Winchelsea Village Voice

UPCOMING MEETINGS for Icklesham Parish Council begin on Monday January 13th at Icklesham Memorial Hall. This will be a Planning Meeting at 6.15pm followed by a Full Council meeting. The Parish Council have been discussing the 2025/26 budget making every effort to keep costs down for the benefit of residents. The budget and figures will be formerly agreed by the Council at this Full Council meeting on January 13th. Then on Monday January 27th at 6.15pm there will be a Planning Meeting in the Court Hall and residents are welcome to attend both meetings.

INTRODUCING ZOLA is this month’s talk on the French writer Emile Zola (1840-1902) at Winchelsea Literary Society. Local resident David Page will be speaking on “Emile Zola: Dissecting the French Second Empire”. During his lifetime Zola’s novels were enjoyed as much as they were criticised. In a series of twenty books Zola monitored the fortunes of one extended family in a flawed France of Emperor Napoleon III. Zola also made headline news in Europe for his impassioned defence of Alfred Dreyfus – ‘J’accuse!’ In this talk, David tells the dramatic story of Zola’s life and refers to some of the novels in his famous sequence. The talk will take place on Friday January 17th at 7 for 7.30pm in the Court Hall. This is free for members and non-members pay £5 entrance. The annual subscription of £20 is now due and can be paid on the door or by BACS.

BEST-KNOWN for her gospel song “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” written in 1907 Ada Ruth Habershon was an English Christian writer and hymnist. She was born on January 8th 1861 in Marylebone, London where she also died in 1918 aged 57. Her father was a noted physician and she was raised in a Christian home in Chelsea. She was educated at a boarding school in Dover and for three and a half years she studied at the Female School of Art in South Kensington. Between 1883 and 1899 Habershon worked with her parents at a ragged school in Gray’s Yard which delivered education to children from poor backgrounds in Tower Hamlets. Habershon’s parents belonged to the Plymouth Brethren Christian movement and also worshipped at the Metropolitan Tabernacle (Elephant & Castle, London) where the eminent preacher Charles Spurgeon was the pastor. Spurgeon became a close family friend and in her twenties Habershon was part of Spurgeon’s fellowship circle. When her parents died in 1889 he wrote to her letters of encouragement. After her parents death, in 1891-92 she participated in two voyages with the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen which is a British charity that supports the UK fishing industry. During this time of activity in 1884 she met the celebrated American ministers Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey at their preaching tour of England. This led Habershon to visit the USA where she gave a series of lectures on the Old Testament which were published at a later date. She stayed in America for several months in 1895 and taught at the Moody Bible Institute and the Moody Church. After her American tour she focussed on writing and wrote many books related to the Bible some of which concerned typology which explained how people and events in the Old Testament paralleled the work of Jesus Christ. In showing the connections between the Old and New Testament Habershon was thorough in noting that there are many types of people in the OT that prefigure Jesus such as Joseph (of the coat of many colours) Melchizedek king of Jerusalem, Moses the high priest, the leader Joshua, King David and the prophet Daniel. In 1909 she wrote a book called ‘The Bible in the British Museum’ which is based on biblical archaeology from 2,500 BC. Included in the book are details on the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites, Babylonians, Romans and early Christians whose cultures are displayed at the British Museum. Habershon began writing poetry and hymns and in 1901 the hymns were used during an evangelistic tour in the UK with American pastors Charles M. Alexander and Reuben A. Torrey. At this time she wrote almost one thousand hymns and her best-known song “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” was accompanied by a tune written by the popular hymnwriter and composer Charles H Gabriel. The hymn begins: “There are loved ones in the glory Whose dear forms you often miss. When you close your earthly story, Will you join them in their bliss? Will the circle be unbroken By and by Lord, by and by? There’s a better home awaiting In the sky Lord, in the sky.” The circle suggests a family that has been damaged by the death of the mother and in this hymn Habershon speaks with hope about rejoining her family in the hereafter in heaven. Bible references to the hymn are, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Also concerning Jesus, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” (1 John 5:4-11) Throughout the 20th century there have been at least 40 different versions of this song ranging from the Carter Family in 1935 to Jerry Lee Lewis 1959, John Lee Hooker 1961, Bob Dylan 1967, The Neville Brothers 1989, and The Dead South 2022. Other hymns by Habershon include “As far as the west is removed from the east, He banished my sins, both the greatest and least;” and “Grace brought Jesus down to die, Glory welcomed Him on high”. Habershon founded the Women’s Branch of the Society for the Investigation of Prophecy in 1912 which held two conferences per year on Bible prophecy and Habershon alongside others presented papers. After Habershon’s death her sister compiled her autobiography called, “A Gatherer of Fresh Spoils” which was published in 1918.

‘WINCHELSEA GOES TO HOLYROOD’ at the Burns Night Supper Dance which will take place in the New Hall with the live ceilidh band, the Catsfield Steamers. The Dance will be on Saturday January 25th at 6.15 for 6.45pm and the tickets are £18 per person with proceeds in aid of the New Hall. If you would like tickets please phone Wee Davymac Dickson 07758 962824 or Bonny Billie McHilary 07923 451431. There is a vegetarian supper available if requested by January 15th which is a traditional non-veg offal haggis. Concerning drinks there is no bar and you will need to bring your own whisky and drinks. Also there will not be a raffle or tombola but Scottish themed challenges with prizes are on the cards.