Author: Worth Parish

The Wrong Trees Down…

Pewsheets

It was the congregation arriving for the 10.30 Thursday service on 13th April who were the first to discover a large fallen Turkey Oak on the western side of the churchyard at St Nicholas’ on the border with the Bishop’s Lodge.  The tree had come down in high winds overnight and we were hugely thankful that nobody – visitors or volunteers – had been injured. Although there was not much damage to gravestones, the fallen tree required urgent management to address the risk and allow people to continue to safely visit the graves of their loved ones in this area.

When expertly assessed, it became clear that an adjacent conifer had been destabilized and would also need to be removed for safety purposes. A few hours of professional work, a bill for £456, and many more hours of volunteer labour saw us with a beautiful woodpile and we are delighted that our new team of Churchyard volunteers led by Sexton Jason Watts are transforming and reclaiming the churchyard for everyone to enjoy.

Classes of school children and “ancestor hunters” were once again able to visit safely and explore among the snowdrops and daffodils that appear here every Spring. If you would be interested in helping our churchyard volunteers, please contact Jason on sexton@worthparish.org Alternatively, you can donate to the upkeep of the churchyard, by scanning this QR Code.

Harvest Appeal

Charity, Harvest

To work more efficiently in tackling the growing levels of food poverty in our community, local charities Crawley Open House and Easter Team have combined food donations and stores under the name of the Crawley Foodbank Partnership.

Both our churches will be celebrating Harvest as part of their Sunday services on 2 October 2022 at 10am and delivering all the donated harvest produce to the Crawley Foodbank Partnership (CFP).

Please take note of this specific appeal from the CFP:

The most useful items are tins or packets of the following: coffee, sugar, UHT milk, meat and fish, vegetables, fruit, beans, bottles of squash, soup, cereals, rice, cooking sauces, desserts, tea/coffee and biscuits but, of course, all donations are welcome

You Are Welcome

bellringers, News, Prayers

PRESS ASSOCIATION/Danny Lawson

You may have heard the muffled bells ringing at Saint Nicholas’ today as a mark of respect for the passing of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Many of us are saddened by the loss of such a constant presence. It is understandable if you feel more unsettled than you thought you would as events like this can evoke our experiences of personal grief and consideration of our own mortality.

Please remember that all are welcome at our churches – even if you do not think of yourself as religious or Christian. Both churches are open all day.

Services for Autumn 2022

Pewsheets
11 September 2022 10am Parish Confirmation Service at St Nicholas’ 

We are delighted that on her annual visit to our church, Bishop Ruth of Horsham will be officiating at a Confirmation Service for candidates from the Parish. Please come and join us in supporting them as they take this important step onward in their Christian lives.

2 October 2022 10am Harvest Festival Celebration at each church

Both churches will be celebrating Harvest in their respective Sunday services and delivering all the donated harvest produce to the Crawley Foodbank Partnership ( CFP) which represents the combined charities of the Easter Team and Crawley Open House who are now working together to tackle the growing levels of food poverty in our community.

CFP recently made this specific appeal :

‘The most useful items are tins or packets of the following: coffee, sugar, UHT milk, meat and fish, vegetables, fruit, beans, bottles of squash, soup, cereals, rice, cooking sauces, desserts, tea/coffee and biscuits but, of course, all donations are welcome’

2 October 2022 4-7pm, Harvest Supper and Line Dancing at St Barnabas’

More details to follow.

Coming in October  Eucharist and Thanksgiving Service for the Life and Ministry of Rev Canon Roger Brown at St Nicholas’ 

Our much loved Friend and Father, Roger Brown died in the early days of the first Covid lock down when no church funerals were permitted and only a very limited number of mourners were allowed at the Crematorium. Roger supported the Parish through two interregnums and many of us individually through both joyous and sorrowful times in our lives. Please join us for a service to celebrate his work and witness amongst us.

Sunday 6 November 2022 All Souls Service

Sunday 6 November will see services for All Souls. Watch for details online and in pewsheets.

Sunday 13 November 2022 Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday services will be held on 10am at St Barnabas’ and 10.15am at St Nicholas’.

New Order in the Churchyards

Churchyard, News

St Barnabas’

At St Barnabas’, we are blessed with much outside space including the Jubilee and Bible gardens. The Jubilee garden is tended by volunteers as well as supervised input from those attending our youth club, the hangout. Ann Phillipson, on behalf of the Bible Reading Fellowship, planted a Centenary Rose there to celebrate 100 years of Bible Reading Fellowship last year. The Bible garden to the front of the church is an established garden featuring many plants referenced in the Bible, and this year, in the open space to the front of the church we planted a tree for the Queen’s canopy.

To keep the ground looking at their best more volunteers are needed along with funds to allow Jason to take on the tasks beyond the time or capabilities of the volunteers.

If you would like to help fund garden work in both of our churches, please donate with the ref “Churchyard” to: Parish of Worth, Pound Hill & Maidenbower Sort Code: 40-18-22, Account Number: 61223372.

St Nicholas’

“No Mow May”‘ was probably the start of the problem.  It gave our local biodiversity a boost and allowed the birds, bees, bats and butterflies a feast of Good Things but very quickly meant God’s Acre turned into a Field of Gold.

For many years our churchyard has been tended by a group of volunteers who were able to meet regularly on a Monday morning. This year, age, injury and illness caught up with the team and we have had to come up with a new approach to care for our ancient burial ground.

At St Nicholas’, the churchyard is open, meaning we can receive ashes for interment, often in our recently created Garden of Remembrance. We therefore receive no public money from either local or county councils whose job is only to maintain closed churchyards. After a recruitment drive, we now have a small team of working-age volunteers who need to work in a new way.

Our Sexton, Jason Watts, provides coordination and support for any new gardeners and gets to understand their priorities and motivations for working with us. The younger team can only work as and when, meaning that the St Nicholas’ Garden Party WhatsApp group has been of vital importance indicating what needs doing, and who is attending when.

If there is work in the churchyard that is beyond the time or capabilities of the volunteers, Jason takes this on as paid work. This has been made possible by a generous donation from a parishioner upset at the speed which the space can fall into neglect if not carefully looked after.

We hope and pray that this hybrid model of voluntary and paid work will prove resilient and restore the churchyard to a more ordered beauty.

If you would like to join our team of volunteers please email Rose Wells on stnwarden@worthparish.org. Alternatively, you can always donate to our Churchyard Fund (funding garden work in both churches) with the ref “Churchyard” to: Parish of Worth, Pound Hill & Maidenbower Sort Code: 40-18-22 , Account Number: 61223372