Bracon Ash and Hethel

A Sublime, Quiet and Contemplative Oasis

MORE CURRENT NEWS FROM HETHEL CHURCH IS MAINTAINED HERE

Hethel Church is a bit off the beaten track, up a cul-de-sac from the west end of Bracon Ash, where School Road meets Cranes Lane. The building is old (the cornered flint tower is Norman, and has been dated 1110AD by dendrochronology - just a little older than Norwich Cathedral!) but in excellent condition, with an unusual 17th century alabaster monument at one end - the beautifully carved effigies of the members of the Branthwaite family. The church is unusually light - not a piece of stained glass in sight - and beautifully kept.

It's a place of peace where many come to rest, relax, pray, sit and think, or listen for the voice of God. There are a number of footpaths nearby as well as Hethel Old Thorn (Norfolk Wildlife Trust), so it's a good place to mix indoor and outdoor 'space'. (This link will tell you more)

On the second Sunday of each month at 8.30am, the people of Hethel Church meet to worship the living God and to share bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus. Recognising that we are all different, we also put on a number of occasional activities, which offer alternative ways of exploring faith or worshipping God. These have ranged from a quiet afternoon to alternative forms of short service to brainstorming Christian approaches to thinking about windfarms.

We believe that God is worshipped in many ways, not just in one-hour slots on a Sunday. So we celebrate and enjoy creation and run events connected with the countryside around us. In recent years, South Norfolk Council Rangers helped us make bumble bee nestboxes and their ecologist led a walk in the area. Norfolk Wildlife Trust volunteers help us manage the churchyard so that orchids and other wildflowers flourish in summer. NWT also led a walk to the ancient wood half a mile away, and on another occasion BTO met us at 4am for a dawn chorus walk.
 
Likewise we value the arts and all things that are beautiful, for example our unusual chamber organ has recently been refurbished and we have participated in the Art Alive in Norfolk Churches festival.
 
And we believe that following Jesus means finding God's way in all areas of living. So we are concerned to protect the environment, try to engage fully with local/community issues and are working through both personal and church responses to climate care.

We take the line that strangers are friends we have not yet met and we go out of our way to make newcomers welcome (whilst respecting their possible need to be 'let be'). Please join us at any of our events, or just enjoy the church building on your own in whatever way blesses you. There are prayer cards and a book in which to write requests, displays, and books to borrow.