Ministry in the benefice

Wychert Vale Benefice is highly lay-enabled and has a large volunteer team preaching and leading services as well as leading many other activities. It brings the following groups to the benefice merger:

The Benefice Ministry Team meets monthly and all those ministering within the benefice who are ordained, LLMs or ordinands are invited.

The Benefice Preachers group currently meets with the ministry team to reflect on the content of the preaching series and to improve the quality of teaching in the church and of services. It liaises with the home group leaders meetings. This group provides a very strong lay basis for ministry in the benefice.

Benefice Service Planning group meets from June each year to plan the teaching for the following calendar year. The annual teaching theme gives significant direction to the churches and helps to draw the churches into a common sense of purpose.

Sunday Services:

Sunday in month	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Haddenham	9am Parish Holy Communion 10.30am All Age Morning Worship	9am Parish Holy Communion 10.30am Morning Worship	9am Parish Holy Communion 10.30am All Age Worship with Children’s Church 6.30pm Praise Service, informal charismatic service with a worship band	9am Parish Holy Communion 10.30am Holy Communion	9am Parish Holy Communion 10.30am All Age Holy Communion 6.30pm Benefice Evensong (rotates)
Stone	10.30am All Age Service	10.30am Holy Communion	10.30am Morning Worship	10.30am Holy Communion	10.30am All Age Service
Dinton	10.0 am Holy Communion	6.30pm Evensong	10am Morning Worship	4.0pm Messy Church
Cuddington	10am HC (CW)	10am All Age Worship	10am HC (CW)	10am Morning Worship	10am Morning Worship
Kingsey	9.15am The Kingsey Breakfast Service	9.15am HC (BCP) with hymns		9.15am HC (BCP) Said	6.30pm Benefice Evensong (rotates)
Aston Sandford			11am HC (trad.) (CW – Order 1)

Weekday worship

There is an Anglican service on the first and third Thursday morning in Haddenham at 10.30am, held in the Roman Catholic Church at their invitation (it is smaller, warmer and much more accessible than the Anglican church midweek). It has an attendance of about 12.

Morning prayer is held in St Mary’s, Haddenham on Tuesdays ,  in St Nicholas, Cuddington on Wednesdays and Saints Peter and Paul, Dinton Church on Friday, all at 9am.

Occasional Offices

We have a strong commitment to occasional offices and have drawn from the recent national research projects to shape our ministry to be very accessible to people beyond our congregations. We hold two marriage preparation days each year and have regular baptism preparation evenings and confirmation groups.

Benefice Governance Structure

Each of the parishes have a PCC who hold the leadership for their parishes. The benefice ministry team meets on a regular basis and there are occasional treasurers meetings.