FLOWER FESTIVAL – CELEBRATING CREATION
Our theme in 2023 is Nature and God’s Creation inspired by our wildflower circle project started in the Autumn of 2021, the project flourished and caught the interest of the local community and many visitors to Winchelsea. It now receives a lot of support.
Development of the meadows and no-mow areas is an ongoing labour of love and we now start to monitor the growth in species of associated insects, moths and butterflies.
Our programme of events seeks to reflect these ideas.
Genesis 2 v.8-9
And the Lord God planted a garden in the Eden in the East and there he put man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow all that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the Tree of Life also in the midst of the garden and also the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Programme of Events:
Thursday 18th May. Ascension Day
6pm Service of Evensong with Bishop Will followed by drinks
Friday 19th May
10.30-11.30am Churchyard Walk and Talk
11.30 am Speaker Cliff Dean. ”Swifts”
2pm Speaker Mark Betson “ Life in all its Fullness”
(C of E National Public Policy Advisor)
Saturday 20th May
10.30 am Special Church Market with plants; cards and prints; jewellery; bread, cakes and deli stalls
7.30pm Hastings Philharmonic concert
Sunday 21st May
11am Holy Communion
3pm Pet Service followed by the Grand Draw
Refreshments:
Throughout the festival coffee, teas and lunches will be available in church and from the New Inn.
WILDFLOWER CIRCLES
Two years ago as a church we took the decision to create three wild flower areas to increase the biodiversity of the Churchyard and allow for the augmentation of insect life, which in turn helps give a food source to our colony of swifts, which returns each year to nest in the church. This shows progress at the beginning of April this year. Grape hyacinths and crocus can be seen. The yellow rattle and ox-eye daisies are also coming through.
THE CORONATION OF HM CHARLES III
We will be marking this historic event in the life our Nation and National Church by holding a said service of Evening Prayer on Friday May 5th at 6:00pm to pray for the King and Country. On the Sunday following the Coronation, May 7th, there will be a special Parish Eucharist to celebrate the occasion at the usual time of 11:00am. A Street party is being organised following the service at 1:00pm in St Thomas St.
St Richard’s Winchelsea Beach – Closure
Unfortunately due to financial pressures our church at Winchelsea Beach has closed
It became clear following the most recent structural report (Quinquennial) that we would need to find between £50,000 and £100,000 to maintain the church. A public meeting was held at the Winchelsea beach community Hall on 27 October 2021. Notes from the meeting and a more recent update can be found by clicking here. Following this and extensive discussions, a period of reflection and prayer it was decided that the church would have to be closed and offered for sale. As part of this process we have had to obtain permission to remove and re-inter cremated remains that way incorrectly buried in the surroundings of the church. After extensive efforts to contact next of kin we obtain permission at the end of 2022 and all the remains have now been re-interred in a dignified and seemingly matter the Churchyard of St Thomas the martyr in Winchelsea. The church is now for sale on the open market and it is expected that a sale will be negotiated in the near future.
While the Rector and the PCC regret that we have had to take this action, we feel that we have made the right decision and would add that we committed to maintaining a Christian presence within Winchelsea beach and it is likely that regular services of some kind will be held in another venue. If you would like to discuss this matter please do feel free to contact the Rector revdjonathan@btinternet.com
History – St Richard’s Church
Services at Winchelsea Beach ceased with the wartime evacuation and resumed in 1949, although it was not until Miss C M Biddle became Missioner in Charge in 1955 that all was put on a firmer footing.
The war-damaged chapel, though patched up, was too damp to use in the winter and services were transferred to her house. She was the driving force behind the campaign to raise the funds to buy a new plot of land and build a proper church.
Designed by Duncan Wylson of Rye and built by Padden and Durrant, the new St Richard’s opened in 1962. The original concrete altar was brought from the lock-up garages and an organ from Rochester Cathedral. Rye Harbour parish was not entirely happy with Pett’s claim on the Beach, and a low level dispute rumbled on until 1966 when it was agreed to redraw parish boundaries and combine Winchelsea Beach with Winchelsea, recognising the role that Winchelsea had taken in supporting the building of the new church.
Sadly the Church closed after the Covid 19 Lockdown in 2020 largely on account of the costs needed for repairs and renovation. The money raised from the sale of the church will go to the Parish and some of it will be put aside to support ministry in Winchelsea Beach. Do contact the Rector if you have any questions.
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Recorded Services
RECTOR BECOMES PRIEST IN CHARGE OF PETT15 March 2022 - 9:38 am
Evening Prayer for 27th January 2021 Epiphany27 January 2021 - 6:25 pm
Evening Prayer for Epiphany11 December 2020 - 10:29 am
Psalm 2321 May 2015 - 9:23 pm
Recorded Guides, Prayers and Reflections
- Reflective Material21 May 2015 - 9:20 pm
News
Service of Thanksgiving for the Departed21 October 2023 - 2:52 pm
