Just a thought..

Our village church has an interesting history, possibly a site of spiritual significance since ancient times; then a humble building which over the centuries became a tumbledown wreck, finally rebuilt at the behest of the King himself.

But it is more than just a beautiful old building. It is there to help us all welcome a new life in baptism, cherish human love in marriage, and come to terms with death. For many, of all faiths and none, the church building is a place to reflect on the deepest of questions about who we are, why we are as we are, and what constitutes a good life.

For some, at a particular moment in their life, the church can be an oasis of peace in an increasingly stressful world, a place to think, maybe to have a quiet word with God, or maybe just to sit, to breathe, to be. For some the church community is a life-line of social contact, at a time when loneliness is increasingly recognised as a looming crisis.

Hopefully, when we think of the church, money is not at the forefront of our minds but, even with God on our side, bills have to be paid. May and June see the two main fundraising events for the church. The money raised at the annual church plant sale and the Village Fair are major sources of income, essential to maintain the church building and enable it to serve our community in many different ways.

You don’t need to be a practising Christian to use our church, or to support it. Please help us to keep the church, and all the community groups it supports, open and available to everyone by contributing to the Plant Sale and Open Gardens this month, and the church stalls at the Village Dragon Fair in June.

Thank you.

Perinews Editor Julia Douetil