Services at St Margaret’s St Lawrence, Parish Magazine during June 2016

In the Church, every Thursday at 08:30, Morning Prayer (said) - CW June 2016

Sunday 5 June 11:15 Pet Service Sunday 12 June 10:30 Joint Confirmation Service Sunday 19 June 11:15 Joint Dedication Service at St Lawrence’s Sunday 26 June 11:15 Parish Communion CW Sunday 3 July 11:15 All Age Family Service

ST LAWRENCE CHURCH AND VILLAGE CONTACTS Vicar - Revd Carol Kitchener - 01732 761766 Reader - St Lawrence Church - Mrs Gretel Wakeham - 01732 761534 Admin Assistant - Tim Pearce - 01732 832408 [email protected] Parish Website - www.sealstlawrence.org.uk Churchwardens Ron Drury 810214 1st St Lawrence Brownies Janet Boswell 01959 523953 Rob Otto 457442 PCC Hon Secretary John Morris 810227 S’oaks District Councillors Julia Thornton 07831 234449 PCC Hon Treasurer Andy Rowell 884950 Roderick Hogarth 760325 Electoral Roll Clive McLintock 452964 Seal Parish Council Covenant & Envelopes Rob Otto 457442 Chairman Edward Oatley 465905 Organist Alex Trigg 07528 519455 Vice-Chairman Mike Harvey Choir Director John Morris 810227 Clerk Lorna Talbot 763488 Bellringers Hon Secretary Peter Wharton 810388 Ward Councillors Peter Granville 763832 Deanery Synod Ron Drury 810214 Tony Bulleid Peter Wharton 810388 Sunday School Hilary Darque 453929 St Lawrence Village Hall Management Committee Vicar Reader Chairman Peter Wharton 810388 Child Protection Rep Kate Clark 810829 Secretary Janice Brooker 760843 The Revd Carol Kitchener Mrs Gretel Wakeham Treasurer Andy Smaggasgale 760552 St Lawrence Vicarage The White House Church Flowers Sheila Jackson 811422 Bookings Secretary Andy Smaggasgale 760552 Stone Street Bitchet Green St Lawrence CE Primary School Cricket Club Secretary Robin Webster 01892 862017 Headteacher Alison Saunders 761393 Badm’ton Club Contact Peter Wharton 810388 Sevenoaks, TN15 0LQ Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0NA Chairman of Governors Paul Martin 761393 Archery Club Secretary Mike Davies 762266 01732 761766 01732 761534 Clerk to the Governors Valerie Maunder 761393 Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators Church Wardens St Lawrence Pre-School ??? Stone Street Contact Janice Brooker 760843 Seal Chart Contact Nicola Mitchell 764202 Ron Drury Rob Otto Copy for the next issue should be sent, preferably by e-mail, to the editor, Garden Cottage, Raspit Hill 23 Hillingdon Avenue Brian Sutton (01732 450873) at [email protected] to arrive by 08:00 on Wednesday 15 June 2016 Ivy Hatch Sevenoaks The next issue of the Parish Magazine will be in Church on Sunday 26 June 2016 Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0PE Kent TN13 3RB 01732 810214 01732 457442 Edited and Typeset by Brian Sutton, 50 The Crescent, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 3QY (01732 450873) Printed by Highland Printers, Church Farm, Seal, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 0AN (01732 762131)

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Our Vicar’s Page For the Children We all have things that we feel confident about, things we think we can do well, or that people say we do well – where do these gifts/abilities come from? The bible tells us that they come from God. Over time we might be given new gifts or we might lose gifts that we do not use anymore. That gives us a clue that our gifts have been given to us for a purpose - they need to be used. Last month twenty people from our two churches got together in the church rooms next to parish church to think about gifts and the way they can be used to serve God and each other. We read two pieces of scripture (1 Corinthians 12:12-end and Romans 12:4-8) and considered if the knowledge that gifts have been given by God makes a dif- ference to the way we view them? We decided that it did make a difference and people spoke about the importance of encouraging and recognizing people’s gifts. We also decided that it was just as important to use our gifts outside the church as it was to use them within and that might mean using them in a national or global context. People wanted to encourage others to use the gifts they had, maybe helping them to discover that they have a gift they did not know about. We discussed how to involve other people and felt that a personal invitation would be a good way, be- ing sensitive to the level of involvement someone might feel comfortable with. We used our imagination to think what a church where everyone used their gifts might look like and decided it would be very different from the church we know. Perhaps that church would not need structures, or reams of paperwork – would that mean the end of the rota? We decided that our gifts had been given to us for a purpose. Together we form the body of Christ at St Lawrence’s and at St Margaret’s and between us we should have all of the gifts necessary for our churches to flourish. On a human figure we placed our names according to the kind of gifts we had, some were spiritual gifts (heart), practical gifts (hands and feet), administrative gifts (head), teaching and leadership gifts (head), hospitality gifts (hands). It was encouraging to see that both churches had a good spread of gifts and that no areas were un- derrepresented. Think about the gifts you have, if you are not sure what they are ask a friend, they might be able to see where your gifts lie. If there are things that you have always wanted to be a part of let our wardens know and we can include you. We should thank God for the people he has called to our churches and for the gifts he has given to them. Yours in the love of Christ

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St Lawrence Brownie Pack 1966-today Cover Picture On Easter Sunday we celebrated 50 years since the founding of the Pack. In On the display at the back of the church you will find an envelope with a number March 1966, I was asked by Mrs Parks if I would start a Brownie Pack in St of postcard reproductions of a water colour painting of the interior of our Lawrence. I jumped at the idea as I wasn’t happy where I was and we were sub- church. sequently registered in June 1966. Richard Perry, the artist, who has kindly given me his permission to his painting We met in the hut in the wood above the vicarage. No loo, heating or electrici- for this month’s cover picture, is the father of one of our parishioners and in ty……..only 2 pool tables which took up most of the room; these were removed thanking him we should also extend of congratulations for his skill and thanks by the second week. for an excellent rendition of our lovely church. I started with two brownies, Jacqueline Ayling and Nicola Wilson, and each If you would like a card, as a keepsake or, perhaps, to send to a friend,, please week we added more girls until I ended up with 24. My husband put up curtain take one and put 25p in the box on the west wall. Ed rails and I made some curtains. It made the hut more homely and I believe they ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ are still there. A Brief Word about Church Finances Mrs Ergham had a fork lunch to raise some funds for us. We made the sum of £9 Times are tough for many in the charity sector at the moment and unfortunately, -13s-6d. so I bought a Brownie Toadstool which we still use today. It underwent for our church, the situation is no different. Before talking about the specific some repair work recently by my son, who was a scout in his youth, and so we plans and initiatives that we, as your Parochial Church Council, are planning in progressed to what we are today. order to improve our position, I’d like to take a few minutes to share some At 65 I had to retire, as it was the rule then. I left for one term, so the girls got information relating to how our finances work. Starting from the 2016 Financial used to calling Janet “Brown Owl”, and I returned as “Snowy Owl” and have Year, we’ve decided to make our financing far more transparent and hopefully been going for the last 26 years. easier for everyone to understand. One particular change that we’re making is to keep our church finances (i.e. those monies needed to maintain the church and I still enjoy it, Thank you, Dorothy Smith. the work we do) entirely separate from the funds we raise for and on behalf of What a marvellous record, Ed other charities. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ It’s important to understand, firstly, that the vast majority of our income each year comes from donations, including standing orders from regular donors, collections taken in church, funds raised at special events and Gift Aid top-ups from HMRC. We need money to meet our regular expenses and support our chosen charities. Regular expenses include our contribution to the Diocese (including our vicar’s salary/pension), upkeep of the church buildings and churchyard, parish administration expenses, paying for the lights, water, insurance and all sorts of other things. Charitable contributions follow the tithing principle, in that we aim to ensure that we give an amount equivalent to 10% of our total income each year to charities. Starting from 2016, charitable donations will be funded entirely through collections at special services and funds raised from dedicated charity events. Looking at the numbers themselves, based on the 2016 budget, our anticipated expenditure on regular church expenses is roughly £38500, divided into categories as shown in the following graph: In order to keep our finances healthy, our annual income should meet or slightly exceed this amount, however, our anticipated income for 2016 shows a

14 3 shortfall of £3250 , as demonstrated below:

Again, it’s important to emphasise that this is income that we are raising specifically to meet church expenses and does not include any additional funds that we will raise for our chosen charities. We intend to address this shortfall in two ways: firstly, through an appeal to our

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Our Rogation Sunday Walk donors to consider increasing their contributions, if they feel able to do so. The reality is that should each of our donors be prepared to increase their On Rogation Sunday, 6 May, we walked the fields and footpaths of Romshed commitment to the church by a relatively small amount – say just £2 a week – Farm, we stopped and read Psalm 121, we sang verses from “All things bright we could eliminate our deficit without needing to do anything further. The and beautiful’, we prayed asking God to bless the land and the people who second option we have is to raise funds through a series of dedicated events worked it. planned throughout the year. We’ve already had our joint concert with St After the walk, we were joined by a number of others for an outdoor picnic tea Margaret’s, which raised several hundred pounds. We are planning a Folk and then we went over to church for Evensong at 6 pm. Concert in the summer too, as well as our Christmas Fayre and a special Christmas Concert featuring renowned tenor Greg Tassell later in the year. As if that wasn’t enough to be getting on with, we’re also entering a team in the Bewl Water Dragon Boat Festival in September. We’re using this event as a dedicated fund raiser for a number of charities and our rowers and supporters will be reaching out to their friends and families for sponsorship ahead of the event. It promises to be a fun day out for our whole church family and we’re looking to raise a fair amount of money for Sevenoaks Area Youth Trust, Photographs by Clive Garner Demelza House and the Bridge Trust, amongst a number of other charities. Please do have a word with myself, Ron, or any member of the PCC if you’d like more information about our finances. This is the first in a series of articles which will provide an update during the year together with regular bulletins on the

church noticeboard. Rob Otto - Churchwarden ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The Annual Parochial Church Meeting held on April 17, 2016

The Annual Meeting was attended this year by 20 members of the church who

met to review the church’s activities for 2015 and to elect officers for the coming year. Ron Drury and Rob Otto were re-elected as Churchwardens and two new members were added to the PCC – Hilary Denby-Jones and Sally Rees. The electoral roll is also updated for the Annual Meeting and now stands at 83, down from 85 last year. The meeting reviewed the Annual Report which details the work of the church in the community and its contributions to a number of chosen charities. The relationship with St Lawrence School and the well- supported Messy church were highlights of the Report. The Report recorded a small but encouraging increase in average attendance at Sunday services. The church incurred a shortfall of income over expenses of £5000 during the year. A finance sub-committee has made recommendations which will be implemented in 2016 to improve the transparency of our accounting and to address the shortfall for future years. Elsewhere in this magazine Rob Otto gives a detailed account of the proposals. John Morris (PCC Sec) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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Local Folk Acts would like to volunteer with us in some way, regularly or occasionally, please contact us on 01732 779682 or [email protected] . Our website is Ty Watling and www.sayt.org.uk Hobo and the Hippies ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All for one … perform at St Lawrence Church Similar numbers from each of our churches –over 20 in total gathered at Otford church hall for our away morning. Why were we there? Why might we be found in church on Sunday? Are we there by accident or drawn into our church for a St Lawrence Church, Seal Chart reason? Just as the body is made up of different parts, each member of our congregations is a very different person but we can all come together in the one proudly presents local Sevenoaks folk legends body of the church. Carol reminded us that God has given us all gifts so that we can combine to be the complete and healthy body of the church. Ty Watling and Hobo and the Hippies Groups considered the description and importance of various parts of the body (1 in concert on Sunday 26 June 2016 Corinthians 12: 12-end). As we read, we were reminded about the many different parts of the body. Some very small parts are just as important as a large part for the well being of the whole body. “God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable”. We considered Join us in the church grounds on a lovely Summer’s how the knowledge that our gifts come from God affects the way we view and use those gifts. Could we use our gifts more frequently, more effectively, more Sunday evening (weather permitting) for drinks and widely? snacks, followed by a great double header In pairs, with someone we knew, we asked God’s guidance in identifying each performance in our lovely 19th century rural church. other’s gifts. There were occasional surprises! We were able collectively to identify many gifts that people were using or could use. One or two gifts were listed for each individual using different coloured paper for each church. Tickets are £12 for adults and £6 for children under Amazingly, when pinned to a body outline both colours were well represented on the head, hands heart and feet - all essential body parts. 16 and soft drinks and snacks are included in the The challenge is for all members to go out and demonstrate the use of all these ticket price. gifts in our churches, communities and beyond. Eric ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A cash bar will be available with a selection of wines www.sealstlawrence.org.uk Do you recognise this web address: it is the address of the Seal St Lawrence and beer. Church website which is maintained and updated regularly by Rob Otto. It is well worth a visit - it is in colour, not just black and white like the magazine - Please buy your tickets on-line on our web site and there is always something of interest on one or other of its pages. or contact Sally Rees on 07900 167430 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A Thought for Today Contact Rob on 07772 625131 for any general event queries. It is better to go straight than to move in the best of circles.

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The SAYT Spring Newsletter The following paragraphs have been extracted from the Spring Newsletter of SAYT - The Sevenoaks Area Youth Trust - one of the charities which we support. Ed Thank you for taking the time to read up on our latest news! We greatly value all of our supporters from individuals who pray for the work we do, to those who are able to support our work financially, to congregations who faithfully stand with us as we serve the young people of our community. We hope you enjoy catching up on all that's going on in the various areas of our work. The SAYT team continue to have a consistent lunch time presence in Knole Academy twice a week and Trinity School once a week. This includes inviting students to pop by and see us, playing various games and getting to know the students whilst also sharing a 'thought for the day'. In Trinity School, with the help of the youth workers from Baptist Church and Vine Evangelical Church, Josh Arnott & Louise Garret, we spend the lunch time both in the playground with the young people, and hosting a quieter space for chat, games and discussion. Our time in schools is a core part of what we do in coming alongside young people. We also continue to hold assemblies in Combe Bank School. If you would like us to hold assemblies in any other schools, please either get in contact with us or ask the school to contact us, we would love to have the opportunity to do more of this. Please praise God, we continue to have these valuable opportunities to minister in schools. We continue our presence in Greatness Park on Thursday evenings, speaking to those young people who hang out there. We have seen a large number there, often new faces. Praise God for the opportunities we have had and continue to have with the young people. Please pray for safety and new contacts as we start a new detached work on Tuesday afternoons in . We also continue to have a presence at the House in the Basement Youth Cafe underneath the Stag Theatre run by the Sevenoaks Town Council. Prayer is a big part of what we do. All youth workers (voluntary or employed) are welcome to our monthly prayer breakfast. The next one is Saturday 30 April. Call for more details. We support the Town Council prayer meetings, the Trinity school prayer meetings at Hope church & more! Please continue to join us in praying for the young people of the Sevenoaks area. If you would like to receive our monthly prayer points, please email [email protected]. SAYT presents a unique opportunity locally to be investing in the lives of young people who don't know the good news of the gospel. We invite you to come and visit the youth bus, check out our drinks and snacks for yourselves and see if you

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Services and Events at The Church of St Lawrence Seal Chart Church Flowers during June 2016 Sunday 5 June Audrey Ellis-Gibbons Every Tuesday at 08:30, in the Church Morning Prayer (said) (CW) Sunday 12 June Audrey Ellis-Gibbons Sunday 19 June Bridge Stephens Sunday 26 June Bridge Stephens Sunday 5 June 2nd Sunday after Trinity Sunday 3 July Sheila Jackson 08:00 Holy Communion BCP 1 Kings 17: 7-16 Luke 7: 11-17 Children meet promptly at 09:45 in the 09:45 All Age Family Service School Hall on the dates shown below 1 Kings 17: 7-16 They will rejoin their parents in the church

towards the end of the service. Thursday 9 June Prayer Time (Lasts about an hour, all are welcome) 14:00 At 50 The Crescent, Sevenoaks All children aged 3 and upwards are welcome For further information contact Hilary Darque Sunday 12 June 3rd Sunday after Trinity 10:30 Joint Confirmation Service at St Margaret’s tba 19 Jun Sunday School 17 Jul No Sunday School

3 Jul Picnic & Games 21 Aug No Sunday School Sunday 19 June 4th Sunday after Trinity St Lawrence Dedication Service 09:45 Family Communion with Sunday School CW

1 Peter 4: 12-19 Matthew 10: 28-39 Dates for your Diary 2016 Monday 20 June Prayer Time (Lasts about an hour, all are welcome)

10:00 at The Old Forge, Stone Street Fri 6 June In the Church Sunday 26 June 5th Sunday after Trinity Fri 15 July In the Church 09:45 Matins BCP Fri 9 Sep In the Church Galatians 5: 1, 13-25 Luke 9: 51-end Fri 18 Nov In the Church

Sunday 3 July 6th Sunday after Trinity Your Prayers are asked for HM Queen Elizabeth 08:00 Holy Communion BCP Ephesians 2: 19-end John 20: 24-29 Dear Lord, We thank you for our Queen, for her ninety years of 09:45 All Age Family Service life – and still counting! Thank you for her example of John 20: 24-29 commitment and service; for her perseverance through sunshine and storm. Most of all thank you for the wisdom she has to know that her security and significance come from you alone. You are her Lord and King and Saviour – and you are ours. May we all, Sovereign or Subject, put our trust in you and walk more closely with you day by day, in thankfulness for Jesus Christ, who makes that relationship possible. Amen.

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