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News From the Churches

We have been without a Priest (actually a Curate-in-Charge, Fr. Ayoob) since the end of March. Despite advertisements since then on the Diocesan website, no-one has been appointed to the vacant post, although we have had a couple of enquiries. Both of these were not able to be interviewed, through age (in one case) and inexperience (in the other). Recently the Diocese has decided to un-suspend (if I can write that!) the Joint Benefice of the two parishes, so we are now advertising for a Vicar, not a Priest-in-Charge. Hopefully this will encourage applicants to come forward. The two Parochial Church Councils have also resolved to pay for an advertisement in the Church Times, in the hope of reaching a wider pool of people.

This will cost in the region of £1,500.00 so we will have to dip into our savings to pay for that. However the advertisement stays open until the post is filled, so it is not a recurring expense. The last four Priests have all been found by personal recommendation – advertising in the Church Times is a last resort, but we feel we have to try everything to get someone in post who can connect with the two village communities, and help our numbers to grow.

Meanwhile St. Giles is using its reserves to deal with crumbling stonework on the door and window surrounds, and uneven floors in the aisles and up the tower. We are fortunate to have savings for this, although day-to-day payments remain a problem. Hopefully growing our numbers will solve that.