Newsletter 24/02/24
To our Benefice Friends
A good week for sales of umbrellas and for the life of ducks! The fields through all of our Benefice villages are very waterlogged; the pot holes on the roads seem to appear afresh each day and I am getting through a lot of dog towels and floor cleaner. Wealden clay gets everywhere! Aside from the weather, I hope you have all had a good week and enjoyed the brief spells of sunshine.
Rev’d Lindsay is now at General Synod in London. The Synod is the national decision-making body for The Church of England and Lindsay is one of a handful of representatives from Rochester Diocese. The papers and background reading for the meeting are extensive and she has spent much of the week in preparation. I pray that the debates are courteous and fruitful and for God’s will to prevail in all the decisions made.
My week has involved many face to face meetings with school governance monitoring, home communions, pastoral visits, spiritual direction, and a training course in the mix. My job is never the same two days running which is both a challenge and one of the benefits.
There are two services this Sunday:
A Sung Holy Communion at St Luke’s Chiddingstone Causeway at 10am and a 5pm Informal Evening prayer at Fordcombe Village at 5pm. This short service of traditional hymns and informal liturgy follows on from the Community Tea which runs from 3-5pm. The tea and cakes are to be highly recommended. All are welcome.
Annual Parish Meeting
Many people are working hard behind the scenes to get our accounts and paperwork ready for the annual meeting on 14th April. My training course this week was to ensure I am working with the most up to date guidance. The Church Representation rules and the regulatory demands of the Charity Commission are a constant work in progress. There are several amendments for us to work with, which I will be feeding back to those preparing reports.
Parish Officers
Don’t forget we are still looking to fill roles on our council and in our church life so if any of the following call to you (however faintly) please get in touch:
· Benefice Treasurer;
· Benefice Safeguarding Lead, and/or parish safeguarding officer for Chiddingstone;
· Benefice Buildings Rep;
· Chiddingstone Church Warden;
· Joint Council Member in one of the new roles to be formed in the upcoming annual meeting. A representative for ministry to Children and Families and a representative for ministry to older people.
Please look out for notices about the meeting which will include opportunities to add yourself from the parish electoral roll and guidance about how to stand for office on the Joint Council or as Warden.
From our Memorial Book
24-Feb
25-Feb
Ellen Elizabeth Everest
Kenneth Albert Stacey
26-Feb
Leslie Chandler
27-Feb
Irene Dorothy Cole
28-Feb
29-Feb
01-Mar
Reginald Roy Slack
02-Mar
Gerry Waddell
Richard (Dickie) Kemp
Upcoming Services
Sunday 25 February (Lent 2)
10..00 Holy Communion at St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway
17.00 All Age service, Fordcombe Village Hall
Sunday 3rd (Lent 3)
1000 Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Penshurst
1800 Sung Evensong at St Luke’s, Chiddingstone Causeway
Sunday 10th (Lent 4) Mothering Sunday
0800: Morning Prayer at St Mary the Virgin, Chiddingstone
1000: All Age Holy Communion with the distribution of
posies at St Peter’s, Fordcombe
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).
With every blessing for the week ahead
Rev’d Lisa Cornell, Rector