FAREWELL - St James the Great Church at Cradley says a sad farewell to its organist, Mrs Sue Scot, in the middle of this month - and is starting the search for her successor.

Sue, who lives in Bromyard and has been Cradley’s organist for some ten years, is standing down as she wishes to reduce her commitments. Her final service at Cradley was on Sunday and the next day the church’s wooden floor was ripped up and the church organ mothballed while refurbishments take place. The rector Rev Robert Ward said: “We shall be immensely sorry to lose Sue, who has served us very faithfully and helped develop our music and our choir. She had advised me earlier in the year that she wanted to stand down. With renovation work starting this month, which means the church and the organ will be out of commission for five to six weeks, from Sue’s point of view it seemed a good time to stand down.” During the renovation work services will be held in the village hall and at Cradley school. Cradley church is advertising for a successor and anyone who might wish to consider playing the organ and directing the choir is invited to contact Mr Ward on 01886 880438. The work in church includes replacement of some faulty flooring, while levelling the floor to eliminate steps. The font will be moved to a location nearer the door, which will create a larger space for social activities within the church and for displays.

Cradley church is also looking ahead to possible future projects which would see the provision of a small kitchen, toilet facilities and even a mezzanine floor.