Imagine the scene…a beautiful summer’s afternoon and Holy Trinity Hildersham decided to experiment with Mossy Church. Ever heard of it? Read on to find out more........

Instead of meeting in the usual church building for the café style service, we met outside under the sunlit tree canopy in the churchyard, having collected a drink and a cake.

A group of twenty or so, aged two upwards, met to experiment with new ways of connecting to and worshipping God. Starting with the hymn, All things Bright and Beautiful, followed by  Psalm 139 v7-14,we were then read a story about a boy and a tree which captivated the interest of all those there.

In the story the dialogue is between the tree, which is continuously giving and the boy (later a man) who is constantly taking. We were then invited to use our senses to explore the world around us.

This webpage will feature Cambridgeshire Conferences, days out and events.
This will obviously not be a comprehensive list, but will feature items brought to the website team, so it is up to event promoters to let us know and within reason will will promote events on the understanding we do not comment or endorse any individual event unless stated

Please click here to go to the new webpage

Teresa Letimier our Parish Nure was commissioned at Balsham Church on Sunday 31st January 2016 with The Bishop of Huntingdon the Rt. Revd. Dr. David Thompson

It is the next Hildersham lecture on Friday 26th February at Holy Trinity Church, Hildersham at 7.30pm, when a name very familiar to most of us the Venerable Alan Clarkson will tell us the fascinating story of his personal story connected to the Glastonbury Thorn.

This was a legendary tree in Somerset which flowered and fruited at the same time.  A small branch in flower was sent to the Queen each Christmas.

Alan will also talk about the very ancient office and relationship between the Churchwarden and the Archdeacon in a diocese, a story that stretches right across the generations to be just as relevant today

I have heard this talk and can highly recommend it

We look forward to seeing you there

North Porch & Kitchen Building project:
Holy Trinity Church Hildersham has recently installed water and drainage for an accessible lavatory in a newly built North Porch and water supply for a kitchenette in the West Tower, which will be known in future as The Margaret Bate Room.


This has been made possible with the aid of a grants and loans from a number of local organsations:

Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust
A grant of £3,000 and an interest free loan of £20,000
CHCT guide to alternative funding

Press release
CHCT Completion Plaque

AmeyCespa: Cambridgeshire Community Foundation:
A grant of £20,000


National Churches Trust:
A grant of £5,000


Garfield Weston:
A grant of £7,500

Everyone connected with this project and all at Hildersham Church would like to warmly thank all these organisations, without them quite simply this project would never have been completed.  Thank You

Think twice before you act – online security advice
The following comes from South Cambridgeshire Police & is vital information for the online world in which we all live

Please look at and bookmark this new website www.getsafeonline.org
 

Warning from Get Safe Online as reported phishing scams rise by more than 20% in 12 months

• Over a quarter of victims of online fraud have been scammed by phishing emails or phone calls
• Over three quarters of all reported phishing incidents are via email

Social engineering is an extremely targeted type of scam where fraudsters manipulate their victims into sharing confidential information. This can happen through fake emails, phone calls, texts or posts (and even leaving a malware-infected USB stick lying around). It frequently involves piecing together information from various sources such as social media and intercepted correspondence to appear genuine and convincing. The complex nature of the attack makes it very hard to spot a scam before it is too late.
This week Get Safe Online in partnership with Barclays, Natwest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, City of London Police, CIFAS, and Financial Fraud Action UK, has launched a new advertising campaign waring the public about the dangers of ‘social engineering’ as reported figures from the National Fraud Investigation Bureaux show incidents have risen by 21% in 12 months.
Get Safe Online, along with its partners, is encouraging people to
‘Think Twice Before You Act’ to reduce the number of people falling victim to social engineering fraud.
The rise of social engineering
Undoubtedly cybercriminals have become more and more sophisticated in their attacks and this is shown in new figures from Action Fraud, which indicate 95,556 reported phishing scams recorded between: November 2014 – October 2015. This represents a 21% increase over the same period the previous year.
This is further supported by research from Get Safe Online, revealing that over a quarter (26%) of victims online fraud have been scammed by these types of social engineering emails or phone calls. In addition, over a one fifth of people (22%) said they are most concerned about this type of online crime.
Interestingly, the research from Action Fraud found that the reported incidents of phishing scams peaked on 21st October – the same day as the Talk Talk data breach. This highlights the increasing fear surrounding these kind of attacks, especially in the light of this and other high profile breaches that took place last year.
    
Don’t become prey for a fraudster – follow some simple steps to avoid becoming a victim
Do you think twice before clicking on links in unexpected emails, posts or texts, or open unknown email attachments?
Do you think before you reveal your confidential details to total stranger who has called you, claiming to be from your bank, your credit card company, or the police?
If not you may become easy prey for a fraudster. They get you on the hook, reel you in, and before you realise, you’ve given away your PINS, passwords, or bank account details… everything they need to steal your hard earned money.
Millions of people in the UK are defrauded in this way every year, and you can protect yourself from becoming one of them.
Tips to avoid online and telephone scams
Never give out personal or financial data including usernames, passwords, PINS, ID numbers or memorable phrases.
Check that people or organisations who you supply payment card or other confidential information to are genuine, and even then never reveal passwords. A bank, HMRC, retailer or other reputable organisation won’t ask for your full password or PIN via email, phone call or any other means.
If you are asked by a caller to cut off the call and phone your bank or card provider, call the number on your bank statement or other document from your bank – or on the back of your card. But be sure to use another phone from the one you received the call on or leave it for five minutes before you make the call, in case the sender number has been spoofed or the line is left open.
Don’t open email attachments from unknown sources – as they could well contain malware. Delete them, and take the details to report if appropriate.
Don’t click on links in emails from sender you don’t know. Instead, roll your mouse or finger over the link to reveal the actual sender. If they are different, it’s a scam. Even if you get an email that seems to come from someone you might know – but seems unusual – the sender may be a fraudster who’s spoofed their address. If in doubt, call (don’t email) the sender.
Don’t attach external storage devices like USB sticks or hard drives – or insert CD-ROMs/ DVD-ROMs into your computer – if you are unsure of the source. This is a favoured way for fraudsters to spread malware.
Remember: if you have been a victim of banking fraud or spot irregular activity on your account, contact your bank straight away. It’s important to report any fraud to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 20 40 or via www.actionfraud.police.uk
Also report fraud to any website or ISP where you’ve been defrauded. This applies however large or small the amount: it could protect others, and the proceeds of fraud are often used to fund activities like terrorism and human trafficking.
THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU ACT
#SaveGelly
www.getsafeonline.org
www.facebook.com/getsafeonline
www.consumerhub.org – Advice and information on scams

The new North Porch at Holy Trinity Church, Hildersham has now been completed and is open for 'business'.
This is a real statement of beauty from top to bottom and our thanks go out to Brown & Ralph and all their wonderful craftsmen

This is one part of the "Its Our Turn Now" project and we will soon be starting work on planning the next stage.

On behalf of all Hildersham Residents, I warmly thank members of the Hildersham Parish Council, plus District and County Councillors both current and over the last few years for their tireless work to get improvements to the Hildersham A1307 Road Junction.

As you can see from the above photos, there is now a new safe feeder lane to turn into Hildersham; A new wheel-chair and push-chair crossing and safety refuge halfway, new bus pull-in and Pampisford Rd feeder lane and a safe crossing at the bus-stop with safe refuge.

Most of us use cars today, but we must not forget to protect the residents that regularly use the Bus as well.
Next step is to try and get some lighting in the Bus-Stops, this is not as easy as one might imagine....