Thakeham Storrington Sullington
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90p 3HeraldsOctober 2016 STORRINGTON SULLINGTON THAKEHAM St Mary’s Church SULLINGTON St Mary’s Church STORRINGTON St Mary’s Church THAKEHAM Holy Sepulchre WARMINGHURST (Churches Conservation Trust) THE PARISH CHURCHES OF St Mary St Mary St Mary STORRINGTON SULLINGTON THAKEHAM IN THE DIOCESE OF CHICHESTER STORRINGTON Rector Revd Kathryn Windslow, BTh, MPhil (742888) The Rectory, Rectory Road, Storrington RH20 4EF Information about study [email protected] and prayer groups, and requests for baptisms, Hon. Assistant Priest Revd Charles Hadley, MA (740787) weddings and home 28 Meadowside, Storrington RH20 4EG communions, for Storrington [email protected] from the Revd Kathryn Assistant Curate Revd Christine Spencer, BTh, BSc (Hons) (741790) Windslow and for Sullington 9 Longland Avenue, Storrington RH20 4HY and Thakeham from the SULLINGTON AND THAKEHAM WITH WARMINGHURST Revd Derek Spencer. Rector Revd Derek Spencer, BA (01798 813121) All telephone The Rectory, The Street, Thakeham RH20 3EP numbers are 01903 unless otherwise stated. PARISH CLERGY PARISH Bishop’s General Licence Revd Tessa Holland, MA (741904) Dear Friends fit for eating; and others which never achieve ripeness; they rot and Harvest Festival, for some reason usually in October, decay and must be thrown away. is a time of thanksgiving. Crops that have taken Jesus uses the word “harvest” in another sense: unusually, all four weeks or months in germination and growth reach gospels refer to a saying of Jesus about the harvest being plentiful maturation, and are ripe for harvest. They have and the labourers scarce. This harvest is NOW, the labourers’ job is to become, some of them, what they were designed collect the ripe fruit which is crying out for harvest (Matt. 9.37-8 and to be: ripe, full and ready to be collected and to //’s) by teaching, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom and healing. become food. And we celebrate, even if someone else did all the In John (4.35) after his conversation with the Samaritan woman at hard work of harvesting! the well, Jesus’ disciples return with food from the town for him to We are grateful for the food which sustains human life. And we are eat. “My food is to accomplish the will of him who sent me and to also grateful to the God from whom all good things come: “Blessed accomplish his work…lift up your eyes and see how the fields are are you Lord God of all creation, of your goodness we have this bread white for harvest”, Jesus replies. The good news of the kingdom is to eat, which earth has given and human hands have made…for that the harassed and helpless crowds can enter into God’s fullness this wine, fruit of the wine and work of human hands” (Communion and joy NOW. And his “food” is to make that possible and for his service). What we enjoy has come from God’s abundant provision, followers to do the same. from mankind’s work in tending creation and nurturing its plants. Harvest reminds us that not only are ripe crops fundamental to our Harvest, then, is rightly a time for celebration: not just “Aren’t we survival and a sure sign of God’s love; but also that Christians who lucky!” but “How good is our God”. We are dependent on Him; what are ripe, bursting with God’s good news, are fundamental o the we work to produce is first of all gift. We depend on Him. fulfilment of God’s plan for a redeemed humanity and a restored Harvest can also be a time to reflect upon how we use the abundance creation. of this good creation, both in terms of our stewardship of nature and Ripeness is all. in terms of how that abundance is distributed so that “we produce God bless you all. enough for all to have some”, so that all, not just the lucky ones, can CHARLES HADLEY survive, can have their “daily bread”. Today, ecology is a fashionable Assistant Priest, St Mary’s, Storrington priority. But its roots go back to Genesis 1.29: “Behold l have given you every plant yielding seed…” And the clear implication is to tend it and look after it well. Failure to do so is dire; it is fundamentally PRAYER FOR THE MONTH associated with that basic flaw of pride, deception and selfishness which causes the Fall. In Genesis 3.17 the ground actually becomes O Holy Spirit, “cursed”, a source of hard labour, failure and inadequate provision. who so deeply disturbs our peace ... In Shakespeare’s great tragedy, King Lear, the blinded Gloucester goad us until we go your way, meets on the heath his legitimate son, Edgar, whom he had previously to our own greater blessing been tricked into disinheriting and is protected by him. As Edgar and deeper peace! leaves to serve out justice he says: “What, ill thoughts again! Man must endure their going hence, even as their coming hither. Ripeness is all.” To which Gloucester replies: “And that is true as well.” Thakeham Church 4 So harvest is also a time to consider justice, mercy and forgiveness. When Jesus uses the word “harvest” it may refer to the Lord’s Second Sullington Church 5 Coming, the final judgement, the time when men and women are Storrington Church 6 revealed in their true colours, the extent to which they have reflected the image of God their Creator, sheep or goats (Matt. 25.32). Or, as Canon Palmer’s Diary 13 in Matt. 13.30f where the weeds are separated out from the good Reflections of the Past: This Old House 20 seed and burnt. In other words, there is no such thing as a perfect apple but rather there are apples of all shapes and sorts and sizes CONTENTS Storrington & District Museum 22 3 Heralds // October 2016 3 Thakeham and Sullington share this verse for the year. We’re a joint benefice which means we also What’s happening at share our priest - although our styles are different. St Mary’s Thakeham Revd Derek Spencer www.thakehamchurch.com Churchwardens: Treasurer: Child Protection Officer: Church Bookings: David Peacock (745595) Margarita Smith (01798 817376) Karen Arkle (744844) Wynn Lednor (743025) 5 Dean Way, Staddle-stone, The Street, 5 Jubilee Way, Storrington RH20 3NZ 4 Crescent Rise, Storrington RH20 3NB Storrington RH20 4QN Thakeham RH20 3EP Electoral Roll Officer: Bellringers: Tower Captain Allison Goodfellow (740499) PCC Secretary: David Peacock (745595) Roger Watts (01798 813775) Lyndene Rebecca Bunyan (01798 812330) 5 Dean Way, Storrington RH20 4QN Gift Aid Officer: Newhouse Lane Churchview, The Street, Organist: Bob Timms (01798 813807) Storrington RH20 3HQ Thakeham RH20 3EP Beryl Hardie (892349) Cootes, The Street, Thakeham RH20 3EP PASTORAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR SULLINGTON & THAKEHAM: Please contact the Revd Derek Spencer on 01798 813121 to make arrangements for Baptisms, Weddings and Banns of Marriage. He can be contacted at Thakeham Rectory throughout the week. His day off is Saturday. STAY AND PRAY Thakeham & Sullington Church Youth Groups It is widely acknowledged that MILESTONES is a youth group for those in school years 6,7 & 8. It meets prayer is a power for good, at Thakeham Rectory every other Friday between 6.15pm and 7.30pm. both for those who actively pray (Contact Ruth on 01798 813121) themselves as well as those TGIF is a group for those in year 9 upwards. It meets every other Friday who are comforted by receiving at 7pm – 9pm at the Church Rooms in The Street,Thakeham prayer in time of difficulty. We (Contact Matt & Pippa Harder 01798 817522) are often reminded to pray ‘first’ and not to wait until the midst of the crisis to turn to our Lord for help. Ironically, it is often Annual Bonfire Social this very activity that gets crowded out of our busy lives. The Rectory, Thakeham There is an initiative at St Mary’s Church, Thakeham, to offer an Sunday 13 November More information next month opportunity to put some time for prayer back into our schedules on a more regular basis. ‘Stay and Pray’ happens monthly in Church on the last Monday of the month at 8pm and recently was enhanced by an extra delicious prayer breakfast on a Saturday morning in Knit and Stitch Tea on Tuesday August. Come along, meet with friends and catch We are still feeling our way sensitively about how, when and where, up over your favourite stitch-craft project. but if you have a heart for prayer and feel that meeting up with Thakeham Church Rooms others would help direct your intentions then you would be made 18 October between 2pm and 4pm most welcome. For more information do speak to Sue Sercombe or All welcome. Enquiries to Wynn Lednor - 743025 Carol Peacock on 745595. A DATE FIRST TASTE OF FO R Y OUR Still Waters: DI CHRISTMAS ARY a time to enter silence, still the mind and encounter the Thakeham Village Hall present moment in quiet, at St Mary’s Church, Sullington. Saturday 3 December Saturday 1 October 11.30am - 2.30pm Come either at 8am and join us for a time of ‘sheer silence’ of about 45 minutes, or at 9am beginning with a short introduction on the Further details next month contemplative tradition, followed by about 25 minutes of companionable silence, concluding with shared reflections and closing prayer All are welcome – at 8 or 9am, or for the whole time. No booking required Church in the Pub It is by an attention full of love that we enable the Inner Light to blaze and illuminate our dwelling and to make our whole being a source from which 1st Monday of the month this Light may shine out.