Boughton news

All Saints’ Church It was a very busy fortnight for the church community. We decorated the church on Monday 16th and, as usual, it looked beautiful. Thanks to Tony, Angela and Sue, and many thanks to Karen Short and Elizabeth Hager for the wonderful greenery which helped so much. Thanks also to Geoff Proctor for providing a beautiful tree and to Wendy Roberts for the lovely Advent ring. The annual Carol service took place on the 18th, although attendance was disappointing. We haven’t had it on a Wednesday recently, so there might have been other events which clashed. It’s always good to gather together and we shared party food and mulled wine afterwards, so those of us who were there were rewarded. We remembered those friends who could not join us: Mark, Sue and Janet, who had died during the year, and Frank, who has been in hospital so much. We wish him a better 2020. Thanks to the choir, to Tom and to the readers who did so well. It was good to include representatives from Beachamwell, whose church is out of action even for special services. We had our normal Sunday service on the 22nd and then the real pressure began!! Crib service on Christmas Eve was lovely as usual, although the beautiful Hazel hadn’t quite grasped the idea that the donkey is supposed to be inside the church for this. It was her first time and she wasn’t keen on the step into the porch. Steve and Sandra also brought two of their beautiful alpacas along. Thanks to Pippa, Hannah-Lou and all who took part. After the service, it was all hands to the deck to rearrange the furniture and clear the straw to accommodate a Christmas Day service the next day. We welcomed a large contingent from Beachamwell and groups from Wereham and Fincham as well as many villagers. There were nearly fifty people in the church, which was wonderful and they did justice to Dom Rye’s playing as well. It was a lovely service taken by Brian Redgers and William Burke, with contribution from Robin, Carol and Pippa. The full works! I hope everyone who was there had as happy a Christmas as I did. As if all that wasn’t hectic enough, for the first time we hosted the benefice service on the fifth Sunday of the month, where all the churches in the benefice are invited to gather at one service. Many of the churches were represented and refreshments were served afterwards. Thanks to Tom Golden for playing and to Sally Taylor of Fincham, who came to help me with the refreshments. Others also helped, but Sally came from outside the benefice, proving that links between Boughton and Fincham are still strong. Happy New Year and good health to all. Poppy Appeal 2019 The British Legion Poppy Appeal house-to-house collection in Boughton raised £187.76. Many thanks for your generosity. Angela Faherty

Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox Appeal 2019 Many thanks to those of you who filled a shoebox or two and made a difference to children in need throughout the world. We are pleased to report that we delivered 22 shoeboxes from Boughton to the local collection point in Wretton. Angela & Andrew