OUR NEW VICAR – THE LICENSING SERVICE We very much look forward to welcoming our new vicar – Ashley Jane Hines – to the Benefice of Whittington with Weeford, and Hints, in May. Ashley and her husband, Roger, will live at the vicarage on Bramley Way, Whittington. Ashley will be licensed by the Bishop of Lichfield at St Giles’ Church on Thursday 23 May at 6.00pm. The number of people we can cope with in church is obviously limited but, after allowing for Ashley’s family and friends, visitors from her current church in Great Yarmouth, clergy from the Diocese and Deanery, and for members of the regular congregations at the three churches, we still have some spaces and would like to invite those living in the three villages to join us. We have reserved spaces for those members of our communities who regularly come to church (‘regular’ being at least once a month) and, if you fall into that category, you are welcome to come to the service on the day without taking any further action. We hope that you will all come if you can. If you do not regularly attend one of the three churches (including spouses/partners of those who do) but would like to come to the Licensing service, please contact David Clarke, Churchwarden, St Giles’ Church, Whittington (daclarke55@hotmail.com or 07836 334796) to reserve a space. We hope that we can accommodate all those who wish to come.
New Vicar for Whittington, Weeford and Hints After a vacancy period of some three years, I am delighted to pass on the news that the Revd Ashley Hines will become the new Vicar of Whittington with Weeford and Hints. Exact timings are yet to be agreed, but Ashley should arrive during the middle of this year. Ashley is currently Team Vicar in the Great Yarmouth Team Ministry. Following her ordination in 2015, Ashley served as a hospital chaplain in Burton-on-Trent, and as a curate in Fradley before moving to Great Yarmouth, so our region is very familiar to her. We very much look forward to Ashley joining us later this year, though we also bear in mind her clergy colleagues and parishioners in Great Yarmouth who will be sad to lose her. We pray for their search for a new incumbent which will now begin. More details regarding Ashley's arrival in our parishes will be shared in due course. Simon Donnan, Lay Chair St Giles PCC
In 2018, the Parochial Church Council of St Giles’ Church began a project to improve the facilities in our church building. Whilst, of course, we have a relatively small congregation compared to city churches, we regularly attract over thirty people to our 9.30 am Sunday worship. We had over fifty in the congregation at Easter. We would be delighted to welcome more people from Whittington. Our toilet is small and cramped, and doubles as a washing-up area for our after-service refreshments. There is very little space in the church itself for the congregation to relax and chat over coffee after the service. The church entrance is not welcoming to the casual visitor, with poor sightlines into the church itself from the porch. This is important as our church is open every day, ‘dawn to dusk’. Working with our church architect, our proposals have been reviewed and agreed by Lichfield Diocese and all the relevant statutory bodies that should be involved. They are happy that we will not be ruining the essential nature of the building. All that remains is for us to apply for planning permission to increase the size of the toilet, and to allow the members of the parish a thirty-day consultation period. The latter will run from 1st to 30th July this year. Details of how to object to the proposals will be posted in the church and on the church door from 1st July. In brief the proposed changes are: · Create a disabled toilet and baby changing point. · Free up space at the back of the church for a ‘meet and greet’ area with storage for freestanding chairs and tables. · Install a refreshment point, with water heating and washing up facilities, inside a cupboard at the back of the church. · Replace the solid wood panels in the inner doors with glass. · Carry out work to the doors and floor in the porch to improve the ‘welcome’. · Free up space at the front of the nave inside the church. · Reconfigure space in the vestry and stairwell to increase storage. Whilst the changes will be of direct benefit to the worshipping community, along with families at weddings and baptisms held in the church, they will also allow us to offer the building for other uses, providing modern facilities for meetings and events. If you would like to see the plans ‘in situ’ please contact the churchwarden, David Clarke (daclarke55@hotmail.com and 07836 334796), who will be happy to arrange to meet you in the church and show you where the changes will happen.
