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TRIONovember 2019 Contributions welcomed
The season of remembrance
Photo by Hervé de Brabandère, FreeImages.com
The United Benefice of West Malling with Offham
Vicar and Rector Rev David Green 01732 842245 The Vicarage, 138 High Street, West Malling ME19 [email protected] / [email protected]
Associate Priest Rev Mark Montgomery 01732 844194The Vicarage, 19 Worcester Avenue, Kings Hill, ME19 [email protected]
Lay Reader Margaret Moore 01732 841238Lay Minister Becky Clifford 01732 845634
St Mary-the-Virgin, West Malling (stmaryswestmalling.org.uk)
Churchwardens John Musker 01732 849109 Clare Innes 01732 843160 Sunday School Kerry Green 01732 842245Tower Captain Nick Crutchfield 01732 845187Mothers’ Union Gail Crutchfield 01732 845187
St Michael and All Angels, Offham (stmichaelsoffham.org.uk)
Churchwardens Stephen Betts 01732 843412
St Gabriel’s, Kings Hill (stgabrielskingshill.org.uk)
Priest Missioner Revd Mark Montgomery 01732 844198 Church mobile 07421 264898Girls Brigade Karen Webber 01732 875091
Pilsdon at Malling Community
Guardian Revd Viv Ashworth 01732 870279Pilsdon at Malling, 27 Water Lane, West Malling ME19 [email protected]
Parish Magazine
Advertising Gemma Coupland [email protected]: Terry Hill 01732 848100
This magazine is available for email distribution as a PDF. If you would prefer to receive it in this format, please email [email protected] to be added to the mailing list. We NEVER supply your details to third parties.
We offer free publicity for any community events or charitable concerns. The Editor reserves the right to modify any material submitted for publication. The views expressed by contributors are those of the authors; copyright for articles rests with contributors. If you would like to use any of the material, please contact the Editor for permission. Inclusion of advertisements does not constitute endorsement in any way.
In nine years of serving in this Benefice, we have had one visitor to the Vicarage at Hallowe’en. I know I shouldn’t complain. But having a cemetery right next door does seem to put people off. We talk a good game when it comes to ghouls and goblins, but we’ve all seen too many horror movies to actually venture into a cemetery.
Hallowe’en (or All Hallows Eve) precedes the important festival of All Saints Day. Traditionally, in this country and across Europe, All Saints was a day to remember and celebrate our loved ones who have “died in Christ”. I'll be leading a special service on November 3rd for grieving families in order to do just that.
Indeed, in countries across Europe such as Poland, All Saints Day is still celebrated by families gathering together to put candles on the graves of departed loved ones. Hallowe’en there doesn’t have desolate graveyards. Rather, they are full of people at dusk, lighting candles and tidying so by the end of the evening, the cemeteries are alive with a thousand twinkling candle lights.
It’s a time for gratitude, love and the remembrance of mums, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents, children we have loved and lost.
Our British traditions originated in village communities where children would dress up to mock the “powers of darkness”. The Eve of All Saints was their last day of influence before their defeat is celebrated as All Saints day dawns and we recognise the destiny of all those who have died in Christ is resurrection, new life and heavenly peace.
Somehow, in this country, we’ve kept the first bit and forgotten why we did it. Somehow, along the way, we lost the meaning as to why we dressed up in ghoulish ways to mock evil and celebrate Christ’s resurrection, and perversely the festival has become the precise opposite; a celebration of horror and terror and pain.
What makes it even worse is we do it all with single-use plastic garbage merchandise that pollutes our wonderful world. £419 million worth of the stuff in 2018.
I’ve left it too late for this year. But I’m feeling really challenged to try and see if we can’t live a different Hallowe’en in 2020.
I’d like to invite you all in 2020 to visit your loved ones graves at dusk on Hallowe’en. Tidy the plots and light a candle. I’ll make sure I get plenty of the ones you can buy in those glass jars so they don’t blow out.
Could we be different? Could we remember loved ones, celebrate their lives, and mock evil, not with cheap tat facemasks, but with a celebration of family, love, resurrection and heavenly life. Who’s with me?
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From David
A cemetery in Poland on Hallowe’en
Christmas is coming! I don’t know if you’ve realized it yet, but even in the midst of pumpkins, trick or treat co s tumes and va r iou s o the r Halloween things, Christmas is starting to pop up in the shops, on social media feeds and elsewhere.
Don’t forget there are only 50 odd days until Christmas* (*it could be a lot less depending on when you are reading this article!).
Are you ready for the big day, have you done all your shopping, ordered the food, sent the Christmas cards, set the perfect Christmas table yet? I read an article the other day, that says for many people Advent practically runs during November, and not December when the church says that Advent is taking place and when the church is doing its preparation. I don’t know if it has anything to do with pay days or Black Friday, but with lights being switched on in November, things are definitely changing.
But stop, just wait a moment, slow down!
If we rush towards Christmas too quickly, we miss key things in our lives and society and the memory of some key people. November is a month not for Christmas, but a month for remembering,
At this time of year we are remembering those who have given their life in war and conflict on Remembrance Sunday, and remembering the terrors of wars past and those raging now. For some of us, war and conflict may not seem real. In our current culture, wars and conflicts happen a long
way off, they are items on the news or on our social media streams and not lived events. But for many generations, war was a very real and impacting part of life. Living under rationing, walking with gas masks, waiting to hear the air raid sirens. This was a part of life that takes place around the world on this day, but also something that generations of people living in this area faced on a daily basis. Many local people lost their lives in the two world wars, and others serving their country in conflicts across the globe since.
November is also a month when we remember loved ones. All Saints is all about taking time to remember family members and friends who have died. Nothing to do with war, in this case, just keeping their memory alive and vivid is always important too.
So don’t rush too fast to Christmas, take a moment this November to remember, and take part in one of the local acts of remembrance, or attend a service to light a candle for those close to you who have died.
Mark
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High praise for Offham flower arranger!We know this will probably embarrass her terribly but we think everyone ought to know that one of St Michael’s regular flower arrangers, Chrissie Jenkins, was recently honoured in October with an invitation to create one of the two huge floral displays at the altar in Westminster Abbey!
It’s quite the honour and a real recognition of Chrissie’s talents which, of course, people at St Michael’s get to appreciate regularly when she is part of the team that ‘dresses’ the church for the big festivals.
Some members of St Michael’s went up to the Abbey to view the display, and we’re pleased to print a photo (courtesy of Gloria Pearson) of Chrissie with the arrangement so everyone can appreciate her efforts!
Womens’ Refuge donationsFor some years now, our local Mothers’ Union has been helping the Womens’ Refuge by supplying toiletries and dry goods for women arriving in crisis situations at the Refuge. Unfortunately Christmas is a busy time of year for the Refuge, so we like to make sure they have a reasonable stock of items.
If anyone can help supply toiletries or dry food or tins of food, then please bring them to church, either in Offham where Marion Evernden will be pleased to accept them, or West Malling where Joan Austin or Gail or Sue Chapple will be pleased to accept them.
Many thanks for your help with this project.
Gail Crutchfield.
Wateringbury joins the ClusterRev David recently attended a meeting of St John the Baptist, Wateringbury’s PCC to formally welcome them to the wider Cluster and answer their questions about Cluster working.
Following the Malling Deanery re-organisation over the last couple of years, Wateringbury has left the team with East Malling and Teston and instead been joined together with Mereworth and West Peckham.
When the new Benefice recruits a new Minister to replace Pat Dickin in the coming months, they will lead all three
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News around the Cluster
Chrissie Jenkins with her displayat the High Altar in Westminster Abbey.
churches and serve across the three communities.
In 2020, we will look to host six Cluster services, instead of five, so that each church c a n t a ke a t u r n i n h o s t i n g a n d Wateringbury will be included in all our C l u s t e r a c t i v i t i e s , o u t r e a ch a n d administration. They have already agreed to help financially support (and thus get the benefit from) the Cluster Administrator.
Bishop Simon leads ConfirmationAs October turned into November, the Bishop of Tonbridge Rt Rev Simon Burton-Jones began a week’s “visitation” to Malling Deanery.
The week began wi th a Deaner y Confirmation service in which 16 people of a variety of ages were able to declare their Christian faith, be confirmed by the Bishop and receive Holy Communion for the first time as confirmed members of the Church of England.
Although West Malling, Offham and Kings Hill didn’t have any candidates this year, Rev Mark and Rev David were heavily involved in the service nonetheless.
The Confirmation was held at Valley Invicta Kings Hill with Rev Mark and St Gabriel’s, Kings Hill hosting the service for the Deanery. St Gabriel’s also invited St Mary’s worship group, led by John Musker, to assist with the sung worship in the service.
Meanwhile, because Wateringbury had six candidates for confirmation but are currently in vacancy, Rev David filled in as a Cluster clergy colleague and has overseen the young people’s preparation and also prepared one adult candidate himself. He was on hand on the evening to vouch for all six and commend them to the Bishop for confirmation.
Monthly Taizé service at St Michael’sSt Michael’s, Offham are planning to hold a series of Taizé style services to bring us some additional light over the dark winter months!
Wednesday 6th November at 6.30 pmWednesday 4th December at 6.30 pmWednesday 8th January at 6.30 pm
Anyone who wants to know a bit more about what will happen can speak to Rev David. The service will last no more than 50 minutes and is an opportunity to engage in reflective prayer incorporating periods of silence with meditative readings from Scripture, prayers of praise, intercession, and the singing of simple songs or chants. Taizé is ideal for each of us who wants to engage in simple prayer and worship and allow our prayers to move from our heads to our hearts.
MP’s column on hold!With the recent announcement that a General Election will be held on the 12th of December, our regular column from the local MP is now on hold.
We thank Tom Tugendhat for his service to our constituency over the last few years, and pray for him and all the other candidates in our local constituency of Tonbridge and Malling as the election campaign begins.
Once the election is complete and we know who our new MP will be, whether that is Tom or one of the other candidates, we hope that this column might return in due course.
Rev David
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News from St Mary’sWest Malling
Christmas Tree FestivalFollowing the success of last year, St Mary’s is once again hosting a Christmas Tree Festival on Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December (to coincide with the turning on of the lights in West Malling).
Any local group or organisation can set-up a tree to take part and advertise their work. For a form to sign-up, send an email to [email protected].
Christmas Tree Festival - Hamper RaffleOn Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1st December, St Mary’s will be hosting the Christmas Tree Festival fundraiser as we did last year, coinciding with the turning on of the Christmas Lights in West Malling on the Sunday.
This year’s raffle prizes will consist of three hampers/gift bags filled with Christmas goodies and there is a list at the back of the Church asking for specific items. If you would like to contribute, please put your name next to the item(s) you wish to donate.
Items will be collected each Sunday up until the 24th November . Any queries, please contact Sue Chapple (01732) 843964 or email [email protected]. Thank you.
Harvest Brunch and servicesare well attendedSt Mary’s Harvest Festival took place around the All-Age service in October, with West Malling Primary School having their Harvest service just a few days later. Together, all the donations of food and resources received were shared with our two partners; Pilsdon at Malling in West
Malling and the Kenward Trust, just outside Yalding.
Our sincere thanks to everyone who came along to the Harvest Brunch between the two morning services that day and a special thank you to all those from the Mothers’ Union who organised it for us all. Your donations totalled £93.60 for the church’s general funds.
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Mothers’ Unionfor Mothers and Others.
Our speaker for next month is unable to come so we will therefore be discussing the decoration of our tree for the Christmas Tree Festival. If you have any items for the refuge then please bring them along as I hope to deliver a load to them before Christmas. We will be meeting in Church at 2 p.m. on Monday 11th November. All welcome.
Gail Crutchfield
New facilities for St Mary’s - updateIn October, the PCC Sub-Group had a meeting with representatives of the Diocesan Advisory Council (DAC) to talk through our plans and give us their feedback.
They had a couple of particular concerns about the roof materials for the Madge Rogers Room and whether the two ‘wings’ of the building should be symmetrical, suggesting alternate arrangements for a kitchen. The Sub-Group are now looking at options suggested by the DAC, considering the DAC feedback and speaking with key user groups for the extension to see how they would prefer to see the building being used.
As we went to press, we had not yet received the DAC’s written feedback that will follow that meeting and to which we, in turn, will have to respond in due course. So we await eagerly that opportunity to formally let them know our conclusions and feelings about what they have said.
Rev David
Three men sadly lost to usin OctoberIt’s been a tough month for St Mary’s with three elderly gentlemen this last month all having gone to glory.
Gordon Browne of Yew Tree Cottage was 102 when he died. Well-known to many regulars at St Mary’s, his family had decorated the font with flowers for more than 100 years between Gordon, and formerly his wife Molly, and before her Molly’s mother. The Times printed a full page obituary on the 23rd of October and it’s well worth a read. His funeral will take place at St Mary’s on November the 15th at 11.30 a.m.
Leslie Collins, formerly of Offham Road, died at Lavenders late in October. His wife Freda was well-known at St Mary’s and, after her death in 2016, Leslie moved to Lavenders and became a regular at our alternating bi-weekly Communion and Evensong services. His memorial service will take place on the 19th of November at 2.00 p.m. at St Mary’s.
Finally, Michael Gladden has died after a battle with cancer. When Michael and Gill moved to Goldings Close on Kings Hill, they became regulars at the 8 o’clock service and then, more recently, at the 10 o’clock. The funeral details are still to be confirmed but our prayers are with Gill and the wider family at this sad time for them.
May each one of these lovely men rest in God’s arms of love and in peace, and may they rise in glory.
Rev David
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Harvest brings a bumper crop!The church was full in early October for St Michael’s Harvest Festival. Combining with Offham Primary School, who also had a Harvest service a few days before, the church was full of people and Harvest donations for our two chosen partners - Pilsdon at Malling and the Kenward Trust.
Later the same day, the Village Hall was full of church-goers, neighbours and friends for our Harvest lunch with the community providing a veritable feast for all to enjoy!
Remembrance Sunday, 10 NovemberRemembrance Sunday is the 10th of November. Our service will start at the slightly later time of 10.00 a.m. Rev Jim Brown will be leading a traditional Remembrance Sunday service with laying of wreaths, remembering all those who have fought in defence of our country and given their lives in service, and especially those men from Offham who fell during the First and Second World Wars.
Ride & Stride thank youT h e c y c l i s t s a n d walkers from Offham for the Friends of Kent Churches thank a l l those who so generously sponsored them. We raised the grand total of £445, and Nicola Mackrill thanks all those who took part, and the very generous sponsors for this splendid achievement.
Baby & Toddler Group startingCome and join us at Offham baby and toddler group (under 3s) on Thursday mornings between 8.45 a.m. and 10 a.m. term-time only at Offham school in the hall.
Free play activities, singing and rhyme time stories, chatting and refreshments. Sessions are £2.00 a family which covers refreshment costs and helps raise funds for permanent storage and equipment for the group. Hope to see you there!
Sonja Pitcher
Offham Open HouseOpen House meets at 10.00 a.m. on the 7th November when the theme will be “Guess the O f f h a m O p e n
St Michael’s Offham News and Muse
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A veritable feast for Harvest lunch!
House Member! Share a p h o t o g r a p h o f yourself as a baby/
young child/adult to enable the rest of the members to guess who it is. Once you’ve been revealed we would like your story as to how you came to live in Offham.
On Remembrance Sunday, as agreed at this year’s AGM, Offham Open House will once again pay for and lay a wreath at the memorial at St Michael’s Church.
The meeting the following month will be a Christmas Lunch on Saturday the 14th of December at the George and Dragon at Ightham.
Offham SocietyT h e A n n u a l Tr i v i a l Pursuits evening will be held in the Village Hall on Saturday, 16th November at 8.00 p.m. in the Village Hall (doors open 7.45 p.m.).
Playing for the Mike Rowe Challenge Cup, this perennial favourite event returns! The event is now fully booked. Those who have booked are reminded that the ticket price includes a ploughman’s supper and a glass of wine; glasses provided – please bring along your own drink and nibbles.
The Committee is currently drawing up the programme for next year and any suggestions will be very welcome.
Malling Art Club Monthly meetings are h e l d o n t h e l a s t Thursday of each month at Offham Village Hall from 7.45 p.m. until 10.00 p.m. £4 per visitor or if you wish to join the Club, please collect one of the subscription notices. We very much look forward to welcoming new members. The
next meeting is on 28th November when we hold our AGM.
Macmillan Cancer Careand Royal Marsden Coffee MorningCaroline Slate and Lyn Nelson thank all the Offham villagers who so kindly attended the recent annual coffee morning in aid of the Macmillan and Royal Marsden cancer charities.
A grand total of £2,100 was raised on the day, which has now been shared with each charity. Many thanks to all for a making another event so successful.
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CHRISTMASSERVICES AND EVENTS
IN OFFHAMSun 8th DecLighting of the trees on the Green.
Tue 17th Dec, 8 p.m.Candle-lit Carol servicewith Richard King and guest choir.
Fri 20th Dec, 7.30 p.m.Carols in the Kings Arms(with mince pies and mulled wine)
Sun 22nd Dec, 9.15 a.m.Advent 4 Communion Service.
Sun 22nd Dec, 4.00 p.m.Christingle Service.
Wed 25 Dec, 9.15 a.m.All-Age Christmas Day(with Holy Communion)Kids bring one of your presents to show everyone as part of the service!
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Still Praying Every Day!Over the summer we committed to pray every day for our church, community and the world. We committed to pray every day at 12 noon (or as close to as you can). Following the success of this…
We are still praying every day!Each Sunday there is a weekly prayer diary on the welcome table at St Gabriel’s and you can subscribe to have an email in your inbox at 12 noon every day (just email Jenifa and let her know). We are also using the Prayermate app which allows you to subscribe to our feed or download it to your electronic diary, which is great. Again if you would like to join us that way, please email Jenifa and she can send you a link.
So if you haven't already please continue to join us in praying every day!
Young People in the CommunityOn Thursday 17th October, a group of people from the churches of Kings Hill, pa r i sh and b o r o u g h councils, the community, parents, and youth work professionals came together for a really positive meeting to plan
for positive activities for young people on Kings Hill.
Co-ordinated in a partnership between St Gabriel's and Kim Tanner, one of our local borough councillors, we set a plan to engage young people and also scope what is already happening.
If you are interested and want to feed in our next meeting, it is on the 19th November at 7.30pm. Please get in touch with Mark to find out full details.
Wave of LightOn Tuesday 15th O c t o b e r , w e hosted the first community Wave o f L i g h t . A n i n t e r n a t i o n a l event held every year at the same time in memory of all babies taken too soon. Hosted in partnership with the Cricket Club, we created a small pop-up chapel, and named those children before God. Those in attendance were invited to light candles in their memory. This touching community moment looks set to become an annual event.
Advent Open HouseA time to come together and hang out as a church over mulled wine and nibbles.
Friday 29th November @7.30pmSaturday 30th November @4.30pm
The Vicarage, Worcester Avenue, RSVP Rev Mark.
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News from St Gabriel’s, Kings Hill
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Civic news from West Malling
We spoke too soon! Bin collectionsAfter the start of new bin collections, we have learned that many people had complained where bins were not collected at all, or collection was delayed, sometimes for more than a day. As well as starting the new Borough wide service on the same day, with new crews, on new routes on new days, there also were apparently difficulties at Allington incinerator which resulted in bin lorries queuing to unload. We will write more when we have TMBC’s explanation, but they have accepted that they missed 1,300 plus bins throughout the Borough which has over 100,000 bins in total.
We have passed on complaints about missed properties. We have also received a number of messages from people who are pleased with the new recyclables collection. The main issues appear to be that the green tub is not big enough for the amount of paper and cardboard many people collect, and residents are unclear about which day the brown bins are to be collected.
Farmhouse Pub and RestaurantWest Malling Parish Council requested a premises licence review of the Farmhouse in the High Street on the grounds of not complying with its objectives of preventing crime and disorder, promoting public safety and preventing public nuisance.
At the hearing in late October, it was decided that the Pub may only now serve alcohol up to 11.30 p.m. every night and were also ordered to step up security and change its policy on drug use. It had been previously allowed to sell alcohol until
Midnight, Monday to Thursday, and 12.30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Arundel House and Hungry GuestParish Councillors met to look around Arundel House, next to the High Street Bus Stop, and discuss plans for its development. The owners also own The Hungry Guest, and are considering how to use each property. They have purchased the buildings to the south, through to the car park side of the Hungry Guest.
Councillors were pleased to see that Arundel House was swept clean and dry. The site manager told us that he was waiting now only for a Fire Certificate before work can begin to restore the building, starting with the High Street windows and door.
A Sunday afternoon public meeting is being arranged at which the company can explain their plans for West Malling ahead of submitting any planning application, and Parish Councillors will explain progress on the Local and Neighbourhood Plans.
Tesco tokens for Malling Junior Park RunIf you are shopping at Tesco, please ask for your tokens and pop them into the slot for the Junior Park Run, which takes place each Sunday morning in Manor Park. Trudy Dean has also just agreed to provide some funding to help provide a defibrillator at the Green Café there too.
This news is largely based on Trudy Dean’s regular emails - the West Malling, East Malling & Larkfield bulletin. Email [email protected] if you would like to subscribe for this and other local news.
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St Mary’s, West MallingBaptisms12th Oct Esme Denny20th Oct Teddy Eames
St Michael’s, OffhamNone
St Gabriel’s, Kings HillNone
From theParish Registers
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Blaise Farm Anaerobic Digestion PlantPlanning Permission for the AD plant at Blaise Farm was granted in 2013 and details are available on the TMBC and KCC websites, reference TM/12/02549. Work to begin building the plant has begun and is being completed very quickly.
Residents should be aware that this will be an enormous facility. The permission granted allows for a combined total of 100,000 tonnes of food waste to be dealt with annually by the IVC and AD plants.
The Parish Council raised a number of objections to the original planning application. The Parish Council has again raised concerns about the plant and the potentially detrimental effects on Offham as a village.
Recreation Ground Car Park Many of you will have noticed that the trees in the Recreation Ground car park have been very severely cut back. This work was not carried out by Offham Parish Council, but by TMBC. Following complaints by residents about damage from tree sap to the cars parked there, we had asked if the trees could be removed. TMBC did not agree to this, but did instruct a contractor to pollard the trees.
Roads and Highways County Councillor Hohler has shared the Parish Council’s concerns about the increase in volume of traffic in Offham village shown in the recent traffic count. The Parish Council had asked for the speed
limit on Teston Road to be reduced before Spadework, but Cllr Hohler has not been able to achieve this with Kent Highways.
Complaints have been made about lorries mounting the pavement when driving along Teston Road and opposite the Recreation Ground. The Parish Council will look at ways to prevent this from happening.
Play Area and Recreation Ground The Annual Inspection of the Play Area by the Play Inspection Company has been carried out. Cllrs Jones and Taylor regularly check the play equipment to ensure it is safe and they clean up any leaves and rubbish. The play area is very popular and well used.
Hedges and Trees The hedge next to the play area will shortly be cut back by Cllr Marchant and we are arranging for the trees overhanging the footpath next to Teston Road to be cut back from The Recreation Ground.
Book Box and Defibrillator Cllr Williams continues to check the Book Box regularly, keeping the books circulating and reports that it is widely used. The Defibrillator is checked by Offham Parish Council – October 2019
Cllr Unter who, with David Frankling, makes sure it is ready if it ever needs to be used in an emergency.
To subscribe to regular emails from Offham Parish Council, email Lynne Mackie on [email protected].
Civic news from Offham
St Mary’s and St Michael’s have a small number of mission partners for whom we offer support in prayer, financial assistance and simple encouragement.
Brazil, Daniel and Sarah Brito-MedeirosWe hope you are well. We have completed our first month here in Recife. It has had its emotional ups and downs but we have so much for which we can be thankful to God.
We really enjoy going to Revive and being part of the team there. The children are a delight and we are enjoying getting to know them and the team that we are working with. We are leading the worship in our Thursday afternoon meeting and have seen God answering our prayers. We are also taking part in the course that Andy is running with the CMS volunteers. We are learning about poverty at the moment and it is really interesting. Andy is a great teacher.
We are also part of a network called "Shine" which is a network of Christian projects working with children/adolescents at risk. We had a really encouraging meeting last Tuesday where we were sharing with one another and praying for the city. We are also visiting other charities working with children for networking and sharing vision with pastors and leaders in the city.
We have found a good car to buy and now have a Toyota Etios 2015! We are really happy with it and very grateful to God to have a good economical car. We have also found a house! It was too expensive but we offered a price we could afford and they
accepted. We are moving next week! It is 15 mins from the girls’ school, 40 mins from Revive and 40 mins from Daniel's Mum’s house. We are happy with the location and it is a calm place where we can relax and be family.
We are in the process of enrolling the girls in their old school. It is a process and we really need God’s grace. The girls had to sit a difficult test in Portuguese and maths. They also need a transference from their old school so we have asked their school in England to send a certificate of completion for years 4 and 2. My Mum has sent these certificates to our address in Brazil and they are meant to arrive in 10 days, so please pray that they arrive in this time. The government will then decide which year the girls will be in.
We also value your prayers that we would find a church that is right for us as a family; a home church for us here in Brazil.
Thank you for partnering with us.
Sarah, Daniel, Sophie and Ana
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News fromaround the world
Daniel and Sarah Brito-Medeiros
When I was at school I simply didn’t understand what the point was of complicated formulae. Why was I learning all these apparently useless bits of information that I was never going to use again? What’s more I could never remember them anyway, so when it came to using them in maths lessons, I was left feeling hopelessly inadequate.
That was until I started work. I began work as a civil engineering technician back in 1975. Then everything started to come into focus. I could see the point of it all. So I worked harder and applied myself to study, I persevered with all those heavy-duty formulae and learnt them, I then began to see the point of it all. It didn’t come easy, it wasn’t all plain sailing, but as I studied more, delved a bit deeper and persisted with all the learning, and worked to see the practical application of all the maths I had been bombarded with at school, it all made sense. It became natural and relatively easy.
We don’t need to search too far to see what we are supposed to get from today’s gospel reading: Luke tells us at the beginning of the passage that Jesus told the parable so that we ought always to pray and never give up. On the face of it that seems straightforward enough, but there is always more to understand, and to do that we need to delve a bit deeper. First, let’s look at why Luke included this parable that Jesus told when none of the other gospel writers did. To be clear about that we need to understand a bit more about Luke and what was going on when he wrote his gospel. It is likely that Luke was the only
non-Jewish gospel writer and he wrote his gospel (as he says at the beginning of the gospel) for Theophilus, literally ‘God lover’.
Theophilus may, or may not, have been a real person. Luke could have been writing for all those ‘God lovers’ out there who needed to have a well-structured and orderly account of the life of Jesus to strengthen them in the trials they were facing.
Luke’s themes of suffering, especially of the downtrodden, poor, sick, lonely, forsaken, widows and women generally would have meant a lot to those who read his gospel. He was writing, probably around 65 AD and all those things that Jesus had prophesied during his lifetime were happening around them. A number of years before, Nero had become Emperor of Rome and that well-known episode of the burning of Rome in 64 AD during his rule was blamed on Christians. For that they were persecuted and made to suffer. In addition to that, the Jews in Jerusalem had become more and more revolutionary and this caused the Roman army to lay siege to the city from 66 AD and eventually to destroy the temple in 70 AD, just as Jesus had predicted during his ministry on earth. For Jews this was a complete disaster. They had expected God to vindicate them and drive out the occupying Roman army and for God to live once again in His house, but instead the Romans destroyed their only hope. Jewish Christians fared much worse: they were persecuted by Romans and Jews and the only hope they had was that Jesus had promised to restore the kingdom of God very soon. They had expected him to
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Sermon of the monthStewart Biggs, St Michael’s Church20th October 2019, 18th Sunday after TrinityReadings: Psalm 121 and Luke 18.1-8
return to earth and take his own into the kingdom of heaven. He had promised them salvation, the opening up of a door into a whole new world in which sin and death themselves would be dealt with. So where was it? Ordinary people were suffering in the wake of the Roman action and so Luke wrote a gospel which vibrates with the lives of those people. Right from the start, people like you and me going about their daily business were being impacted by this roaming preacher, Jesus of Nazareth. Ordinary people whose lives were changed and made better by Jesus who was preaching the kingdom of God coming on earth in amongst all the suffering and mess that was around them. It was radical, all this talk of God’s kingdom, especially when it applied to those who were not the elite. If what was needed was privilege, learning and intelligence to enter the kingdom of God it would be simply another elite movement run for the top people. But that’s not what Jesus’ kingdom was all about. The Elite were the group that were on the receiving end of Jesus’ criticism as it appeared their privilege often blinded them to the real message of Jesus’ gospel. The poor were those who Jesus favoured and who were usually vindicated in his message. So that was refreshing news, especially given the times that Jesus followers now found themselves.
So Luke emphasises prayer; persistent prayer. If you want to survive this onslaught, then pray as if your life depended on it. You are the persecuted and suffering, the downtrodden and poor you need to pray to be vindicated by God. That is, you need to pray to be shown to be right, to be justified by God. You will be marked out as undesirable and be blamed for everything that has gone wrong. If ever you needed patience you would need it now.
Jesus was looking for a renewal of the nation of Israel. That’s what his message is really all about. That ‘New Israel’ was to be gathered around Jesus, awaiting the vindication that will come when those who have opposed his message have finally been defeated. So, through the final destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple of God in Jerusalem, in other words the hopes of those who have opposed Jesus, His followers will know that God has vindicated Jesus himself and them as His followers. All this would be obvious when Jesus returned in His glory to judge the world. In telling this parable Jesus knew that many of those who followed him would be put off by having to wait so long for His return so he urges them not to give up. There was going to be an interval between the promise of his coming and its fulfilment. He knew those who were faithful to him were going to be so heavily tested and be tempted to give up their faith and cease to pray with simple confidence that the day of their vindication will come. Many will lose everything yet Jesus encourages them to stick firm to the end. The things that we can learn about the persistence of the widow in this parable are:
She has a just cause, so she doesn’t give up seeking it
She is only too aware of her need, to give up would probably mean death
She cannot secure justice by her own efforts but does not sink into inactivity and despair
The outcome is important to her and she is passionate about it
She doesn’t lose heart despite the circumstances that might well push her to do so
So how then might this apply to us?
We will find it hard to pray perseveringly if we are not convinced that our requests are just. If our prayers are full of self-interest
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then we will find ourselves resembling the unjust judge rather than the widow. It will be difficult to pray on and on when our core motivation is all wrong. So perhaps part of our praying to God is not just coming to him with our list of needs but also asking him to speak into our hearts and change our minds, to modify our requests. To open up our hearts to God and hear His voice.
We won’t pray perseveringly either if we are blind to our need or if we fail to appreciate the seriousness of our need. Focusing upon our own resources may lead us to abandon hope leading us to spiritual passivity. We might denigrate our praying by saying to ourselves, and perhaps to others, that all we can do is pray – as though prayer was somehow insignificant when in fact truly to pray is the most we can do!
Sometimes we are quite simply not that concerned about whether we get what we ask for in prayer. The shallowness of our concern may be exposed by how ready we are to give up. How easily we even come to forget what we have at one time asked for!
Sometimes we focus too much on the obstacles and difficulties and stop praying as if the obstacles and difficulties were actually too great for God. This can never be the case. God is able to answer our prayers so much more than we are able to ask them. We simply mustn’t give up.
It’s been proved by research that if we are prepared to do a regular activity for 60 days then that activity becomes a habit. I’d like to think that each of us can find a time and a place to pray honestly and urgently for the next 60 days and perhaps we should each commit to do that.
As Archbishop William Temple once said, ‘When I pray, coincidences happen, when I stop praying, they stop happening’. So how about it? Why don’t we agree that we are
going to commit to praying for whatever God lays on our hearts up until Christmas and see what results that brings. And be prepared to share the results.
In conclusion, let’s reflect on how a few verses of our Psalm today might help us.
I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
This is part of one of the great ‘Psalm of ascents’ when pilgrims were annually heading to Jerusalem ending with entry into the temple of the Lord. The pilgrims would have recited this Psalm on their way as they thought about the trials and difficulties they faced on their pilgrimage, when they were far away from the comforts of home.
Just think of the pilgrim on that road to Jerusalem. He is still far from the appointed place of worship, the Temple, lifting his eyes toward the distant hills. He is not far from the Lord, however. In the Lord’s keeping, even though far from the temple, the pilgrim realizes his safety. He keeps his eyes fixed on the hills towards which he is walking and he is reminded of the faithfulness of God.
The point is wonderful. The pilgrim understood that they didn’t need to arrive at Jerusalem before they were under God’s protective care. He would watch over them on the journey. God is just as present in the journey as in the destination. His care and protection were all around and everlasting. While he persists with his eyes focussed on God, his foot cannot be moved.
God is present too with us. Both on the journey and when we get to our destination. All we need to do is keep our eyes fixed on him. Be persistent, don’t give up. He’ll reward us.
Stewart Biggs
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Cartoon Church
Real church notices
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This CartoonChurch.com cartoon originally appeared in the Church Times and can be found in the book How to avoid the Peace, available from good retailers.
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house.
Bring your husbands.~
Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.~
Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
As November arrives many of you will feel it's time to put the garden ‘to bed’ before winter takes a grip but I always feel that's a bit hasty. Why would you quicken the footsteps of winter when there's still plenty to enjoy and plenty to do to enjoy your garden even more next year?
Keeping bird feeders topped up will bring in many varieties of birds to enjoy. Make sure you have different food sources to bring in the biggest assortment of our feathered friends. Even if you’re not a bird fan, they're very good at getting rid of slugs.
If you've not done any autumn maintenance of your lawn, it's not too late as we don't tend to get frosts until December in this part of Kent. Grass will keep growing above 5°c so you can apply an autumn feed that will strengthen root growth and kill moss. You can also scarify the lawn which will get rid of the dead moss & thatch. The ground will also be softer due to rainfall increasing throughout the autumn months so aerating the lawn and brushing in a mix of (horticultural) sand and compost into the holes will improve drainage.
It is a lot of work to do but even if you only manage one of these tasks your lawn will benefit hugely.
The main job to do in November is the one even I dread and that's leaf clearing. I feel very lucky to be able to tend to large gardens (up to 6 acres) right up until their trees start to shed leaves in November. I find most of my working day is spent blowing leaves into piles and collecting them in ton bags before emptying them into
leaf pens where they will rot down in 12-18 months and make a wonderful soil improver called leaf mould.
When it comes to clearing leaves from your garden all you need to really know is leaving them on your lawn for a decent amount of time (5-10 days) will deny grass valuable light and thus stress the grass. It will only bring an unhealthy lawn with moss and weeds taking a leading role eventually. Another area to focus on is your hard standing areas (patio/paths). If leaves are not cleared from these areas they will become slippery and make it hazardous. Leaves also rot down into any cracks which promotes weed growth. Prevention is much better than cure.
If you really don't like the thought of winter then there's a good way of bypassing it, and that's by planting spring flowering bulbs. Just buying a few packets of bulbs should get your imagination flowing; dreaming of the fresh vivid colours that Spring brings. Although, the more popular varieties may well be sold out there will be bargains as retailers want to get rid of old stock.
It's not too late to plant daffodils as long as they're planted 3 times their own depth. This is always the best time of the year to plant Tulips but personally I will only plant them in pots as they can contract ‘Tulip fire’ and they won't flower in that soil again. Planting into pots allows you to move them if you need to do so.
Adam McKay
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In the Garden with Adam’s Gardens
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St Gabriel’s Church, Discovery School, Kings Hill
1st Sunday 10.00 am Morning Praise2nd 10.00 am Holy Communion 4.00 pm Messy Church3rd 10.00 am Parade (All-Age service)4th 10.00 am Holy Communion 4.00 pm The four o’clock service
St Michael’s Church, Offham
1st Sunday 9.15 am All-Age Service for November2nd 9.15 am Remembrance Sunday service3rd 9.15 am Holy Communion (Common Worship)4th 9.15 am Morning Prayer (Common Worship)
St Mary’s Church, West Malling
Sundays 8.00 am Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer)
1st Sunday 10.00 am All-Age Service for November2nd 10.00 am Remembrance Sunday service3rd 10.00 am Morning Prayer (Common Worship)4th 10.00 am Holy Communion (Common Worship)
Mondays 7.45 pm Bell Ringing practiceTuesdays 10.00 am Morning Prayer
Barn Chapel, Pilsdon at Malling Community, Water Lane, West Malling
Sundays 4.00 pm Open House Tea 6.00 pm Holy Communion
Wednesdays 12 noon Holy Communion
Sundays calendar in November
