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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
Seeking to Find Out What God Wants
Seeking to Find Out What God Wants
In our ongoing journey exploring what it means to be a vibrant, living Christian community, we have arrived at the third mark of a healthy church: Seeking to Find Out What God Wants. It is first and foremost His Church; it was His long before it was ever ours, and a healthy church acknowledges this by seeking His direction for our mission and ministry.
Discernment is a duty we all share, but how do we practically discern God's will in our lives and for our churches? A helpful framework often explored in the Alpha course is the 5 CSs, providing us with a practical way to listen for His guidance:
Commanding Scripture: The Bible is our primary guidebook. God will never ask us to do something that contradicts His written Word. If our plans don't align with Scripture, we can be sure they aren't what God wants.
Compelling Spirit: We must listen for the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit. Do we feel a sense of peace in our hearts as we lay our plans before Him? The Spirit speaks, directs, and guides us if we take the time to listen.
Counsel of Saints: Discernment is not a solo sport. We should look for confirmation in the collective wisdom of those around us. If God is guiding us as a community, He will likely speak to more than one person.
Common Sense: God gave us rational minds to use. Does the plan make sense in our context? Responding to clear needs in our community—like poverty or loneliness—is often a common-sense expression of God's will.
Circumstantial Signs: These are the coincidences or doors opening and closing that provide final confirmation. While we shouldn't rely on them alone, they help complete the picture when brought together with the other four Cs.
Seeking God's will can be a risky business because we might not always like the answers we receive. However, if we have the maturity and courage to sit down and listen, we can join in with what God is already doing. Let our collective prayer be: "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."
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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