One school, two pubs, three churches – just about the right balance to sustain body, mind and spirit in a small community. And in the run-up to Easter, it's a busy time for all these village institutions – particularly for the churches.

'Those who pray together, stay together' says the dictum, and close bonds between St Peter’s in Church Lane and the Methodist Chapels in Orchard Lane and Main Street help to unite the geographically separate communities of Hutton and Cranswick. Ruth Hind, Vicar of St Peter’s, and Methodist Minister Dale Cotton work together not only at times of Christian festivals but throughout the year to strengthen links between their churches and congregations.

Ruth Hind was born in Carlisle, Cumbria. She began her working life as a secretary in a firm of stockbrokers, learning to deal in commodities and taking responsibility for minor transactions. The next step on the career ladder would have been to take exams and become a fully-qualified stockbroker. Somehow, though, Ruth knew this was not for her. She had also been doing counselling work, and found this much more fulfilling than the world of commerce. One evening she went into her local church to pray for guidance, and the next day a friend casually remarked to her: "Ruth, you could become a vicar". At that point she knew that this was the course she must take. She enrolled on a 3-year course at Theological College in Nottingham, and became ordained as an Anglican Deacon in 2002. Her first posting was to Caldbeck in the north of the Lake District, then 3 years ago she responded to an advertisement in the Church News and moved with her family to fill the vacancy at St Peter’s in Hutton.

Dale Cotton travelled a very different path into the Church. He was born in Fontainebleu, moving across the Channel with his family to Frittenden in Kent at the age of 18 months. There he lived until the age of 25, becoming qualified as a Civil Engineer, and working first for the Greater London Council, then Kent County Council. During this time he was also a voluntary youth worker. Dale became a committed Christian at the age of 18 through the Pentecostal church and joined the Methodist Church in 1993, but never had the slightest intention of becoming a Minister. On the 6th January 1996, though, resting after a knee operation and watching a Rick Wakeman concert on TV, the sudden and certain knowledge came to him that the Church would be his future career. He enrolled at Theology College in Chatham, then studied at Canterbury University and was ordained as a Presbyter in 2004. The Driffield Circuit is his first stationing.

Ruth's Ministry and pastoral work covers Watton, Skerne and Beswick in addition to Hutton Cranswick, and Dale preaches in a total of 13 different chapels around his Circuit. Being a Church Minister is a 24-hour-a-day calling (you're never away from The Boss!) – but Ruth finds time to relax with her husband, Andy, an MOD driving instructor, and her two daughters, Victoria and Ellen, and also to sing in the LINK choir and play the trumpet. Dale plays the bass guitar in the LINK band, is a keen angler, and a proud member of the best darts team in Cranswick – 'White Horse A'.

Ruth and Dale both agree that it is not easy to work together as servants of two different denominations. But every successful partnership demands commitment and dedication and the rewards to the community are well worthwhile.
An inter-denominational LINK service, normally held on 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, will also be held at St Peter's Church at 4.30 p.m. on Easter Sunday afternoon. For early risers, there is a 'Son-Rise' service at Bainton Burrows near Middleton at 5.30 a.m. on Easter Sunday morning.