Newsletter 03/02/2024
Greetings from Revs Lindsay and Lisa.
There are two church services this Sunday and we hope that you can join us. There is an 0800 Morning Prayer service at St John the Baptist, Penshurst, and at 1000 Sung Holy Communion Service at St Luke’s Chiddingstone Causeway.
The Church Christmas season officially ended with Candlemas on Friday February 2nd. We will now share two weeks of ordinary time where altar frontals and vestments will be green, before we begin the forty-six days of Lent on Ash Wednesday with a purple array.
We have both been busy this week with many administrative and planning tasks across the Benefice.
Rev’d Lindsay has been working on our new website with guidance from Church-connect.org.
https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk/
Thank you to those of you who have helped us with proofreading to date. Further constructive feedback and suggestions are welcome. Please use the e-mail links below.
The website has two key purposes: Firstly, it will act as a shop window for our family of churches and for those visiting and planning life events. The existing Penshurst website will eventually redirect people to the wider benefice site; but will be retained by the Friends of High Weald Churches for their use in stewarding the historic buildings in our care. For the time being, the sites may well duplicate some information. Please bear with us in this time of transition. Secondly: this site will become our go to resource for service information, rotas, and the like. This aspect will evolve organically as we migrate our systems into one place.
Rev’d Lisa has led Lent-themed Collective Worship in both Fordcombe and Penshurst schools. She has spent several hours in both schools as part of her brief as governor. She will visit Chiddingstone School next week for a morning doing much the same. Our Forest Church draws children from all three local schools, and it is exciting to see how our children and their families are growing in faith and relationship.
We have been busy preparing for our Lent Course. The supporting book is available here: https://www.brfonline.org.uk/collections/devotional/products/loving-my-neighbour
There will be an opportunity for you to attend a group to discuss the text or for you to follow a daily diet of readings, reflections, and prayer without joining a group. A flyer for this course is attached to this mailing.
A wedding preparation afternoon is planned in Fordcombe Village Hall on 9th March for our 2024 and early 2025 wedding couples. If any of you would like to help us with providing refreshments or other support for this event, we would be glad to hear from you. If you have recently been married in the parish, we would love to welcome you back to share some of your wisdom! Please contact the priest who led your wedding service.
Prayer
There are many situations and people for us to hold in prayer:
From our Memorial Book
03-Feb
Rupert Edward Vicary
04-Feb
05-Feb
John Willliam Pocock
Sydney Thomas Austin
Marjorie Irene Chandler, Wendy Hubble
06-Feb
07-Feb
Dorothy Gribble
Percy Alfred Taylor
08-Feb
09-Feb
Charles Henry Martin
10-Feb
John M Leigh
11-Feb
Susan Elizabeth Hearle Twallin
Kitty Frances Emma Grayland
Phyllis Daisy Taylor
We also pray for all of our wedding couples and all those preparing for baptisms and confirmations in the weeks ahead. We have one candidate that we will be preparing for confirmation later in the year. If any of you would like to explore baptism or confirmation for you or a member of your family, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Study
There are many courses and study days to support you in your faith journey. The Diocesan website has several to choose from: https://rochester.anglican.org/events-and-training/spirituality-events/
With every blessing for the week ahead
Revs Lisa and Lindsay
Newsletter 27/01/24
To our Benefice Friends,
It has been agreeable to be a little warmer, this week, if wetter, as Lisa & Lindsay have got on with the humb drum business of parish admin. This Sunday is the last Sunday of Christmas-and-Epiphany (don’t forget to put away any remaining decorations!) and Lent will be on us before we know it.
Do keep an eye on our website - https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk for services (currently one mid-morning service only, each week) and news. It’s being tweaked regularly, so let us know if we’ve missed something. And a reminder that we’re trying to encourage folk to visit it, so that it’s internet ‘presence’ increases, which means it will show up better if people search for it.
Also, on the subject of Lent, now is the time to start considering adding Lenten discipline to things, this year. Below are details of the lent groups and lent book (you can read the latter without attending the former, if you’d prefer) and there is always the digital candle if you would like a little bit of prayer & scripture on your phone (mostly) each day - contact Lindsay for the link.
You may, too, consider supporting the benefice with a regular direct debit, via our website, or by offering yourself to fill one of the vacancies Lisa mentioned last week:
Benefice Treasurer;
Benefice Safeguarding Lead, and/or parish safeguarding officer for Chiddingstone or Penhurst;
Benefice lead recruiter (a purely administrative role);
Benefice Buildings Rep;
Chiddingstone Church Warden;
Joint Council Member in one of the new roles to be formed in the upcoming annual meeting.
Lent Groups
We will be reading Loving My Neighbour together, with our Lent groups meeting each week to discuss the chapter –
Wednesdays, From 21st Feb, 7.30– 9pm hosted by Penshurst Homegroup Rectory,
Fridays at Chiddingstone Rectory, 1345 for 2 (note change of time).
All comers welcome!
From our memorial book, we remember with thanksgiving:
28-Jan
29-Jan
Hazel Anne Swinglehurst
30-Jan
31-Jan
Edwina (Jackie) Hall
01-Feb
02-Feb
Jean Virginia Grace Beasley
Anthony Tredissar Freeman
William Norman Bishop
Mabel Rose Hills
03-Feb
Rupert Edward Vicary
Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.
The upcoming services are –
Sunday 28th January
10.00am: United Benefice Sung Holy Communion at St John the Baptist Church Penshurst
6pm: United Benefice Compline at St Mary the Virgin Church in the Chapel.
Please mark in your diaries –
Ash Wednesday
0915 Ash Wednesday Service led by Fordcombe School at St Peter’s
1800 Ash Wednesday Holy Communion with the Imposition of Ashes at St Luke’s
1900 A service to celebrate St Valentine’s Day. St Luke’s at St Luke’s.
Sunday 28th February
8am: Morning Prayer at St John the Baptist Church Penshurst
10am: United Benefice Sung Holy Communion at St Luke’s Chiddingtone Causeway
Learning and growing:
Some upcoming courses in the wider diocese -
“In the beginning was the Word…”
A Quiet Day with space to prayerfully experiment with words and ways of writing.
Saturday 3 February 2024 10am - 3pm
at St Benedict’s Centre, West Malling ME196JX
For more information, see the Diocesan website.
A Quiet Day in Lent with space to prayerfully reflect on key moments in Jesus' ministry
Saturday 24 February 2024 10am - 3pm
For more information, see the Diocesan website.
An Introduction to Christian Meditation
Saturday 23rd March 2024 10am - 3pm
at St Benedict’s Centre, West Malling ME196JX
For more information, see the Diocesan website.
It’s your calling, It’s Your Calling is aimed at those exploring where God may be calling and looks at our journey and the gifts that God has given us, as well as the Biblical understanding of vocation. The day gives an opportunity to meet others on a similar quest and to take time to think where God could be calling.
24th February, St Andrew’s Church Paddock Wood
You will need your incumbent’s approval to attend this event. Please download and complete the booking form that you will receive a link to in your confirmation email. You should return it to the address given at least one week before the event.
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).
Best wishes,
Lisa & Lindsay
Newsletter 20/01/24
To our Benefice Friends,
This week past much of the benefice came together to say goodbye to Carol Benton, who for many years served her local community in a number of ways but with consistent love and commitment. Please continue to hold her and her family in your prayers. And as we start a new year, do let us know if you would like the benefice to pray for your dead at their year’s mind. You can either fill in the form on our website, or get in touch with us directly. There is a small fee if you would also like us to add their names to our book of remembrance, do ask us for more information if that is the case.
On which note, do please visit our website - https://www.highwealdchurches.org.uk It is still a little rough around the edges, but we’re trying to encourage traffic locally so that it’s internet ‘presence’ increases. If, while you’re there, you notice any teething problems, please let us know.
This week was also met as a benefice Joint Council and began preparing for our annual meeting – of which more anon – and to agree a provision service plan for the coming months. This has been slimmed down to enable Lisa and Lindsay better to support one another while they recover from the stresses they have been under. Instead of two 10am services every week, as is usual, with some additions, we are having only one 10am in the benefice, supported by at least one other service, either early morning or tea-time, at the other end of the benefice. We have also made the decision to omit lay-led services at 10am, for a number of reasons, not least of which is so that we can all come together over this time of renewal and reflection. Please be assured, Matins is not abandoned, but it will be returning with the new pattern of services to be put before the AJCM (annual meeting of the Joint Church council) along with a – hopefully – richer provision across the board. (You can keep track of upcoming services in our regular mailing and on our shiny new website!)
Also at our JCC meeting we reviewed the Bishop’s Guidelines for intincting Communion bread. “Simultaneous Communion (aka intinction), where practiced, should only be administered by the minister. Congregants should not be dipping their ow n bread into the chalice.” This is concisely explained in this article by the Diocese of Europe.
Finally it became apparent that there is a lack of clarity about the role of the Joint Council in the wider community of the benefice. Do please read Lisa’s Governance Report, which tries to set out how the Benefice has been structured. We have several vacancies on the Joint Council and wider parish administration that need filling – see separate note from Lisa on Governance matters.
As mentioned last week, Lent begins on the 14th February, this year, which means –
· We will be reading Loving My Neighbour together, with our Lent groups meeting each week to discuss the chapter. One will be on Wednesday evenings, in rotating locations (contact us for details) and one will be hosted at Chid Rectory, Fridays at 10.30. All comers welcome!
· We will be using the Advent books again, to give them a longer run for feedback.
· We’re going to be holding two services on the 14th – see below – one penitential, and one celebratory!
Please pray for little Leonora Beare, being Christened on Sunday, and hold her and her family in your prayers as they prepare for this important day.
From our memorial book, we remember with thanksgiving:
21-Jan
Betty Raymond
22-Jan
Alistair David Robertson
23-Jan
Sidney Cutler
24-Jan
25-Jan
Patricia Ann Banks
26-Jan
Frank William May
27-Jan
Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.
The upcoming services are –
Sunday 21st January
10am: United Benefice Sung Holy Communion at St Luke’s Chiddingtone Causeway
5pm: United Benefice All age Service Fordcombe Village Hall
Sunday 28th January
10.00am: United Benefice Sung Holy Communion at St John the Baptist Church Penshurst
6pm: United Benefice Compline at St Mary the Virgin Church in the Chapel.
Please mark in your diaries –
Ash Wednesday
0915 Ash Wednesday Service led by Fordcombe School at St Peter’s
1800 Ash Wednesday Holy Communion with the Imposition of Ashes at St Luke’s
1900 A service to celebrate St Valentine’s Day. St Luke’s at St Luke’s.
Learning and growing:
Some upcoming courses in the wider diocese -
Steps to lip reading in church, a four week Bible lip reading course. The course will teach some basic lip reading shapes from a biblical theme each week and give strategies for supporting communication.
The course is free, and on Zoom, but donations to the Anna chaplaincy are gratefully received.
Mondays Jan 15, 22, 29 and February 5th, 2-3pm on Zoom.
To book contact judi.pettman@gmail.com
“In the beginning was the Word…”
A Quiet Day with space to prayerfully experiment with words and ways of writing.
Saturday 3 February 2024 10am - 3pm
at St Benedict’s Centre, West Malling ME196JX
For more information, see the Diocesan website.
A Quiet Day in Lent with space to prayerfully reflect on key moments in Jesus' ministry
Saturday 24 February 2024 10am - 3pm
For more information, see the Diocesan website.
An Introduction to Christian Meditation
Saturday 23rd March 2024 10am - 3pm
at St Benedict’s Centre, West Malling ME196JX
For more information, see the Diocesan website.
It’s your calling, It’s Your Calling is aimed at those exploring where God may be calling and looks at our journey and the gifts that God has given us, as well as the Biblical understanding of vocation. The day gives an opportunity to meet others on a similar quest and to take time to think where God could be calling.
24th February, St Andrew’s Church Paddock Wood
You will need your incumbent’s approval to attend this event. Please download and complete the booking form that you will receive a link to in your confirmation email. You should return it to the address given at least one week before the event.
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).
Best wishes,
Lisa & Lindsay
Newletter 13/01/24
To our Benefice Friends,
Greetings to you all from Revs Lisa and Lindsay. It has been lovely catching up with so many of you since the return from the Christmas break. The schools are positively buzzing with energy and lots of work is afoot across the benefice setting up services and events for the year ahead. You will, we hope, be pleased to know that Lindsay is back in harness, but on light duties, so the January slimmed down service plan will continue for now…
Contact thornburybenefice@outlook.com if you would like to be added to the weekly Newsletter mail out.