades of devotion to her role and to the people of the Commonwealth she has given us all remarkable focus of constancy and stability, and an example of self-giving service. She was always clear how her Christian faith was at the heart of this, and how she found in her faith strength, fortitude and hope.“She was a wonderful ambassador for Britain and an example to us all. I know people will want to pay their own personal tributes to someone who has been a part of this great country’s fabric for so many years. “Books of condolence have been opened across the churches in our Diocese. As a mark of respect for Her Majesty the Queen, flags on all churches are also being flown at half-mast.“Her family are much in our prayers, and in particular we hold His Majesty the King in our prayers as he accedes to the throne.”Arrangements have been made to enable members of the public to lay floral tributes at St Edmundsbury Cathedral.The Dean of St Edmundsbury, The Very Reverend Joe Hawes, said: “As a nation and Commonwealth we begin to come to terms today with the loss of The Queen, who has been for the vast majority of us a point of stability and fidelity throughout our lives.“As we give thanks for Her Majesty’s 70 years of love and service for her people, we commit her to the arms of the God whose love has been her mainstay, and we pledge our loyalty and service as Church and Nation to His Majesty the King.”
As the current economic situation is really starting to hit those who are least able to weather these challenges, we are setting up a FREE Community Pantry inside St Peter & St Paul's Church, Clare, where anyone can "Take what they need or Leave what they can"We are encouraging all within the community who are perhaps better off, to leave donations of non-perishable items such as:Pasta, Rice and Instant NoodlesJars of Pasta and Curry SaucesTins of Beans, Potatoes, Vegetables, Soups.Packets of Breakfast CerealsBottles of SquashUHT Long Life MilkToiletries for both Adults and Children (Shampoo, Shower Gel, Soap, Toothpaste)Nappies (all sizes) and Wipes.General Household Cleaning Items.Please do make sure that any items are within their Use By/Best Before Dates.The Community Pantry can be found inside the Church, on the right hand side if you enter from the South Door.Revd Mark and Ministers in other churches in the area, are also able to make referrals to the Foodbanks in Haverhill and Sudbury in addition to the Community Pantry.Thank you in advance for your support. Revd Mark
In Zimbabwe, the climate crisis is causing aching hunger for families like Jessica’s.For the first time in a generation, global poverty is rising. The combined effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, conflict, and drought have robbed communities like Jessica's of the power to provide for their children. It's unjust.This Christian Aid Week:We stand with the resilient women - like Jessica - who are determined to lift their families out of hungerWe raise our voices to call for climate justiceWe pray that families will stay strong during times of droughtTogether, we hope to restore justice to our world, and protect the future for our children and grandchildren. Please give to help women grow crops that survive in the drought. You can help turn hunger into hope.With every gift, every action, every prayer, every one of us can change lives. You can make a donation here:https://envelope.christianaid.org.uk/envelope/stour-valley-benefice
