Services at St Margaret’s Underriver St Lawrence, Seal Chart 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 Sevenoaks 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, Kent 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 St Lawrence Pre-School ??? Stone Street Contact Janice Brooker 760843 Church Wardens 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) 16 1 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 Otford 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 2 15 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.