Welcome to this week’s edition of Holy Trinity News – Sunday 7th February 2021

As I write this, we are entering the 5th week of lockdown #3, but somehow it already seems much longer than the first lockdown. Maybe it is because the days are shorter, or maybe it is because the weather is not conducive to getting out in the fresh air as much. On wet, cold dark days, I will often look out of my front window towards the South Downs, and I am then reminded of the words of the first two verses of Psalm 121– ‘I will lift up my eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth’. Psalm 121 is one of my favourite psalms and it is these two verses that really speak to me when I look at the South Downs from home. I see the beauty of God’s creation; birds are in the sky, sheep and cattle are grazing on the hills, and in some places, fields are being prepared for crops. The natural rhythm of life that God created for us is still going on, despite lockdown. I also know that as the Downs are a National Park, I can walk on them, with some restrictions, when and where I choose. That knowledge is enough to lift me on a dark, wet day. When I lift my eyes to the hills, the South Downs, my help comes from the Lord, from the glorious sight of His creation and all that he has provided for me, and for all of us. If you find yourself struggling with this current lockdown, lift your eyes to the hills and remind yourself that God is with you always and will help you if you allow Him to. Enjoy his creation, whether from the warmth of your own home, or by going out into the countryside, and feel your spirits lift. See the first signs of new life as spring approaches and reassure yourself that God is omnipresent. Claire Levin (Reader)

11.00am Kids@HolyTrinity online Join the Zoom Meeting https://bit.ly/hth-11 Meeting ID: 879 5791 2942 Passcode: 204625

Tuesday 9th February – Midweek Service th nd Sunday 7 February – 2 Sunday before Lent focussing on the Psalms – a recorded service brought to us this week by Revd Debbie Beer who has chosen 9.00am Recorded Service – a simple service Psalm 27. of Holy Communion – Led by Revd Jane Willis and preacher Gerry Willis. All current and past videos and resources On our website: Coffee after Church via Zoom – join anytime https://www.holytrinityhpp.org/newsservices from 10.30am to 11.30am - Join via this link: And on YouTube https://friendsinternational.zoom.us/j/98837361557 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOQ5qJOuXRT ?pwd=ejdJZU43clo1bm1udmNGYWJhNVQ3Zz09 sqPQkT8GI_9Q Meeting ID: 988 3736 1557 Passcode: 670486

Or by telephone, dial 0203 481 5240 and then use Private prayer: we are sorry, but the church will the Meeting ID and password noted above. not be open on Wednesday mornings for private prayer until further notice. Collects – prayers for this week It’s not as if…

Almighty God, It’s not as if you have created the heavens and the earth you have to find it all within, and made us in your own image: the things you need, when the needle teach us to discern your hand in all your works of your hope dips low, like and your likeness in all your children; the dynamo light on your dad’s bike through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, that didn’t quite make it up the hill. who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things, This felt fine so now and for ever. long as life was a level road and Amen. pedalling lit the way with your own effort: Almighty God, puffing like the Evening Star from its shed, give us reverence for all creation under duffle-coated skies. and respect for every person, that we may mirror your likeness But try that uphill in Jesus Christ our Lord. - a one-in-three, maybe - and Amen. the beam became a tiny amber ember, pulsing as you pushed and dying entirely at the T-junction.

Then it is we realise that running out of wit, patience, power, sparked off by not enough in the fridge, or our habitual ways

Palm Crosses/Ash Wednesday is ok - in fact Last Palm Sunday we were in the early days of our first that’s when we reach lockdown, and so were unable to gather in church – beyond ourselves, like the so if you have any palm crosses in your homes they child fumbling for an adult hand are most likely from 2019! This year I’d love to gather or a candle, outstretched to them and burn them to make ash – and will then find kiss the unexpected flame. a creative way of getting them back to us all to use on Ash Wednesday along with a recorded service (watch this space!). SO – if you have a palm cross to be returned and burned – please could you leave them Used with permission. in the flowerpot in the Rectory porch. Thank you so much, Jane Andrew Rumsey is the Bishop of in Salisbury Diocese. Shrove Tuesday – Save the date! Tuesday 16th February at 6pm – our Pancake Party is Twitter: @RevAndrewRumsey going online! Cook your own but eat together and compare the best toppings. More info to follow! YouTube (with regular ‘Going to Ground’ reflections): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj pW4BoTTmCtsINrdC-h9DA

Blog ‘Down in the Effra’: https://andrewrumsey.wordpress.com/

Archbishops invite our nation to pause, of these people was known to God and cherished by pray and remember 100,000 people God. ‘known to God and cherished by God’ “We write to you then in consolation, but also in

‘100,000 isn’t just an abstract figure - each number is a encouragement, and ultimately in the hope of Jesus person: someone we loved and someone who loved us.’ Christ. The God who comes to us in Jesus knew grief and suffering himself. On the cross, Jesus shares the ‘Death doesn’t have the last word. In God’s kingdom, weight of our sadness.” every tear will be wiped away.’ They conclude: “Most of all, we have hope because The Archbishops of Canterbury and York God raised Jesus from the dead. This is the Christian The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are issuing a hope that we will be celebrating at Easter. call to the nation to pause and reflect to remember “We live in the hope that we will share in his the more than 100,000 people across the UK who resurrection. Death doesn’t have the last word. In have died after contracting Covid-19 and all those God’s kingdom, every tear will be wiped away. who know and love them. “Please be assured of our prayers. Please join us.” In an open letter, Archbishops Justin Welby and Stephen Cottrell invite everyone across England – The tragic milestone comes amid lockdown whether they have faith or not – to pause, reflect on conditions in which large gatherings such as a the “enormity of this pandemic” and to pray. national memorial service are not possible in person. Death, they insist, does not have “the last word”, and It is expected that the will hold the Christian faith promises that one day “every tear services of remembrance for those who have died will be wiped away”. God, they write, knows grief and and thanksgiving for all those who have cared for suffering and “shares in the weight of our sadness”. them when it is possible to do so. Acknowledging the wider impact of the pandemic on the whole of society through loneliness, anxiety and Gracious God, economic hardship, they invite people to “cast their as we remember before you the thousands fears on God”. who have died, surround us and all who mourn with your The letter also speaks of the particular impact of the strong compassion. pandemic on poorer communities, minority ethnic Be gentle with us in our grief, communities and those living with disabilities. protect us from despair, It acknowledges many who have lost their livelihoods and give us grace to persevere as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic and face the future with hope and it speaks about those unable to be with loved in Jesus Christ our risen Lord. ones as they died or even at their graveside because Amen. of the restrictions. Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or The archbishops give thanks for NHS and social care weep tonight, and give your angels and saints staff, who they describe as “a blessing and lifeline for charge over those who sleep. our nation”; for clergy, other frontline workers and Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ. “so many good neighbours”. They give thanks for the Rest your weary ones. development of vaccines and reiterate a call to Bless your dying ones. everyone to take the vaccine when it is offered. Soothe your suffering ones. They also urge people to support each other both by Pity your afflicted ones. following the guidelines to limit the spread of the Shield your joyous ones, and all for your love's virus and in practical ways, reaching out in care and sake. kindness. Amen. Attributed to St. Augustine The letter includes an invitation to everyone – whether they have faith or not – to join the You can read the full text of the archbishops’ letter archbishops in pausing and praying each day at 6pm here: from February 1. https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files The archbishops write: “100,000 isn’t just an abstract /2021- figure. Each number is a person: someone we loved 01/20210126%20Letter%20to%20the%20nation.pdf and someone who loved us. We also believe that each Rooted in Love More great Lent books…

Rooted in Love Ed. Sarah Mullally SPCK 2020

Who is the Christ we serve?

What does it mean to be part of the body of Christ?

How can we live more Sarah Mullally, , in conversation Christ-centred lives? with Paula Gooder, Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral - Tuesday 9 February 2021, 7.00-7.45pm Introduced and edited by Bishop Sarah Mullally, here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rooted-in-love- are forty reflections that lead us deeper into the tickets-127980973537?ref=elink meaning and practice of life in Christ today. Drawing on the collective wisdom of all the area bishops in the Life holds many mysteries and unanswered questions. Diocese of London. each reflection includes a Bible This year more than ever, many of us have wondered reading, a prayer and a suggestion for action based on where life’s meaning lies. The questions the Psalmists the reading. The result is an exceptionally helpful Lent asked thousands of years ago have become our own: book, offering a rich array of biblical insight and How long? Why? Where are you, God? spiritual guidance that Christians of all traditions will At the beginning of the Gospel of John, the writer warmly welcome and appreciate. claims that the answer to the deepest mysteries of our lives and of the entire cosmos is not a philosophical idea or a scientific explanation, but a Thy Will be Done person. Jesus of Nazareth, the controversial rabbi Stephen Cherry who 2,000 years ago had a brief public career teaching and healing before being killed by the Bloomsbury Continuum Roman authorities, is in himself, his life and his 2020 actions, his death and resurrection, the unveiling of the mystery at the heart of the universe. He is the life At a time of change, that breathes through each of us and the light that uncertainty and widespread fills each day. He shows us the passionate, permanent anxiety, we need to love of God. discover again the freshness of our most familiar For Christians, this is the heart of our faith. Yet this a spiritual resources. Stephen strange revelation does not give us neat answers but Cherry's Lent Book does exactly this by inviting the asks us into relationship with the mystery. As we reader to immerse themselves in the most central, begin Lent after an unprecedented year of change important and iconic of Christian prayers - the Lord's and uncertainty, Sarah Mullally and Paula Gooder will Prayer, the Our Father. be in conversation about the love of Christ, what it means to be part of the body of Christ, and how we Mining the tradition for wisdom and insight, and can draw closer to Christ this Lent. finding inspiration in the theologians of the past such as St Paul, Gregory of Nyssa, John Calvin, but also Sarah Mullally is the Bishop of London. She is the more contemporary voices such as Evelyn Underhill, editor of Rooted in Love: Lent Reflections on Life in Simone Weil, and Michelle Obama, Thy Will Be Christ which contains daily reflections from all the Done presents the comforts and challenges of the area bishops in the Diocese of London. prayer in 36 short chapters.

Paula Gooder is Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral and This most accessible Lent Book, rich in anecdote as a leading Biblical scholar. Her latest book is The well as analysis, is daily bread for the spiritually Parables in her Biblical Explorations series. hungry.

Stephen Cherry is Dean of Kings College, Cambridge

The Henry Smith Charity satisfaction. A monument to him can be found in All Saints church in Wandsworth, South London. The Henry Smith Charity has been helping combat disadvantage and poverty since 1628 and is one of An illustrated biography of Henry Smith was the largest grant making charities in Britain, making published in 2015. Very little had previously been grants of £39.8 million in 2020. Henry Smith was an known about Henry Smith or the life he led. Lucy amazing man. He was born in Wandsworth in 1549 Lethbridge and Tim Wales researched far and wide to and lived through Elizabethan and Jacobean times uncover details about Henry’s life and the history of and died in 1628 - a long life for those hazardous his Charity over the past four hundred years. times - early in the reign of Charles I. He was exceedingly astute in business which is why so many ‘HENRY SMITH His Life and Legacy’ by Lucy Lethbridge people and charities benefit from his investments and Tim Wales is available from Church House almost 400 years later. The ongoing success of Booksellers and can be ordered from book shops and Henry’s charity is largely thanks to his foresight and online booksellers. ISBN: 978-0-9930945-0-7 understanding of the value of land. The land owned by the Charity has been the foundation of its income Margaret Carey since its formation. By the 1620s he was the owner of thousands of acres of land. He left careful instructions in his will, and shortly after his death his trustees made the most important acquisition; the purchase for £2,000 in the 1640s of a marshy estate of mainly market gardens just outside London, in the rural parish of Kensington.

His will set out in great detail how his estate was to be administered. As a result, his philanthropic wishes have been maintained through the centuries with a remarkable degree of consistency and continuity. In his will, Henry, who had no children himself, left money for the welfare of descendants of his sister, Joan. Referred to in Henry’s will as his ‘poor kindred’ the Charity still honours this benefaction.

Amongst the Charity’s range of grant making, Henry’s legacy to ‘poor clergy’ also continues, with grants administered by dioceses of the Church of England on behalf of the Charity. A separate fund makes grants to relieve poverty in some 200 specific parishes named by Henry and his early trustees, and we are one of those parishes. Initially, the grant was used to provide bags of logs for poor villagers; more recently, grants have been made to people on low incomes to help with their heating bills. A small committee eetsm each year to agree how the grant should be distributed. I have the ledger dating back to the late 1920s which shows that the annual grant to ‘the Churchwardens of Holy Trinity Hurstpierpoint’ in 1929 was £10 which was used to deliver coal to 43 recipients. Mothers’ Union Zoom Meeting - a Date for your

Diary

This year, we have received £2,000 and made grants At our next online Zoom meeting is on Wednesday of £100 to 20 families. Henry could not have known the 17th March at 8pm. that his charity would travel so successfully into the Eileen Clark will be talking about her life as an twenty-first century, but its survival and success Evacuee. would no doubt have given him the greatest More information in next week’s newsletter!

New Holy Trinity logo and identity! We’ve been talking for a long time about getting a new logo – and have recently worked with designer Mark Steel, who has absorbed so much of who we © Charlie Mackesy, from ‘The Boy, the mole, the fox and the understand ourselves to be as a church, our place in horse’ (Penguin 2019), used with permission our wider community, and all our thinking in our recent vision shaping process.

Our PCC are delighted with his designs – which includes not just a logo but a collection of designs we can use in all our publicity. We hope you like it – because you will be seeing a lot more of it! Jane Thank you to all those who are already part of the Parish Giving Scheme - the Church of England’s scheme which helps us to most easily to administer financial giving to support the life of our church. If you would like to join the scheme, please contact our Giving Officer Malcolm McKemey ([email protected]) for a PGS pack including a form to enable you to set up a regular donation if you choose. Payments can be stopped or changed at any time if your situation changes.

If you would like to make a one-off gift or donation, you can now do so via our church website. Further information on both can be found by visiting http://www.holytrinityhpp.org/giving

Thank you for your continued support of our church community through your financial gifts.

‘Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.’ 2 Corinthians 9:7

This week we are praying for… Stay Connected Hear our prayers as we come before you. Strengthen In these challenging and sometimes lonely and us in this time of need. Inspire us to acts of solidarity anxious times, the importance of staying connected and generosity and give us hope of a brighter future. with others is paramount to our well-being. We pray that even as we are asked to keep our If you know of anyone who would like to receive our distance from others, help us to find ways to reach weekly Holy Trinity Newsletter, that is emailed out out to those who need our support. We pray each Thursday, listing our online services, interesting especially for those whose incomes and livelihoods articles and events to join in, then please email Sally are threatened. For the children who will miss meals at [email protected] due to school closures. For those already isolated, lonely and scared. Loving God, give them your peace, and through our hands ensure they have what they need. Following the sad news We pray for all carers, sustain, strengthen and protect that Captain Sir Tom has them. Bless them as they offer compassionate care died our prayers and and show selfless courage in the face of risk. thoughts are with his family and friends. We pray for our schools – St Lawrence and Hurst College – please especially pray for new headteacher An amazing man who will at St Lawrence, Marianne Brand, and all the staff, leave a lasting legacy. children and parents as they continue to navigate home schooling, with key worker children still coming into school. We pray for all key workers in our community including NHS staff, refuse collectors and those keeping our local shops open in these difficult and challenging times. We pray for our government and all who bear great responsibility in our nation and in our world. We pray for all involved in developing and rolling out the new Covid Vaccines. We pray for those for all who are struggling in any way as we continue in lockdown, for those who feel sad, isolated or lonely - may they know your love at all times. We pray for those who are unwell including Aileen, Steve, Hilary, Richard, Deirdre, Sylvia, Louisa, Colin, Sister Mary, Brian, Martin, Paddy, David, Barry, The Church of England’s Rosslyn, June, Jean, Brenda and James. Daily Hope phone line We pray for those who mourn – especially the Daily Hope telephone line continues to offer music, families and friends of Dierdre Hicks and Geoffrey prayers, reflections, and full worship services from Farley. the Church of England. Available 24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044, the free line has been set up particularly with those unable to join church services during the period of restrictions and to provide comfort and spiritual nourishment to the most isolated in our society. Since April 2020 there have been over 348,000 calls made to the Daily HOPE line. Do you know someone who might benefit from this? Please do tell us if you are unwell and would like to be included in our prayer list. ©Dave Walker, Cartoon Church – used with permission

contacts Parish Safeguarding Officer Clergy Sally Allison - 01273 835980 Revd Jane Willis (Rector) – Rest day Friday [email protected] 01273 832203 Pastoral Coordinator [email protected] Mary Gibbens - 07775 894202 Revd Debbie Beer (Associate Vicar) – Rest day Thurs [email protected] 07530 039299 Churchwardens [email protected] George Baxter - 07803 500218 Ordinand (clergy in training): [email protected] Tom Dare - 07866 533440 Rod Price - 07860 814724 [email protected] [email protected] Treasurer Readers (ie lay ministers) Keith Birtles - 01273 831073 Jenny Brown - 07986 119603 [email protected] [email protected] Site Coordinator & Verger Kevin Carey - 01273 835113, 07899 793349 Annemarie Finch - 01273 833356 [email protected] [email protected]

Gerry Willis - 07792 779751 Holy Trinity Church Office [email protected] Church Administrator - Sally Allison

Claire Levin - 07752 587893 [email protected] [email protected] Registered Charity No: 1154171

www.holytrinityhpp.org www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityHpp/