Crockham Hill Newsletter
APRIL 2020
During the period that no public services are held in Holy Trinity, because of the coronavirus outbreak, a service of Daily Morning prayer and a service of Morning Prayer on a Sunday will be published on our website. Hard copies will be left in the church which will remain open for private prayer each day.
Rev Sue will celebrate the Eucharist privately in the church each Sunday and will say Sunday Morning Prayer at 10.00am. Please join in with this at home if you are able so that we can continue our worship as a community.
A weekly Pew and News sheet will also be published on our website with the Sunday readings and weekly updates and sent out by email.
If you are unable to access the internet and email and would like a copy, please let Rev Sue know. There will also be regular updates on our Face Book page.
Do email with suggestions for the Website, and anything you want to publicise to mike@theoasthouse.com
News from the Vicarage …
As I write the church is closed for public worship; we are 24 hours away from all schools, colleges and universities closing, many basic household needs are impossible to get hold of and many in our community are staying at home! We are indeed living through difficult times, yet the offers of help that have been coming forward this week have been amazing.
Practical help is of course very important, but as your church I want us to be able to offer pastoral and spiritual support alongside the practical. We can’t gather for services and as we approach Holy Week and Easter this seems very strange, but we can still worship and pray alongside one another from our homes.
On the church website we have posted two simple services of Morning Prayer, one for week days and one for Sundays. Each Sunday I will say Morning Prayer at 10.00am in the Church; I invite you to join with me from your home. We will also continue to post the Notice Sheet with readings and regular news, and I will privately celebrate the Eucharist on a Sunday which I hope may bring comfort and a sense of continuity if not normality.
The church will remain open for private prayer and we will ensure that all prayer requests left on the prayer table or sent by phone or email to the vicarage are prayed for confidentially. Easter Lilies (see notice elsewhere in the newsletter) will go ahead as usual, and blessed Palm Crosses with be left in the church on Palm Sunday. Other possibilities are evolving, so please check the church website from time to time.
Hopefully we can continue to deliver the Newsletter during the next few months but it will always be available on the website. Much of life as we know it has become, and will continue to become strange and different for weeks if not months. As a community we are showing care for one another, which is of great comfort, and as your vicar my prayer is that we will continue show care for one another and perhaps be willing to lean more heavily on Christ, the one who loves us and cares for us when life is normal and when life is not.
Please feel free to contact me by phone or email, whatever the need.
Rev Sue
Reverend Sue Diggory
Vicar, Holy Trinity,
Crockham Hill
01732446466
07799892583
The Prayer Group
Trish 866219
PRAYER GROUP until further notice the Prayer Group will not take place but please join others who will be praying in their own homes on Wednesday April 15th at 2pm. This will be a very good way for us all to be praying at this very difficult time.
Women's Christian Fellowship
We had a fascinating insight into the work of the Tunbridge Wells Street Pastors at our last meeting when two of them came to talk to us about their night work. If you want to know more, there is information at the back of church; they really are inspiring. We will not be meeting in April but watch this space with an update about May's meeting as the situation develops and we know if we will be able to gather together. Meantime please pray for each other and keep in touch by phone or e-mail.
WATER FOR KONGWA – FUNDRAISING AUCTION OF PROMISES
June Davies 866350
We are very sorry to have to postpone this event on the 25th April, in line with government guidelines. Thank you very much to all those who had reserved places and offered promises and gift items. We will reschedule as soon as we can. However, the problem doesn’t go away and is no doubt made worse in these extraordinary times. Pupils at the primary school in Kongwa still have no access to water. Thus, if you feel able to make a donation to support them, could you please either make a cheque to Holy Trinity PCC and put it through June’s letterbox or contact June for bank transfer details. Thank you very much.
OUR FRIENDS IN NEW CROSS
June Davies 866350
Our friends in New Cross send you their grateful thanks for the bumper load of donated items which they have collected from us this morning. You can be sure that every item is welcome and will be put to good use. For the moment, however, they have suggested that we put a temporary hold on collecting items as the running of their shop and drop-in centre is uncertain in these challenging times. That does not mean that your donated goods will not be welcome later though. We are in close contact with them and, if a sudden need arises, we will send the message around. Thank you very much.
BARBARA WELLS
News has just reached us that Barbara Wells, one-time village sub-postmistress and Cub Scout Akela, has died. She was 78 and had been suffering from cancer. During her time in Crockham Hill, she and husband Brian were involved in many aspects of village life, and when they retired they only moved as far as Marlpit Hill. It was when Barbara was at the post office that she was robbed at gunpoint, and on another occasion the house was badly damaged by a vehicle that crashed into it. Life was never straight forward for Barb and Brian, but they were a close and loving couple who always came up smiling. We send their son Stephen our sincere condolences.
Kev Reynolds
Annual Parish Church Meeting
Because of Coronavirus, Bishop James has directed that the APCM is postponed until the Autumn.
Parish Safeguarding contacts.
Jo Naismith, Parish Safeguarding Officer 01732 866248/07966264290
Susan Cash, Advocate for Children and Vulnerable Adults 01732 866218
Rev’d Sue Diggory, Vicar 01732 446466/07799892583
Further details are available on the church website www.crockhamhillchurch.org and are displayed on the notice board in the church porch.
Thought of the month
Stay safe.
Our editor
Dharmi Damodaran
COPY DEADLINE FOR APRIL ISSUE:
Friday 17th April
All items for inclusion to the editor, Dharmi Damodaran at
(0776 968 1961)
Or leave in box either on shelf at the back of the church
or in the Royal Oak pub
.
Wildlife Corridors
Now that so many of us are having to self- isolate, it is an ideal time to leave parts of your land and gardens uncut so that nature can thrive over the spring and summer. Crockham Hill’s Wildlife Restoration Team have produced a large map, suggesting many green corridors, allowing wildlife to travel undisturbed between habitats. If you email Michael Court on mike@theoasthouse.com, he can send you a photo of your part of the map, so that you can suggest amendments. Do let us know if you would like our Handbook for Wildlife Restoration, and tell us about any new wildlife habitats you are creating.
SAVE THE ROYAL OAK - TIME IS RUNNING OUT
If you haven't yet contributed to save the pub please do so now. Shares cost £50 each and you need 5 shares to become a member. Each member has one vote. If we don't raise sufficient funds all monies will be returned less costs.
Bank Details:
Account: Crockham Hill Community Benefity Society Ltd
Bank: Barclays Bank PLC
Account Number: 23536440
Sort Code: 20-88-13
Reference: Your surname
Share Application Form
The Business Plan, Share Prospectus and Application Form are available on our website: www.savetheroyaloakpub.com. Please complete and send the application form to: Save The Royal Oak, Box 86, 2 Mount Sion, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1UE
If you don't have access to the internet or need help with the form please contact David Gilmour (Treasurer) on 01732 867421. If you don't wish to become a member you can still donate to help save The Royal Oak. Simply click the donation button on the website. The Management Committee will be happy to answer any questions.
Stuart Wilkie, Philip Ashley, Kevin Dunn, Neil Prime, Nick Goodwin, David Gilmour.
CROCKHAM HILL WI
June Davies 866350
Regretfully, in line with government guidance, we are cancelling all our WI meetings and activities for the time being. These are indeed strange and challenging times, but our WI members are well known for their resourcefulness, resilience and caring attitude towards others. We will do anything we can to help each other and our neighbours. Earlier this month, members donated a large amount of food and hygiene items to the Edenbridge Foodbank, to support those in need in our community. Looking forward to brighter days, our exciting plans for future meetings and many other activities are merely on hold and we will be back enjoying them as soon as is appropriate. For more information about our WI, pleasevisit www.crockhamhillwi.com/ or ring June.
DEANERY ORCHARD COFFEE MORNING & PLANT SALE - Sat 16 MAY
June Davies 866350
We are sorry and disappointed that, in line with government, we have to cancel this event for the time being but there will be another such event planned as soon as appropriate. In the meantime, why not take a leisurely walk around our lovely Orchard (at a safe distance from others) and enjoy a moment of relaxation and calm to help relieve the pressure and stress of these challenging times.
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER
Kev Reynolds
There’s a shop around the corner that I’ve known for many a year
With every item you could wish, from bread to cans of beer,
There’s cold meat, fish and Heinz baked beans and vegetables galore,
Disinfectant, bags of flour and mops to wash the floor.
There’s soup and pasta, veggies too, and pills to ease your aches,
And everything that you could need for baking home-made cakes.
There’s Kleenex tissues box on box and toilet rolls stacked high,
Just in case disaster strikes and supply chains then run dry.
The man behind the counter has a strangely twisted grin,
He looks as though he’s privy to some joke that’s just for him;
Some days he’ll chew the cud with you for nearly half an hour,
Then stop when someone wants to buy some shampoo for their shower.
In the spring of twenty twenty a change came to these shores,
A tiny Asian virus put everyone indoors.
Fear then spread from town to town and sent the people wild,
From dear old grey-haired grannies down to the smallest child.
The bug could last for months they said, it’s not just like a cold
Protect yourselves and neighbours too, especially the old;
All kissing, handshakes, hugs forbidden, came the grave advice -
But keeping far apart from friends really isn’t nice
Someone said ‘We’re short of grub’ and panic then set in,
As the shop around the corner sold out of every tin,
Spaghetti, soups and green-topped milk all vanished from the shelves
When some folk grabbed all that they could, to keep just for themselves.
A crafty man who knew the score, said I’ve seen panics once before
The one essential for all souls is a cupboard full of toilet rolls.
A single thought now filled each mind: ‘Something soft for my behind -
Something I’ll need twice a day to keep that nasty bug at bay.’
Have you seen the young mum, with her trolley piled up high
While her toddler sucks a dummy lest she should dare to cry?
Have you seen what she is taking home – just in case?
Sufficient toilet paper for all the human race.
I’m really not facetious, I swear it’s not my style,
But thoughtless shoppers just like her remove my every smile.
I only hope one day she suffers no great constipation
For a garage full of toilet rolls will be no consolation.
Village Show
With all this extra time on your hands and nothing much to think about, I thought you might like to prepare for the village Show!!! It is 400 years since the Pilgrim Fathers set off from Plymouth in Mayflower, 500 years since Magellan sailed in La Trinidad through the narrow straits that bear his name, and 200 years since The Beagle was launched at Woolwich. The obvious choice for the theme of this year's show is 'sailing round the world'. So start painting, taking photos, crafting etc with a nautical feel. We will publish the detailed schedule at the end of April to go out with the May newsletter.
Copy Deadline For The Next -Month issue
Friday 17th April All items for inclusion to Dharmi Damodaran / 07769681961