News:

Happy New Year to you all.  Hopefully it is turning out to be a good one for you so far, despite our latest lockdown, and that it will continue to be so once vaccinations have been completed.  Looking forward, we await a time when we can start to arrange church and social events once again.

The Nativity Trail was supported by residents of Calverleigh (the shepherds in their field) and Lurley (Mary and Joseph journey to Bethlehem), with the Wise Men following the star residing in the church porch.  Our thanks go to all who helped to design and display them through December until Epiphany.  We hope that those of you who followed the trail around the Mission Community villages enjoyed doing so, finding the hidden animals at the same time.

Thankfully our carol services were able to go ahead at Calverleigh. We had two, on 13 and 20 December, which were well attended (with all the necessary safety rules in place, of course!).  Although the congregation were unable to sing the carols, suitable musical arrangements were chosen with voices included which added to the enjoyment of the services.  Favourable comments were made about the choices.  What we really missed was the social interaction afterwards where there would normally be refreshments.  We look forward to being able to enjoy singing and fellowship next Christmas.

Christmas Day saw 13 people make an early morning journey for an 8am Holy Communion service to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, arriving as daylight was breaking.  It was a lovely service led by Rev'd Steph Gordon-Jeffs.  Our thanks go to Steph and also to all those who had decorated the church prior to the carol services, giving the church a warm Christmassy look.

We would like to send a very warm welcome to the Robinsons who, before Christmas, moved into Lurley.  The previous residents, Annette and family, have moved to Tiverton. We hope that you are all happy in your new homes.

It was with sadness that we learnt of the passing of David Froom who lived at Lower Farleigh.  Born in Hastings in 1930, David was evacuated at the age of 10 to the farm to live with his Uncle and Aunt  where he remained there for the rest of his life.  He married local girl, Stella Elston, at Calverleigh church in 1956. Apart from farming he enjoyed many passtimes over the years which included hunting, point to point, playing cards and watching football.  The funeral service took place at Calverleigh Church on 17 December. David will be sadly missed by all his family and many friends locally.  Our condolences, thoughts and prayers go to all the family at this time and to all who are mourning the loss of a loved one.

If you have been suffering from ill health over the past few weeks/months we hope and pray that you will be feeling much better soon.

A big thank you to everyone who took part in the Nativity competition before Christmas. A slide-show showing the entries can be found on our website. We hope that the winners enjoyed their prizes. All proceeds from the competition will be donated to the Church general funds.

If you haven't got one of the church calendars yet – why not? We have a few left if anyone wants another one, or one of the photographs in return for a small donation. Thanks to everyone who has already purchased one.

Please see the website (www.exevalleychurches.org/calverleigh) for any update information on services or activities.

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