Our local Parish Churches are important features of our rural landscape and are also key elements in our communities. They are not only for people of faith but are also very important for others. Many of us have relatives buried in the churchyard, want to see our children married in the church, or might simply need a beautiful place for some quiet contemplation and thinking, either in the churchyard or in the church itself.
But are we aware of just how threatened these wonderful structures are? Most of them do not generate enough income to cover their running costs, let alone the costs of essential repairs, and are therefore under severe threat.
FRAN was formed in 2011 by the coming together of a group of people who believe that the church plays an important role in the life of our community, whether or not you are a practising Christian, a person of any faith, or are atheist in outlook with the core aims of furthering community spirit and fund raising.
Our biggest event of the year is the village fete which takes place in June and other events are organised throughout the year.
Equally, working parties in the churchyard have made a major difference. Clearing the overgrown vegetation has uncovered many old graves and pruning the trees is helping them thrive & has made the churchyard even more accessible and beautiful. People giving of their time and putting in a few hours of physical labour have made a huge difference while they have made new friends and acquaintances in the process. This can only be good for our community on many different levels.
Everyone can help – One of the key benefits of the activities of FRAN is the bringing together of many members of our community and indeed, other local communities. We need many more people to come forward with their ideas for events, and willingness to help run them. We want people in our villages and the surrounding area to look forward to coming to everything we put on in Rewe and Netherexe. Please come to one of our very informal meetings to throw some ideas around and develop the group. Meetings and events are always advertised in Forum, on the village notice board and on our website http://www.netherexe.org/the-churches/rewe.
Or if you would like to have an informal discussion to find out more, please contact Helen Stephan on 01392 841887 or Gina Stroud on 01392 860276.
Most importantly we have an email list and we regularly send out updates so please join us and send your email details to rewefriends@netherexe.org. Let’s get lots of people involved!