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Welcome to the Ouse Valley Benefice
Welcome to the Ouse Valley Benefice
Welcome to the Ouse Valley Benefice - a group of Churches in West Norfolk that are part of the Diocese of Ely. The Benefice comprises seven rural villages and their churches in or close to the Norfolk fens: Bexwell, Crimplesham, Denver, Hilgay, Ryston, Southery, and Ten Mile Bank. The Benefice came into existence in January 2022 succeeding several earlier groupings to make more coherent geographical sense.
Sermon Blog
Sermon Blog
Outward Looking Focus
Outward Looking Focus
In our journey exploring the seven marks of a healthy church, we have arrived at the second mark: Having an outward-looking focus. It is tempting for any church to become inward-looking—to focus only on what happens within our own walls, effectively becoming a ‘ghetto church’ hiding from life outside.
But faith, by its very nature, is dynamic. While it’s essential to nurture our internal life, our vertical relationship with God must inevitably impact our horizontal relationships with the world around us. As Matthew 5 reminds us, we are called to ‘Let Your Light Shine.’ When we confine our faith to the church building, we are effectively hiding that light under a bowl.
Looking to Acts 16, we see a powerful model. Paul didn't wait for Lydia to come to him; he went outside of the city walls, engaging directly with her in her context. This challenges us today: are we expecting the community to come to us, or are we going out to them? We are called to be deeply rooted in our community, partnering with our neighbors, and making the gospel message understandable in our ever-changing culture.
Living out our faith means more than just Sunday worship; it means being passionate about justice and peace, responding to human needs through practical loving service, and letting our light shine in our workplaces, schools, and community networks. When we shift our focus from the building to the community being served, we discover that we are not just ‘doing church,’ but living it.
As we continue this week, I invite you to reflect: How can we, individually and collectively, lean into this outward-looking mission? How can we follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbor as ourselves, right where we are?
Lay Ministry
Lay Ministry
Are you feeling a call to serve God and your community in a deeper way? Perhaps you have a passion for teaching, leading worship, pastoral care, or social justice. Lay ministry, whether licensed or authorised, offers a variety of rewarding opportunities to use your gifts and skills within the church and wider world. If you're sensing a prompting to explore how you might contribute to God's mission, we encourage you to prayerfully consider the exciting possibilities of lay ministry. Revd Nigel would be more than happy to chat to you about the options that might be available to you so please do get in touch.
‘For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.’ - Romans 12.4-6a
Parish Giving
Parish Giving
We are in the process of setting up Parish Giving for each of our churches. This scheme enables people to set up regular giving or make a one-off donation. The advantage of using this scheme is that gift-aid is automatically claimed on our behalf and all of the money that you donate (including the gift-aid) is passed directly onto the church. There are no administration costs involved.
Baptisms, Wedding and Funerals.
Baptisms, Wedding and Funerals.
If you would like to arrange a baptism, wedding or funeral in any of our churches, please see out Life Events pages. There you will find more information about how these can be arranged. For baptisms we would like to point you in the direction of our baptism coordinator who will guide you through the process. For weddings, your first point of call would be our Vicar, the Revd Nigel Moat. Funerals would normally be arranged via your chosen funeral director - but equally, you can contact Revd Nigel directly if you would like more information.
Deepening Your Relationship with Jesus
Deepening Your Relationship with Jesus
You will find some links below to various resources that you might use to deepen your relationship with Jesus. If you would like to suggest some other resources please let us know!
A free bible app that is available online and on your smart phone.
Pray consistently for the people and causes you care about.
The daily prayer app from the Church of England.
Connect with God with the new Everyday Faith app. Journey daily with reflections to inspire, equip and encourage you in your everyday faith.
A free daily devotional with Bible teachings.
If you would like a copy of the Our Daily Bread bible notes, please complete this form.
Weekly Church of England Online Service
Weekly Church of England Online Service
Do you know someone who is unable to get to church?
If so, why not point them in the direction of the weekly online service from the Church of England. They can sign up to a weekly mailing with details of the service and watch each of the services online. Click the button below for more details and to sign up.
Daily Prayer from the Church of England
Daily Prayer from the Church of England
You can catch up with the Church of England daily prayer here.
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