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St Andrew's Parish Church

  

 

beneficebacton@gmail.con

St. Andrew’s Parish Church is the Church of England place of worship in the ecclesiastical parish of Wickham Skeith; it is part of a group of churches known as the "Bacton Benefice" which includes Bacton, Cotton, Wyverstone, Wickham Skeith, Old Newton and a chapel at Gipping.

From April 1st - Rev Daniel Cant

                  The Rectory, Church Road, Bacton, Stowmarket, IP14 4LJ   01449 503369                        Email - bionic.revd.dan@gmail.com

 

Wardens: Liz Davidson 766622 and Margaret Jones-Evans 767121 

 

 

 

Services in November, 2025

 

2nd  10am          Bacton      Family Café Service

3pm Gipping     BCP

5pm           All Souls Memorial Service at Old Newton

6.30pm Wyverstone  Praise in the Community

9th    10.45am    Remembrance Service in St Andrew’s

16th  9:30am Cotton   Holy Communion

11:15am  Old Newton   Café Church

23rd 9:30am Wickham Skeith      Café Church

11:15am  Old Newton    Holy Communion

3pm   Wyverstone      Harvest Walk Service

30th 10am  Wickham Skeith Benefice Holy Communion

3pm  Bacton      Tree service & lights switch on

You are welcome to attend any of the services according to the timing that suits you.

Our Remembrance service will start, as usual, at 10.45 so that we are in church for the Silence.

All Souls’ Service – If someone important to you has died during the past year or in past years and you would like to remember them before God, do come along on Sunday 2nd Nov to Old Newton Church at 5pm for our Benefice memorial service. All are welcome.

Flower & Cleaning rota – we have reached the time of year when a new rota needs to be prepared.  If you would like to volunteer to join, or if you need to be removed from the list, please let Liz Davidson know by December 15th (766622, eadavidson42@gmail.com).  We don’t have as many volunteers as a few years ago so new people will be welcome. Each pair will have 2 or 3 sessions of 2 weeks in the year when they provide fresh flowers for the altar vases in season and do as much cleaning as time and energy allows.  It’s not an arduous task; you don’t need to be a regular churchgoer to ‘qualify’ just care about preserving a historic building - every effort helps to keep our lovely building in good order.  If you’re not sure just ask Liz to tell you more.  All help is greatly appreciated – could you find time to lend a hand?

 

 

 

  

 

Weekly Email and News – if you would like to sign up to receive our weekly news email, please contact the churchwardens.

 

 

 

 

 

The Rector’s reflection on remembrance, gratitude, and the occasional scramble for an umbrella

November in Britain is a peculiar month. The clocks have gone back, the evenings draw in before you have even finished your afternoon cuppa, and the leaves—those lovely reminders of God’s artistry—are now mulching into a soggy mass on the pavement. Yet, amidst the drizzle and the dwindling daylight, November invites us to pause, reflect, and remember.

For Christians, remembrance is more than a brief historical pause; it is woven into the very fabric of our faith. This is never more pronounced than on Remembrance Sunday. Across the nation, we gather in churches, at cenotaphs, and sometimes in wind-whipped corners of village greens, to honour those who laid down their lives in conflict. We stand in silence, not just to remember the fallen, but to recommit ourselves to the pursuit of peace—a call that echoes the teachings of Jesus himself.

Remembrance Sunday is a poignant reminder that gratitude and reflection are vital Christian disciplines. We remember the sacrifices of others, yes, but we are also nudged to recall the ultimate sacrifice made on the cross. In a world that rushes forward at the speed of a smartphone notification, November asks us to slow down, to remember, and to give thanks. It’s not just about poppies and parades; it’s about cultivating hearts that do not forget the blessings and lessons of the past.

Of course, November isn’t all solemnity. There is the odd joy of discovering last year’s winter gloves in your coat pocket, and the minor miracle of a sunny day when you have left your umbrella behind. Even the endless debates about whether to put the heating on yet can offer a moment of levity. God does, after all, have a sense of humour—why else would He create Brussels sprouts to be in season just as we are trying to be grateful? 

So, as we don our poppies and bow our heads, let us remember with hearts full of thanks, laughter, and hope. For in remembering, we not only honour the past, but shape a more compassionate and Christ-like future.                                                                 Reverend Dan Cant,  Benefice Rector
 

 

 

Weekly Email and News

– if you would like to sign up to receive our weekly news email, please contact the churchwardens.

Advance notice For Christmas we will have our Carol Service at 4pm on Saturday December 13th and our Christmas Eve ‘Midnight’ service will, as in the past few years,be at 9pm to enable Rev Dan to take it.

 

 

Flower & Cleaning Rota

Nov 2nd  Mrs E Davidson & Mrs J Newstead

Nov 9th & 16th  Miss R Elsden & Mrs J Keable

Nov 23rd & 30th Mrs M Rowe & Mrs T Thorogood 

 

  

Fundraising For the Church Tower Roof

 

Book sale/coffee morning

– the final one for 2025 will be held on Saturday 15th November at 10am at Highbanks, 1, Broadway where marmalade, greengage jam and chutney will be on sale as well as books, jigsaws and cards.

The Christmas Pudding stir-up

will be held in the village hall at 10am on Saturday 22nd November. Father Christmas will instruct the stirrers and conduct the Gislingham Silver Band as they play songs and Carols. Come and watch the fun, refreshments will be available and Christmas pudding mixture will be on sale for you to cook at home. Entry £1. Advance orders are welcome and will be essential for a gluten free pudding – Margaret 01449 767121 All puddings are veggie.

A Display of Christmas Cribs

from the tiniest upwards will be held in Church from 10am to 4pm on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th December. Refreshments will be available and entry will be free. Donations will be welcome for the tower roof, to keep the bells dry.

 

Any queries to Margaret  

 

 

 Data Protection

Like every other organization the church has to consider the data protection legislation, so St Andrew’s Church and the Bacton benefice need your permission before they keep your name and details on file. The information will be used to send the weekly pew sheet, to record you as a voting member of the church on the Electoral Roll, for the Rector to know who the members of the church are so he can visit and get to know you etc.

You may have received an email with a form to fill in, or a paper form dropped through your door. Do please fill one of these in if you would like to be involved with the Church in this village and send to our new Rector, the Rev’d Daniel Cant. He is eager to get to know the people in the churches and villages in his new benefice.

If you haven’t had a form through your door or via email do please ask for one from Liz Davidson or Margaret Jones-Evans

Keep safe everyone – Margaret Jones-Evans