"The parish of Tolleshunt Major is committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults. We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO). The Diocese of Chelmsford’s safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) who advise our PSOs. If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the DSA. If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police and your local authority Children or Adults Services.

Our Parish Safeguarding Representative is Jo Lacey [email protected]

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If you were at the Benefice service on 30th January you would have heard Revd Sarah mention a conference which she, Revd Tracey and some others attended called “Leading Your Church Into Growth”. We would like to share with you a prayer for growth which came from that conference;

God of mission
Who alone brings growth to your Church,
Send your Holy Spirit
to give Vision to our planning,
Wisdom to our actions,
and Power to our witness.
Help our church to grow in numbers,
In spiritual commitment to you
and in service to our community,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

We think you will agree it is a beautifully worded prayer and we would like to encourage everyone in the Benefice to commit to pray this prayer every day over the coming year. We will also be using it in our services, in our PCC meetings, Bible Studies, and at every available opportunity! In the coming weeks and months you will be hearing more of what we learnt and the ideas for growing our church community that came out of the conference. Our hope is that 2022 will be a fresh start for the Blackwater Benefice, after the last couple of years overshadowed by the pandemic.