Welcome to the Benefice web site for the churches of St. Mary's Berkeley, All Saints' Stone and St. Michael's Hill (please see the individual links to our church web sites). To contact the Vicar, Richard Avery, please us the 'Contact Us' link on the left. The diary is at the bottom of this page or use the 'Calendar' link in the left hand margin.

Winter came with a vengeance this year and it has made daily life difficult at times. Then, in mid-January, we heard news of terrible destruction in Haiti. The earthquake there put our troubles into perspective. Events like this can help remind us that we have a great deal to be thankful for, but they also raise some hard questions from a faith perspective.

Whenever a major natural disaster takes place. in which many lives are lost, many are injured or left homeless, then some people question how we can believe in a loving God. The situation may be compounded by selfishness, wickedness and greed, such as the actions of developers and councils in Gloucestershire who built homes in areas prone to flooding. In Haiti many buildings had been erected without proper regulation of the structures in a known earthquake zone. However, severe quakes cause destruction even in areas where the human population is well-prepared. So who is to blame? God?