Giving this Lent: an APPEAL

Our vision in the Bluebell Benefice is to be here for everyone and to work together in all the ways we can.  To partner, accompany and support all that leads to life and flourishing in our communities. 

We want to deepen as places of welcome, love and light for all who live in, work or visit our villages.  

We seek to:

·      provide a range of worship opportunities for contemplation and authentic exploration of faith and meaning;

·      create safe spaces in which our children and young people can have fun, lead and inspire us;

·      be as generous as possible with all the resources entrusted to us.  

We long to improve our accessibility and we affirm our commitment that we are all better together.

We believe our churches are not just for regular congregation members or church-goers, they belong to everyone in our villages, of whatever faith or none. 

They are here for school & Parade organisation services & events, funerals, burials, weddings, Remembrance, Christenings, bell ringing, concerts.  They are here to help mark national events, equip local history, family tree research, and to witness stories from one generation to the next; to be places of refuge, protest, stillness, reflection and beauty.  To be here for our children's children's children, as they have been for our ancestors throughout the past thousand years.  These churches are yours.

However, in our Benefice at the moment, finances are challenging.  Our monthly running costs (heating, lighting, insurance, monthly payments to the Diocese) are not being met by our regular monthly income – all of which comes via donation alone.  We receive no income from any central body.  For the first time, we will be running at a deficit in all four of our churches.

We are so blessed by an abundance of generosity in so many different shapes and forms in these communities that I am loath to ask, but we do need your help.  In keeping with a Lenten commitment, we would like to launch a Benefice Lenten Giving Appeal:

If you don't already, might you kindly consider making a small, regular monthly donation through the Parish Giving Scheme (which enables gift aid to be easily added) towards the life and work of our churches here?  Continuing the Lenten theme, perhaps by giving the equivalent amount of giving up the cost of a coffee, a pint or a bar of chocolate each week?!

If so – the giving links for each of our four churches can be found below - please support your local church:

St Bartholomew's, Great Gransden

St Margaret of Antioch's, Abbotsley

St Peter & St Paul's, Little Gransden

St James the Great, Waresley

A £5 a week donation will help reduce the deficit, so if you can help in this way, thank you!  It would be a great blessing to arrive at Easter with your support to add to that of all those wonderful volunteers working so hard to care for these extraordinary buildings.

With every blessing,

Rachel