News

Please see the What’s on page for recent posts about church life.

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REVISION OF CHURCH ELECTORAL ROLL

Notice is hereby given that the Church Electoral Roll of the above parish will be revised by the Parochial Church Council,  beginning on 1st April 2024 and ending on 8th April 2024.

After the revision, a copy of the Roll will be published by the Parochial Church Council on church notice boards for at least 14 days and a copy of the Roll will be available for inspection on a reasonable request being made to the Council.

Under the Church Representation Rules any lay persons are entitled to have their names entered on the roll if the person

(a) is baptised,

(b) is aged 16 or over, and

(c) has made one of the following three declarations and duly applied for enrolment.

The first declaration is that the person is a member of the Church of England or of a Church in communion with it and is resident in the parish.

The second declaration is that the person is a member of the Church of England or of a Church in communion with it, is not resident in the parish, but has habitually attended public worship in the parish during the preceding six months.

The third declaration is that the person is a member in good standing of a Church which is not in communion with the Church of England but subscribes to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and is also a member of the Church of England and has habitually attended public worship in the parish during the preceding six months.

This revision is not a replacement of the current roll. Persons who completed an Application form in 2019 or later are not required to complete a further form.

Persons who are not on the current roll can apply by completing an Application Form which is available on line through individual church websites as follows:

St. Mary’s                    https://www.stmaryshorsham.org.uk/

St. Leonard’s                   https://stleonardshorsham.org.uk/

Holy Trinity                 https://www.holytrinityhorsham.co.uk/ 

In order for a person to be entitled to attend the annual parochial church meeting and to take part in its proceedings, an Application Form for enrolment must be returned by the date shown above for the ending of the revision of the Church Electoral Roll by the Parochial Church Council.

Any error discovered in the Roll should be reported to the Parish Electoral Roll Officer.

Signed ___Keith Rayner____________________ Dated    17 March 2024

                Parish Electoral Roll Officer

Email:  [email protected]

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Don’t forget LENT LUNCHES

Saturdays 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd March – 12 noon – 1.30 pm in the Leslie Room. Donations will go towards our work supporting local Asylum seekers. No need to book ahead for these lunches, just come along! If you’d like to help to prepare or serve a lunch, Hennie Sleeman would be pleased to hear from you! You can contact Hennie on [email protected] or via the Parish Office.

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PARISH LENT COURSE

We will be offering the Church of England’s ‘Living in Love and Faith’ course as our Lent course this year. This is an opportunity to explore the teaching of the church around LGBTQI inclusion, and to listen carefully to one another and to the leading of the Holy Spirit in relation to these issues. The course will run on Monday evenings at 7.30 pm on Zoom from 19th February to 18th March and on Thursday mornings in person from 10.30 am from 22nd February to 21st March (venue TBC). You can sign up via ChurchSuite or just let Margaret know when you want to go and she will sign you up.

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HORSHAM CHURCHES TOGETHER NEWS

For a while I have been sending HCT newsletters to those who asked for them but now there is a link  to their notices via their website. Using this link you can download the pdf document to view. It is also available in Word format through the same link: https://horshamct.org.uk/notices/

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Volunteers wanted – drivers and office help

HACCS, Horsham Area Community Car Scheme, are urgently needing volunteers both in the office for reception and administration support as well as driving clients to clubs and appointments both in and out of Horsham.  If you are interested, please phone their office on 01403 250202 and ask for Deborah.

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NEEDED – URGENTLY!

A Deputy Warden to allow Margaret to focus on her ministry as Reader. Our AGM is approaching and it is vital we have nominations and/or volunteers. There are other positions to fill too. Please speak to Sam or Margaret.

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BOOKS AND JIG-SAW PUZZLES

With winter coming on – eventually – we thought it might be good to have a stack of books and jig-saw puzzles people have read and finished with and can pass on to somebody else. We have a few books to start but please, from now on, bring books and puzzles when you come to a Sunday service and put them on the swap table for others to take – and help yourself to any that have been left. It might also be nice if you could put a small donation in the BEATS tin when you do this.

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HORSHAM MATTERS CONNECTING CAFÉ

Building on the tremendous success of our community Connecting Café at St Andrews Church, we have decided to expand this fantastic provision into another location in the centre of town.
Lavinia House is now the home of our Thursday Connecting Café which will run from 11:30-13:30. It will follow the same style of our current popular set up at St Andrews Church. offering hot meal choices along with sandwiches and simple snacks. Our Eat; Share; Donate! model will also continue, so you can buy a meal, but you can also donate a meal too!  
We want the Connecting Café to be a place where people feel welcome to enjoy a meal together and meet new people in their community.

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FAMILY SUPPORT WORKERS – HORSHAM TEAM!

The Family Support Workers have been active across Sussex for many years, and it’s great to see their team growing. They have now appointed two new practitioners to cover the Horsham area – Dominique Short covers the Central Horsham area, with the North Horsham District villages being covered by Penny Rae. This brings FSW to 20 practitioners, doing tremendous work to support families across East and West Sussex. You can find out more about the work of the team and find contact details for all the practitioners at www.familysupportwork.org/

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HORSHAM FOOD BANK

We need your support more than ever as our district, and the rest of the country, is put under enormous pressure by the current cost of living crisis. In March we fed 434 people in April this increased to 617 people and we expect this increase to continue. Needed URGENTLY:

Long-life milk, custard, instant mash, coffee, gluten free items (not pasta).

They have plenty of soup, baked beans, cereal and tea.

Donations can be made Monday-Friday 9-5 pm at their Redkiln Close office.

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COME AND SING EVENSONG AT HOLY TRINITY

On the 2nd Sunday of every month there is a service of Evensong at Holy Trinity Church at 6.00pm, preceded at 4.30pm by a practice of all the music to be sung. This is a great time – singing, learning new anthems, singing hymns in harmony (or not!). Everyone is welcome – please come. Even if you can’t come to the practice you will enjoy the service at 6.00.  Next service on Sunday tbc.

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OASIS

An opportunity to become part of the Oasis team

The Oasis Crisis Pregnancy Centre is a local Christian charity which has been helping those who find themselves in a difficult situation facing unintended pregnancy since 1997.

The charity is also involved working with several local secondary schools as well as offering baby equipment to those in need.

Our education programme provides interactive sessions for year 9 or 10 students, offering them the chance to learn about the development of the foetus and giving them the opportunity to consider the feelings and emotions that could arise in an unplanned pregnancy situation.

The Oasis is currently expanding and is looking for more Volunteers in all areas of their work.

If you feel called to be part of what God is doing through Oasis please contact our centre manager via email [email protected]

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