Download the current fortnightly printed Church Notice sheet (6.10.24 to 20.10.24) as a PDF here Next notices will cover 20.10.24 to 3.11.24 Submission date for next notices: Thursday 17th October 2024. A printed version will be in Church at the 20th October 10.00 am service. Please email any submissions to the church office, admin@framfieldchurch.org.uk |
||
NOTE: Prayer Diary now has it's own page here |
||
BRICK CHURCH: A new after school club, again for all of our 4 schools, starting at East Hoathly Church in September. Very many thanks to those of you that have donated bricks, and especially for the generosity of the friends of Chiddingly Church. I think we are good to go now! The first Brick Church will be on Monday the 16th September at 3.30 pm. Posted: 02.09.2024 |
||
The Wealdway Benefice We have been talking about this potential new way of working together for a while now, and after a successful meeting with the Archdeacon in July I think we are gradually beginning to understand what this might look like in practice. We have just formed a working group, made up of representatives from all three parishes, to thrash out the details, and this group will keep our three PCCs informed of progress as it is made. I shared a very productive working lunch in August with a colleague in West Sussex who has recently successfully achieved what we hope to achieve. On the 1st of January 2021 the parishes of St James Selham, St Peter Lodswoth and St Mary Easebourne became one new benefice (the Priory Benefice) containing three parish churches. Their inspired ‘strap line’ is: One church - Three buildings. I truly hope and pray that this may become a reality for our three parishes, as we seek to become one Weald Way Benefice containing the three parish churches of Chiddingly, East Hoathly and St. Thomas à Becket Framfield. One church - Three buildings. Practically this will mean that all three churches, will come together under the banner of one PCC with one Annual Parochial Church meeting, one main Treasurer and one Safeguarding Officer. The remit of the One PCC, will be to jointly run our three churches; promoting the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the doctrines and practices of the Church of England. The PCC will co-operate with the incumbent, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the Church; pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. Following the excellent example of the Priory Benefice, each church will I think have a local committee consisting of:
The local committee will meet as many times a year as they decide appropriate. They will appoint someone to bank monies and run a simple form of accounts which will be passed to the main PCC treasurer. The standing committee will deal with the day-to-day business of each church community, making sure that larger issues are dealt with by the main PCC. I appreciate that this sounds somewhat clumsy and legalistic, but we need to get this right, and hopefully our newly formed working party, can start to form my disparate ideas into a cogent whole! In the meantime, please continue to pray for our church family and our wider communities. One church – Three Buildings! Yours in Christ Revd. James September 2024 Posted: 14.09.2024 |
||
THE WEALDWAY CHURCHES: You might have noticed a little gentle rebranding. Tomorrow sees the first meeting of our Weald Way Benefice Steering Group. Representatives from all three churches will be meeting up to move the project forward, discussing the important issues of: Finances, Filling Roles, and most importantly, our coming together as the Body of Christ here in our small corner of East Sussex. Meeting is 6pm at Framfield Church. Please continue to pray as the pastoral reorganisation progresses. Posted: 02.09.2024 |
||
“A Little Light Music “: After Monday 9th September, this will take a break.
Posted: 07.09.2024 |
||
All Churches Lunch: All Churches Lunch: Chiddingly and East Hoathly churches hold a monthly Church Lunch. We would like Framfield people to join us. It's very informal and come as you are as you're able. The lunch is held at Burchetts Farm, Whitesmith BN8 6HA, either outdoors or undercover depending on conditions ... so you may need to wrap up warmly (or for a heatwave!). Everyone is welcome. The lunch is held on the first Sunday of each month, God willing. Next lunch will be on 3rd November 2024. To book please email Peter and Faith - pf@zereg.com. Please state any dietary requirements. Posted: 13.10.2024 |
||
The Mission Action Plan (MAP) The Mission Action Plan (MAP) for the next 3-5yrs is now available, in church and on the church website: Here The three PCCs met with Archdeacon Edward, and Emma Arbuthnot from Church House on Tuesday 25th June at 7pm in East Hoathly Church. regarding joining together under the 'umbrella' of one new Benefice. It was a very productive meeting. Please keep this ongoing situation in your prayers. https://framfieldchurch.org.uk/missionactionplan.html Posted: 29.06.2024 |
||
Volunteer needed for Delivering Parish Magazines: Posted: 13.10.2024 |
||
Opening Hours: The Church will now be open from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. Posted: 05.04.2024 |
||
Help in the churchyard: We are very grateful to everyone who works diligently in the churchyard. It is greatly appreciated by us and the local community but we really could do with more help as our current workforce isn’t getting any younger or healthier. Even if it’s for the odd hour it all makes a difference. Posted: 31.12.2023 |
||
Giving to the Church: We are so grateful for any donations you are able to make. In a rapidly increasing cashless world, we are excited to announce that the church is now equipped with a cashless giving machine. Donations can be made easily using a credit or debit card. Simply select the cause you would like to donate to and the amount you wish to donate and tap your card on the top of the machine. We are currently collecting for the general church fund, and our appeal for funds towards the churchyard. Contact Gaynor for further details. Posted: 31.12.2023 |
||
Live Streaming and Recording of Services There will be no live streaming or recording of services for the foreseeable future. I know those of you cannot attend church will miss this facility – I hope we can take it up again in the future but there is no clear way forward at present. Posted: 21.10.2023 |
||
Housegroups: At present these meet on Zoom, which works well, but we are considering a new group for those who may wish to meet in person. Posted: 13.08.2023 |
||
New Lectionary: We are using the NRSV Lectionary for readings now, especially for communion. The readings will be available in advance as a pdf file which should help with preparation. There will be a large print version. Posted: 13.08.2023 |
||
Forward as Three Churches: We now share clergy with Chiddingly with East Hoathly - Revd James Vine as Priest-in-Charge and Revd Janice Bartholomew as Assistant Curate. We welcome or brothers and sisters in Christ from Chiddingly and East Hoathly. We are united in our beliefs, churchmanship, and circumstances (rural parishes needing to expand our congregation, especially the younger generations). The service pattern is available here: The combined rota for all three churches is here: Posted: 27.07.2023 |
||
Car Sharing: We need to organise transport to East Hoathly and Chiddingly for the combined services, on the second and fifth Sundays. Please sign up if you need transport or can drive and have passenger places on offer. Parking is limited and we also need to be aware of our carbon footprint and to minimise the number of vehicles used as far as possible. Posted: 02.06.2023 |
||
We have a new Parish Safeguarding Officer – Rowena Martin is now the Safeguarding point of contact. We ensure that all children and adults are kept safe within the church community. Posted: 31.07.2023 (update) |
||
Flower Rota - A very BIG thank you to all the ladies that have decorated the Altar and church with lovely flowers during a difficult year and hopefully will be willing to be on the Rota for 2022, please advise if unable to help. Thank you – Margaret Bond Tel. 01825 890807. Posted: 22.11.2021 |
||
A plug for Homegroups. Currently about a third of the church attend an online home group. There are three at present: (Weekly) Tuesday mornings 10.30 - 11.30 am; (Fortnightly) Wednesday evenings 7.30 pm and (Fortnightly) Thursday evenings 7.30 pm. Over the past couple of years the groups have been a lifeline to many, particularly those who live alone. Apart from a short Bible study and discussion they do provide an opportunity to socialise and pray for one another when the need arises. The groups are also opening up to those who attend our Sunday services online. Covid has taken its toll and the general Sunday in-person attendance has suffered as a result. However, homegroups provide a constant source of fellowship and support which spiritually buoy’s us up and helps with our general wellbeing and mental health. Details have been sent out to the church family via email but do get in touch if you would like to join one or just give it a go. Office email: admin@framfieldchurch.org.uk. Posted: 22.11.2021 |
||
Churchyard mowers - Unfortunately, we have had to replace one of the mowers and the ‘ride-on’ is in need of some major refurbishment in order to keep it going. As a church we only have limited resources and the Church Yard fund has all but run out as recent expenditure ran into several hundred pounds. Helping with the maintenance cost does ensure that the churchyard is a pleasant place to come to when visiting the graves of loved ones. If anyone would like to give a donation or set up a small standing order it would be gratefully received - Thank you. Posted: 16.09.2021 |
||
Church Cleaning Unfortunately due to the fallout from the pandemic our faithful band of church cleaners has been seriously depleted. At the moment there’s only Marie and Val who come in twice monthly. We are very grateful for all their efforts but we really could do with a few additional volunteers. Posted: 11.10.2021 |
||
And - Post Service Tea/Coffee Volunteers We could really do with some help with post service tea/coffee rather than operating on an ad-hoc basis. A team of two appears to work very well so if there’s any budding duets willing to lend a hand do speak to Graham Seldon or leave a message on the church answerphone – 01825 891033 - Thank you. Posted: 11.10.2021 |
||
Parking at the Hare & Hounds pub - Reminder: Parking at the Hare & Hounds pub (10.00 am Sunday Service). The landlord is happy for members of the church family to use the pub car park provided cars are parked at the far end of the car park and removed by 11.30 am sharp. Posted: 12.09.2020 |
||
Previous Online Sunday Services The previously recorded weekly services may be accessed here or on our Facebook page. Posted: 27.09.2020 |
||
Web site for St Thomas a Becket Our church website has now been running for over fifteen years. This third redesign, mainly to adapt to the ever increasing number of users on phones and tablets and their smaller screens, went live on 16th August 2020. The site aims to be a useful resource to church members, and also to reach out to potential new members. We hope you will take a look and find it useful. We try very hard to keep it up to date and relevant. Any questions, comments or suggestions, email us here Posted: 16.08.2020 |