Fundraising for St Andrew’s ChurchCoffee Morning Book Sale – the final book sale of 2024 will be at 10am on Saturday 16th November at Margaret’s Highbanks, 1, Broadway. Lots of books and jigsaws, cake and coffee. Christmas Pudding Stir-up will be in the village hall at 10am on Saturday 23rd November. There will be refreshments for those watching the fun and the Gislingham Silver Band will play carols under Father Christmas’ direction. Then Christmas puddings will be for sale. Advance orders are welcome – just phone Margaret Margaret 767121 and Liz 766622, Churchwardens. |
A tale of two cities
A soldier's tale
Black Beauty
How green was my valley
How the leopard got it's spots
Cider with Rosie
Rapunzel
Jackanory
Home thoughts from abroad
Great Expectations
Snow White
Breakfast at Tiffanys
Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban
The tale of Peter Rabbit
Out of Africa
A tribute to our beloved friend Peter Paine
Fundraising for St Andrew’s Church
We are raising funds to re-roof the church tower. It will cost £53,000. The temporary repairs have cost £2,000 and, so far, are keeping the bells dry.
Gislingham Silver Band playing in church Sat 21st September at 3pm We’ll have tea/coffee and home-made cake in the interval and Sheila Wright’s books will be available to buy, too.
Advance Notice – the Stir-up will be in the Village Hall at 10am on 23rd November. Buy your Christmas Pudding here.
With thanks to all our supporters – Margaret and Liz, churchwardens
What’s Not to Like Five people from local villages will provide an evening of comedy and live music in the church at 7.30pm on Saturday 29th June. We’ll have wine and nibbles in the interval. Tickets cost £8 with under 16s free, Available from Liz, Margaret and John Evans.
Coffee Morning Book Sales continue at 10am at Margaret’s Highbanks, 1, Broadway on 26th July, 3rd August and 14th September.
The Ride and Stride will also be 14th Sept but hopefully you can do both!
Margaret
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St Andrews Church Tower Roof – in need!We are fortunate to have a fine ring of bells in the tower of St Andrew’s, hung on a good 19th century oak frame under an oak roof which is covered in lead. Lead roofing lasts a very long time but, as temperatures fluctuate, it expands and shrinks, any weak spots crack, and water gets in. During 2022 we had extreme temperatures and new cracks have opened up which will only get worse. The interior wood is getting wet so we need to do something about the small area of the tower roof ….now. The main roof leadwork has been repaired many times and it now urgently needs more repairs. If left, it will require total replacement. FOSA have received an anonymous match-funding donation of up to £1000 on condition that the Church can raise another £1000. If you can help, please talk to Liz Davidson or Margaret Jones-Evans. Apart from that problem it costs St Andrew’s about £1300 per month to stay open to the public for worship, funerals, weddings, concerts and visiting. Prices continue to rise, even for the church. We get no government help and have to raise all the money ourselves. Can you help? You can give a one-off donation or set up a regular payment. You can use the donate option on our page on A Church Near You (https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/2088/) or visit www.parishgiving.org.uk and then search for “St Andrew’s, Wickham Skeith” or scan the QR code in the church porch & village hall noticeboard or use the card machine in church or speak to Liz or Margaret about how you could help.
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Churchyards are a mosaic of habitats which are great for wildlife. They can be peaceful havens containing old and distinctive trees, wildflowers, lichens, rare fungi, mosses and ferns and they provide food and shelter for many animals including small mammals, amphibians, slow worms, insects and birds. Even the gravestones and the churches themselves form an important part of the churchyard habitat.
Churchyards are not just communities of the dead; they are thoughtful places, reflecting the impact of time on humankind and our efforts to escape oblivion. They are expressions of history – full of personal and community stories.
The big challenge with looking after church land is that it is often seen to be most cost effective to mow and prune everything and concrete over everything else! We are lucky that the churchyard at St Andrews has been managed carefully by volunteers according to a plan to safeguard areas of wild flowers. There are barn owls and pipistrelle and serotine bats that use the churchyard and recent work in the church took this into account.
We have recently engaged contractors to cut the grass and this will be an ongoing commitment. Now we have to carry out some sensitive tree surgery to remove dead and falling branches and make the churchyard and adjoining footpaths safe for walkers.
We would be grateful for any donation, large or small, towards the upkeep of this special area. We have a small ‘churchyard conservation fund’ which contributes to the cost of grass cutting. Thank you to those who have already contributed.
If you use the churchyard for quiet reflection, for dog walking or just visiting, we hope you enjoy its peace and its wildlife. If you don’t know the churchyard, do take a stroll up there and enjoy this peaceful part of our village.
Donations towards the Churchyard Conservation Fund should be given to the church wardens Liz Davidson or Margaret Jones-Evans . Either cash or cheques to Wickham Skeith Church Fund (Churchyard) will be most welcome.
