CHURCH NEWS for Tathwell & Haugham - November 2022
Most of you will already know that:
- the re-started Art exhibition was a success, enjoyed by the many local participants and visitors, and, vitally, raising just over £2000, which has been essential in helping us to cover some of our annual costs.
- The Thomas Chaplin memorial, untouched for around 270 years, and in danger of disintegration, was successfully restored in June, thanks to the generosity of descendants, thus enabling us to continue to host this rare and elegant monument, as well as keeping the church safe to open.
- Early in the year, we moved the font from its previous obscure and inconvenient location to a position of prominence when in use for baptisms.
We along with the rest of the Diocese are now moving towards a changed way of providing services; likely to be a mixture of those led by Lay Readers, and other trained lay people, occasional retired clergy, and very occasional regular clergy. There will not be a large number of services, but we hope more than of late. This will take some establishing, so please be patient.
We now need to start on some of the important building repairs that have been on hold, pending clarification of our overall priorities. We now have reasonable access to the tower via our new staircase, which enables us to do some high level work without the need for expensive scaffolding. There are many other areas of work including, possibly some heating, but we must start with structural essentials. We may be able to obtain some grant assistance for some of this work, but the current financial climate is bleak. We are likely to have to eke out our savings to cover most of the above, as well as funding annual operating costs.
CHURCH SERVICES and other activities
13th NOVEMBER 2022 Remembrance Sunday Service at 10.30am, starting with wreath laying at the War Memorial, continuing the service in the church, followed by refreshments.
9th DECEMBER (Friday) 2022 Carol service at 6.30 pm.
FEBRUARY 2023 (5TH or 12TH tbc) Morning Service to mark St Vedast’s Day.
All services are followed by refreshments.
The Art Exhibition should hopefully take place again in May 2023, and we usually open the church daily from April to October for residents and visitors, and specifically for Heritage Open Days, and the Wolds & Coast Churches Festival Days.
Needless to say, all our activities need help; cleaning and refreshments at our services, organising and manning the art exhibition and, hopefully, other events, assistance in the two churchyards (Haugham as well). Working with others in the village is both enjoyable and rewarding.
We can email this and subsequent newsletters to those who have given us an e-mail address, and via the parish council website and village Facebook. A few copies can be hand delivered, but obviously this is very time consuming, and difficult to sustain in the long term. If anyone wishes to help, or just to be kept in touch, please let me know.
Russell Howard
Churchwarden
01507 604717
St Vedast’s church Tathwell is operated and funded entirely by local residents. All Saints church Haugham is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.