The annual Sponsored Ride and Stride is a national event, and every second Saturday in September cyclists, walkers and runners are out making money for their local county Churches Trust.

The idea started in Suffolk, and is now held across England, with Suffolk leading the table of funds raised. The Ride and Stride is the main source of income to Suffolk Historic Churches Trust to enable it to make grants to churches and chapels of all denominations towards repair and restoration costs.

Ride and Stride is run entirely by volunteers and is inter-denominational, with participants sponsored for each place of worship visited between 9.00am and 5.00pm on Ride and Stride Day or with a donation, regardless of the number of churches visited.

The money raised by each cyclist or walker is shared equally between the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust and the place of worship nominated by the participant.

As important as the participants are the many volunteers who give up the day to man the churches and chapels and sign in the cyclists and walkers as they arrive. Hundreds of places of worship are manned during the day and that takes quite a team of volunteers! It is a real community effort that is the lifeblood of the Trust.

An Ixworth Deanery Confirmation service with Bishop Graeme for all in the deanery