Upcoming Events
An evening with the Reverend Manette Crossman, Friday 31st October, 7pm
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, 3rd December, 7pm
See the Events page for details.
Letter from the Reverend Manette Crossman
Dear friends,
This morning, one of our lovely editors gave me a friendly nudge and reminded me that yes, another month has passed and it’s the 19th of the month which means it’s Quartet deadline day! I write this at the end of what has been a busy Sunday. We had our usual 10am morning service and then I had the privilege of officiating at not one, not two but three Baptisms – a little girl, her mother and one of her godparents. It’s always lovely to be asked to baptise someone and it makes for an extra special service when a parent or godparent decides that they want to make the same promises for themselves which they are making on behalf of the child.
The day finished with another visit from the choral group Jubilate who led a very special Choral Evensong in Higham, It was the third time this year that Martyn Bagnall and his group of singers came to our benefice and it is always a treat as they perform the music and liturgy so beautifully – food for the soul at the end of the day. The Higham catering team put on a lovely tea for singers and congregation and grateful thanks go to everyone who contributed to this perfect evening.
We are now beginning to look ahead to the season of Remembrance. And “remembering” ties in with the talk I have been asked to give in Raydon at the Pavillion on 31st October. As many of you know, I was born in The Netherlands and my family are Dutch. One of my aunts married a British soldier after WWII. My uncle Jack was one of the soldiers who liberated Holland and this is how he met my aunt. From when I was a teenager, I spent many happy holidays with my aunt and uncle in London and Wiltshire and I fell in love with England and everything British. It became my dream to one day move to England and in 1990 that dream came true. To cut a long story short, I immersed myself in life this side of the Channel and left my Dutch connections largely behind – until I mentioned to someone in one of my previous churches that my family had been involved in the Resistance in The Netherland during WWII. I had not expected that this would be of interest to anyone here but I agreed to speak to their Mothers’ Union. Soon invitations followed from other groups, churches, local History Societies and the Martlesham Heath Aviation Society. I have also had the privilege of working with the Council of Christians & Jews in London. The response on each of those occasions made me realise how much shared history there is between both countries and how important it is that these stories live on. However, my family was not exceptional in being involved in the Resistance and many other families could tell very similar stories, but I Iook forward to sharing some of my family stories with you.
With every blessing,
Manette
- The Rectory
- Hadleigh Road
- Raydon
- Suffolk
- IP7 5LH
07947 737789
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