It’s been a busy week in our benefice. Not only have both PCCs met (more about that later) but at the site meeting on Thursday we found out that the St Nicks building project will not be finished until the end of March. We have therefore postponed our church weekend at home until later in the year. Having already booked the band, we will still hold the Benefice Ceilidh on Saturday 28th March- so do keep that date in your diary. The venue will be announced nearer the time!
Therefore, the first Sunday service back in St Nicholas church (with the new pattern of services) will be on Easter Day. I do, however, hope we will be able to use St Nicholas for the Maundy Thursday service.
As you might imagine, both PCC’s have a certain amount of regular business to attend to. There are reports from the Rector and churchwardens and treasurer to discuss, but at their meetings this week, both PCC’s also spent time on more substantial items, notably starting to think about our new Mission Action Plans.
At St Nicholas PCC we talked about those parts of our life and mission together which were most on our hearts, and we discussed what we felt were the greatest needs and opportunities. We also thought about our strengths- both in terms of the building and as God’s people. A key question was how we can put our renewed building to the best use in reaching people with the good news of Jesus. We made a good start, but over the coming few months we will be asking for input from the wider church family on this issue, so do keep your eye out for that.
Graveley PCC also had a buildings focus. Over the coming months we’ll be investigating the installation of a kitchen and toilet within the church, some re-ordering of the north aisle, better lighting and a full redecoration. This will take some time to come to fruition, but if we are to be equipped to serve God’s kingdom in the coming decades these are much-needed improvements. This will be a huge effort for a small church, so do pray about how you might help.