A well known stalwart of Radio 4's Thought for the Day is coming to a Felixstowe church to deliver three events in June.

Jane Pearse and Catherine Bond, associate priests at St John the Baptist church, have invited Reverend John Bell, who is part of the well known Iona community in Scotland, to give a lecture, join a singalong and take part in an afternoon retreat. 

Jane and Catherine, who were one of the first same sex couples to receive a Church of England blessing last year, run ‘Lark Rise Retreats’ under the auspices of the Parish of Felixstowe, as part of their Growing Deeper programme.

Catherine said: "We are very excited to announce that John is coming to our church. John is a Scottish hymn writer, Church of Scotland minister, broadcaster and activist. He works throughout the world, lecturing in theological colleges in the UK, Canada and the USA but is primarily concerned with the renewal of congregational worship at the grassroots level. He also came out as gay about seven years ago and has been a great supporter of Jane and me."

On Friday June 7 at 2pm, John will host retreat afternoon, ‘Celtic, Green and Godly’. This costs £15.

In the evening of June 7, he will then give a lecture: ‘Using the imagination to unlock Scripture’ at St John’s from 7.30 to 9.30pm. The lecture is free, thanks to the support of the Montgomery Trust. Register at www.larkriseretreats.org.uk

On Saturday June 8, John will hold a ‘Come and Sing’. 

He said: ‘I will be introducing people to two kinds of song - some from the Iona Community which refer to the Celtic Tradition of Spirituality as well as songs which deal with issues of justice, peace and inclusion such as are not regularly found in church hymnals."

 He added: "I'll also be sharing music from around the world which I have collected over the years, which is immediately singable." 

No singing skill is necessary. 

To book, visit larkriseretreats.org.uk or call 01394 284213 for more information.