Dearest friends,
Last week, I invited us to dream together about the next ten years for our parishes, much as Reverend William Keble Martin, and Cannon Courtney did all that time ago.
Your response has warmed my heart—your thoughtful messages, conversations after Mass, and eager questions show the love you have for our parishes.
I’m deeply grateful for your faith and commitment, and I’m excited to keep this journey moving forward.
Planning for the future is our chance to ensure St. John’s and St. Luke’s remain vibrant homes for worship and service.
You’ve already suggested new youth services and outreach, door to door conversations, and caring for our sacred spaces. A ten-year plan will help us turn these dreams into reality, keeping our churches strong amid a changing world—new neighbours, evolving technology, and unexpected challenges.
It’s about building a legacy where our children and newcomers feel God’s love. Not just for the next ten years, but for the next 100.
Let’s keep the momentum going. Join us at Wickham Hall at 4pm on the 19th October to share your thoughts, ideas, and prayers, make it a priority.
Together, we can discern God’s vision, ensuring our churches thrive as beacons of hope. I’m counting on your voice to shape this future with love and faith. Thank you for walking this path with me—I can’t wait to see where God leads us.
Fr. Matthew
Notices
The future of our parishes
A meeting with the Bishop of Oswestry and the Archdeacon will take place on the 19th October at 4pm at Wickham Hall as we chart the next ten years for our individual parishes and for our join work.
Autumn / Christmas Meeting
On the 25th September at 7pm in Wickham Hall we’ll hold our termly planning meeting for the Autumn Term and for Christmas services. If you would like to see something happen over the Autumn or have ideas of what kind of services you’d like over Christmas, this is a must attend meeting.
Explorers
Thank you to everyone who has come forward to help with Explorers. We have a solid core team who will help put up tables, arrange the craft, help teach and lead, and talk to the parents and families who come in. We now have a group of five people who have agreed to pray for the church each month via a WhatsApp Group. If you’d like to join that prayer group please do let me know.
Sunday 21st September
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time 🟢
9am – BCP Sung Parish Mass [SJ]
11:15am – Sung Parish Mass [SL]
4:30pm – St. John’s PCC [WH]
6pm – Evensong [SJ]
Divine Office Psalter Week 1, C(I), Trinity 14, Proper 20
Upcoming Dates
September
20th – Table Top Sale [WH]
25th – Autumn / Christmas Planning Meeting, 7pm, [WH]
October
1st – SL Ladies Group, 2pm
SL PCC, 7pm
5th – 1st Explorers, 3pm, St. Catherine’s School, Heathfield
10th – Bingo [SL], 7pm
19th – St. Luke’s Patronal Feast
Mission Planning with +Paul, 4pm, Wickham Hall
St. Luke’s Men’s Group meets every Friday for mass at 10am anddiscussion afterwards. [SL]
Table Top Sale at Wickham Hall every 3rd Saturday at 10am.
St. Luke’s Women’s Group meets first Wednesday of every month.