Please see pew sheet for the month attached - the following news update was issued by email on  SATURDAY 31st January

Access to Barham Church - For those of you who come to Church through Claydon & Barham, I am please to say that the Barham Church Lane is now back to being a two way road as far as the Church and you no longer have to manoeuvre around a large heap of dirt to get into the church drive however the road surface still needs a good clean! I am afraid for those who come from the Henley direction, the road at the moment is still completely blocked near Choices at Manor Farm so you will still need to find an alternative route via Hemingstone or Claydon Church Lane (looking out for potholes!)

 

Lent House Groups start week beginning 16th February. See details of 3 groups on poster attached and in addition the Claydon & Barham MU are running one at Jane Whight's house on Friday afternoons which is now fully subscribed. All 4 groups will be following the national course "Draw Near" and there are booklets in each Church. It invites you to develop a rhythm of life that will help you grow as a disciple of Christ day by day, especially as we prepare to celebrate the mystery of God's saving love at Easter. Draw Near is the official Church of England booklet for Lent 2026. The booklets are recommended for everyone to use during Lent regardless of whether or not you plan to attend the weekly house groups. We are suggesting a donation of £2 per book to offset the cost

Please note that the monthly Coffee Mornings at Henley Cross Keys have sadly had to be paused for a couple of months due to burst pipes flooding the pub requiring it to close for drying out and repairs. Please spare a thought for Darren and his staff suffering this setback to their efforts to re-establish the Cross Keys as .a venue in our community.

Date for your diaries - Rev Tracey has booked a Lenten Celtic Retreat Day for Saturday 21st March at Barham 10 - 4, no cost but donations welcome. This is being led by Catherine Bond from Lark Rise Retreats, the same lady that led our previous Celtic day. More details to follow.

Both our MU groups have their meetings this week as per the attached posters and everyone is welcome to go along as a guest. Do come along to hear an inspiring speaker on Monday evening – the Founder and Director of Essex-based “Lads Need Dads” (as featured on The One Show) is coming to talk about her project providing positive male role models for lads without dads. On Tuesday the equally important subject of Domestic Abuse will be covered at the afternoon session. It is really good that we have two MU groups in our Benefice seeking to raise awareness of the major social issues of our time and help inform our pastoral care ministry in our communities.

Tomorrow (Monday 9th) is the last day for booking for the Puzzle and Pudding evening on 20th February which this is to support the work of Brave Futures, an amazing Ipswich-based group who support children and young people in Suffolk and Norfolk who have experienced sexual abuse.

Please spread the word about the Minecraft Church being organised by Rev Tracey for later this month on 22nd.

And finally - a reminder to please have a good look at both our Church Websites ( http://www.claydonbenefice.com and http://www.achurchnearyou.com ) and to give any comments, good or bad, to Rev Tracey on [email protected]. Just Google the name of your Church as any visitor or new resident might do.

Pew sheet February 2026 #1, JPG

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Pew sheet February 2026 #2, JPG

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2026.02.22 Minecraft Church Poster, JPG

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2026.02.17 Lent Group Poster-page-001, JPG

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