Hello everyone
I hope you are all well and are keeping warm as winter’s chill sets in!
The days are getting gradually busier (though they have never really been quiet!) as our Winter Night Shelter fast approaches. The Shelter is an excellent and well-established scheme, offering accommodation, meals and friendship to those affected by homelessness and crisis. It is part of a ‘rolling shelter’, so accommodation is located at a different church each night of the week. Ours is every Thursday. As the Pastoral Assistant at Holy Innocents, it is my role to coordinate all the volunteers, who are offering to cook evening meals, prepare beds and cook breakfasts for our guests.
Since I last wrote to you, we have had a fun-filled few weeks, which included organising the church (including lots and lots of paperwork) for a visit by the Archdeacon, participating in a parish pilgrimage to Walsingham, and organising services for All Saints and All Souls’. I have also been preparing rotas for the upcoming Shelter, planning activities for the YMCA and visiting some of our parishioners.
The pilgrimage to Walsingham was fantastic. It was my first time in Norfolk, and my first experience of Walsingham. We were blessed with sunshine and reasonable temperatures for our retreat, which made our journey through the countryside all the more enjoyable.
We have a number of church events planned soon, including a Seychelles evening – in which we get to sample Seychelles cuisine – and a wine-tasting evening (I dislike the taste of alcohol, so I can almost guarantee I will be staying sober that evening!).
As regards the process of discernment, I am going to be meeting Bishop Mark in early December and my BAP (Bishops’ Advisory Panel) should be scheduled the second or third week of February. Exciting!
I have a holiday planned for the end of November, so I will be visiting you all on Sunday 26th November (in time to celebrate Christ the King). I look forward to seeing you then!
With love and best wishes
Gemma