“Come and Sing our Songs of Praise!….”

I love singing! It’s a fantastic communal activity. I grew up
surrounded by musicians, I joined my first choir at seven years old,
and have continued to sing ever since. If you’re in a choir, you will
know that singing with other people can help build connections and
feelings of togetherness.
Research also shows that the sense of self-merging we experience
by synchronizing our voices with others is a great way to fast-track
social attachments. But did you know that the sense of community
and belonging when singing in group settings, even online, can have a huge impact on
stress reduction? It synchronizes heartbeats and regulates our breathing, so we’re all
breathing as one huge lung!
As well as benefitting our lungs, breathing properly helps to relieve anxiety, aiding a
transition to a state of rest and relaxation. Singing also aids mental alertness, and helps
our memory and concentration: it involves focusing on multiple things at once by
engaging different areas of the brain simultaneously. In recent years singing has become
a feature of dementia care, in part because it provides a powerful tool in sparking
memories, often long after other forms of communication have diminished.
In church, singing helps us in our worship, to praise, pray, and proclaim, but it also
helps us in our thanksgiving.
So, if you love to sing hymns and you’d like to sing at our Songs of Praise Service to
give thanks at the end of our Adventures of the Church Mice festival, you are very
welcome to join us on Sunday 7th September at 6.30pm in St Martin’s Church
Thompson. There are numerous well-loved hymns to enjoy, and we really want to give
thanks to God for all the hard work, imagination and craftsmanship of people by raising
the roof in song! The service is being led by the Bishop of Thetford, the Rt Reverend
Ian Bishop.
The festival itself runs in all of the Wayland Benefice churches between 10am and
4pm on 5th,6th and 7th of September, with a grand finale to celebrate in song. So come
and sing our Songs of Praise!
And don’t forget that children under the age of twelve gain free entry to the exhibitions
throughout the festival!!
Finally, my sincere thanks go to everyone who has been involved in its creation, for
making it happen, and to all of you for coming to enjoy the experience.
I can’t wait to see you!
Vanessa x