Please see the What’s on page for recent posts about church life.
VICAR’S MESSAGES
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Please note there will be NO Morning Prayer on Easter Monday.
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BIG THANK YOUS
To all those who supported the 6K walk – by sponsoring, walking, making soup, eating etc. Final total to be announced but it’s somewhere in excess of £300 which is fantastic!
To all those who worked hard to make the church look so festive for Easter.
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CONGRATULATIONS
To Fran for completing the Brighton Marathon last Sunday. 26 miles!
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HELP NEEDED
To make tea and coffee before the APCM on Tuesday. The meeting starts at 7.30pm so you will be needed from about 7.00pm to prepare and to wash up once the meeting has started.
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MESSY EASTER – SATURDAY 20th APRIL
Horsham Churches Together will be organising Messy Easter craft activities in Swan Walk from 10am-4pm. Details on the Diary page.
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LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday 15th June – Rebecca’s priesting – 2.30pm at St Mary’s.
Bennetts Field Family Fun Day – details to follow
Sunday 21st July – St Leonard’s 80th Birthday celebration
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LENT CHARITIES
Those of you who would like to are welcome to collect coins in a jam-jar during Lent and bring it to church on Easter Sunday for Water Aid.
We have been doing this for some years now so we thought we would also support World Vision, a Christian charity working with communities in developing countries especially to support their children. See the flyer about the Maundy Thursday walk and supper for details.
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
To make coffee once every other month after 9.30am service. Please let Anita and Ray or Natalie know if you could help.
MORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We need a team of people to count the collections after the Sunday service. There should be 2 people (unrelated to each other) every Sunday. It’s not a difficult job and training will be given but it’s a very important job! Please see Margaret if you can help – it only needs to be one Sunday a month.
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PARENTS AND CARERS OF PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN
Six sessions on Thursday evenings starting at 8pm
Break during half term
Cost-£9, including handbook to keep
An Opportunity to:
- Explore the skills which help us make the most of our children and enjoy time together.
- Look at positive encouragement, play and listening, parenting styles and boundaries, discipline, what makes quality time, looking after ourselves.
To book a place please speak to Natalie.
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ELECTORAL ROLL
If you have not already completed an Electoral Roll form and want to be included on the Church’s Electoral Roll, please see Paula ASAP. If you do not complete this form you will not be on the new church Electoral Roll and you will lose your vote on Church matters. If you have not previously been on the Electoral Roll and you would like to be, please complete a form and give it to Paula.
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POSTCARD COLLECTIONS
You will no doubt have heard that the Sudan Church Association has ceased to collect our postcards as the gentleman who organised the collections has retired, aged 80++!
However, postcards are needed by MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship), which flies light aircraft over jungles, mountains, swamps and deserts to enable over 2,000 aid, development and mission organisations to bring medical care, emergency relief, long-term development and Christian hope to thousands of communities.
MAF has provided us with a very smart box into which you can put your cards and it is on the Hall table. When it’s full, they will arrange for it to be collected.
Please note, though, that they do not take stamps – so PLEASE don’t put stamps into the box!!
If people have stamps they would like to donate, the Leprosy Mission will take them – speak to Margaret.
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BIRTHDAY BOOK
If your name is not in our birthday book you won’t get a card – because we won’t know about it! Please speak to Val if you would like to be included – no need to reveal your age!
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KEYHOLDERS
If you have a key to the Clarence Road door, would you please sign the list as we need to update our record of keyholders.
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PRAYER CHAIN
We had prayer requests circulated by email for a while but it was never formalised and many people weren’t involved. We would now like to do this properly, so if you would like to be involved in a prayer chain, praying for members of our congregation and others in emergencies, illness etc. sign the list in the Hall, indicating whether you would like to be contacted by email or phone. Needless to say all information given to those on the prayer chain will be confidential and only passed to others on the chain. Joan Denne is organising the Prayer Chain so if you need more information please speak to her.
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CLERGY TRAINING
I am very pleased to be able to announce that I have become the Training Incumbent for Deacon Rebecca Tuck who is St. Mary’s Curate. This (and the vacancies in two of the Team Churches) will mean some considerable flexibility is required. I will be doing many more services at St. Mary’s, but we will also be able to welcome Rebecca here which is such a joy. Alan Mayer will be covering St. Leonard’s from time to time when I need to take the 9.30am at St. Mary’s. This will probably be once a month. Please remember that church doesn’t just happen on a Sunday, and there are plenty of other opportunities during the week where we can see one another, and do not hesitate to make contact by phone or email if I’m absent on Sunday and you need to speak to me.
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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises, leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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CLEANING ROTA
We are in the fortunate position of having a lovely Church building which can be used by our community, and as you know, due to the heavy usage of the hall we pay a cleaner to come in and keep things under control! However, because of rising costs, the DCC has decided that we will need to start cleaning the church and the Peter Apted room ourselves (keeping the cleaner for the Hall, toilets and kitchen only.) This will not be an arduous job, and if we have enough people no one will have to do it very often. It’ll be just having a tidy, hoovering the sanctuary and Peter Apted room, and dusting around. Please sign the list by the door if you can help. Many thanks.
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CHICHESTER DIOCESAN SAFEGUARDING WEBSITE
Please have a look at this – it gives a lot of useful information
www.Safeguarding.chichester.anglican.org
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HORSHAM REPAIR CAFÉ – Refill, Renew, Refresh and Repair
Held on the 1st Saturday of every month at the Friends Meeting House in Worthing Road from 10.00am – 1pm and 1.30 to 4.30. See the website www.horshamrepaircafe.org.uk for more details.
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GREETINGS CARDS FOR BEATS
A friend of Sandra’s, Sheila Whibley, has kindly said she will continue to make cards which we can sell for BEATS so please look out for birthday and Easter cards on the table as usual. She is also happy to collect your old cards for recycling – just leave them on the table.
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