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