The exciting news last month was Trudy’s licensing by the Lord Bishop of Salisbury at St Peter and St Paul’s, Heytesbury.  There was a great turn out from across the benefice and beyond for a truly joyous service.  And it’s not every day that you see this many clergy and churchwardens in one procession!  Thank you to those that were there and contributed to the food and drink.

In other news, progress continues with the bells, which are now being worked on in Loughborough.  The frames in the tower have been stripped and treated.  Thank you to Anthony for his continuing stewardship of the project.  The coverage in the Warminster Journal was fantastic, while the children from the school have found their involvement fascinating.  We are all looking forward to welcoming back the bells, blessing them and setting them off in good stead for another couple of generations.  Watch this space for news on that next month. The bells have given us a great opportunity to engage with the wider community, through press coverage, the leaflet drop and even our Google Maps profile.

We are also making progress on our wider vision for improving the welcome and hospitality at St Peter’s for everyone, young and old.  Thanks for all the ideas people have shared with the churchwardens over coffee in recent weeks. Clifford and many of the PCC were able to attend a productive walk-through talk-through with our architect this week, where we discussed the various options.  He is now shaping up some of those before we discuss with the diocesan advisory committee shortly.  It is finally starting to feel like we have some momentum building up!

Finally, a rather different matter. Our bells were last rehung in 1946 as a memorial to those from the village killed in the war.  One of those men was Ben Sheppard.  We have been approached by someone who has found a wartime photograph of Ben and wondered if there were any relatives still in the village who would like to see it.   Can any of you with longer local roots help?

It is August, so the pattern of services is reduced.  Trudy will be completing a marathon tour of the churches in the benefice, joining us at St Peter’s for the first time on the 25^th.  Do join us if you are not away for the bank holiday.  St Mary’s are also hosting the traditional Lammas service mid-month.  We’ll be back to more regular services as usual from September.