Parish Magazine Parishes of Rolvenden and Newenden
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SEPTEMBER ONLINE Parish Magazine Parishes of Rolvenden and Newenden Associate Team Priest The Revd Chris Hodgkins 01580 389587 RevChrisHodgkins@outlook.com mob: 07843220684 Please note Chris' day off is Friday Reader Judy Vinson 01580 241504 judyannvinson@gmail.com St Mary the Virgin, Rolvenden Churchwardens Elizabeth Marshall 01580 241529 ea.marshall@btinternet .com Maggie Macaulay 01580 241843 maggiemacaulay@gmail.com Hon. Secretary Ann Paddick 01797 252334 Hon. Treasurer William Barham 01580 240852 Sacristan Elizabeth Marshall 01580 241529 Organist Geoffrey Davison 01580 241685 Bellringers’ Assoc. Captain Linda Smith 01580 241783 St Peter, Newenden Churchwardens Frances Jones 01797 252563 frances@peri.co.uk Hugh Edmonds 01797 252196 h.edmonds@scottygroup.com Hon. Treasurer Sue Bourne 07879 403424 Sacristan Rhoda Smith 01580 292041 Magazine Administration Judy Vinson 01580 241504 judyannvinson@gmail.com Magazine Subscriptions Elizabeth Marshall 01580 241529 Published by Rolvenden P.C.C. This month's cover: ‘Meeting Point’ by Judy Vinson View from the Layne here’s a lot being talked about right now around the new normal and how we can preserve some of the good things that have happened during lockdown. There is T no automatic return to the old normal. Change is in the air. In church we pray for a very specific change very regularly when we pray: Thy kingdom come. The second line from the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer that echoes in the back of many minds. For Christians the prayer is part of every formal act of worship. The first thing we ask: Your kingdom, dear God on earth: but what, exactly are we asking for? The next line gives us a big clue: ‘as it is in heaven’. So that’s it, in heaven God’s word rules OK, and we want that down here too. Not quite the right way of expressing it, too much of a power thing. God invites a relationship with humanity that is more subtle than that. We are invited to turn towards God, which of necessity means turning away from the ways of the world, ‘to come and see it, live it my way’. And God’s way is to put love, forgiveness, hope and renewal at the heart of all the brokenness and hurt which somehow came into the world. At the very start of Mark’s Gospel we read: It was after John’s arrest that Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel of God, saying, “The time has come at last—the kingdom of God has arrived. You must change your hearts and minds and believe the good news.” (Mark 1. 14,15). The arrival of Jesus of Nazareth in the villages and towns around Lake Galilee, teaching and building up his band of chosen followers, can be seen as the opening chapter in a story that is still unfolding through history, a story which has its prequel in the Old Testament, the story of the unfolding of God’s special relationship with the wandering nomad Abraham and his descendants. What do we know about this kingdom, how does it get going, what does it look like? Those questions have always been around and Jesus answered them with short word pictures, stories even, of everyday life. We have the one about the tiny seed, sown in the ground, sprouting in the dark and growing to be a large tree in which all the birds could take shelter. There are some common features in these stories; a very small beginning, something hidden and growing in secret eventually causes something of significant benefit for many. And the exciting thing is we each have within us the possibility to do our own small bit of kingdom building. Small hidden changes, the seed case splitting silently, what might I do as an individual that would make a difference? That thought is the cracking of the seed case. How do I make that change, the first step, the next step, the steady move ahead, That’s the seed putting out its first root, and the shoot with the bud is gathering form, starting to push upwards through the soil to the light. The plant appears: is it food and shelter for birds or butterflies? Is it a WOW moment for passers-by? Do they smile and ask how they can grow one like that? And so little changes made in secret can become something of benefit and even a force for change. Your ‘plant’ will be uniquely yours. It could be something about how you choose to 1 spend your money, or your time. It might be who you choose to spend time with. It could be as simple as choosing to smile at everyone you meet in the street, including that miserable old person, with the smelly dog, who never smiles. Thy kingdom come O Lord, thy kingdom come! Judy V Welcome to Rolvenden and Newenden Parish Magazine wonder, did you spot the change of name? Or were you so entranced by the photo of the parish boundary? This is the IHexden Channel as it comes bouncing down from Sandhurst to pass under the A28 and then flow across the marsh to the Rother. We thought about having Hexden in the title, but it did not really work. What we have achieved is getting rid of that unfortunate Notes tag for Newenden. Originally the name made much sense but circumstances change and I know there are some who will welcome the shift to something equitable. It may be a new name but it is still the monthly publication serving both communities. And this month we can say Welcome Back to all readers who have been unable to read the online version. You are gong to find there is something of a change in the content, which has everything to do with how village life has changed as a result of Covid and the restrictions that came with lockdown. And welcome to the September issue, all you dedicated online readers. However you take your mag, may it be with interest and joy. Judy V E From the Registers E Funeral July 30th Anita Mary Freeland – with interment of ashes at St Mary’s August 4th Vivien Patricia Jeffreys – at Charing Crematorium August 5th Colin Herbert Fairbrass – at St Mary’s 2 The Friends of St Peter’s, Newenden t their recent committee meeting, the members unanimously voted to thank A Sue Bourne, who has resigned from the committee after many years devoted service as Honorary Treasurer, by awarding her Life Membership. Sue has graciously accepted the award. In 2021, the committee would like to celebrate the church’s extraordinary and beautiful Norman font. Details will emerge in the coming months but suffice it to say that the font, which pre-dates the current church by more than 100 years, is a clear sign of the significance that Newenden, with its monastery, port and market, held in medieval England. The font may well have been in Newenden for 900 years (except for the years when the townspeople of Rye stole it!). Sad to say, the committee did not feel bold enough to set a new date for The Evening with Jonty Driver, which was cancelled for obvious reasons at the end of March. But the committee is determined to reinstate this event as soon as it’s safe to hold large scale events in St Peter’s again. Stay safe and well, everyone. Anthony Dawson 3 ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg Church Service Calendar for September Sunday 6th September, Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, 9:15 St Peter Newenden Eucharist (CW) 11:00 St Mary Rolvenden Eucharist (CW) Sunday 13th September, Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, also celebrated as the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Rolvenden 9:15 St Peter Newenden Eucharist (CW) 11:00 St Mary Rolvenden Eucharist (CW) Sunday 20th September, Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity 9:15 St Peter Newenden Eucharist (CW) 11:00 St Mary Rolvenden Matins (BCP) Sunday 27th September, Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity 9:15 St Peter Newenden Eucharist (CW) 11:00 St Mary Rolvenden Eucharist (CW) One of the things that has been a cause of regret is our inability to celebrate the major festivals in all their liturgical richness. Lockdown deprived us of Holy Week, and Easter Day. But we have learnt in Lockdown to be imaginative and to use the opportunities that present themselves. In September we of St Mary the Virgin will celebrate our patronal festival using the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary as our marker. At our Eucharist on that day we will have the lighting of the Pascal Candle. This would have happened on the Saturday night before Easter Sunday, the new candle being lit form a fire at the west door and processed into a dark church with the priest proclaiming ‘The Light of Christ’. Doing it at 11:00am in full daylight will not be the same but that may just make it all the more special. We will also have singing as permitted within the regulations: a single voice, away from everyone else. We are fortunate in having Geoffrey Davison as our organist because he is also a good soloist and will sing as he does every Easter Eve the chant The Exsultet, an ancient hymn of triumph and rejoicing which, in its proper place, represents the climax of the arrival of the Pascal Candle, the Light of Christ. Geoffrey will also sing the Magnificat, the song of triumph that the Gospel writer Luke has in his account of the pregnant Mary meeting with her older pregnant cousin Elizabeth. There is an element of the miraculous about both pregnancies.