Living Brook Benefice (Piddington, Hardingstone and Quinton)

If you would like to volunteer to help cheer up the patients on the wards this Christmas please contact Revd. George Sarmezey on 01604 545773

We wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a peaceful new year We have many Christmas Services to suit all tastes this Christmas from family services to the more traditional Carols by Candlelight, so come to one or all of them, you will be warmly welcome to any of the services.

Please come and support us and get into the Christmas spirit at either the Christmas Tree Festival or the Wassail.  The Festival is on Saturday 30th November 10.30am - 4.30pm and Sunday 1st December 1pm - 4.30 pm.  I wonder if your favourite story will be there...I know mine is, as I have done a tree, which is the only way you can guarantee your favourite story will be illustrated on a tree! The Wassail service statrs at 6 pm on the 1st of December and if you come a lttle beforehand you will be treated to some of Jo's Jolly Juice or Punch and mincepies...what could be better on a dank, dreary, dark December evening...see you there!

Please support us in our fundraising efforts. On the 23rd November at St. Edmunds between 2pm amd 4.30pm we have a winter fayre with lots of stalls, refreshments and of course a raffle! Following on from our successful 'Light For a Loved One fundraising drive last year we will be trying to light up as many of our beautiful trees as possible £10 for a light and you can get forms from the shop, pubs, post office or from the church through John and Hilary themselves. All the details on the posters below. Thanks for your ongoing and invaluable support.

The bells! The bells! At Piddington Church we have six bells which we ring for weddings and other special occasions. We would like to ring them regularly for our eleven o’clock services each Sunday, but to do that we need more ringers. The traditional English art of bell ringing (campanology) involves swinging the bells through just over a complete circle by pulling on their ropes. Each bell sounds a different note. After the bells are cast they are individually tuned to notes so that the set will sound harmonious when rung. Actually, this is not a single tone for each bell but a group of tones making up a minor chord. This is why when one bell is rung on its own (tolled) it can sound sad. Have a look at this video to see the bells being rung and learn about how they are tuned . To see how ringing works in more detail have a look and listen to one of Oxford’s towers .  You can hear that when they first begin to ring the bells, they are rung in “rounds” - the highest first note to the

For those who are interested in "What is happening to Horton Church"  there is to be a drop - in session  on Thursday 7th Nov 3pm - 7pm  at Horton Cricket Club hosted by the Church Commissioners. The Church Commissioners will be there to answer questions and provide information about the situation with Horton Church. Apologies for short notice but we were only informed this week about the event.

Whilst thoughts turn towards buying presents for the people we love this Christmas, think about others less fortunate and clear some space at the same time for some new presents. Mary's Meals is a charity that provides children in Africa with essentials for school. So if you want to recycle some old children's clothes or stationery items like rulers, colouring pencils and pens, an old towel or even that odd spoon that is sitting in your cutlery drawer...this is your opportunity. Bring your unwanted ...sorry preloved items to church. A full list of what is needed is on the poster below and we will make sure they get to the charity for distribution. There will be a box in each church for individual items or if you have an old backpack sitting unloved in the back of your wardrobe and you can fill it yourself or even donate it for us to fill then prepacked or empty please leave them all for us by the 9th of November. There will be a packing party on the 10th Novemeber at 3pm in St

Please come and support us and get into the Christmas spirit at either the Christmas Tree Festival or the Wassail.  The Festival is on Saturday 30th November 10.30am - 4.30pm and Sunday 1st December 1pm - 4.30 pm.  I wonder if your favourite story will be there...I know mine is, as I have done a tree, which is the only way you can guarantee your favourite story will be illustrated on a tree! If you want to decorate a tree based on your favourite story then contact Cheryl on 01604 870222. The Wassail service statrs at 6 pm on the 1st of December and if you come a lttle beforehand you will be treated to some of Jo's Jolly Juice or Punch and mincepies...what could be better on a dank, dreary, dark December evening...see you there!

Come along to the Table Top Sale Saturday 5th October 10am - 3 pm at Bouverie House proceeds shared between Friends of Hardingstone and supporters of St Edmund's

You are warmly invited to our Harvest services. Next Sunday, the 29th of September at the 11 am service in Hardingstone, which is followed by a light lunch for £3 Also next Sunday there is a harvest service and supper at Quinton at 5 pm The following Sunday the 6th of October, there is a harvest service in Piddington at 11 am. 

Come and enjoy a lovely evening of wine tasting, bring your friends and raise some money for us at the same time!  Friday 20th September 7pm at Horton Cricket Club  

Need answers to all those questions about faith (and no we are not talking about the big bear that sits at the back of the church!) but haven't got round to asking? Then you need to join our Start Course from the 9th September in St Edmund's church.  

Come and spoil yourself to a cream tea at our Autumn Fayre Saturday 7th September. There will be a raffle and other stalls. Also a Chance to have a look round The Old Vicarage garden for all you budding horticulturists!

We are very pleased to welcome Molly who will be helping out with the children’s activities in St Edmund’s, Hardingstone over the next few months as part of her Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award. In addition as part of her award she will be r unning the Race for Life on Sunday June 9th.  If you would  like to sponsor her, please see pew sheet for details or better still introduce yourself in person next week as soon as you can! 

Vicar's Prayer Walk  June 1st 2019  9 am        Morning Prayer                                       St John the Baptist, Quinton 10 am      Prayers                                                   St Peter & St Paul, Preston Deanery 11am       Prayers                                                   Brackmills Country Park 12 pm     Midday Prayers                                       St Edmunds, Hardingstone 1 pm       Prayers                                                    Delapre Abbey 2.30 pm  Prayers                                                   St John the Baptist, Piddington 4 pm       Thy Kingdom Come Service                  St Mary Magdalene, Horton To mark Prayer Novena 2019 Beverley is doing her annual  Vicar's Prayer Walk on Saturday. Hopefully you will join her at some point.  Her route and the services at each of the 5 churches in the Benefice  are shown above.  In addition there are sever