2026 Annual Parochial Church Meeting
Dear all,
We hereby give notice for the 2026 Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) of the High Weald Churches (Penshurst, Fordcombe and the Chiddingstones).
The meeting will take place at 12pm on Sunday 26 April in Penshurst Village Hall - the full notice can be found here.
In advance of the benefice-wide APCM, separate Parochial Church Council (PCC) meetings will take place in each parish. Details below:
Chiddingstone - 8pm on Tuesday 21st April in St Luke’s Parish Room - full notice here
Penshurst - 11:30am on Sunday 19th April in St John the Baptist - full notice here
These meetings will be used to elect churchwardens (apply here), new PCC members (apply here) and Safeguarding Officers, as well as admissions to the Deanery Synod (apply here). The relevant application forms include details on eligibility and conditions for nominations.
Churchwardens will be publishing physical copies of these notices in all churches by Sunday, and will have copies of the relevant forms upon request. Please return these to your churchwarden for collating, and submitting the the office.
Please note that the announcement of the meeting means that revisions to the electoral roll are now frozen until after the meeting. Copies of the current version of the benefice electoral roll are available on request.
For any questions, please speak with your churchwarden, or contact office@highwealdchurches.org.uk for advice.
Upcoming Services
Sunday 19 April
10:00 – Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
10:00 – Holy Communion at St Mary’s, Chiddingstone
16:00 - Forest Church in Penshurst Rectory Garden
Sunday 26 April
10:00 – Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
10:00 – Holy Communion at St Mary’s, Chiddingstone
Life Events:
We remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
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
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)
