Over 80 people including teenagers and toddlers enjoyed a weekend of prayer, reflection and fellowship in the beautiful surroundings of the North Devon estate on which Lee Abbey is situated. The theme was "Growing to Fullness". Prior to the weekend we were asked to think and pray about this question: "What is the next small step I could make to build community and make Jesus known in the Chalke valley and wider circle?" After Sunday Holy Communion, a Benefice meeting was held in the Chapel to discuss ideas and there were plenty of suggestions.The children and several very brave adults swam in Lee Bay. There was an art workshop led by Graham Oliver and another workshop where participants created beautiful cloth flowers sewn from scraps of material and buttons. Those wanting solitude wandered freely around the estate, full of ewes with their lambs - over 100 born this spring - or simply appreciating the stunning views and the biodiversity of the coastal rainforest with its beautiful wildflowers. The energetic walked the coastal path to Lynton and climbed up over the downs back to Lee Abbey.We departed after lunch on Sunday having made or renewed acquaintances, deepened our faith and replenished our spirits. A great experience.
The Quiz Night at the Radnor Hall on 19 April was a great success. Ably organised by Chris Clark, Jackie Bennett and their team, tables of quizzers enjoyed some tricky questions and a delicious fish and chip supper.The evening provides a wonderful occasion for the villagers from the eastern end of the Chalke Valley Benefice to come together in gentle rivalry. It's a great community event and fundraiser, and this year was won by a team from Charlton!Very many thanks to all of you who helped organise and who came along on the night.
As part of our initiative to make All Saints' Church more environmentally friendly, we've started a WhatsApp group to co-ordinate lift sharing. Sharing a lift is good for companionship and community, and reduces fuel use (and associated carbon dioxide) and road congestion. We will be starting with lift sharing to church services and village events.To join, search on WhatsApp for Eco Charlton Lift Share, or use the Get in Touch feature of this webpage.Help us gain our Eco Church Bronze Award!
Eco Church is an initiative run by the A Rocha organisation, to facilitate churches, cathedrals and whole dioceses to help the Church of England reach Net Zero by 2030. The Eco Church scheme provides points for making small or large changes on the path to caring more for our environment. And points mean prizes! The first level Award for progress is Bronze, followed by Silver and Gold.Our first Eco Church event will be an Eco Picnic and Nature Count on Sunday 9 June at 3pm, to celebrate Love Your Burial Ground Week 8-16 June. This will include our first Village Citizen Science project - joining Churches Count on Nature 2024. In the same way that we many of us have joined the Big Garden Birdwatch and the Big Butterfly Count in previous years, we invite you to help us survey the wildlife - trees, flowers, insects, animals. We have a number of identification guides in book form for you to use. You can use a pen & paper, or you can record your sightings on the iNaturalist app, which accepts photos and sound recordings, and offers suggestions on identification. All our observations will then be collated and passed on to the National Biodiversity Network atlas. For the younger people, we will have a Fun Bug Hunt with worksheets and we will be building a Bug Hotel.Please bring your own picnic and rug. We will provide a tea, coffee and cake stall. We look forward to welcoming you.To help us keep our associated carbon emissions low for this event, please walk or cycle, if you are able.
