Revd Marion writes... Firstly, Paul and I thank you for such a warm welcome back to Amelcote benefice. We are so happy to be back and look forward to serving you in ministry and socialising with you as time goes by.It has been a rather hectic couple of months but is steadying off now as we settle into a pattern of services and begin to discuss ways we can reach out more into the benefice as we go forward together. There are some very special events to celebrate in church over the next few months.Going into our 3 church schools, not only to lead collective worship, celebrate special occasions at school or in church, but also to assist if and when necessary in KS1 and 2 Christianity curriculum. Dates are already in diaries for the next academic year. We also wish our hardworking teachers, teaching assistants, all the support staff and children a very happy (and hopefully warm and sunny) holiday. Church schools have an additional inspection to Ofsted called SIAMs. We congratulate both Tiffield and Gayton schools for their excellent SIAMs outcome - well done everyone.At the end of May the church celebrates its birthday - Pentecost. Fifty days after Easter, Pentecost is the day when the promise of Jesus to his first disciples was fulfilled as he sent the advocate/ helper/ enabler, or to use the very theological word - Paraclete - the Holy Spirit to enable them to begin what Jesus commanded of them at his Ascension - to go to all nations and make disciples; and he promised to be with them in a miraculous way by sending the Holy Spirit. You can read the story of the start and early days of Christianity in the New Testament book Acts of the Apostles. We are the disciples of today who are still given that same command and same promise by our Lord Jesus. Revd Marion Reynolds
Following all the wonderful fund raising in the village and a successful campaign making grant applications to funding organisations, we achieved our target and were able to appoint a contractor to carry out the roof repairs. Work started in late March 2022 hoping to complete by the middle of May. All the re-slating works were completed on target but when the lead was stripped from the South aisle, there was some decay to the supporting timbers. This delayed work by several weeks waiting for new oak replacements but we are now fully watertight. We managed to stay within the original budget despite the additional works.Using traditional materials meant that the new plaster needed to be applied in layers with a drying time of a week between coats. (Our forebears obviously weren’t used to the 21st Century pace of life!) The works were completed in October 2022, and we even had enough money to redecorate the church porch including painting the doors in a traditional Northamptonshire blue.We are holding services in the church with a morning family communion at 10:00 on the 2nd Sunday each month. It’s always a good idea to check on the church noticeboard (or here on ACNY) in case there is some change to the regular pattern or a special service. Once again our thanks to the people of Tiffield for their support in preserving this historic building so that future generations will get the opportunity to enjoy it.
