KEYNOTES June 2020 60p THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST PETER’S, WEST BLATCHINGTON Rector The Reverend Tim Gage The Rectory 23 Windmill Close Hove, BN3 7LJ Tel : 07910 938810 Email: [email protected] Friday is ordinarily the Rector’s rest day; however please do not hesitate to contact him in the event of a pastoral emergency. Please refer all other urgent matters to the Churchwardens. CHURCHWARDENS Jonathan Cooke Tel: 563178 David Keeling Tel: 501504 HON. TREASURER Mandy Gander Tel: 271982 CENTRE BOOKINGS Richard Delacour Tel: 07968 227639 PASTORAL CARE Sick Visiting Carol Gander Tel: 555414 KEYNOTES EDITORIAL TEAM William Holden Tel: 706482 David Keeling Tel: 501504 Jane Cummings Tel: 880274 Michael Evans Tel: 567399 Charlie Flackhill Tel: 965122 Mandy Gander Tel: 271982 Maggie Holden Tel: 706482 E-mail: [email protected] Church website : www.stpeterswestblatchington.org.uk EDITORIAL We live in extraordinary times and as the Queen said recently in her VE Day message to the nation, “Never Give Up, Never Despair” which is exactly what our religious teaching has always been about through the love of God. At the time of writing there are exciting changes coming with the feeling that the rules of lockdown just may be able to be relaxed a little as we try get back to normal. The peak of infection may have passed but when might we be able to meet again in church? As most people will know, our new incumbent Rev’d Tim Gage is to be licensed in the next week which will mark a turning point in the life of our church. He and his wife Clare and their two boys Sammy and Ben hope to move into the Rectory towards the end of May provided the lockdown is eased for removal firms. As many people have said, what will be “normal” in this context? Nothing will ever be quite the same and we shall have to reappraise what we need to do within our church and the wider parish and how we go about things helped by the new and exciting guidance from Tim. We have waited with eager anticipation for this moment. The Rectory is redecorated and the gardens tended. We thank all those who have made this possible. Finally, we hope that you will enjoy the Summer months for we have much to look forward to. Stay safe. Editorial Committee ITB Electrical Services All Domestic Electrics Part P Compliant Fully Insured For a free quote call: Ian Barrett 01273 417484 or 07902 909605 The Valet Man Cars fully valeted at your home from £25 Call Paul Breeze on 01273 421115 07598 188440 Dear Parish, I firstly just want to thank you for the warm and loving welcome that you have given my family since I was licensed as Rector of St. Peter’s on the 13th May. While my licensing took the form of a small ceremony it is certainly the case that once lockdown is finished, we will gather in the church building for the public ceremony as well – exciting! I also want to thank all those who have been providing ongoing support for the church family and parish during the interregnum and especially during the pandemic. I am looking forward to getting to meet you all soon and welcoming you to one of our services at St. Peter’s, whether online or face to face. Also, as lockdown continues we will continue to explore how we might support the spiritual and practical needs of the parish. If you have ideas or feedback we would be glad to hear from you. As at this point we don’t have a fixed phone line at the Rectory, so if you need to get in contact with me please either email me at [email protected] or call me on 07910 938810. Every blessing in Christ. Rev’d Tim Gage, Rector Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV) WOMEN’S SOCIAL GROUP As is evident from our Group title, we all enjoy getting together and being SOCIAL and therefore the current situation is difficult. But we are a resilient clan and coping remarkably well. Those that can are exercising - be it across their front gardens, gardening, following exercise classes on-line, walking, etc. Various crafts and skills are being learned or resurrected – knitting, baking, crochet. We are keeping in touch by telephone, e-mail, WhatsApp, Zoom, etc. Aren’t we lucky to live in an era when there are these means of communication?! And, of course, the weather has been glorious which has made it much easier to enjoy the outdoors. Those of us lucky enough to have gardens and be able to work in them have been working very hard. Our garden has never looked better and the only sadness is that no-one will see it! However, time certainly doesn’t stand still and we are still having birthdays. In April Rosemary had a significant birthday but is still the youngest member! Sandy and Beryl, too, had April birthdays. In May birthdays were celebrated by Daphne B, Janet and Shirley and in June we will raise a glass to Jane and Stella. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Maggie Keeling Friday Coffee Mornings - They are held on the first Friday of every month only. Please come along and join us for conversation and friendship. Galileo Restaurant Authentic Italian cuisine in the most welcoming surrounding 1 Woodland Parade, Hove, BN3 6DR - 01273 330883 Opening Hours - Mon - Sun: 12pm - 10:30pm Takeaways and Deliveries available Bringing the very best of authentic Italian cooking, made from top quality ingredients cooked freshly for you to enjoy. A MESSAGE FROM THE CHURCHWARDENS TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION AT ST PETER’S, WEST BLATCHINGTON We are delighted to report that Rev Tim Gage was duly licensed as Rector of St Peter’s on Wednesday, 13th May, by the Archdeacon of Brighton and Lewis, Martin Lloyd-Williams, following his appointment to the post by the Bishop of Chichester. A formal service of collation and induction will take place in St Peter’s, led by the Bishop, once the current restrictions on services in church have been lifted. In the meantime, we welcome Tim, his wife Clare and their two boys, Ben and Sammy, to our parish community. Owing to the current restrictions, it has not yet been possible for them to move into the rectory but they hope to do so before the end of this month. In the meantime, we can report that the extensive repairs and redecorations that were needed to the rectory have been carried out very satisfactorily and the house is ready for occupation. Our thanks go to Terry and Jean Rogers, of our congregation and known to many, and to the team employed by the Diocese for renovations, and also to our willing gardening volunteers. We wish to record our grateful thanks to the many people who have helped us to keep St Peter’s functioning during the difficult time since Fr Dan fell ill and felt obliged to resign as rector. A special thank-you to the Revs Erika Howard and John Joyce who between them took the majority of our Sunday services, as well as the additional services of Christmas and Easter and occasional weddings, baptisms and funerals and as a result gave us a considerable degree of continuity. John has also been helping us out during the current period of lockdown by recording a weekly Sunday sermon which could be viewed online from the parish website. We are also grateful to Rev Keith Perkinton who took a service of Holy Communion most months on Tuesday evenings, as well as to many other clergy who occasionally took services for us when Erika and John were both unavailable. Rev Tim has plans for a weekly Sunday service to be held online at 10.00 and this will be accessible via a link on the parish website. As time progresses, he may announce plans for other services as well, to be accessed in a similar way. Services and other parish meetings will have to continue being held online until the current restrictions are lifted. For parishioners who do not have access to the internet we are investigating other means of making services accessible to them, possibly by distributing recordings on CD or even cassette tape. Jonathan Cooke David Keeling Thank you! Thank you gifts and cards have been sent to Revs John Joyce and Erika Howard. They were both delighted. Please find below the photographs of them receiving their gifts. These are the messages we had back from them which I hope they dont mind me sharing with you. It has been a real joy and privilege to share with you all in the ministry at St Peter’s over these last few years – is it really years, and I fear it is. I have loved being able to celebrate so many of the feasts of the Church with you – Holy Week 2019 was very special and I was only sorry it could not repeated in quite the same way this year. Thank you for forcing me into writing sermons again after 35 years!! I know you will go from strength to strength in the years to come as you work with your new priest. With renewed thanks and with much love and many prayers John What a lovely surprise when Mandy arrived on my doorstep last week with the lovely gifts and thank you card.