Newsletter - 11-29
Greetings from The Rector:
One of the great joys of leading our benefice is the chance to work in three excellent Church of England primary schools. There are nine school services and productions to choose from in the benefice during Advent this year. If you are watching one of these with your family and friends, I hope you experience much joy. All other things being equal I shall attend seven of the nine listed below. In case you need to put the dates in your diaries:
School services and productions until the end of term
4th Dec 0915 Christingle at St John the Baptist Church, Penshurst
11th Dec 1400 and 1730 EYFS / KS1 Nativity at St Mary’s Church, Chiddingstone
18th December 1300 Christmas Production Fordcombe School
18 Dec 1400 KS1 Nativity at St John the Baptist Church, Penshurst
18th Dec 1800 KS2 Carol service at St Mary’s Church
19th Dec 0915 KS2 Carols at St John the Baptist Church, Penshurst
19th December 1pm Christmas Production Fordcombe School
20th December 0915 End of Term Service at St Peter’s Church
Of course, our schools live out their Christian values all year and as I explained two weeks ago, all church schools are inspected by the Statutory Inspectorate of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS). We await Chiddingstone’s report, which is still being finalised, but Penshurst was able to publish the report on its recent SIAMS inspection a few days ago. Click on the link to read:
Of course, our churches serve the flock at all stages of people’s lives. Following last week’s service for Myra Morris, we have four funerals ahead in the coming days. On Friday St Mary’s Church hosted the funeral of Rhian Palmer. Thank you to the two visiting ministers Lynette and David for leading this service. On Monday 2nd December, Chiddingstone will be saying a final farewell to Roger Theobold. His service is at the Kent and Sussex Crematorium at 1130, with a celebration at the Kentish Horse to follow. I imagine both will be lively!
On Thursday 5th December Hilary Allen will be laid to rest after a service at St Mary’s at 1300. My thanks to Rev’d Mandy Carr from Weald for leading this service. Finally, on Friday 6th the family and friends of Sheila Potter who lived in Penshurst for 50 years will gather at St John the Baptist for her funeral service. Let us hold all who mourn in our prayers.
As we look forward to new stages in our church family life, those recently elected as wardens or PCC members will be hearing from our Safeguarding Lead, Wendy Ellis. All wardens and PCC members need to be DBS checked and to undergo several layers of safeguarding training. Please can I encourage you to fill in the necessary forms and book the training as soon as possible. Most training is online, but some can be booked in person. Wendy will be pleased to guide you through the booking process if you need any help.
Next week there are several performances of the Penshurst Pantomime, Robyn Hood. Matthew our Operations Manager has a major ‘baddie’ role (booooo!) and I shall be popping up in tights (and suitable other clothing) as one of Robyn’s Merrie Maids. I am having a few days annual leave from 8th December, and so next Sunday there will be no 0800 service in Penshurst and the 1000 in Fordcombe will be led by Rev’d David Kitley. Next week’s church mailing will be crafted by Tabby and I shall report back in two weeks.
Blessings all
Lisa
In this edition
Ø Services
Ø Spirituality and Prayer
Services:
Sunday 1 December: Advent 1
1000 Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
1000 Holy Communion at St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway
Sunday 8 December: Advent 2
1000 Holy Communion at St Peter’s Fordcombe
1000 Matins at St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway
Sunday 15 December: Advent 3
1000 Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
1800 Nine Lessons and Carols at St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway
Life Events:
In our prayers we hold those coming through our doors this month to mark their life events:
Weddings: We hold Jack and Celia, and Rebecca and Nicholas in our prayers ahead of their weddings in December.
Baptisms: We hold Ottilie, Elise and Ronnie in our prayers following their baptisms, and wish them and their families well as they embark on this pilgrimage of faith.
Funerals: We hold Hilary Allen, Roger Theobald and Sheila Potter in our prayers, along with their families as they prepare for their funerals.
And we remember those whose anniversary falls at this time of year, they shall be prayed for in church on Sunday.
Learning and growing:
Ø 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:
Ø 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
Spirituality and Prayer:
Ø Over the next couple of weeks St John’s in Penshurst will host a number of very simple prayer stations to mark the start of Advent. Please do try and visit and engage with them if you can and perhaps pray that they might prove helpful to our visitors too.
