St Mary and All Saints Church Willingham

This time next week (Saturday: 10.30) the Willingham Memory Box Cafe will be up and running in the Octagon once again. It's always a pleasure to host this gathering. If you know someone with memory loss/dementia do invite them (with a carer or friend) to come along. It's a lovely morning of friendship, good refreshments and singing for fun.

Please do join us at our September Café, help celebrate Barbie and Ken's Gap year. All welcome, in The Octagon (behind Willingham Parish Church)

We wish all the children and the teachers and support staff a safe and happy return to school this week. May you have a very good year, with lots of learning and positive memories being made. We pray for you all and remember those who will find going back to school a challenge, for whatever reason.

We send good wishes to Willingham Youth Club as it starts up again this week.

Willingham Youth Club is back this week in youth centre at end of Ploughman Hall. This terms age group timetable is shown below. Please note that only year 7s that attended the open evening last term will initially be allowed. If you want to be on the waiting list then please email [email protected]

Family @ 4 this Sunday!!

All our churches in 5folds have a "Back to School" theme this Sunday. Families are warmly invited to ours at 4.00pm - as part of our "Families@4" monthly programme. Don't forget your school bag or back-pack if you're coming along!

This weekend we're marking "Back to School" in our churches. All welcome and children are invited to bring their school bag/back-pack with them.

💥💥FAMILY @ 4💥💥

Back to School! This Sunday, from 4pm in the Octagon, our Family@4 time focusses on going back to school and sharing all of our thoughts and feelings about this exciting and anxious time for many.

With a healthy afternoon tea, and many games and activities, we can't wait to welcome you all.

Bring along your school bags to be filled with goodies.....see you there!!

🎓🎓 BACK TO SCHOOL 🎓🎓

Preparing for school for the first time, starting a new school, or simply going back to school can bring all kinds of emotions; nervousness, excitement and anticipation. This month our Family @ 4 service, on Sunday 1st September at 4pm in the Octagon focusses on all of this.

We're offering a safe environment for any age children, and their parents/guardians to come along and talk about going back to school and sharing our feelings around it.

Our team will be in place, with our usual food and drinks offerings as we share stories, play games, activities, songs and of course.... enjoy a healthy afternoon tea!

Don't worry if you haven't been before, our services are open for anyone to attend, we'd love to welcome you along.

Remember, bring your rucksacks, book bags, pencil cases etc with you, as we have some great things to take away! See you Sunday!

Our thoughts and prayers today are with all those who will get their results for their summer exams. If you've got what you need to move onto university (or your next course) our congratulations. If you haven't please remember results do not make a person and there will be a new way forward. Either way, you will be loved for who you are…not your results.

We've been pleased to welcome people into our church today to pray for peace in our world. Our church is usually open each day so do feel free to come in to sit, reflect and pray.

It's our Day of Prayer today - you are very welcome to come into the church and join in, or just sit quietly and reflect on the state of the world at this time.

It's our Day of Prayer for World Peace today and across the four villages our churches (All Saints' Church, Longstanton,St Andrew's Church Swavesey, St Mary and All Saints Church Willingham and St Mary's Over), will be open (as they always are) between 10.00am and 4.00 pm if you would like to stop by and take a moment of quiet to reflect and pray about the state of the world and our desire for peace. There will be some leaflets available to help you or just come and sit..... you are very welcome.

In our service last week we prayed for our village, remembering those who help us in our lives. This was our prayer:
Loving God – we hold before you this village of Willingham and our place within it. We pray for all who live here, for those who are just starting on their journey through life and those coming towards the end of their days. We ask your blessing on our local school, praying that this holiday season will be a time of refreshment for the staff and pupils and we give thanks and pray for all those who offer us medical care, run businesses in Willingham to meet our needs and the Parish Council and those who serve on it.

We're looking for a new Team Rector who will care for our church and others in the 5folds villages of Longstanton, Over, Swavesey and ourselves. Do spread the word if you have contacts who might help us to find a new priest. Thank you. https://www.elydiocese.org/about/news-jobs-and-events/job-vacancies/team-rector-5folds-benefice.php

Having been unsuccessful so far in finding a new Team Rector for the 5folds group of churches, a new round of advertising has begun, complete with a redesigned benefice profile. Full details can be found on the Ely Diocesan website https://www.elydiocese.org/about/news-jobs-and-events/job-vacancies/team-rector-5folds-benefice.php
Please do share freely if you have places you can access where priests looking for a new position might see the advertisement. Thank you

We look forward to welcoming the Memory Box Cafe to our church hall tomorrow. If you know someone who has dementia or any form of memory loss, they (with a carer) are warmly invited to come along and join in the fun!

Please do join us at our August Café, help celebrate Barbie and Ken's anniversary. All welcome

New from the 5folds group of churches.

It's the first Sunday of the month this weekend, so at 11.00 am we have our regular service of Morning Prayer using the traditional words of the Book of Common Prayer and well-loved, traditional hymns alongside. A warm invitation to join us if you enjoy this form of worship.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Southport today.

Our thoughts and prayers today are with the people of Southport: for the bereaved, for the injured, especially those seriously so, for the emergency responders and hospital teams who have played their part and for a community in deep grief. May those who died rest in peace, their lives so brutally cut short.

We're opening up our Cafe Church again on Sunday at 11.00 am, sitting round tables with refreshments and taking time to reflect, talk and discuss, watch a video, enjoy some music etc. A relaxed way to come to church. We know a lot of people are going on holiday but we'll be there if you fancy giving us a try. We'd love to meet you.

Do look out for us at Willingham Welcomes on Sunday afternoon at the Ploughmans Hall. Lots to tell you about all the services and activities we support to which everyone is warmly invited. We hope to see you for a chat.

SAVE THE DATE!!!! 🗓

Family @ 4 Returns this Sunday - 4pm in the Octagon for all the family. Plenty of treats to refuel, for all those hungry lions taking part in the Fen Gallop - come on down and enjoy the next in our series of family afternoons!

Dates below for the next 3 after this Sunday too. We cant wait to welcome you!

Its day - where we put crosses in boxes and elect our next government. This is the cross that really matters, today, tomorrow and always.

🏃‍♀️🏃🏃‍♂️KEEP ON GALLOPING THIS SUNDAY 🏃‍♂️🏃🏃‍♀️

FAMILY @ 4 Returns this Sunday, 4pm in the Octagon. After the Fen Gallop why not come and enjoy some family fun and activities as we continue with our series of events for all the family.

There will be plenty of delicious treats to indulge on, and to refuel for those who have been running in the morning! Everybody welcome!

We're going to be thinking about the King of the Animal Kingdom - the Lion! Any guesses for what story we might be looking at?

We are so thrilled to have heard this week that Gemma Anderson has passed her Youth Ministry degree after three years of study. Gemma grew up in St Mary & All Saints Willingham, much encouraged there by members of the church and, especially, her Gran, Karen. Gemma starts her full-time post as Youth Worker at St Andrew's Histon on 1 July. We assure her of our love and prayers as she does so. Warmest congratulations Gemma from us all!

We offer our good wishes to Claire on this special day in her life and assure her of our prayers as she begins her new ministry.

We send good wishes, thoughts and prayers to Claire Brockelsby who will be ordained to become a full-time minister this Sunday in Ely Cathedral. Claire was, for a number of years, a member of our church in Longstanton. This will be a very special day for her and her family. We are delighted that members of All Saints Church in Longstanton and our own ministry team will be there to support her. Claire will become a Curate in the parish of Fen Drayton with Fenstanton in the Diocese of Ely.

News from 5folds about our group service this coming Sunday, 30 June. There will be no service in Willingham this week.

This Sunday we will be holding a benefice (group) service at 11.00 am in St Andrew's Church Swavesey, led by Revd Bill Muncey. Please note that there will be no services in All Saints' Church, Longstanton, St Mary's Over or St Mary and All Saints Church Willingham this week.

News of the Prayer Day held in all our group's churches on Saturday, 15 June.

We are looking forward to participating in this day of prayer in our benefice/group of churches.

This weekend all our churches are holding a focussed day of prayer on Saturday, 15 June to pray for the future of each parish/church and for the appointment of a new Team Rector and, in time, Team Vicar. Our churches are usually open during the day but, on Saturday, from 10.00am to 4.00 pm, there will be specific resources in each to help you focus your prayers. Even if you don't regularly worship with us, please do feel warmly invited to pop into church, in your own time, and spend a bit of time in prayer and reflection. At 5.00 pm, all our congregations are coming together in St Andrew's Church Swavesey to share in a Holy Communion service to bring the day to a conclusion.

Members of St Mary & All Saints were pleased to join Parish Council Chairman, Councillor Derek Law, other members of the Council and village residents for a short Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial this morning. Councillor Law laid a wreath commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the D Day landings which started out from the UK on 5 June 1944. We remembered with gratitude all who gave their lives on the beaches in 1944. May they rest in peace.