I am writing to say Thank You to you for all your support over this past year - your time, commitment, and money. Without your support, the work of our five Churches in our communities across our Benefice simply could not happen. We are blessed with amazing buildings that inspire with their history and architecture and very powerfully remind us of the context of life within which we find ourselves. It is within this context of everyday life that ministry takes place, a responsibility shared by priest and people together - reaching out to one another in our regular congregations, our wider village communities and beyond - sharing the love of God in a myriad of ways.

Behind the scenes, much of the administrative work is undertaken by our erstwhile Churchwardens and they in particular deserve a special thank you for the many untold hours that they give to ensure that our Churches function as efficiently and as effectively as possible. Like every house and family mini crises occur and, given the wide geography and disparate population that we serve, it often falls to our Churchwardens to resolve these issues as best and as quickly as they can. One change that has occurred in this past year has been the change in the nature of the job that our Administrator, Heather Ferguson now undertakes. In the past, Heather’s focus was mainly the production of the Weekly Sheet for St Mary’s and St Peter’s. Heather’s role has evolved so that she now has responsibility for managing all the fees that are paid to all the Churches across the Benefice for weddings, funerals, and burials. This is quite a task but with Heather taking on this role it does mean that as Parish Priest I am freed from this day-to-day administrative task and can focus more on other, more strategic tasks.

This past year has seen changes in the Ministry Team. After many years of service, a number of folks decided to step back from active roles with both Barry Price (Cottered) and Norman Plumb (Benington) sensibly deciding that it was time to downsize and relocate to other areas of the country. Paul Cobb (Benington) is similarly in the process of preparing to move house and others, including Anne Hudson (Benington) Steve Mason (Walkern) and Revd Mervyn Terrett (Ardeley) have stepped back from their roles. The Team is now much reduced in size, and this means that it is harder, and sometimes not possible, to provide for Services in the way in which we have done in the past. The future is likely to mean fewer Services around some of our major festivals and when I am away on leave, with churches in the north and south of the Benefice having to work more closely together. Ideally, we could do with six volunteers willing to train as Worship Leaders to ease the strain. If you think you would like to be involved in leading a Service of Morning Prayer do please get in touch. I am grateful to Colin Bailey (Benington), Laurie & Maggie Hawkins (Walkern), Revd Canon Mike Leverton and Wendy Waygood (Ardeley) for their continued support in facilitating our life as a worshipping community.

These past twelve months have also seen a re-balancing of our work with all three Schools within the Benefice. We are blessed with two Church of England Primary Schools, Ardeley (Voluntary Aided) and Benington (Voluntary Controlled) and a State Primary School at Walkern with whom we have an equally good and fruitful relationship. A School-Church Curriculum has been introduced which means that each year group, across all three Schools, now partakes in using their local Church as a learning environment. I teach lessons on a range of subjects including RE, art and history which involves all children becoming more familiar with their Church. It has been a particular pleasure this year to introduce children to our amazing collection of gargoyles and grotesques at St Peter’s. It was the first time that children from Ardeley and Walkern Schools had visited St Peter’s. Great fun was had designing and naming their own grotesques! All of this work goes on alongside the more familiar Collective Acts of Worship (School Assemblies) and the more traditional School Visits for Nativity Plays etc.

Our historic property portfolio is a significant responsibility. I sometimes joke that if our Churches were being managed by the National Trust then we would have a whole department dedicated solely to caring for our five Churches. Such a department does not exist! However, this year we have reviewed the committee structures responsible for the care and maintenance of our buildings. Each Church now has a Fabric Committee in place and every Church has a strategy in place for moving forwards. There are some exciting projects being developed for each Church though obviously this is tied to funding. Bringing such projects to fruition is always undertaken in consultation with our architects and with the Diocesan Advisory Committee. The latter is the equivalent of a local planning authority and operates with very clear guidelines and high standards expected when caring for any aspect of national heritage. Our property portfolio includes both Benington and Ardeley Village Halls and these too have structures and plans in place for moving works forward.

Legislation around the subject of marriage is constantly evolving as societal norms shift and change. After consultation with all of our Parochial Church Councils, it was agreed that we should apply to the Bishop of St Albans for a Section 23 Order which would allow any couple who resides within the Benefice or who has a qualifying connection to marry in any of our five Churches rather than just their own local Parish Church. This Order has now been issued and allows for greater flexibility with regard to the venue for those wishing to marry in Church. Our Churches are also available for anyone wishing to have their marriage blessed either subsequently after being married elsewhere (overseas or local wedding venue) or to celebrate a special anniversary.

If you think the Church can be of any help to you, don’t hesitate to be in touch!

God Bless, Mark