Priest-in-Charge: Revd. Eric Falla
01473 484676 / 07540 359993 / eric.falla@yahoo.com
ST MARY THE VIRGIN BRAMFORD, ST MARY NETTLESTEAD, ST MARY THE VIRGIN LITTLE BLAKENHAM, ST PETER BAYLHAM
Dear Friends
Let me begin by thanking all those who have welcomed us into Bramford and the wider benefice It is a joy to be your new priest-in-charge and I look forward to getting around to meet many more people.
Starting the first week of June, I will be saying Morning Prayer every weekday in the benefice: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 8.30am in St Mary’s Bramford and on Wednesday mornings at one of the other churches. All are welcome to join me for this short act of worship. My first Wednesday will be in St Mary Nettlestead followed by Baylham on June 9 and Little Blakenham on June 16, then back to Nettlestead on June 23 and so on.
The benefice now has a Facebook page which I would invite people to join; it’s called Benefice of Bramford, Little Blakenham, Baylham, Nettlestead. Our A Church Near You (ACNY) pages run by the Church of England have been updated and are another useful place to find details of the churches and services in the benefice. As I write this, our 5pm Sunday afternoon worship will have gathered for the first time in many months. This is a time of informal worship held in the Parish Room for mums, dads and children and we would love to see you.
I have now been appointed as a Foundation Governor for the primary school and visited the school on April 23 when I had a lovely tour of the school and met all the children in their classrooms. I look forward to leading worship in the school more regularly and welcoming the children into the church when we are allowed.
As we anticipate the end of Covid-19 restrictions, we look forward to seeing those who have not been attending church during the pandemic. We also look forward to the many groups in the four parishes welcoming back their members and catching up on the past year, when I am sure many will be thinking of their experiences and of the many we have known who have passed into eternal glory with our Father in Heaven. Our prayers are with them and all their families.
Bishop Martin and Bishop Mike invite you to join our new campaign, What do you find through church?. We want to encourage people to find out more about the work of the church in their local community. Bishop Mike said:
“We are looking to create awareness and engagement with the work we do as we emerge from the pandemic, especially where such awareness may be lacking in the wider community. We hope that the stories will resonate with others and perhaps even stimulate new or fresh engagement with local Christian communities.”
To read all the stories and follow our campaign, please visit the website or follow it on Facebook.
Peace and blessing, Rev Eric
Wedding
Friday 18 June, Bramford at 1.30pm
Wedding of Rachel Teresse Flemming-Jones and Craig Vernon Ottaway.
May they grow in their love for each other.
Floodlighting of the spire of St Mary’s Church
June 24: In memory of Jim Thacker on the sixth anniversary of his death.
If you would like to have the spire floodlit, please ring Stewart on 01473 462231. The requested donation is £10 per week
LECTIONARY
Bible readings for our Sunday Worship taken from the Revised Common Lectionary. It is good to share the reading of Scripture with Christians – both Catholic and Protestant – across the world.