My Dear Friends,
I am writing this in July, but I want to talk with you about
September already. I am certainly not
wishing the months away, and I hope whatever you do during the holiday season,
you have a great time. But there is a
brilliant Diocesan initiative that I have used before, and I am really excited
about. It is called ‘Back to Church
Sunday’, and its idea is really simple.
In fact it does exactly what is says on the tin!
We are truly blessed here in Midhurst and Woolbeding, with
two beautiful churches, with delightful and dedicated congregations, and lots
of energy and enthusiasm for the Gospel.
Our worshipping communities are so positive about life in our churches,
that we long for people to join us. A
new face always gives us such joy, and to see an old face that we have not seen
for a while gives us, and indeed God, tremendous happiness.
‘Back to Church Sunday’ started life in the Manchester
Diocese when they realised that over time some people drift away from
church. Sometimes for a particular
reason, or an issue, or just because once a certain number of Sundays are
missed, people find it difficult to return.
We understand that for some it really is not easy to walk through the
church doors, and people can be nervous about what might be expected of them,
or not sure of where to sit or what to do.
‘Back to Church Sunday’ gives the local churches the platform to hang
the invitation to come (back) on, and it stimulates discussion and outreach.
I have tried it very successfully in my last parish and I
commend it to you all.
So here is what we do.
The date for ‘Back to Church Sunday’ is September 28th. The first task is to commit to that date,
and make sure you come to church.
Between now and then, we think about our congregations, and we try to
think of people who used to come, but we have not seen for a while. Once we have thought of them, we remember
them in our prayers. From the beginning
of September (or even late August) there will be some postcard style
invitations available in both of our churches.
The idea is that you invite your friends to come to this special
service, ideally by handing them the invitation, and asking them to join you on
the day.
It is Woolbeding’s Harvest Festival, so even more reason to
come.
We will make sure that everyone who comes feels valued, and
included, and we hope and pray that they will be encouraged to join us again.
Although it is called ‘Back to Church Sunday’, it is of
course not restricted to former members, and the invitation goes out to
everybody.
If you think our churches are worth going to, then please be
supportive of this initiative, it would be great to welcome new members to our
congregations. I truly feel blessed
being part of the worshipping community around here, and I hope you do too, so
lets do all we can to build it, and enable it to grow.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
With love and prayers,
Fr. Marcus
Our
churchyard is very large and is maintained by our congregation, with no help
from the parish council. We pay a
professional to do the biggest job, cutting the grass, since the majority of us
are of maturing years. However, now and
then we arrange a working party, for those who are able, to do the extras.
At
a recent working party, Fr. Marcus did a splendid job, meticulously rubbing
down and oiling the front gates, (still fairly new on their hinges, donated by
Mrs Rodgers). Others cleared vegetation
and swept the path. Inside the church,
folk were busy applying a control for woodworm and giving some furniture an
extra polish. A nimbler individual
amongst us, (in fact, a principle Woolbeding ‘athlete’ on two wheels for the
upcoming Historic Churches Sponsored Bike Ride), hiked up the ladder to the
Bell Tower, to make an adjustment to the trap door. Although we all work at different and varied tasks, we share the
fulfilment of working together with mutual purpose and the overall result is
appreciable.
These
get-togethers help to reinforce our sense of brother/sisterhood and enable us
to get to know each other better and grow in friendship. Our most recent social gathering was a
breakfast party after an 8am Sunday service, blessed with fine weather.
Time
is drawing near for that celebrated event in the Woolbeding calendar, the
Sussex Historic Churches Ride and Stride, this year on Saturday 13th
September. Our church will be open and
manned by volunteers all day between 9am and 6pm. It will be a wonderful opportunity to welcome visitors with
refreshments and share with them the beauty and tranquillity of the building
and surrounds, our own spiritual haven.
If you can spare an hour, to welcome the ‘weary travellers’, between
9am-5pm on Saturday 13th September, do call Stephanie Andre on
816670. Even though we are a small
church community at Woolbeding, it would be lovely if we could keep the church
manned throughout the day, because people dropping in really appreciate a
smiling person to greet them.
Sunday, 3rd
August 8am
Holy Communion
Sunday, 10th
August 6pm Evensong
Sunday, 17th
August 8am Holy Communion
Sunday, 31st
August 8am Holy Communion
Saturday, 6th
September 9.30am-12 noon, Working
Party
Sunday, 7th
September 8am
Holy Communion
Saturday, 13th
September 9am - 6pm
Sunday, 21st
September 8am Holy Communion
Sunday, 28th
September 3pm Harvest Evensong