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October 26

Dear Friends,

At this time of year the village is full of harvest celebrations. As I write, I am looking forward to the Goat harvest Auction, the harvest celebrations at church and our school service where I anticipate a rousing rendition of ‘The Harvest Samba’! If you don’t know it, I highly recommend looking it up online, but prepare to have it stuck in your head for weeks…

As we give thanks for the fruits of the land at harvest, we also remember God’s generosity. I wonder what it means for each of us to imitate something of that generosity in our own lives? It might surprise you to know that parish churches receive no funding from the central church. So in order for us to keep our building open (and pay for a vicar!), we rely on donations from our community. We are very lucky to have the Friends of St Giles who support the care of our wonderful building, but it is down to us to find money for the day-to-day costs of keeping the doors open and the people warm.

We are a church for everyone in Codicote – whether you come once a year, or every week. Those who give regularly to St Giles make it possible for us to keep doing what we do – conducting weddings, baptisms, and funerals, opening every Wednesday morning for Tots and Tinies, holding café church in the PMH on the first Sunday of the month, Giles Café every Friday, celebrating important milestones in the year with our village school…the list could go on!

At this time of year when we think about all of the blessings in the world around us and the generosity of God, might you consider committing to supporting St Giles financially? The best way to do that is through the Parish Giving Scheme. Simply visit the website (parishgiving.org.uk) and search for ‘St Giles Codicote’ to find our page. If you need help, Stephen would be happy to hear from you via [email protected].

Of course, generosity isn’t’ all about money and we are also grateful for all of those who give of their time and talents to keep our church running. And so, at this time of harvest, I encourage you to think of all of the ways that we all benefit from the generosity of others, and to wonder what part we might play.

With my prayers and best wishes,

Rev’d Christie