The Benefice of Little & Great Paxton with Diddington and Southoe

16/09/2026

Book your tickets now for our inaugural St James Church Barn Dance!

16/09/2026

Quiz Night in Southoe Church. All welcome!

10/09/2026

01/09/2026

Where Two or Three Are Gathered Together ...

Those of a certain vintage will remember Not the Nine O'Clock News and the sketch about the Church of Monty Python. A bishop stands up and announces, with total sincerity, that in the words of John Cleese, wherever two or three are gathered together, they shall perform the Parrot Sketch.

It works because we all know the real line. "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." It is on posters in many of the churches in England. Many of us think about it on a cold Sunday when just a few people have turned up. And it is our reading next Sunday.

What often gets left off is what Jesus was talking about when he said it. He was giving advice about a falling out.

Most of us know the feeling. Someone has upset you, and you have a choice. You can go and say something to them, or you can go and say something about them to everybody else.

Jesus is very clear about which one to pick. Go to the person. On your own. Say it kindly and say it directly. If that does not work, bring one or two people along to help. Do not start with the group chat.

So the two or three on the poster were originally two or three people trying to sort something out. Which is rather better, I think. God turns up in the awkward conversations, not just the lovely ones.

The other reading is one line from Paul that I keep coming back to. Owe no one anything, except to love one another. Pay your bills, clear your debts, but there is one you never finish paying.

And he gives a simple test to go with it. Love does no wrong to a neighbour. That is it. Whatever you are working out, ask whether it harms the person next to you.

It is a good test. It rules out a lot. It also rules in a lot of people who have been told, wrongly, that they are on the outside.

If church has ever felt like somewhere you would not be welcome, our door is open and there is usually tea. No parrots required.

Readings: Matthew 18:15-20 and Romans 13:8-14

01/09/2026

Come and join us tomorrow at St James' Church....All welcome.

22/07/2026

Saturday 25 July is the Feast of St James, and that makes it a special day for us in Little Paxton, because the village's our church carries his name.

James was a fisherman. He was mending his nets with his brother John when Jesus called him, and he simply got up and followed. No plan, no map, just a willingness to set out.

Centuries later, his name became linked with one of the great journeys of the world. Pilgrims still walk hundreds of miles across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, the city said to hold his resting place. Their badge is the scallop shell. The lines on the shell all lead to one point, just as pilgrims come from every direction to a single destination.

If you sit in St James Little Paxton, look at the chairs. You will find scallop shells there, quietly reminding us that this building belongs to a story of journeying.

And here is the thing about pilgrimage: you do not need to walk to Spain to be a pilgrim. Every life is a journey. Some stretches are sunlit and easy. Others are hard climbs we did not choose. What matters is that we keep walking, and that we do not walk alone.

Whoever you are, wherever you are on the road, there is a seat here with a shell on it and a welcome waiting. Every pilgrim needs a place to rest.

Happy St James's Day.

18/07/2026

Services taking place in our benefice on Sunday 19th July will be:
9.15am Morning Prayer at Little Paxton Church
11.00am All Age Worship at Great Paxton Church

If you are unable to join us in person, here is the link to our live stream from Little Paxton Church:

St James' Church Little Paxton - Sunday 18th July 2026

13/07/2026

This month's Little Paxton History Group will take place on Tuesday 21st July not Tuesday 14th July. Same time, 1.30pm, and same place, Little Paxton Church. See you next week.