The first Sunday of November and so we are celebrating All Saints day. Our Family service at 10 am was a Eucharist, celebrated by Father Stephen. The Sunday School, accompanied by the Young Choristers, with Joanna playing the piano gave us the Saints go Marching in, followed by a presentation about who are the saints (us, trying hard to live up to the title!) and reflecting on the Joy they now experience and they bring to our lives, followed by a poem read by Kate, one of the mothers in the congregation. The intersessions were read by Seth and Hazel, and we sang 'For all thy Saints who from their Labours rest' as the Offertory hymn.
After communion the choir sang 'Give us the wings of faith' by Ernest Bullock as the anthem.

We had our coffee in the Parish rooms.

Stir up Sunday, the 26th of November we are going to make a Giant Christmas Pudding mixture!! Come along and join in, stir the pudding and make a wish, and fill your own bowl with mixture to take home and cook (recipe suitable for steaming or microwaving) Bowl available on the day if you dont have one!! Tea to follow once the pudding is made! Please sign up on the list in Church next Sunday so we can calculate quantities!! All welcome to give it a stir at 4 pm.

Next Sunday we will start our service at 10:45am to incorporate the act of remembrance at the war memorial at 11 am. 

Well into Autumn now!

Hamper for the Christmas Draw awaiting your contributions!

This morning we had sung mattins as our 10 am service. We were still enjoying the flowers in the Church for Tim and Emma's wedding on the previous Thursday. The set psalm was psalm 23. The readings from the King James version of the Bible were from Isaiah and St Matthew's Gospel. In the sermon Father Stephen followed up the Gospel reading, the story of the King who held a wedding banquet for his son, the invited guests would not come so he asked in passing strangers, but one man was not properly dressed and he was cast out. The tradition at the time was for the host to provide wedding clothes so this refusal has a particular implication. The passage ends with the famous words, 'many are called but few are chosen'.
The choir sang the Benedictus in the setting by Stanford in C Major, and the anthem was 'O for a closer walk with God' also set by Stanford.
There was coffee after the service in the new rooms.




At 3pm we were back in the church to hear a concert of Piano music by Tom Cooper. On this occasion Tom had chosen a selection of music that had influenced, or was by, Russian composers. He dedicated this concert to the memory of Alfred Lytton, who was a family friend. The music was wonderful, as we have come to appreciate from Tom and once again he also informed us about the background and relationship of the pieces he had chosen. The concert was followed by a Sidlesham Tea in the new rooms, which Tom's concerts had helped us to build!

Dame Jenny gives the vote of thanks

Marjorie Lytton with Tom

This morning our 10 am Eucharist was celebrated by Father Stephen. The Church was still looking splendid with the Harvest Festival flowers and displays. The Gospel story was another of the Vineyard parables, where the owner sends workers and eventually his son and all are rejected or killed, Jesus asks how the owner will treat the vineyard workers when he comes. In his sermon Father Stephen pointed out that rather than what would seem justifiable wrath from God for killing his Son, faith leads us to grace which at the end will see us enter God's Kingdom.
The Choir sang 'Fairest Lord Jesus' a traditional text as the Anthem. There was coffee after the service in the new rooms.

Next Sunday we will welcome Tom Cooper to play a piano recital of Russian Music, 3pm in Church followed by Tea in the new rooms, a retiring collection for St Wilfrid's Hospice and St Mary's will be taken up. Tom has dedicated this concert to the memory of Alfred Lytton.

On Saturday October 28th do join us for the Eucharist for the repose of the souls of the dead, Faure's setting of the Requiem sung liturgically.

We continued our busy weekend with a Family Eucharist and Service of Harvest Thanksgiving this morning. We came to church on a rather soggy October day to discover the church had been transformed by the Flower team into a wonderful display of harvest fruit, veg and flowers. The Sunday School made a presentation on the theme of Harvest, and during the offertory Hymn harvest goods were brought to the alter by representatives of the Farmers, Growers and Gardeners of the Parish, followed by contributions from individual families.
The Choir, in fine voice, sang 'Look at the World' by John Rutter as the Anthem.
There was coffee in the New Rooms after the service.

Coming up we have a Concert by our good friend Tom Cooper on October 15th at 3 pm in the Church. Tom will be playing a concert of Russian music, and dedicates the concert to the memory of our dear friend Alfred Lytton. A retiring collection in aid of St Wilfrid's Hospice and St Mary's will be taken up and of course this will be followed by tea in the New Rooms!

On Saturday the 28th of October at 6 pm, we shall have our Eucharist service for the repose of the souls of the departed. This will include the singing of the Faure Requiem as the setting for the liturgy. If you have a loved one you would like remembered ( the names are place on the alter during the service) please add them to the list in Church.

Further off but approaching fast we have a new event,  Sunday 26th of November, the last Sunday in Trinity, is traditionally known as 'Stir up Sunday' and so we shall be stiring ourselves up in the new rooms, making Christmas Puddings. A giant bowl of christmas pudding mixture will be assembled and stirred by all, and you can either bring your own basin to fill, or basins will be there for you to use at extra charge, following the making of the pudding we shall have tea. Look out for more details nearer the time!!

Another very busy weekend for St Mary our Lady. On Saturday morning the choir were again invited to take part in the Eucharist organised by the Prayer Book Society in Chichester Cathedral. This Eucharist uses the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer, which is used less often these days. The setting used was that by Darke in F major, and the anthem was Ave Verum in the setting by W.A.Mozart. It is a wonderful experience for our village choir to be able to sing in our 'Mother Church' the Cathedral, and the choir greatly appreciates the support from members of the congregation who came along to the service.





In the evening we gathered in the Church Hall for our Harvest Supper, over 70 people came to join in the festivities, and a fine meal of cold meats, salad, tomatoes potato salad, apple pie and cheese and biscuits was consumed with relish by all! Our entertainments this year were some excellent readings and some brain challenging Quizes! It was a fine evening enjoyed by all. A big thank you to the organising team!!!



 

This morning we met at 10 am for the Eucharist in lovely late autumn sunshine. Today's gospel was from St Mathew and told the story of the workers in the vineyard. This story only occurs in St Mathew, tells of the workers being hired all through the day but at the end of the day every one received the same pay! In his Sermon Father Stephen suggested that this approach to industrial relations was unlikely to be very successful, but of course the story, which seems so unfair is in fact a demonstration of the fact that God's grace is available to all who come to him, whether at the beginning of the day or the end. It is not about what we deserve, but the fact that God gives us his grace, when we turn to him, whether we have been good or not, not an excuse to behave badly however!!

The Choir sang the Ave Verum in the setting by W.A. Mozart as the anthem.
There was coffee after the service in the new rooms. Next Saturday the Choir will sing in Chichester Cathedral at 10:30 at a Eucharist in celebration of the Prayer Book Society, do come along and support them. Next weekend is also our Harvest Festival. The Harvest Supper in the Church Hall will be on Saturday night, tickets available from the Church Wardens. Next Sunday we will have a Family Eucharist of Harvest Thanksgiving at 10 am. Please note this is the only Harvest Service this year.

A touch of Autumn in our flowers this week

 

As it is the third Sunday, we had Matins.

Father Stephen's sermon was about forgiveness, echoing the readings today.

If someone does something horrible, human nature wants revenge. But as Christians, we should not want revenge.  Revenge is up to God. Christ spoke of forgiveness.  In recent years we have witness amazing acts of forgiveness.  Gordon Wilson lost his daughter Marie in the Enniskillen bomb attack. Marie's last words were "Daddy I love you very much". He prayed for the terrorists every night, drawing on his deep Christian faith to forgive.  It can seem impossible to forgive, but as we are forgiven, we can also forgive.

In the parables, Jesus uses exaggeration to show forgiveness.  We must forgive "77 times", echoing Genesis cursing 77 times. Jesus is the second Adam, restoring us to God.

Forgiveness is a free gift from the Lord, there for us to take.

The Anthem was "O Lord My God" by Samuel Sebastian Wesley.