4 Spires

Rev. Shena Bell, Rector of Raunds, Hargrave, Ringstead and Stanwick.

I was ordained in the year 2000 as Deacon and Priest in 2001. I served as Curate at All Saints, Earls Barton and at the end of this time spent some months assisting at St Mark, Kingsthorpe before coming to this benefice as Priest in Charge in September 2004.

The four parishes had not been united as a benefice and the first task was to bring four very different communities together. We needed also to consider our approach to the church in this benefice, to consider how we can best serve the wider community and bring a fresh and vibrant touch to our services of worship.

During the next five years my vision is to continue to encourage development of fresh and easily accessible forms of worship; but also to offer more traditional forms of worship across the benefice.

We give a high priority to families, children's and youth work and are working in partnership with the Whitefriars, Rushden team in order to develop new leaders and offer new opportunities for young people. At the same time we are glad to serve more elderly people and offer events for those who live alone or visit those who are housebound. A very dedicated group of lay people regularly visit many residential homes within the benefice.

Our church building takes a huge amount of money, energy and time to maintain. Our great desire is not only to maintain them but also to adapt them for use in the twenty-first century. We are aware of the weight of tradition in which we are planted but aim to be in touch with this time and age and all the pressures that it can bring.

In short, we aim to make Christ known in our communities - in word and with action.