Newsletter - 17/04
Rector’s Weekly Newsletter 17th April 2026
After a post-Easter break spent in Norfolk and Suffolk, it is good to be back. I greatly enjoyed the big skies of the North Norfolk coast, the quiet beauty of rural Suffolk, and the excitement of my daughter Sophie’s MA graduation in Cambridge.
As many of you may be aware, Daniel Carter of Penshurst died peacefully on Easter Monday. We offer our sincere condolences to Fiona and their children at this sad time, and hold them in our prayers. Daniel’s funeral service will take place at St John the Baptist Church at 2.00pm on Tuesday, 28th April.
This Sunday there will be services of Holy Communion at 10.00am in both Penshurst and Chiddingstone. At 4.00pm, Forest Church will meet in the Rectory garden, where we will gather to celebrate the life of St George.
The APCM season is upon us. The PCC APCMs for Penshurst and Fordcombe will take place at St John’s at 11.30am on Sunday, and for Chiddingstone at 8:00pm on Tuesday 21 April in St Luke’s Parish Room. The Joint Council APCM will be held at Penshurst Village Hall next Sunday. You are invited to gather from 12 noon for a 12.15pm start. Papers will be circulated during the week ahead. Please note the deadlines for nominations to the PCCs, as well as for the roles of Churchwarden and Deanery Synod representatives, which were posted in the churches last week. At the local PCCs each parish will need to appoint a Safeguarding Officer, Treasurer and appoint an Independent Examiner.
As we approach St George’s Day on Thursday, we are reminded of a story that has echoed through the centuries: a figure who faces down fear and uncertainty, not through strength alone, but through faith and courage. The legend of St George and the dragon may not be history as we would write it, but it speaks a deeper truth. Each of us, in our own lives, encounters challenges that can feel overwhelming: moments of anxiety, loss, or doubt. The call of faith is not that we will never face such trials, but that we need not face them alone.
St George’s witness points us to a quiet, steady courage: the courage to stand firm in what is good, to act with compassion, and to trust that even in difficult times, God is at work. May we, in the week ahead, find strength to face whatever lies before us, and grace to do so with faith, hope, and love.
With every blessing for the week ahead
Lisa
Rev’d Lisa Cornell. Rector of Penshurst, Fordcombe and The Chiddingstones
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)
