For our Family Service this month we celebrated All Saints Sunday. We sang some traditional All Saints hymns, and Father Stephen told us how the Saints are in Heaven rooting for us when we need support! The Sunday School Children looked at the Beatitudes, as described by St Luke in the Gospel reading, and bought them up to date for us! The Junior Choristers sang together 'Mathew,  Mark, Luke and John' by Lindley as a special item. Father Stephen invested Seth and Emily with their dark blue ribbons in a special ceremony before the offertory hymn.
During communion the Choir sang 'Give us the wings of Faith' by  Bullock as the anthem. there was coffee after the service.

This morning our service was a Eucharist, celebrated by Father Stephen. October is a month with 5 Sundays, so the choir sang the Sanctus, Benedictus and the Agnus Dei from the setting by Darke in F. The Gospel reading was from St Luke and was the story of Zacchaeus, who was too short to see Our Lord over the crowds and climbed a Sycamore tree. Our Lord called him down and went to his house, where he gave up his life to follow the teachings of Jesus, 'for the Son of Man has come to seek out the lost'. Father Stephen enlarged on this theme in his sermon, of how lives can be changed in an instant.

The Choir sang Ave Verum corpus in the setting by Byrd as the Anthem. There was coffee after the service.



At 6:00pm we held our now traditional Eucharist of Remembrance for the Souls of the Departed. The names of those to be remembered were placed on the altar by Father Stephen, and the Choir, supplemented by guest singers sang the setting of the Requiem by Faure, in its liturgical context. The congregation were also given an opportunity to light candles of remembrance during  the distribution of communion. The Baritone Soloist was Peter Webster, who also conducted the Choir. The Soprano Soloist was Sarah Amos, and the Director of Music and Organist was Joanna Chivers-Gibbs. It was a wonderful solemn and beautiful occasion for this season of All Souls.Many thanks to Peter and Sarah for their wonderful singing, and to Joanna for all the organisation, rehearsal and playing.






Coming into view on the horizon is Advent, and we shall have our Advent Ring making afternoon in the Church Hall  on Advent Sunday the 27th of November. To be followed the next weekend by the Christmas Fair on Saturday 3rd of December, Dates for your Diary!

This morning our 10 am Family Eucharist was also our Harvest Festival. The Church had been beautifully decorated with flowers and produce, and looked lovely. The children of the Sunday School had also produced a display about Harvest. In their presentation they told us about the Jewish tradition of Harvest Festival, the Festival of the Booths, as described in the Old Testament. They built a model booth for us to see! The service included the traditional Harvest Hymns and during Communion, one of our Junior Choristers Seth sang a solo of 2 verses of a hymn as part of his work for the dark blue ribbon. The Choir then sang the last section of 'Ascribe unto the Lord' by Samuel Wesley as the Anthem. There was coffee after the service.

In 2 weeks, on the 16th of October we are to have a Piano Recital by our friend Tom Cooper Price at 3:00pm in the church followed by tea. Collection for the New Rooms. Do come along!!

In the evening at 6:00 pm the Village Harvest service was held with the Primary School children and Parents. The service included Harvest hymns, Psalm 150 sung by the Choir, A song from the School choir, the anthem 'Thou Visitest the Earth' by Green, and the Nunc Dimittis in the setting by CV Stanford in C major from the Choir. Father Stephen received gifts at the altar, and closed the celebration with a blessing. The end of a very busy weekend!

This morning the Prayer Book Society held a Eucharist Service using the Prayer Book liturgy. The Celebrant was the Dean of Chichester, and the service setting was Darke in F, and the anthem was Ave Verum in the setting by Sir Edward Elgar both were sung by our choir. Joanna Chivers-Gibb played the organ. The service was well attended and it was a wonderful experience for the Choir, especially our Junior members to sing in our Cathedral. Here are some pictures







This evening the Church Hall was filled as we assembled for the Harvest Supper. A 3 course meal, ham, chicken and salad followed by apple pie and cream and cheese and biscuits and a cup of coffee, followed by the traditional entertainments! Many thanks to all who worked so hard to make this village event go so well.