Newsletter -12 - 13
Advent Greetings from Penshurst Rectory!
Thank you to everyone involved in last week’s Penshurst Christmas Fair. It was the village at its absolute best, full of warmth, generosity, and community spirit. We are also grateful for the magnificent Christmas programme delivered by the Penshurst Choral Society and our musical director, D’Arcy Trinkwon, last Saturday evening.
There are two services tomorrow, an 0800 Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst and a 1000 Holy Communion at St Peter’s Fordcombe.
This week brings many school events to our village churches. In St Mary’s Chiddingstone, the nursery nativity takes place on Monday afternoon, and the Key Stage 2 Carol Service on Wednesday evening. In Fordcombe, the school Christmas play is in school on Tuesday afternoon, followed by the End of Term Service at St Peter’s on Friday morning. In Penshurst, there is a Key Stage 1 nativity on Wednesday afternoon and a Key Stage 2 Carol Service on Thursday morning. I suspect tea-towel and tinsel sales are enjoying a seasonal rise! Precise timings are on the school websites. There are also traditional Carol Services next Sunday, the 21st, at 6:00pm in both St Luke’s and St John the Baptist churches.
As we approach Christmas, the pace and emotion of the season can feel overwhelming, especially for those who are bereaved. Gwen Dennard has kindly placed a Memorial Tree in St John the Baptist Church. Please feel free to add the names of those you would like to be remembered; all names placed on the tree will be included in our prayers next Sunday morning. The tree will remain in situ until Epiphany. While most of our Advent and Christmas services will be joyful and celebratory, next Sunday’s 10:00am Eucharist at St John the Baptist, will be our Blue Christmas Service, offering a quieter space to contemplate the season. In place of the normal sermon and intercessions, there will be an opportunity to light candles and to pray for those we miss, as well as for situations that weigh heavily on our hearts at this time of year. I hope this will provide a contemplative and hopeful space.
For those wishing to attend, the funeral for Chloe Phillips will take place at the Kent and Sussex Crematorium on Friday 16th January at 10:45am. We hold Caroline, Tim, and their family and friends in our prayers.
As Tunbridge Wells emerges from its temporary drought, and with the influx of shoppers to the new branch of Primark, we pray for ourselves and our wider community, that amidst the busyness, there may be time to experience God’s perfect peace and his light in the darkness. A prayer for the third Sunday in Advent:
God of joy and gentle light,
as we draw near to the celebration of Christ’s birth,
renew in us the hope that does not fade
and the peace that the world cannot give.
Strengthen those who wait in longing,
comfort the broken-hearted,
and make our hearts ready to welcome your Son.
May your Spirit fill us with courage, compassion,
and the quiet joy of your coming kingdom.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
Rev’d Lisa Cornell
Rector of Penshurst, Fordcombe and The Chiddingstones.
Christmas Cards Now Available
Our new Christmas cards are on sale! Each pack contains 5 cards with envelopes for £5. All proceeds will go to the Friends of St John’s.
If you’d like to purchase a pack, please contact Matthew Stevens at matthewshakeystevens@gmail.com or Stephen Hazell-Smith at loftskand@hotmail.com.
A preview of the design is attached.
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday 14th December
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion.
1000 St Peters, Fordcombe: Holly Communion
Sunday 21st December
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Nine Lessons and Carols
1800 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Nine Lessons and Carols
Wednesday 24th December
2200 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion for Christmas Night
1600 St Peters, Fordcombe: Carol Service
1730 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Carols by Candlelight
2330: St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Midnight Mass
Thursday 25th December
1030 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: All Age Service for Christmas Day
1030 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: All Age Holy Communon
09:00 St Peters, Fordcombe: Holly Communion
Sunday 28th December
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -12 - 06
Greetings from Penshurst Rectory
What a busy week it has been! Two funerals, several school visits, a variety of trustee and school governor meetings and administrative tasks, and, this afternoon, a two-hour duty as a Christmas Elf at the Penshurst Christmas Market. I certainly have a varied ministry.
At the heart of being a priest is the call to shepherd the flock through every season of life. This can mean being alongside families during their difficult times. I am sad to share with you the death of Chloe Phillips, a long-time resident of Wellers Town. Chloe became very unwell about five weeks ago and died peacefully on Thursday morning. I shall miss her very much. We shared a love of dogs, a strong faith, and a wacky sense of humour. Chloe mainly worshipped in the Chiddingstone churches, but her family was well known in Penshurst. Please hold her children, Tim and Caroline, her grandchildren, and her wider circle of family and friends in your prayers. Funeral details will follow in due course.
Next week, my diary is relatively quiet. I shall be taking a few days off to rest before the madness of the final week of the school term and the lead-up to Christmas. Please be aware that my response time to emails may be slower than usual. Normal service will be resumed on Thursday the 11th.
This Sunday marks the Second Sunday in Advent. The collect for this day is one of my favourite reflections on scripture. I hope it inspires you in the week ahead:
Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
We hope to see you at the upcoming events.
Christmas Cards Now Available
Our new Christmas cards are on sale! Each pack contains 5 cards with envelopes for £5. All proceeds will go to the Friends of St John’s.
If you’d like to purchase a pack, please contact Matthew Stevens at matthewshakeystevens@gmail.com or Stephen Hazell-Smith at loftskand@hotmail.com.
A preview of the design is attached.
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday 07th December
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
Sunday 14th December
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion.
1000 St Peters, Fordcombe: Holly Communion
Sunday 21st December
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Nine Lessons and Carols
1800 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Nine Lessons and Carols
Wednesday 24th December
2200 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion for Christmas Night
1600 St Peters, Fordcombe: Carol Service
1730 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Carols by Candlelight
2330: St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Midnight Mass
Thursday 25th December
1030 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: All Age Service for Christmas Day
1030 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: All Age Holy Communon
09:00 St Peters, Fordcombe: Holly Communion
Sunday 28th December
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -11 - 28
Greetings from Penshurst Rectory
Our benefice was blessed with a Quiet Afternoon on Tuesday. Thank you to Rev’d Penny Stephens and Barbara Lloyd for organising this event. The dozen or so participants reported great enjoyment. Meanwhile, I continue to live in enforced quiet with a lingering episode of laryngitis. A camera examination this week has ruled out any sinister causes, and I have some new treatments to try to restore my voice to sounding less like a Dalek! If you could hold this matter in prayer, I would be grateful.
I spent most of Wednesday at a Diocesan domestic abuse conference and part of Thursday in a safeguarding training. The speakers offered wise advice on how we can support those experiencing or recovering from domestic abuse in its many forms. So much suffering goes on behind closed doors - violent, financial, and emotional abuse, and many types of coercive and controlling behaviour. This is an issue that cuts across all social boundaries and, statistically, is likely to be part of the lived reality of some within our own community. If you need support, here are two sources of help:
Website: https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/
Telephone helpline: 0808 2000247
Among the matters discussed was how our personal biases can affect our ability to notice or support those in abusive situations. Whilst women are disproportionately affected, the lack of recognition and support for male victims was identified as one of several factors behind the recent rise in self-harm among men. In response, I will be sharing safeguarding literature in our church buildings, offering sources of support and advice for all.
Should you wish to undertake training in Safeguarding, Domestic Abuse, or the allied topic of Modern-Day Slavery, the Church of England offers several helpful courses through its online portal: https://safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org/
You do not need to be a church office holder to complete these courses, though when you register you will be asked where you worship. If you are an office holder — such as a PCC member, sidesperson, or someone regularly undertaking work on behalf of the church — some courses are compulsory and others recommended. All can be accessed through the portal. If you have any safeguarding questions, please contact Wendy Ellis, our safeguarding lead, at safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk.
Your parish magazines for December should soon be reaching you. You will see that our benefice diary is full of services, concerts, and assorted school events. There are at least twenty-six events in the benefice diary just in the churches alone, with many other community activities that will keep us all busy. As arrangements come together I wish everyone a very successful Advent season.
Unusually, Advent begins in November this year, and this Sunday two services are taking place in Penshurst. The 10:00 Sung Holy Communion service is followed at 16:00 by a Forest Church ADVENTure. I have moved Forest Church indoors and we are offering a child-friendly service with games, crafts, and activities suitable for all ages. Why not come along? There will be refreshments, and any adult (or older child) helpers for crafts or refreshments would be very welcome.
Next week I shall be leading two funerals, and I ask for your prayers for their loved ones as they mourn. On Monday afternoon at 2pm, I shall lead a service for Dr Timothy Marrs at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Edenbridge. On Wednesday at 1pm, the funeral of Margaret Leppard will be held at Kent and Sussex Crematorium. A family-only interment of her ashes will take place on Saturday at Poundsbridge. Margaret was much loved in the Penshurst and wider local community. We hold her husband David, her children, and grandchildren in our prayers. Many friends and family are travelling from across the globe, so we wish them safe journeys into and out of the UK next week.
With every good wish for the week ahead,
Lisa
Rev’d Lisa Cornell, Rector of Penshurst, Fordcombe and The Chiddingstones
We hope to see you at the Forest Church ADVENTure on 30th November at 4-5pm at St John the Baptist.
Christmas Cards Now Available
Our new Christmas cards are on sale! Each pack contains 5 cards with envelopes for £5. All proceeds will go to the Friends of St John’s.
If you’d like to purchase a pack, please contact Matthew Stevens at matthewshakeystevens@gmail.com or Stephen Hazell-Smith at loftskand@hotmail.com.
A preview of the design is attached.
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday 30th November - Advent 1
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1600 – Forest Church, Penshurst Rectory Garden.
Sunday 07th December
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
Sunday 14th December
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion.
1000 St Peters, Fordcombe: Holly Communion
Sunday 21st December
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Nine Lessons and Carols
1800 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Nine Lessons and Carols
Wednesday 24th December
2200 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion for Christmas Night
1600 St Peters, Fordcombe: Carol Service
1730 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Carols by Candlelight
2330: St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Midnight Mass
Thursday 25th December
1030 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: All Age Service for Christmas Day
1030 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: All Age Holy Communon
09:00 St Peters, Fordcombe: Holly Communion
Sunday 28th December
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -11 - 22
Greetings from a chilly Penshurst!
After such a warm year my gloves and hats have been redeployed this week. The first frosts and mellow sunrises are so beautiful, but a slight shock to the system!
This Sunday we celebrate Christ the King, the final Sunday of the Church year. It reminds us that Jesus’ kingship is one of compassion and steady guidance, not power or pomp. For our rural communities, this feast is a gentle encouragement: as the seasons turn and winter approaches, Christ’s reign brings hope, peace, and a sense of order amid change. His kingdom grows wherever love and neighbourliness are shared. This final feast of the church year also leads us into Advent, helping us look toward the promise of Christ’s coming with renewed trust and confidence.
Services tomorrow are at 1000. My thanks to Fr Stephen Mitchell for leading at St Luke’s. I shall be at St John the Baptist as usual.
A Prayer for the Changing Season
Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God,
as the seasons turn and the daylight shifts,
we look to you as the eternal Light that no darkness can overcome.
In this time of change, steady our hearts.
Let the shortening days remind us that your presence shines
even when shadows grow long,
and let the coming light stir hope within our parish community.
Bless us with renewed faith,
that we may see your hand in the rhythms of creation
and trust your guidance through every season of our lives.
May your radiant love warm the cold places of our world,
and may your truth, bright and steadfast, lead us ever closer to you.
Reign in our hearts, O Christ our King,
now and forever.
Amen.
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
We hope to see you at the Piano Gala on the 18th December
Christmas Cards Now Available
Our new Christmas cards are on sale! Each pack contains 5 cards with envelopes for £5. All proceeds will go to the Friends of St John’s.
If you’d like to purchase a pack, please contact Matthew Stevens at matthewshakeystevens@gmail.com or Stephen Hazell-Smith at loftskand@hotmail.com.
A preview of the design is attached.
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday 23rd November - Christ The King
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
Tuesday 25th November - Quiet Morning
1330 St Luke’s, Parish Room, Chiddingstone: Quiet Afternoon.
To reserve a place email barbaramlloyd@gmail.com or just come on the day.
Sunday 30th November - Advent 1
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1600 – Forest Church, Penshurst Rectory Garden.
Sunday 07th December
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
Sunday 14th December
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion.
1000 St Peters, Fordcombe: Holly Communion
Sunday 21st December
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Nine Lessons and Carols
1800 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Nine Lessons and Carols
Wednesday 24th December
2200 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion for Christmas Night
1600 St Peters, Fordcombe: Carol Service
1730 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Carols by Candlelight
2330: St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Midnight Mass
Thursday 25th December
1030 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: All Age Service for Christmas Day
1030 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: All Age Holy Communon
09:00 St Peters, Fordcombe: Holly Communion
Sunday 28th December
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -11 - 14
Greetings from The Rector:
At the end of an awful day, weather-wise, I am grateful to be safely home for the evening. The week began with a series of Remembrance services. Thank you to all who attended and especially to those who held key roles in setting up and leading the services. On Tuesday, the school children at Fordcombe were impeccably behaved through the village green service and especially the two-minute silence observed in the village. Their poppy decorations were a beautiful addition to the scene. Our four churches will keep a red array for most of November to mark The Kingdom Season. The colour will change to purple after we have marked the end of the church year and the festival of Christ the King on Sunday November 23rd.
I have decided to delay meeting with Forest Church this weekend. The weather this Sunday looks dubious at best, and I still have little voice. Laryngitis is now in its seventh week. However, in two weeks’ time…
You are invited to a St John the Baptist Church for a Forest Church ADVENTure at 4pm on 30th November.
At this informal event there will be a short all age service and lots of activities for people to enjoy including games and crafts. I will send out more details next week. Offers of help with leading activities and providing refreshments would be much appreciated.
This Sunday the Church of England marks Safeguarding Sunday. I close with some prayers, which I hope will speak to everyone’s hearts. Source: towards-a-safer-church-some-liturgical-resources-2018
God of hope,
we come before you in our brokenness and need of healing.
Through your mercy and grace,
we seek your forgiveness for what we have done or failed to do.
Give us the courage to learn from past events,
and through your Spirit give us the hope
to look forward to life with you and through you,
so that we may overcome the darkness and suffering surrounding us
and proclaim your love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Gracious God, pour upon all people your life-giving Spirit.
Guide us with your peaceable wisdom,
that our communities may be places of safety and joy
as we delight in your gift of life,
and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
Christmas Cards Now Available
Our new Christmas cards are on sale! Each pack contains 5 cards with envelopes for £5. All proceeds will go to the Friends of St John’s.
If you’d like to purchase a pack, please contact Matthew Stevens at matthewshakeystevens@gmail.com or Stephen Hazell-Smith at loftskand@hotmail.com.
A preview of the design is attached.
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday 16th November – 2nd Sunday before Advent
1000 -St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
Sunday 23rd November - Christ The King
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
Tuesday 25th November - Quiet Morning
1330 St Luke’s, Parish Room, Chiddingstone: Quiet Morning.
To reserve a place email barbaramlloyd@gmail.com or just come on the day.
Sunday 30th November - Advent 1
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1600 – Forest Church, Penshurst Rectory Garden
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -11 - 08
Rector’s weekly update: It has been unusually quiet in the parish this week. Although the fireworks at the Leicester Arms on Wednesday offered brief and dramatic contrast. The film set in Penshurst has been scaled down but will come back to life again on Monday. Across the parishes are interminable sets of roadworks. I think the collective noun for such projects could be a frustration of traffic lights. They seem to spring up from nowhere, along with what feel like random road closures.
Over the next few days, we mark Remembrance across the nation. Each of our four local churches has its part to play. Beautiful altar frontals in St Luke’s and St Mary’s crafted locally to commemorate those fallen, are once again on display. In St John the Baptist, the floral tributes have been boosted by hundreds of knitted and crocheted poppies. These form a cascade between the Sidney Chapel and pulpit. The local knit and natter group has crafted these over many months, and I am delighted with the result. St Peter’s will host a short act of worship and offer refreshments at the war memorial on Tuesday 11th after the community event on the Green starting at 1045am.
Sunday’s services begin with an 0800 Holy Communion in Penshurst (not Fordcombe as has been printed on some notices). The Remembrance Service at St Mary’s will be led by Rev’d Canon David Kitley and I shall lead proceedings at St John the Baptist. We ask the congregation to be seated for 1045am, ready for the services to begin at 1050.
Message from Tracy (Benefice Administrator)
Thank you all for your prayers for my mum and grandmother last week. I’m happy to share that both are healthy and doing well and I have heard from them both. I continue to keep Jamaica, along with my extended family and friends there, in my prayers.
The Rectors end this week’s mailing with this prayer from The Church of England funeral liturgy:
A prayer of commemoration for the fallen.
Father of all, remember your holy promise,
and look with love on all your people, living and departed.
On this day we especially ask that you would hold forever
all who have suffered during war, those who returned scarred by warfare,
those who waited anxiously at home,
and those who returned wounded, and disillusioned;
those who mourned, and those communities that were diminished and suffered loss.
Remember too those who acted with kindly compassion,
those who bravely risked their own lives for their comrades,
and those who in the aftermath of war, worked tirelessly for a more peaceful world.
And as you remember them, remember us, O Lord;
grant us peace in our time and a longing for the day when people of every language, race, and nation will be brought into the unity of Christ’s kingdom.
This we ask in the name of the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
I wish you a blessed week ahead.
Lisa
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday 9th November Remembrance Sunday
0800: St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1045 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Remembrance Sunday Service
1050 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Remembrance Sunday Service.
Tuesday 11th November
St Mary’s, Chiddingstone School and Community Remembrance Events. Time TBC (please check school and parish website for details)
1045 - Fordcombe Village Green and Community Remembrance Events. Followed by Short service at St Peter’s War Memorial with refreshments in Church.
Sunday 16th November – 2nd Sunday before Advent
1000 -St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1600 – Forest Church, Penshurst Rectory Garden
Sunday 23rd November - Christ The King
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
Tuesday 25th November - Quiet Morning
1330 St Lukes, Parish Room, Chiddingstone: Quiet Morning.
To reserve a place email barbaramlloyd@gmail.com or just come on the day.
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -11 - 01
Dear Friends,
Greetings on All Hallows’ Eve. I am at my desk at 5 p.m., and it is already dark outside! I am not a fan of long nights and short days, but I have bought a new head torch and a light-up collar for Dibley in anticipation of a season of evening walkies in the dark.
With Universal Studios encamped locally, I have had some wonderful pastoral conversations with the film crew and security staff based at Penshurst Place this week. There are many Winnebagos on site, and cars with blacked-out windows glide through the gates throughout the day. I am in blissful ignorance about what is being filmed and who stars, but I look forward to seeing the finished film in due course.
Last Sunday at St John the Baptist Church, we welcomed the choir from Yalding Church, who sang Evensong with the Penshurst and Fordcombe choir. The music was truly beautiful, and the service uplifting. I hope this will be the first of many collaborations between my former and current parishes.
This Sunday: We mark All Saints’ Day at the 10:00 a.m. Communion and All Souls’ Day with a service of Evening Prayer at 6:00 p.m. in Penshurst. The All Souls’ service will be a quiet, reflective opportunity to remember those we have loved who have died. We will read out the names of loved ones and light candles in their memory. Everyone is most welcome.
Sad News: It is with sadness that I share the news that long-term Penshurst resident Margaret Leppard died last Friday. Her funeral is expected to take place in early December. I am awaiting confirmation from her husband, David, and will share details once plans are confirmed.
Please hold David, his children, and grandchildren in your prayers.
Prayers for the Caribbean: News of Hurricane Melissa’s destructive power in the Caribbean this week has affected some in our parish. At the time of writing, Tracy, our administrator, has been waiting several days for news from her mother and grandmother in Jamaica, who live in Trelawny and Clarendon respectively. Both towns currently have no water, electricity, or mobile signal.
Please pray for the safety of Valerie and Alice, and for Tracy as she waits anxiously for news.
Remembrance Services: Next Sunday, 9th November there will be an 0800 service of Holy Communion in Penshurst. Later, we will mark Remembrance Sunday at St Mary’s and St John the Baptist Churches. Please be seated by 10:45 a.m. for a service timed so that the names of the Fallen are read before the national two-minute silence. On Tuesday 11th November, also at 10:45 a.m., there will be a Community Act of Remembrance on the Village Green in Fordcombe. After reading the names of the Fallen, we shall observe the two-minute silence, then move to the war memorial at St Peter’s to lay wreaths and say further prayers. Refreshments will be available afterwards in church.
I hope to share details of Chiddingstone School’s Remembrance events next week, once they return from their half-term break.
With my prayers and best wishes for the week ahead
Lisa
Rev’d Lisa Cornell
Rector, Penshurst, Fordcombe and The Chiddingstones.
We hope to see you at the upcoming events.
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday 2nd November: All Saints and All Souls
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion for All Saints Day
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Evening Prayer for All Souls’ Day. A service to commemorate those who have died.
Sunday 9th November Remembrance Sunday
0800: St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1045 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Remembrance Sunday Service
1050 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Remembrance Sunday Service.
Tuesday 11 November
St Mary’s, Chiddingstone School and Community Remembrance Events. Time TBC (please check school and parish website for details)
1045 - Fordcombe Village Green and Community Remembrance Events. Followed by Short service at St Peter’s War Memorial with refreshments in Church.
Sunday 16 November – 2nd Sunday before Advent
1000 -St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1600 – Forest Church, Penshurst Rectory Garden
Sunday 23 November - Christ The King
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
Tuesday 25 November - Quiet Morning
1330 St Lukes, Parish Room, Chiddingstone: Quiet Morning.
To reserve a place email barbaramlloyd@gmail.com or just come on the day.
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -10 - 25
Greetings from The Rector
I write this week’s mailing from St John the Baptist church at Friday’s choir practice. I should be warbling my way through the soprano parts of each piece, but sadly, laryngitis has scuppered any plans I may have had! Should you wish to hear the choir, you are most welcome to join us for Holy Communion at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday and BCP Evensong at 6:00 p.m. There is also a service of Sung Holy Communion at St Luke’s at 1000.
I am delighted that a dozen or so musicians from St Peter and St Paul’s in Yalding, under the directorship of Daniel Sharman, will be joining us on Sunday evening. With D’Arcy Trinkwon playing the organ and Daniel conducting, the 6:00 p.m Evensong will be a true musical treat! The practice begins at 4pm.
Penshurst has this week been slowly morphing into a Hollywood film set! Universal Studios and Netflix are taking over Penshurst Place for three weeks. Film crews have been setting up what feels like a small village in the house, grounds, and nearby fields for a week now. The field to the north of the grounds has become a crew car park, and my Labrador, Dibley, has thoroughly enjoyed acting as a canine waste disposal unit during afternoon walkies, helping herself to several dropped snacks!
Penshurst Place also featured on an E4 programme on Thursday night. It’s a delightful hour of television which I commend to you to stream on catch-up. The programme portrays life on the estate through several seasons, with some stunning aerial photography. The appearance of many local people makes for a warm and engaging programme.
In less grand but equally beautiful surroundings, on Saturday morning between 10:00 and noon we will hold the final working party of 2025 at Poundsbridge. We’ll be putting the chapel to bed for winter and tidying the grounds once more. Many have commented on how much better the churchyard is looking, and I am grateful to all who have taken part. Particular thanks go to Maddie Jenner for organising these events.
We will resume our monthly working parties after Easter. There are three open and two closed churchyards in the benefice, and their upkeep is far more economical thanks to the efforts of our volunteers. Thank you to all who have contributed your time and energy across all five sites during 2025.
Our local schools have been on half-term holiday this week. I hope that our children, young people, and their families have enjoyed some time away from their term-time routines, and that staff will return rested and ready for the long run-up to Christmas. Chiddingstone School has another week off, so this would be a lovely time to enjoy the church and village without the usual weekday traffic.
On Sunday, 2nd November, we will mark All Saints and All Souls Day. At St John the Baptist , Penshurst. The morning Communion at 10:00 a.m. will celebrate the lives of the Saints and will have an upbeat feel. The service celebrating All Souls Day at 6:00 p.m. will be more reflective. This quiet service of Evening Prayer invites us to remember before God those who have died. We may remember our loved ones by name and through the lighting of candles.
In some churches, this is called The Service for the Faithful Departed or The Annual Memorial Service. I hope it will provide space and comfort for all who mourn. If you would like the name of a loved one read out, cards will be available as you enter the church. The names will be gathered, read aloud, and placed on the altar during the service. If you cannot attend but would like a loved one’s name included, please email or drop me a note, and I will ensure their name is read out in your absence.
This is a service to which all members of our benefice churches are warmly invited.
Until next week,
May God bless you all,
Lisa.
We hope to see you at the upcoming events.
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday October 26th, The Last After Trinity
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: A celebration of Bible Sunday. Choral Evensong. Featuring the combined choirs of Penshurst and Yalding Churches.
Sunday 2nd November: All Saints and All Souls
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion for All Saints Day
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Evening Prayer for All Souls’ Day. A service to commemorate those who have died.
Sunday 9th November Remembrance Sunday
0800: St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1045 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Remembrance Sunday Service
1050 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Remembrance Sunday Service.
Tuesday 11 November
St Mary’s, Chiddingstone School and Community Remembrance Events. Time TBC (please check school and parish website for details)
1045 - Fordcombe Village Green and Community Remembrance Events. Followed by Short service at St Peter’s War Memorial with refreshments in Church.
Sunday 16 November – 2nd Sunday before Advent
1000 -St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1600 – Forest Church, Penshurst Rectory Garden
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -10 - 18
A short message from the Rector this week:
We have enjoyed three harvest services this week. Thank you to all who attended and donated good to local foodbanks and money for local charities. The children's contributions to the school harvest services were beautiful.
There are services of Holy Communion at St Luke's celebrating the patronal festival and St John the Baptist marking Trinity 18.
Forest church is scheduled for this Sunday at 4pm. If the forecast storms come to fruition this may be moved from Penshurst Rectory garden to the church. We will make a final decision tomorrow morning and keep you posted via whatsapp groups and physical signs.
For those connected to school and college life, I wish you a restful half term week (or fortnight!)
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
We hope to see you at the upcoming events.
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday October 19th, The 18th Sunday after Trinity
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
TBC St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: A service for St Luke’s patronal festival. - TBC. Please check the Benefice website.
1600 Penshurst Rectory Garden: Forest Church
Sunday October 26th, The Last After Trinity
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: A celebration of Bible Sunday. Choral Evensong. Featuring the combined choirs of Penshurst and Yalding Churches.
Sunday 2nd November: All Saints and All Souls
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion for All Saints Day
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Evening Prayer for All Souls’ Day. A service to commemorate those who have died.
Sunday 9th November Remembrance Sunday
0800: St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1045 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Remembrance Sunday Service
1045 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Remembrance Sunday Service
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -10 -11
Greetings from Penshurst Rectory
After eight days in Dorset, I am back and working in the benefice. Our time away was blessed by pleasant weather and beautiful Autumn scenes. I have rested well and feel refreshed. Thank you to Rev’d Fiona Haskett who presided and preached at St John the Baptist last week and to Rev’d Ray Shergill who juggled a multi themed service at St Mary’s. Services in Chiddingstone now move to St Luke’s for the winter season.
During my time away, a new Archbishop of Canterbury was appointed. I congratulate Rt Rev’d Dame Sarah Mullally on her appointment. In my past life as a teacher, the then Mrs Mulally was a parent of a pupil in my care. Her daughter has gone on to be a well-regarded scientist. Bp Sarah’s priestly ministry has emerged from a vocation in nursing. I believe that Bp Sarah will bring much to the role nationally and globally. In her own words: “In an age that craves certainty and tribalism, Anglicanism offers something quieter but stronger: shared history, held in tension, shaped by prayer, and lit from within by the glory of Christ. That is what gives me hope. In our fractured and hurting world, that partnership in the Gospel could not be more vital.” I hope you will join me in praying for the Bp Sarah as she transitions to her new role.
Locally, we congratulate Francesca and Jesse on their baptism last Sunday; and Andrew and Robyn who married on Friday 10th October.
This Sunday there will be Holy Communion services at 0800 at St John the Baptist; 1000 at St Luke’s and a Harvest Holy Communion will be celebrated at St Peter’s at 1000. You are welcome to bring goods to donate to local food banks or cash for Mary’s Meals. There are two further school harvest services next week. Fordcombe School will celebrate at 0915 at St Peter’s on Tuesday 14th, and Penshurst School’s harvest will be at St John the Baptist on Thursday 16th at 0915. Refreshments will be served after all of these services. For those of you who need me to countersign school applications, I will be available at all of the Penshurst of Fordcombe services if you would like to bring your paperwork.
Finally, you may be aware that 9 - 15 October is Baby Loss Awareness week. This week is a time for prayer, remembrance, and raising awareness about the impact of pregnancy and baby loss. The week concludes with the #WaveOfLight, where people around the world light candles at 7 p.m. to remember babies who died too soon.
The local charity, Abigail’s footsteps, is partnering with Rochester Cathedral this coming Wednesday, offering a place of reflection and prayer for those who have experienced the trauma and sorrow of losing a baby. The Cathedral will be open between 18:30 - 19:45. The cathedral spire will also be lit pink and blue for the Wave of Light. If this issue is important to you, you may wish to join me at Rochester next week. Penshurst church is open every day from 0830 until dusk and there is a votive candle stand which you are most welcome to use.
The national church has published this prayer:
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday October 12th, The 17th Sunday after Trinity
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst Holy Communion
1000 St Peter’s,Fordcombe: Holy Communion and Harvest Celebration
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
Sunday October 19th, The 18th Sunday after Trinity
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
TBC St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: A service for St Luke’s patronal festival. - TBC. Please check the Benefice website.
1600 Penshurst Rectory Garden: Forest Church
Sunday October 26th, The Last After Trinity
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: A celebration of Bible Sunday. Choral Evensong. Featuring the combined choirs of Penshurst and Yalding Churches.
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -10 - 04
The Rector is currently on leave and will return on Wednesday, 8th October. We wish her a truly restful and refreshing break, and we look forward to welcoming her back with renewed energy.
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday October 6th, The 16th Sunday after Trinity
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Harvest Celebration with Baptism
Sunday October 12th, The 17th Sunday after Trinity
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst Holy Communion
1000 St Peter’s,Fordcombe: Holy Communion and Harvest Celebration
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
Sunday October 19th, The 18th Sunday after Trinity
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
TBC St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: A service for St Luke’s patronal festival. - TBC. Please check the Benefice website.
1600 Penshurst Rectory Garden: Forest Church
Sunday October 26th, The Last After Trinity
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
1800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: A celebration of Bible Sunday. Choral Evensong. Featuring the combined choirs of Penshurst and Yalding Churches.
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -October
Rector’s Letter – October 2025
Dear Parishioners
As autumn deepens, the landscape around our villages is a little earlier than usual, rich with colour. I find myself drawn to reflect with gratitude on the blessings of this time of year and this area of The High Weald in particular.
Harvest is, of course, a time to give thanks, but also a time to reflect on where our food comes from — the hard work of farmers, the challenges of supply chains, and the inequalities that mean not everyone shares in Creation’s bounty.
As mentioned last month, our harvest thanksgiving services are at St John the Baptist, Penshurst on 28th September, St Mary’s Chiddingstone on 6th October and St Peter’s Fordcombe on 13th October. Our school service dates are now known. They are at Chiddingstone on Weds 8th October; Fordcombe on Tuesday 14th October and Penshurst on Thursday 16th October. I hope that with six choices of service there will be a time for everyone interested to attend church as they can, thank God for his generosity and pray for those who are in need. At each of these services there will be an opportunity to donate either food for local foodbanks or make financial donations to a chosen charity. Please check the weekly newsletters and website for further details of these.
My sense is that the nation and the world are in a state of unrest. In our beautiful corner of Kent, we are mercifully a long way from the worst effects. Perhaps because of that, it is even more important that we arm ourselves with facts more than rhetoric; give generously to charities supporting those worst affected and pray for God’s peace to change the hearts of those in power.
Food poverty is severe in several parts of the world. The causes are complex. Systemic hunger is not something that can be fixed by just providing more food, although short term aid is essential in a crisis. We need also to solve long-term hunger because of the lifelong consequences especially for children. To quote the World Food Programme: “Malnourished children are up to 12 times more likely to die than a healthy child. Malnutrition slows economic growth, perpetuates poverty, impacts children's education and adult’s workforce skills, with dire consequences for countries' human capital and future development. As part of a vicious cycle, hunger can also fuel conflict as well as vice-versa. People forced from their land may be vying with others for scarce resources, especially in areas where poverty and inequality are already present.”[1]
Feeling the effects of poverty and conflict, a sense of injustice and not feeling heard is being acted out in all sorts of political activity at present. At the gentle end there is healthy debate and peaceful protest; in political systems the voting in and out of governors and leaders. And there are a range of active protest movements that act outside of the law. Past example has shown how such mistrust of mainline political systems can be used by terrorist organisations as part of recruitment and influence; or terrorism’s threats be misused by governments to close down legitimate protest. Each year we look back at Remembrance particularly at 20th and 21st century conflicts. I urge people this year to mark the Remembrance season prayerfully- remembering the freedoms others sacrificed for us. I shall write more about this in next month's newsletter. George Santayana, wrote in 1910: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".[2] This quote is similar to Mark Twain who said in 1874: “History never repeats itself, but the Kaleidoscopic combinations of the pictured present often seem to be constructed out of the broken fragments of antique legends.”[i][3]
Let us pray in October to be:
v Thankful for the harvest, and for those who grow, prepare and distribute food
v Thankful for the beautiful surroundings of our village homes
v Mindful of those who struggle with food insecurity, economic uncertainty, isolation and both the fear and reality of conflict.
v Willing to commit our own resources of time, treasure or talent to helping those near and far who need us.
With every blessing and thanks for all you bring to our parish life
Lisa
Rev’d Lisa Cornell
Rector of Penshurst, Fordcombe and The Chiddingstones.
[1] https://www.wfp.org/ending-hunger?
[2] https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/those-who-cannot-remember-past-are-condemned-repeat-it-george-santayana-life-reason-1905#
[3] https://hotwhitesnow.wordpress.com/2024/04/18/history-doesnt-repeat-itself-but-it-often-rhymes/#:~:text=Indeed%2C%20in%20the%201874%20novel,of%20the%20broken%20fragments%20of
Newsletter -09 - 27
Greetings from Penshurst. Last weekend took an unexpected turn for me and I became unwell. Thank you to Rev’d Ian Aveson for leading the communion service in Penshurst.
I have rescheduled Forest Church for this Sunday at 4pm.
The Penshurst Bells refurbishment is nearer to completion. The bells themselves are now repaired and tuned but their return cannot be scheduled until their headstocks have been delivered to the foundry and fitted. Fingers crossed for their return very soon! Weddings seem so much quieter this year! Talking of which- we send congratulations to Michael and Christina who were married last Saturday and to Phoebe and Alex whose wedding is this weekend.
Thank you to all of you (20+) who took part in the garden working party at Chiddingstone Rectory last weekend. There is a working party at Poundsbridge Churchyard this Saturday between 1000 and Noon. Volunteer help is always very much appreciated.
This Sunday’s service in Penshurst will celebrate Harvest. Please bring goods to donate to the local foodbank or cash to donate to the charity Mary’s Meals. This charity works in 16 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. The charity asks for a £19.15 donation to feed a child for a full year. The Mary’s Meals projects offer children a daily meal in school. Wider communities gain skills and support from the charity to establish sustainable feeding programmes and the prospects for children for future employment and well-being are improved by their attendance at school with enough energy to make meaningful progress. www.marysmeals.org.uk
At the Chiddingstone harvest service next week, funds will be raised for The Addington Fund. The charity aims to keep the countryside vibrant and sustainable by providing affordable housing for those in farm work or who have retired, supporting people in their agricultural careers and offering emergency and practical help to farming families in crisis. www.addingtonfund.org.uk
I shall be taking annual leave from Monday 29th September until Wednesday 8th October. I will have limited access to phone and e mails whilst away. Please direct any urgent queries to the office or your local church wardens. Please check the website for the most up to information about services.
With every blessing
Lisa
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday September 28th,
1000 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst. To include the harvest festival.
1000 Holy Communion St Mary’s, Chiddingstone.
16:00 Forest Church - Penshurst Rectory Garden
Sunday October 6th, The 16th Sunday after Trinity
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Harvest Celebration with Baptism
Sunday October 12th, The 17th Sunday after Trinity
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst Holy Communion
1000 St Peter’s,Fordcombe: Holy Communion and Harvest Celebration
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -09 - 20
Weekly Mailing 19th September
I hope this mailing reaches you happy and well. We seem to have had several seasons of weather this week, and I have found it difficult to plan anything outdoors.
This week we laid to rest Carole Allen and Sarah Noss. The funerals were very well attended, and I believe offered both of these remarkable women fitting tributes for lives well lived.
On Saturday 20th we celebrate with Michael and Christina as they marry in Penshurst Church. It has been a busy wedding season with each celebration unique to the couple. We pray for good weather and offer them our good wishes as they begin married life together. This is the eighteenth of twenty-one weddings this year. A busy season.
On Sunday 21st, there are two services in the Benefice. We celebrate Holy Communion in Penshurst at 1000. At 1600 Forest Church will take place in my Rectory Garden. An unusual cluster of birthdays means that several of my normal team of adult helpers have diary clashes this weekend. I am a little short of volunteers this time, so any adults who attend would be most welcome to assist me.
For those of you with children in Year Six, you may need me to countersign your applications for local church schools. I am of course willing to do so. I can be difficult to find mutually convenient diary slots to meet, but please note I am available at the end of any church service and there are two this Sunday!
Next Saturday (27th September) there is a working party at All Soul’s Chapel Poundsbridge between 10am and Noon. Anyone able to join us would be welcome to attend to help us settle the churchyard into Autumn. Please come and give what time and energy you can. Anyone with chain saws, hedge trimmers, brush cutters/ strimmers could be especially helpful as we clear back the edges of the site. Also, we have a lot of branches cut in the last few months that need to go through a chipper. Anyone with such a piece of kit would find themselves extremely popular! We are hoping also to clear the central path of moss and vegetation so that the tarmac beneath offers us a firmer footing for winter. During this year’s working parties, participants have ranged in age from 6 to 91, Everybody has a part to play. See you there!
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday September 21st,
1000 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst.
Sunday September 28th,
1000 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst. To include the harvest festival.
1000 Holy Communion St Mary’s, Chiddingstone.
Sunday October 6th, The 16th Sunday after Trinity
1000 St John the Baptist, Penshurst: Holy Communion
1000 St Mary’s, Chiddingstone: Harvest Celebration with Baptism
Sunday October 12th, The 17th Sunday after Trinity
0800 St John the Baptist, Penshurst Holy Communion
1000 St Peter’s,Fordcombe: Holy Communion and Harvest Celebration
1000 St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway: Holy Communion
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -09 - 13
Weekly Mailing 12th September 2025.
Rev’d Lisa, Rector writes:
I hope this mailing finds you well and settled into September. This week began with two weddings and a renewal of marriage vows. We congratulate Emily, Toby, Abi, and Luke as they begin married life and celebrate with Maggie and David who marked the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding at St Peter’s by renewing their vows. This week, David and Amelia will be married in St Mary’s. Thank you to our visiting clergy who have led weddings in Chiddingstone this summer. Rev’d Aji officiated last week and Rev’d Rob returns for this week’s weddings. Thank you to all of you who staff our weddings and help them to run smoothy.
Parish life involves walking alongside families at times of both joy and sadness. This Sunday we will baptise Isabella at a service in Penshurst and we pray for her, her big sister Lara, and parents and Godparents as they begin their journey of faith. On Monday and Tuesday, we held the funeral and celebration of life for Viv Timothy. Thank you to Rev’d Fiona for leading Tuesday’s service in St Mary’s. This Monday coming, Carole Allen’s funeral service will take place at The Kent and Sussex Crematorium at 1130. On Thursday, the memorial service for Sarah Noss will take place in Penshurst Church at 2pm. Sarah was for over 20 years on the staff team at Penshurst Place organising many weddings and events. The service is likely to be very well attended, so please allow plenty of time to park. We pray for Rob, Sarah’s husband and their sons Sam and Ben as they mourn.
This Sunday, there will be an 0800 Holy Communion service at St John the Baptist. At 1000 Fr Stephen Mitchell will celebrate Holy Cross Day at a Communion service at St Mary’s. Holy Cross Day is not marked in all churches. Here are links to two articles explaining the significance of this festival . The first is a general description and the second a sermon printed in this week’s Church Times.
https://anglicancompass.com/holy-cross-day-a-rookie-anglican-guide/
https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2025/12-september/faith/sunday-s-readings/holy-cross-day
I will be leading a Communion service at St Peter’s where the sermon will consider the parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin. I shall then be dashing back to Penshurst for Lara’s baptism. Comments about rest and wickedness definitely apply!
The school term is now in full swing. For families with older children, college and university terms are beginning apace. We pray for all experiencing life change as their young adult children begin higher education courses away from home. This can be a time of mixed emotions; I pray for safe travel and peace to surround families as they adjust to a new life stage. I close with one of the Collects for this Sunday.
Almighty God,
who called your Church to bear witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may be drawn to you;
through him who was lifted up on the cross,
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
14th September
0800 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst.
1000 Holy Communion St Peter’s Fordcombe.
1000 Holy Communion (or Matins) St Mary’s, Chiddingstone.
21st September
1000 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst.
28th September
1000 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst. To include the harvest festival.
1000 Holy Communion St Mary’s, Chiddingstone.
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -09 - 06
Greetings from Penshurst Rectory
On Monday, we entered meteorological Autumn. Keats described Autumn as a “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.” There is definitely a much crisper feel, and the early dew means that muddy labrador paw prints once again adorn my kitchen floor at the start of each day. As for fruitfulnessThe Rectory Garden has brought forth a bumper crop of blackberries, damsons, and greengages, a rather limp apple harvest alongside a bumper collection of wasps!
In the parish this week we have three wedding services one in each parish. We wish Abi and Luke in Penshurst and Toby and Emily in Chiddingstone every blessing at the start of married life. At St Peter’s in Fordcombe we celebrate with Maggie and David as they renew their wedding vows fifty years to the day after their wedding. We also pray for William as he is baptised on Sunday at St Mary’s. Thank you to Revs Aji and David for leading the services in Chiddingstone this weekend.
On Tuesday, the life of Viv Timothy will be celebrated at St Mary’s church at noon. Thank you to Rev’d Fiona for leading this service. There will be refreshments afterwards at Chiddingstone Castle. If attending the funeral it may be easier to park at the Castle and walk through to the church. With term time in full swing, parking in the village will be challenging.
On Sunday this week there are two services- a 1000 Holy Communion at St John the Baptist in Penshurst and an 1800 Evening Prayer service at All Souls in Poundsbridge. Our hymns and prayers will celebrate the creatures we share our lives with and God’s creation more generally. At this service you are invited to bring your pets to be blessed.
On Wednesday evening at 7:30pm the PCCs of St Peter’s and St John the Baptist churches will meet in Penshurst. The Ven Nick Cornell will be in attendance to talk through details of the pastoral reorganisation. He held a similar meeting at St Luke’s a few weeks back.
And finally we thank God for the life of Katharine, HRH The Duchess of Kent who died on Friday. Kent This prayer was shared by The Church of England:
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
7th September
1000 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst.
1800 Evening Prayer service with the blessing of pets. All Souls, Poundsbridge.
14th September
0800 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst.
1000 Holy Communion St Peter’s Fordcombe.
1000 Holy Communion (or Matins) St Mary’s, Chiddingstone.
21st September
1000 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst.
28th September
1000 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst. To include the harvest festival.
1000 Holy Communion St Mary’s, Chiddingstone.
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -08 - 30
Greetings from Your Rector, Rev’d Lisa Cornell.
August is ending, and I am amazed at how early the leaves have started to fall. I was thrilled a few days ago to take delivery of a leaf blower and one of those special scoops for gathering leaves and debris. I do love a gadget!
Last weekend was a busy one in Penshurst, with several hundred worshippers coming through the doors for two weddings, a baptism, and a well-attended Sunday Holy Communion. On Bank Holiday Monday, the village was awash with circa 2,000 imitation waterfowl. The Annual Duck race was well attended and raised valuable funds for the local community. Thank you to Stephen Hazell-Smith and his expert team from across the village for the tremendous efforts that go into this event.
This weekend we are delighted to celebrate with Alexander and Rosie who marry in Chiddingstone on Saturday. We congratulate Alfred who is being baptised in Penshurst on Sunday. Also on Sunday, I shall lay the ashes of Angela Bell to rest in Fordcombe Churchyard alongside her late husband. We pray for all of these families and their loved ones as they mark these important turning points.
I am sad to announce the death last Sunday of Viv Timothy. Viv and her family have lived for many years on the Chiddingstone / Ide Hill border. Viv’s funeral will be over two days. A private family ceremony will be held at the Crematorium on Monday 8th September. On Tuesday 9th there will be a memorial service at St Mary’s Chiddingstone with a celebration afterwards at Chid Castle. The exact times are still being finalised and is pencilled in as ‘lunchtime.’ I will provide an update once available.
Next week, the Autumn term begins in our local schools. I am relieved to have passed through the years of shoe and uniform shopping and furious name tape sewing for my daughters. I hope that the six weeks of R and R have been of benefit to students, staff, and their families. In Fordcombe School, we welcome and pray for their new headteacher. Mrs Julie Burton, the headteacher of Bidborough School will, with help from the Tenax Trust, also lead Fordcombe School through this academic year. We also pray for Kate Haysom the Headteacher at Chiddingstone School and Sue Elliot our leader at Penshurst School . We wish all of our local school staff every success in the year ahead.
I shall be attending some training events in Penshurst School on Monday, so my rest day will be Tuesday and not Monday this week. Funeral services on consecutive Mondays mean that I will not have my usual pattern of rest days for the next three weeks. I close with this prayer for all starting new classes, schools, and colleges in the days ahead:
Heavenly Father
We ask for your blessing for the new academic year. We pray for our school and college families, the staff, and all students as they start this year together. We ask for a sense of peace to surround us and the resilience to adapt to anything unfamiliar.
Grant us all wisdom in learning, courage in challenges, and kindness in friendships.
Help us to use our talents well, to grow in knowledge and faith, and to build communities of respect and care.
May God’s Spirit guide everyone's thoughts, words, and actions,
so that this academic year may be filled with hope, joy, and growth.
We pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday 31 August
1000 Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
7th September
1000 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst.
1000 Evening Prayer service with the blessing of pets. All Souls, Poundsbridge.
14th September
0800 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst.
1000 Holy Communion St Peter’s Fordcombe.
1000 Holy Communion (or Matins) St Mary’s, Chiddingstone.
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Newsletter -08 - 23
Greetings,
I hope this mailing reaches you in a state of wellness. After my holiday in York last week, it has been a busy week of priesthood. There were two funerals this week. On Tuesday, I had the honour of laying to rest the ashes of Hazel and Tony O’Dowd. Hazel was born in 1927 in the Lane, Fordcombe to Lilian and George Greagsby. The family are now reunited at rest in St Peter’s churchyard. Thank you to Rev’d Fiona Haskett for leading the funeral for Timothy Bates at St Mary’s on Wednesday.
Sadly, I have two recent deaths to announce.
Firstly, Carole Allen from Chiddingstone Causeway. After a lifetime in nursing, mainly in Dorset, Carole moved into the area to be closer to her family in 2014. She will be much missed by her son Chris, his wife Sarah and her two teenage grandchildren. Carole had many friends in the local community; many were made through her love of dogs and horses. Carole’s funeral will be at Tunbridge Wells Crematorium at 1130 on Monday, 15th September.
Secondly, I was shocked to learn this week of the death of Sarah Noss. She was for many years part of the wedding events team at Penshurst Place. I knew Sarah as a mum at the school gates when my children were at junior school in Riverhead. A memorial service for Sarah will be on 18th September at 2pm in St John the Baptist Church with a celebration afterwards in The Baron’s Hall. We pray for her husband, two sons and Sarah’s Mum and siblings as they grieve.
In happier news, we have two weddings this weekend. Shannon and Rob marry on Saturday afternoon and Laura and David get married on Sunday. We also celebrate with Evie and Freddie who are being baptised after the main service and before the wedding on Sunday at St John the Baptist, Penshurst. And a final piece of happy news- my daughter Sophie is engaged. Her fiancé, Charlie, proposed during a recent trip to Canada. I shall look forward to being the mother of the bride sometime in August 2027.
As we enjoy the last of the summer Bank Holidays a reminder to join us at the annual Duck Race in Penshurst this Monday. This popular event, which is free to attend, opens at noon. Please join us for the excitement of the races, a barbeque, drinks, ice cream, games, and a dog show. What better way to mark the end of summer? The first race is at 1pm. May the best duck win! The entrance is at the foot of Rogues Hill between the two bridges. I hope to see many of you there.
In the week ahead, may you know the love of God surrounding you.
Lisa
In this edition:
Ø Services
Services:
Sunday 24 August
1000 Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
1000 Holy Communion at St Mary’s at Chiddingstone
Sunday 31 August
1000 Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
7th September
1000 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst.
1000 Evening Prayer service with the blessing of pets. All Souls, Poundsbridge.
14th September
0800 Holy Communion St John the Baptist, Penshurst.
1000 Holy Communion St Peter’s Fordcombe.
1000 Holy Communion (or Matins) St Mary’s, Chiddingstone.
Life Events:
Ø We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Ø Learning and growing:
Don’t forget the new National Safeguarding Standards. There is a link to the new leaflet on our website, and you’ll see posters going up in our churches soon. And following the appointment of our new benefice Safeguarding Officer, Wendy Ellis, we now have a contact email established – please direct any safeguarding queries or issues to safeguarding@highwealdchurches.org.uk
Ø Mailing:
If you know anyone who would like to be added to our weekly mailing, do let us know (and similarly let us know if you’d like to come off, though we’d be sad to see you go). If you’d like to contribute to the work of the benefice, you can go to our parish giving page via the www.parishgiving.org.uk website (we’d be very grateful). Alternatively, you can always find it on our benefice website: https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/news)
Contact thornburybenefice@outlook.com if you would like to be added to the weekly Newsletter mail out.