Water reaches Bildeston Church!

 I spent a wonderfully joyous, and relatively cool, afternoon in Bildeston yesterday at the remarkable 14th/15th century church of St Mary Magdalene, pictured above, which stands high on a hill a little way out of the village.

The annual patronal festival of St Mary Magdalene, July 23rd,  was chosen for a service of blessing and thanksgiving to mark the completion of fine kitchen and toilet facilities in the north west corner of the church.   For many years those wishing to hold events in the church were obliged to haul water in diverse containers up from the village, and without a proper water supply the provision of  permanent toilet facilities was impossible.   This proved a serious barrier to fundraising, which is so essential when it comes to maintaining a church of this size.

Parishioners had been working on a scheme to sink a bore hole, which would have been an expensive solution to the problem.  However, a change in ownership of adjacent land meant that a piped supply became a possibility. which was a relief in more ways than one.  Prayers had clearly been answered!

The Bishop of Dunwich came along to yesterday's service and preached an appropritately cheerful sermon, hymns chosen by Rev. Liz had a definitely uplifting and watery tone, and we were entertained by the newly formed Upbeat Contemporary Choir with a number of songs, including The Toilet Song , lyrics provided by the editor of the widely read and admired Bildeston Bugle.

The congregation enjoys singing from the Upbeat Contemporary Choir

After the service the refreshments were wonderful, and it was really good to catch up with so many people from the village, and also with a few who no longer live in Bildeston but who had returned for the occasion.

Very appropriately the Collection supported the Toilet Twinning scheme, which aims to provide toilets and clean water to the many people in the world who do not have them.  Details of this very worthwhile cause can be found HERE.

All in all it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

New kitchen facilities