Sunday Worship for Remembrance and other news from Seal Church: Nov 12

 

Dear Friends Anne Le Bas Online Worship podcast - Click on picture above Order of service You can also access this podcast by phoning 01732 928061 As usual, the link to our podcast is above - click on the picture to access it. with best wishes

In the church building today 9 am   Act of Remembrance at Godden Green War Memorial 10 am Remembrance Sunday service 6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion  Next Sunday Nov 19 10 am Holy Communion 3-4.30pm Messy Church 6.30pm Evensong This week:  Wed    10.30 am Lavender Fields Holy Communion             4.30 children's choir             7.15 pm Adult choir  Fri        9 am Morning Prayer in Church             10.30 - 12.30 Friday Group in the church hall

Remembrance Sunday Today's sermon for Remembrance Sunday will be exploring the importance of remembering the individual in the midst of what can seem like the vast and impersonal "machine" of war. Who are all those names on our war memorials? And what about those whose last resting place is unknown?      Do you have direct experience of living through a war, or of a family member or friend who did so. Spend some time recalling their story, and tell it to someone else - or just to God. (God already knows their story, of course, but sometimes we need to tell it!) As you watch the news today, and, no doubt, see images of people caught up war, imagine their individual stories, their past, their present and their future. Pray for them as individuals, whether you agree with which "side" they are on (if any) or not.

Original footage of the journey of the body of the Unknown Warrior from France to  Westminster Abbey, accompanied by the recordings made at the time of the hymns sung in the Abbey, the only sound recording of the event which survives. The film gives a vivid impression of the scale and importance of the event to the nation.

All Age Ideas On Remembrance Sunday we remember all who have died because of war, and we remember that God wants us all to work for peace. In today's podcast I talk about a very special grave in Westminster Abbey, a big church in London (where the coronation of King Charles took place earlier this year!). Many famous and important people are buried in Westminster Abbey, but there is one grave where someone is buried whose name we don't know at all, someone who was killed in WW1, but, like many of those who died, couldn't be identified or given a name. The film below tells the story of how he came to be buried in the Abbey, and why his grave is so important. (Parents - the film is suitable for primary age children but, obviously, contains references to war, to death, and to children whose fathers were killed. Please watch it before you share it with your children, and use your own judgement about whether it is suitable for them.)

Seal Church has been magnificently decorated by Maggie Fox and Chris Rampton for Remembrance, using poppies knitted or crocheted by many people in the congregation and community. Many thanks to all of them! Maggie and Chris said the people could make red, white or purple poppies. We are most used to seeing the red poppy, sold in aid of the Royal British Legion, but as the report here outlines, people can wear poppies in a number of different colours - white, as a prayer for peace, or purple to remember animals caught up in war. In  a new initiative, black poppies edged in red are also becoming popular, to remember the many men and women of colour, whose stories and service in wartime have often been overlooked. Newsround has a good roundup of the meanings of each poppy here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/45975344 There is an interesting film about the contribution of animals during war, made by the Imperial War Museum here. https://youtu.be/jKCs785HqfQ?si=1Hh71btivvCWJ_zM. Animals who served in WW1 are a particularly important part of my husband's family story - he wouldn't be here at all if his grandfather, who fought in WW1 hadn't taken charge of one of the many dogs used to recover bodies from the battlefield when the war ended. Philip's grandfather, still serving in the army, needed to find a billet for himself in Valenciennes where the dog could stay with him. The only place he could find was a house with stables attached, where the owner was happy for the dog to sleep. As it happened, the owner had a daughter, with whom Philip's grandfather fell in love and married... and the rest is history!

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS SAD NEWS ABOUT ANNIE LEWIS    I am very sorry to have to pass on the news, for those who haven't heard it already, that Annie Lewis died earlier this week. Her health had been declining for a while, so this news was not entirely unexpected, but I know we will all feel sad to have lost such a cheerful and colourful character, who was a long-time, very faithful member of our church congregation and other groups like the Friday Group, until she went into Lavender Fields Care Home.  I am sure we will all be holding Annie, her daughter Lynda and all the family in our thoughts and prayers. Her funeral will take place at Seal Church on Thursday Nov 23, at 11 am, and anyone who knew Annie is welcome to attend.   MESSY CHURCH will take place next Sunday afternoon in the church hall from 3-4.30pm. It will have an Advent and Christmas theme, so it will be a good chance to get ready for Advent! Everyone is welcome for the usual mix of craft, story, worship and tea. CHURCH HALL GARDEN WORKING PARTY. Next Saturday - Nov 18 from 9.30-12 noon. All welcome to help us tidy up and cut back the area around the church hall, and demolish the shed at the rear of the hall. Please bring loppers, shears, gloves (hedgetrimmers and even chainsaws, if you can operate them safely, would be useful!) CHURCH CLOCK UPDATE. People have, I know, been wondering what is happening (or rather, not happening) to the church clock, following our fund-raising drive earlier in the year. Here is a brief update on a difficult year! We made a faculty application to the Diocese for the repair of the clock early in the year. This is the process we have to go through in order to undertake any major repairs to a Grade 1 listed church, akin to planning and listed building permission. We anticipated that it would take a couple of months for the application to be approved - these things are never swift. Unfortunately, just as  our application went in, the clock expert who advised the Diocese on such matters, and whose approval was necessary, sadly died very unexpectedly. Our application was then passed to a clock adviser in another Diocese, who wanted further reports from other clock repairers. There are very few tower clock specialists in the country, however, so we were dependent on their schedules as they could only visit when they were in the area. In the end, as we suspected, their reports turned out not to be very informative anyway and eventually, our application was sent back to the newly-appointed clock adviser in Rochester Diocese. We understand that our application is now almost at the point of being approved, and we have the clock repairers, Gillett and Johnston, on standby to remove the mechanism and get to work as soon as we get the go-ahead. It has been a very frustrating year, and we have been very aware that those who generously donated to the work have been wondering why it has not happened - unfortunately we don't necessarily know who those donors are, as donations made online don't have any contact details. We are all longing to hear the church clock chime again, and we have been pushing all year to keep the process moving. I hope for good news very soon, but if anyone is concerned, please contact me and I will be happy to give you more detail. CHRISTMAS WREATH MAKING  Friday December 1st in Seal Church Hall £30 per head There will be 2 sessions - 3pm and 7.30pm ,providing all you need to make a beautiful Christmas wreath, a glass of wine and mince pie.Please bring your own secateurs! To book, please contact Chris on 07759 808814 or 01732 763585. SEAL TIDDLERS FUND RAISING PAMPER EVENING - ENTRY BY PRE-BOOKED TICKET ONLY Pamper evening Thursday 23rd November Seal church hall (TN15 0AR) 7.30 to 9.30pm (Parking is limited so please walk or car share if possible). £5 a ticket with a glass of prosecco or orange plus a goody bag in aid of funds for Seal Tiddlers.  Tickets and bookable appointments from Stephanie_barnes1990@outlook.com (Please bring cash on the night). Hair and make-up demonstrations. Hair, nails, Neal's Yard hand massage, wax melts, Indian Head Massage and stalls include jewellery, cupcakes, fashion, Body Shop and a raffle. Appointments for nails and hair/hand massage Lots of stalls to start your Christmas shopping! SEAL VILLAGE ALLOTMENTS Seal Village Allotments are now renewing rentals for the 2024 season, and have some plots available. If you would like to join us and grow your own produce, then please contact: sealvillageallotments@gmail.com VILLAGE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS We have had an amazing offer from a new resident to Seal, Marcus, who is willing to take on the lead role for the Christmas lights this year, taking over from Marion Gilchrist. We are very grateful for this offer, and would welcome at least a few people to put their names forward now, to help Marcus with this task. As usual, they will probably go up on the last weekend of November or first weekend in December. If you can register your interest now, by contacting marionjgilchrist@gmail.com, she will give Marcus your names, and maybe have a little get together before that time.