More than 120 people were involved with our Advent special services and events in Shutford in December. We started off with Souper Saturday on 2nd December with excellent home-made soup and other goodies. The following Saturday we had Messy Church with Christmas and Advent Crafts: parents and children enjoyed the afternoon of fun ending with refreshments. We had a Christingle on 17th December, Village Carol singing on 18th and an Advent Carol Service on 21st. All these were well supported with villagers appreciating well known carols and readings and seasonal refreshments. We are grateful to Deddington Brass for leading village carol singing and for Juliette and Ian at The George and Dragon for providing mulled wine and mince pies to finish off the evening.

We had a Benefice Service on Christmas Eve and Family Holy Communion on Christmas Day in St Martin`s with a total of 47 in the congregation. As usual the church was beautifully decorated with greenery, flowers and two Christmas trees. The second one was in pride of place by the belfry and was decorated by the children and parents who attended Messy Church and tells the story of the Nativity.

2017 was a good year for the Shutford village community with church attendances being maintained, well supported social gatherings and the completion of the building of a new village hall. Villagers have been generous with their time and talents and their money, raising funds for the church and village hall. Community events including The Shutford Festival and the introduction of pop-in lunches and coffee mornings in the village hall have encouraged many to be more involved with village life. A big thank you to all concerned and we hope that we can continue to reach out to our neighbours even more in 2018: it's good to talk.