The Burnhams Benefice

OVER 500 PEOPLE TURN UP AT OUR SERVICES ON EASTER DAY

So, one small community can project the attraction of the Resurrection enough to get so many people together to celebrate it, that, in our five churches, one had 20 people at 06.00 (yes, that's 6 o'clock in the morning!) for the dawn service, another had about three dozen before breakfast, the third service filled our largest church, the last morning service set a new record for fitting people into St Clement's (almost 300), and finally there were another twenty or so still wanting to celebrate the Great Day in the evening.

Secular Britain?  Who knows?  They're certainly not all secular here in the Burnhams when our extended community turns up for time off!

PALM SUNDAY THIS YEAR IS AT BURNHAM THORPE

The main service, in addition to the blessing of our palm crosses, has the baptism of a new member of our universal family.  However, although the service itself will start at the usual time, 10.30, we gather at the Lord Nelson at 10.00 for the blessing of our crosses, followed by a casual procession across the green to the church.  Let's hope it's not raining - but it'll be great anyway.

Come and join us.

MARY HEATHER - ANOTHER OUTSTANDING YEAR

One of our churchwardens, Mary Heather, has recently received a West Norfolk Diamond Jubilee Award For Voluntary Service.  This will come as no surprise to anyone in the benefice - and especially in Burnham Thorpe, where Mary throws enormous energy into the village that quite belies her seniority.  And it's not a one-off year, either: Mary has been the recipient of this reward a number of times, the consistency of which just goes to reinforce the point.  Well done, Mary!

(Go to the Facebook link, right, for a picture of Mary receiving her award at a special dinner at King's Lynn town hall.)

THE LAITY FLEX THEIR THEOLOGICAL MUSCLES

This is great news for the rector because all he has to do is turn up!  Our Reader, David Crombie, and one of the churchwardens, Mike Tapper, have got together to bring us a series of six thought-provoking short sessions, "Snapshots of Jesus," based on the Gospel according to Matthew.  

In fact, these sessions run on past the end of Lent but that simply means that our time together will become more than just a Lenten discipline...

So, come along and find out a bit more about who this Jesus really was: trouble maker, ethical reformer, Messiah?

DETAIL

Meet in the Methodist Church, Station Road, every Wednesday tea-time, 16.45-17.45, for the next 7 weeks (first session, 7 March, last session 18 April).

RT REVD JONATHAN MEYRICK FULL OF THE SPIRIT

In fact our new Bishop of Lynn - obviously full of the Holy Spirit (ça va sans dire) - is also full of the Spirit of Adventure, the Spirit of Discovery, and the Olympic Spirit, too.  

Cycling around his whole area over the next week or so, the passing prelate paused at the rectory for a cuppa on his way to Rudham from the coast. Having to negotiate some of the twisty and bumpy roads here abouts on a bicycle is one thing but just for a bit of extra challenge he managed to do it with his bishop's crook (staff) strapped to the machine as well.  

[click on the facebook link on the right of this page for the photo]

LENT COMES OUT OF AN OLD JUMPER, SOME ADVICE FROM SIR ALEC GUINNESS, AND THE RAVEL PIANO CONCERTO

All was explained at the service of Holy Communion and Imposition of Ashes at St Mary's on Ash Wednesday.  I expect you missed it...  

GOOD NEWS!  You may get another chance in due course.  Come along and find out.

CANDLEMAS PUTS THE EXTENDED CHRISTMAS SEASON TO BED FOR ANOTHER CHURCH YEAR

Only 44 weeks to go before we start getting excited again with Advent 2012 (beginning of December).  For the time being, we will close this year's season on Sunday 29 January at All Saints', Burnham Sutton, with a service at 10.30 for Candlemas.  This recalls when the baby Jesus was presented at the temple by his parents.  The wise old duty priest, Simeon, and the prophetess, Anna, both realise who Jesus is.  But, there's good news - and not so good news...

Come along and find out what happened next, as we turn from our season of celebration and head towards some heavier weather: Lent.  

Oh, and by the way, I'll be giving out the last of the winter wine; that is, enjoy some mulled wine after the service. Be there.

BISHOP OF NORWICH VISITS BURNHAMS BENEFICE

We were very pleased that the Bishop of our diocese, the Right Reverend Graham James and Mrs Julie James joined us for our main act of worship at St Mary's, Burnham Market this week.  Around 80 people heard him preach a message of the difference it makes to our lives to come and see for ourselves what faith in Jesus has to offer: something better than life without it. 

Bishop Graham also presided at the Holy Communion and stayed to talk with the parishioners afterwards.  It was a very happy time; if you weren't there, well, you missed a good occasion.

There's a picture of some of the gathering on our facebook site (click on the link to the right).

CIRCUMCISION, GOLD, FRANKINCENSE AND MYRRH

If I was inventing a religion I couldn't have thought up these festivals!  Truth is stranger than fiction: having remembered that Jesus, eight days into his life, had a sharp lesson in the grit of the human lot, we are about to celebrate also the amazing insights that can come from that (epiphany = revelation, or revealing, or the penny dropping).  Epiphany is, of course, when the magi (wise men) visited the new-born Jesus.  Come and be a wise man/woman with us on Sunday 8th Jan at 10.30

HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN THE BURNHAMS CHURCHES OVER CHRISTMAS

Excellent singing and some palpable holy moments: it was proof enough that people still have a need to know God in their lives - which is hardly surprising because that's somewhere in the maker's instructions...

THE ARCHDEACON OF LYNN PREACHES AT ST MARGARET'S FOR ADVENT SUNDAY

Come and meet our Archdeacon, the Venerable John Ashe, at the 10.30 Holy Communion service (Book of Common Prayer).  We are very pleased to have his visit to the benefice and to hear his wisdom from the pulpit.  He, in turn, is always delighted to meet as many of us as possible, so do come along and enjoy the more traditional liturgy this Advent Sunday.

CANDLE-LIT EVENING SERVICE AT ST MARGARET'S

Please note that the evening service - 18.30 - for Advent Sunday is not evensong but a service especially for the beginning of Advent.  It will be similar to last year's and hopefully will be helpful in directing us into this season of preparation for Christmas.  As ever, everyone is welcomed.

THE MAIN (10.45) SERVICE ON SUNDAY 13TH NOVEMBER IS AT ST MARY'S, BURNHAM MARKET.  (THERE IS NOT A SERVICE IN ST CLEMENT'S AT THIS TIME.)

There has been some confusion for a few people with regard to the worship on Remembrance Sunday because in the Community Newsletter the church services page has been printed with a resized grid, meaning essential information has dropped out of the box.  However, the official methods of promulgation for church services - the church notice boards and this website - have all the correct information.  Moreover, on the offending page itself  there is a clear indication outside the grid of what's happening, and where, for the Acts of Remembrance this year.  If you are ever in doubt, please continue to look at the notice boards and this website for information.

LIGHT A CANDLE AT ALL SAINTS', BURNHAM SUTTON-CUM-ULPH

If you've had a bereavement in the last year, this may be the first opportunity since the funeral to take part in a symbolic act in memory of the person who has died. Many people find that simply lighting a candle in a place especially set aside is an effective and meaningful way of laying all our doubts and fears literally before the altar.

As usual, the service for All Saints' Day will be at 18.30 (6.30 pm) at Sutton church (the one opposite the Nelson pub in Burnham Market) on Wednesday 2nd November. This service is not just for the more recently bereaved but for anyone at all who wishes to stop for half an hour and give thanks to God for the lives of the important people in our lives who have died.

ALL SAINTS' CHURCH, BURNHAM THORPE, DEFIES GOVERNMENT NAVAL CUTS

Supported by the Norwich School Choir, a congregation of many old sailors, mainly from the Royal Naval Association, and some younger ones from Training Ship Vancouver of the Sea Cadet Corps, we found plenty to celebrate in the life of one of the Royal Navy's most famous leaders, Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson.  

Remembering the victory at Trafalgar and the many seamen who fell alongside Nelson, and the countless number of the Naval Service who have done so since - and still do - we find there is still much of value our naval heritage can provide in inspiration and lessons in resilience.  Let's hope all those young people there will pick up the gauntlet thrown down by Nelson and prove that we still have what it takes to overcome our own shortfalls and make a difference in the world.  Trust in God - as Nelson did - and we will indeed do so.

HARVEST FESTIVAL (11/9/2011)

WHO WAS THERE

Go the Face Book link (blue box to the right) for some photographs.

ASH - well done to this young man (10), who was grabbed on arrival at church and asked to read the epistle, had a quick look at it and subsequently executed the task with enormous success.  

CURLEY-WURLEY

No cabbages for the youngsters (and some not so young) as yet again we had a service with lots of Curley-Wurley bribes.  NB Youth Club: I told you that you ought to be there...

HARVEST FESTIVAL 11 AUGUST      (5/9/2011)

HARVEST THANKSGIVING...

...this year is at St Clement's, Burnham Overy (see locations tab).  It wasn't exactly a spectacular year for grain, although great for apples.  There is also another bounty of creation we share with God throughout the year: our children.  So we're going to have the baptism of a young lad not yet ten months old.  We make an offering of our best at harvest - and it doesn't get better than this.

HARVEST LUNCH

Why not join in the harvest lunch at Overy village hall (just before you reach the junction of the coast road at Overy Staithe).  You certainly won't get better value anywhere in north Norfolk than the £7.50 being asked to cover the cost of the food and drink.  Contact either of the St Clement's churchwardens to reserve your tickets (you'll find their details by clicking on the tab above, "Contacts & Links").

BANK HOLIDAY SUNDAY -                   28 AUGUST     (23/8/2011)

A DAY OF TRADITION - TRINITY 10 TO TRINITY HOUSE

The Sunday morning services for the Tenth Sunday After Trinity are Book of Common Prayer.  Holy Communion at 08.00, Matins - yes, Matins! - at 10.30; both at St Margaret's (refer to church locations tab, above).  Great news for traditionalists.

Good news for another sort of traditionalist, too: the evening service will be the short act of worship on the water's edge at Overy Staithe.  It doesn't come more traditional than this, for at the water's edge Jesus preached to the crowds, and from this shore countless seafarers have gone from church to ketch.  Our evening service starts at 18.30 - half past six in the evening, for you landlubbers!

Spend a short time this bank holiday sharing in centuries of worship.

ALL SAINTS', SUTTON

Another 5th Sunday, another chance for us all to worship together at our smallest church, Sutton-cum-Ulph.  It's a cosy place for us to gather, so do support the services there.

Don't miss the opportunity to be led in our worship by the Very Rev'd Michael Yorke (erstwhile Dean of Lichfield Cathedral), our friend and neighbour here in the Burnhams, who is kindly helping out over the next couple of weeks.  (Many thanks, Michael.)

Don't miss, either, the chance to pop across the road to have a drink together at our newly re-vamped pub, The Nelson.  We did this last 5th Sunday and the 20-or-so who fancied a pre-lunch pint had a very convivial time.

HOLY TRINITY

So who do we believe God is - or are?

HAVE ANOTHER ANOTHER THINK ABOUT IT:  SUNDAY 26 JUNE 2011 AT ST MARGARET'S          (see church locations)

TRINITY SUNDAY
(16/6/2011)

WELL, IT'S AN AMAZING ONE, THREE...

Round like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning
Running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind...

COME AND HAVE ANOTHER THINK ABOUT IT: 10.30, 19th JUNE, ST MARY'S, BURNHAM MARKET

PUT THE CHEESE DOWN AND STEP AWAY FROM IT

It's good to be in Norfolk for Whitsun (Pentecost): if we were in Cambridgeshire there would be cheeses rolling everywhere; at one place in Gloucestershire cheese will be flying through the air!

No cheese at Burnham Overy, however - just a great celebration of the traditional birthday of the Church.  Will it be messy?  Come and find out...

EASTER'S ALIVE AND WELL HERE

The greatest of the Church's festivals went well here in the Burnhams.  There were over 300 people came through our doors for services on Easter Day alone - including the 18 who turned themselves out of their beds to greet the day at 05.45, which was sunrise, when we had our first Holy Communion of Easter in St Margaret's, Norton.  Every church had a Holy Communion on Easter Day, and it was especially good to see how many children had come with their parents.

PICTURES

Follow the link to Facebook to see some of the events over Holy Week.

THE MAIN ACT OF WORSHIP AT ST MARY'S

There is only a tiny space in the table of services in the community newsletter to express the idea that we start at 09.30 with the blessing of the palms - which we will be doing with our Roman Catholic brethren from St Henry's - and where that is to happen.  It is in fact the commencement of the main service for Palm Sunday, which develops into Holy Communion in St Mary's for us and Holy Mass in St Henry's for the RCs.

Turn up at half past nine near the church east gate.  Then we will go back to church when the palms bit has been done.

Yes, this is posted on 1st April, but you'd have to be an April fool not to take note of the Great Day approaching.  Follow the link on the Services page for details of our celebrations and Holy Week services.  And don't forget...

Mothering Sunday, 3rd April; main service at 10.30 in All Saints', Burnham Thorpe.  Come along, bring your mums, children.  Come along, bring your children, mums.  (Dads are more than welcome, too!)  

TV programme

21.00 on Thursday 10th March, BBC1, Comic Relief visits Kibera (Part 2*), commonly referred to as Africa's largest slum.  Our connection is that this is where Sutton church's charitable giving went last year, via Sarah, the daughter of Anthonie and 'Lyn Stilgo, who had an involvement there through her own church.

Not only is it good to see the sort of benefits that might result from us being charitable, but also to realise how connected we really are with one another as the Church of Jesus.

*  Part 1 is available on iPlayer until 21.59 on 17th March.

Do Chocolate for Lent
(25/2/2011)

Yes!  There is a way of doing chocolate during Lent!  Or rather, Chocolat.  This year's Lent course will be based on the themes brought up in the novel/film Chocolat.

Watch out for further information.  (We might even get our hands on the real stuff - that is, for anyone who hasn't given it up...)

A new churchwarden for Thorpe
(30/1/2011)

Congratulations to Mike Tapper for stepping up to the mark and filling the several-years-vacated churchwarden post at All Saints', Burnham Thorpe.  He joins Mary Heather, who has been the other - and up until now, only - churchwarden for Thorpe.  Mary also does many other things for the parish, so hopefully she will be able to put her feet up for a couple of minutes a day now.

Mike is no stranger to the workings of the Church in Thorpe, having had oversight of the church fabric for some time, and also being the vice-chair of the PCC - to whom the rector almost always passes the gavel at meetings!

Mike was sworn into the office of churchwarden by the rural dean, Fr Norman Banks, after a deanery service of Candlemas carols, readings and music at St Mary and All Saints, Little Walsingham.  (see photo' via Facebook link)

Burnhams fog lit up with celebrations
(2/1/11)

Christmas may have been a bit foggy here and there but it did not stop several hundreds of residents and visitors getting together at the various services to celebrate the great anniversary of Jesus' birth.  The people went forth indeed rejoicing - hopefully enhanced by, not simply because of, the mulled wine offered after some of the services.

We also welcomed into the Christian family a young lady called Clarissa, who received Holy Baptism on the feast of St Stephen (Boxing Day), just a few days before being one year old.  Let's hope she always manages to celebrate both her birthdays and Christmas without confusion!

Thorpe shepherds visit crib
(22/12/2010)

Shepherds (the children of Burnham Thorpe) sang to about 100 carollers during the service of lessons and carols.  The Pattersley Singers became the church choir for the evening.  The Nelson's Shantymen rounded off the service with a hearty old English rendition of "On Christmas night all Christians sing" - with the solo introductory line sung by the group's Scotsman!   After the service there were minced pies and mulled wine.   Which was good.

Yes, you should've been there...

A 'New rhythm of worship'
(28/11/2010)

The Burnhams Benefice is adopting a new rhythm of worship from the start of its new year, which is Advent Sunday (28 Nov).

This is happening because the passing system was based mainly on criteria established about 30 years ago. Things have moved on: the 5 closely located parishes of the benefice comprise one worshiping community, which we want to demonstrate by gathering in the numbers that reflect the true vitality of the Church here in the Burnhams.

It is hoped that this will also make services more accessible, and the rotation of locations more memorable for all concerned, especially the visitors who regularly swell our community.

Each Sunday will have services at 08.00, 10.30 and 18.30. All the services on a particular Sunday of the month will happen in the same church, which means that 1st Sundays will be at Thorpe, 2nd Sundays at Overy, 3rd Sundays at Westgate, 4th Sundays at Norton. This gives us the acronym, “TOWN,” which conveniently gives the initial letter for each location in the order it happens during a month. (You might find the mnemonic, “Going round the TOWN,” helpful!) 5th Sundays, when they happen, will be at Sutton, which will continue to be the venue for the Wednesday Holy Communion at 09.30. Services for special times of the year will be adjusted accordingly.