Newsletter - 18/09
A letter from the Rector
Friday 18 September 2026
Dear Friends,
This week marks five years since I was licensed as Rector here. This feels like quite a milestone. Whilst the wider world feels quite different from five years ago, the villages feel, for me, like a very settled home. Thank you.
As I journey through my life as a parish priest, I am seeing how so much of the life of a church is about receiving God’s gifts with gratitude, using them generously, and finding ways to share them with others. With that in mind, I would like to draw your attention to some upcoming events in our churches.
Sunday 27 September at 4pm
Bishop Simon will lead a special service in Penshurst to rededicate our newly restored bells.
The bells are a gift handed down to us by generations who worshipped here for centuries before us. We have cared for them, renewed them, and now we hear them ringing again; a gift for us today and for those who come after us. The Bishop’s blessing will mark the completion of the restoration project.
Also, on Sunday 27 September at 6pm, there will be a service of blessing and thanksgiving for our pets. Dogs may bring their owners on leads! Other animals are most welcome at Poundsbridge Chapel for this 30-minute service. Water will be available for pets, but please bring your own bowl.
There will be four Harvest celebrations in the parish next month. You are invited to bring non-perishable foods and grocery items to these services, which will be donated to local foodbanks.
St John the Baptist, Penshurst:
Sunday 4 October, 10am — Harvest Festival and Holy Communion
Tuesday 6 October, 9.15am — School Harvest Festival Service
St Peter’s, Fordcombe:
Thursday 8 October, 9.15am — School Harvest Festival Service
Sunday 11 October, 10am — Harvest Festival and Holy Communion
On 16 and 17 October, we will be hosting our Music Festival.
Music connects us across generations and across differences. It can draw us towards God, connect us with one another and express things for which words are sometimes not enough. The programme is diverse, so please check the flyers and posters for details.
So, I hope that you may feel invited afresh into the life of the church. Whether you have been part of our churches for many years, have joined us more recently, or have not found your way through our doors for a while, I hope you will feel welcome at these special occasions. Please bring your friends.
Please come and hear the bells ring again; enjoy the music; and enjoy our hospitality. Perhaps, in doing so, we can discover together what God might be inviting us to receive, to celebrate and to pass on to those who come after us.
With every blessing for the week ahead,
Lisa
Rev’d Lisa Cornell
Rector of Penshurst and Fordcombe
Upcoming services
Sunday 20 September
1000 - Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
1600 - Forest Church at Penshurst Rectory Garden
Sunday 27 September
1000 - Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
1600 - Bells blessing at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
1800 - Pet service at All Souls Chapel, Poundsbridge
Sunday 4 October
1000 - Harvest Festival and Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
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)
