Working as a Benefice

Much work has been done over the past 5 years to bring the parishes together into a benefice that works well and provides mutual support. All the parishes are committed to making the benefice work and appreciate the benefits of sharing services and activities with other congregations. Some examples of how we work as a benefice are:

• Administration: we share a part time administrator, who is based at the Vicarage and assists the Rector with benefice administration, arranging services, completing returns and producing our newsletters. There is a benefice photocopier based at the Vicarage.

• We worship as a benefice on every Sunday each month when the congregations come together for a shared Benefice Communion service, which is rotated round the Churches. Added to this are lay lead services: monthly Breakfast Church, Café Church and Forest Church, three-monthly Celebration Service and Evensong.

• Weekly there is a Benefice Said Holy Communion Service 10am Wednesdays at Little Harrowden. (During vacancy this is only on the second Wednesday of the month with Morning Prayer on the other Wednesdays.)

• We hold shared benefice services to celebrate special festivals e.g. Ascension Day, Ash Wednesday and Advent, and Orlingbury holds an annual service for Pets.

• Bible Study Groups: Faith Explorers meet monthly via Zoom.

• Lent Groups: each year there are study groups during Lent.

• The Benefice runs courses as need e.g. Alpha, Marriage preparation and Christianity explored, as well as Confirmation classes.

• We have a benefice youth group, which meets on the 2nd Friday of the month 5-6.30pm.
• The benefice Mothers’ Union meets monthly in one of the Churches and plays an important role in supporting families preparing for baptism.

• St Mary’s Little Harrowden hosts a monthly benefice Men’s Breakfast for discussion and a ‘full English’.

• The churchwardens of the 5 parishes meet 4-5 times per year with the Rector, to discuss the administration of the benefice and to share ideas and issues.

• The benefice has shared policies for Safeguarding, Baptism and Health and Safety.

• We have a benefice website at www.5churches.co.uk which links the five churches providing shared information about the parishes.

• We have a shared monthly newsletter called Connect 5, which is delivered free to all households in the Benefice and includes Church and Community news.

• All the Churches run social and fund raising events and support each other.