On Sunday 11 August, Rev Dave Bell led his final service in front of a packed congregation of over 150 adults and children. To mark the occasion, before the service the St James Guild of Bellringers completed  a quarter peal of Grandsire Doubles rung by Barbara Fraser (treble), Margaret Jeeves, Sally Creveul, Christopher Catlin, Simon Stranks (conductor) and Julia Catlin (tenor). For this United Benefice service, Dave had chosen his favourite

It with great sadness that we announce that Rev Dave Bell has decided to retire this summer and his last service is 11 August at 10am a United Benefice Communion at Silsoe. Dave and Kath will be greatly missed, and we wish them well and  hope that they enjoy their retirement. They have brought big changes to the Benefice in a short time which we hope to build on in the

The Church looked amazing with a dazzling array of beautiful flower arrangements on the “wedding” theme as well as fine displays of wedding dresses, memorabilia and photographs of weddings held at St James and elsewhere. Despite the weather at the beginning there were enthusiastic groups in the Church throughout all three days. The excellent refreshments in the Rowans attracted many visitors even when the weather was indifferent. The photographs give an

Thanks to the generosity of the congregation and the time and talent of an army of flowers arrangers St James displayed a magnificent array of flowers and arrangements to celebrate Easter Day. Not only did the traditional white lilies make an impressive statement adjacent to the altar but every window sill and all other available surfaces were beautifully decorated with a wide range of flowers, many of them reflecting the spring

About a year ago St James Church informed the War Graves Commission that there were war graves in the churchyard. Following discussions with them it was agreed that a plaque should be erected  recognising their presence.  During the week after Easter the plaque was installed and is fixed to the left hand pillar of the Church main gates.

This year, on a beautifully sunny and warm morning, a crowd of over 50 adults and children gathered at the Millennium Green in Silsoe to process with a wooden cross to the Church. Following an introduction and prayer from Dave Bell the cross was then ably carried by 3 young people along the High Street to the Church. Parents and children gather to begin the Walk of Witness following a prayer

A full Church of over 110 people; children, Mums, Dads and  Grandparents celebrated Mothering Sunday on 31 March. The service, led by Rev Ian Smith, featured the Children’s Choir performing two songs “My Mum” and “I like the flowers”. The choir of children from Silsoe school had been brought together and coached by Katie Shattock and Rachel Barnes.  They performed beautifully and with great confidence, despite the large congregation in the

The first session of this year’s lent course was a visit to the Luton United Synagogue. Eleven members from the benefice were welcomed to the synagogue by Brian Green, who had been the Chairman of the synagogue for 20 years until last year. Brian explained that there had been a Jewish community in Luton for over 100 years and in the 1950s there were about 2,000 Jews. This number had declined