OCTOBER  Letter 

   So over the past year or so we as a Benefice have been thinking about our Vision for the future, our Values and a Mission statement and I would like to share some of that with you today.    
Our overarching Vision statement is:- 
Growing in Faith, Growing in Hope, Growing in love. 
We have developed a Benefice logo which has been created for us by Rachel Mabey 
At Big Roar Creative. rachel@bigroarcreative.co.uk 

Which looks like this…. When it appears in colour is it a beautiful soft green, this colour represents for us life, hope and renewal. The idea behind our logo is that the heart shape of the logo symbolises kindness, care and love.  It flows into the cross and a climbing vine – to embody the ongoing journey of faith and spiritual growth.  You will notice 3 leaves on the vine – these are the 3 churches of our Benefice; St James; St Mary’s and St Botolph’s, being nurtured through 
God’s love. 
Our new Mission Statement will be:- As a Benefice we are dedicated to ‘being with’ our communities to bring faith, hope and love, showing that God’s places belong to all. 
Our core values will be:-Openness :  Connecting with those we haven’t reached yet. 
Commitment:  Nurturing individuals of all ages in diverse and appropriate ways, calling on our imagination and courage. 
Kindness:  Embracing everyone on their journey of life and faith, no matter where they are. 
Fun:  Creating opportunities for people to come together in our community, connect, and enjoy themselves, with generosity and joy as our foundation. Underpinning all this we think the best piece of scripture is:- 
1 Corinthians 13:7-10; 13.  Love    is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails…………….and now these three remain; faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love. I hope you will get to recognise all that we do with our values and logo and feel that there will always be a place for you in any of your village churches.    
Your Priest Alison  

           Q UIIZ NIGHT 
GILSTON  &  EASTWICK  VILLAGE  HALL     
St Mary’s Church is holding its annual      
QUIZ NIGHT  
SATURDAY 25th OCTOBER       
7pm for 7.30pm start   
Ticket (£15) includes a delicious 
Ploughman’s Supper 
Bring your own drink and glasses     
Teams of up to 8 or join another table of quizzers     
Please contact Christine Law for tickets on 01279 411646 or christine.law2@btinternet.com