Winchelsea Village Voice

GOOD FRIDAY today there is a service of Meditation in All Saints and St Nicolas Church, Icklesham at 2pm finishing by 3.30pm. The service is a time of reflection and remembrance of the Lord Jesus’s suffering and death on the cross for which He paid the price to save sinners. EASTER SUNDAY this April 20th the church services in the local parish begin at 9.30am in Icklesham and Pett churches and at 11am in St Thomas’s Winchelsea. This day marks the Lord Jesus’s resurrection which demonstrates His authority over death and offers for the believer hope of eternal life.

THE FOUR QUARTETS will be presented as a mini lecture and reading by Lord Gawain Douglas at the Literary Society’s talk tonight (April 18th) in the New Hall at 7 for 7.30pm.Gawain is an accomplished writer, teacher, performing poet and musician. He has written four collections of poetry and a compilation of his poetry, “Fortuna” was published in 2009. Gawain has also made a special study of the works of T S Eliot, especially “The Waste Land” and Four Quartets”. In 2006 he recited “Four Quartets” in Canterbury Cathedral, as part of the Canterbury Festival and gave subsequent performances in Australia and Scotland.The talk is free for members and non-members pay £5 admission.

MAYORING CEREMONY in Winchelsea has taken place every year since 1295 on Easter Monday. This is due to King Edward I in 1292 granting the town the right to have a Mayor and Corporation. This year on April 21st the Corporation are very pleased that Peter Cosstick has agreed to serve as Mayor of Winchelsea for a second year and Debbie his wife will be Mayoress. At their January meeting the Corporation also voted for Sue McGeown and Jerry Moss to become Freemen, acknowledging the skills and experience they will bring to the work of the charity. Both have agreed and they will be sworn in at the Mayoring ceremony. Former town clerk, Lorna Challand will be made an Honorary Freeman. The event is attended by the Mayors of the Cinque Ports and Winchelsea Corporation invite everyone to the Mayor Making ceremony which begins at 11am on Easter Monday in St Thomas’s Church.

TOWN MUSEUM opens this month for the new season and will be open from Tuesday to Sunday between 11.30am and 3.30pm until Sunday October 26th, and on Bank Holiday Mondays in May and August. A team of 30+ volunteers will take it in turns to welcome visitors. Winchelsea Museum is housed in a single large room on the first floor of the Court Hall in the High Street and is one of the oldest buildings in the town. There are many interesting displays and exhibits to see in the museum showing the history of this ‘Ancient Town of Winchelsea’. The exhibits include maps, models, pictures, local pottery and items relating to daily life in the town and its surrounding area. Admission is £3 adults (free for accompanied children) and cash or contactless payment is required.

WINCHELSEA BOWLS CLUB Open Day is on Saturday, April 26th from 12 to 4pm. The Open Day is for anyone, of any age, interested in trying the sport of Lawn Bowls.This is a welcoming club located behind the New Hall in the town. Just come along to this free event, meet the members and have some fun with no obligation to join the club.You will be provided with the equipment and tuition, and please wear flat shoes.

THE GREEN HILL hymn sung on Good Friday was written by Anglo-Irish hymnwriter and poet Cecil Frances Alexander. She was born in April 1818 in Dublin, Ireland where her father Major John Humphreys was the land-agent to the 4th Earl of Wicklow. In 1850 she married the Anglican clergyman William Alexander who was also a poet. He became the Bishop of Derry and the Archbishop of Armagh. They were married for 45 years and for much of the time they lived in Derry, also called Londonderry, in Northern Ireland. The hymns and poems by Mrs Alexander numbered around 400 and they were mainly for children. Her most well-known hymn is ‘There is a Green Hill far away’ which was considered the most perfect hymn in the English language because of its agreeable simplicity. The idea came from a small hill outside the walled city of Derry which reminded Mrs Alexander of a similar hill where Jesus was crucified. She wrote the hymn while seated at the bedside of a sick child and it begins: “There is a green hill far away, Without a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all”. Scripture references are found in Luke 23:32-43, Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:21-41 which describe two thieves that were crucified with Him, one on His right and the other on His the left. They represent the final crossroads where man who is given free will must make the ultimate choice between life and death. The worldly unrepentant thief hurled insults at Jesus saying “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us”. Whereas the repentant thief chided the other thief with the words “Don’t you fear God?” and “we are getting what our deeds deserve.But this man has done nothing wrong.”In his last moments the repentant thief believed in Jesus as his Lord and Saviour and said to Him “remember me when you come into your kingdom”. Jesus had mercy upon him and replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”. Of the two, the repentant thief chose eternal life over death. While the unrepentant thief chose to go his own selfish way which was fatal. This choice of life and death is cited in Deuteronomy 30:19 where God says “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Therefore choose life”. God would not have anybody perish but he allows man to choose between the joys of heaven or the woes of hell. Although heaven would seem the obvious choice there are many who will not repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The second to last verse of the hymn declares of Jesus “There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin, He only could unlock the gate Of heaven and let us in”. There is a story concerning the hymn that took place during the First World War. A doctor was in his consulting room listening to patients who were traumatised by the war.In the room above him he could hear singing. The melody was from his wife and children who were singing “There is a green hill far away”.The doctor knew the lyrics well and turned to his patients and said that if everyone believed in the truth of that hymn there would be less fear and anxiety. This song was first written as a children’s hymn for Holy Week and the preferred tune is by the English composer William Horsley (1774-1858) The text was published in ‘Hymns for Little Children’ (1848) and became famous in 1868 after it was published in the first edition of ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern’. Mrs Alexander was known to be a humble person who visited the poor and infirm and helped to develop a district nurses service. She died in 1895 aged 77 and is buried in Derry Cemetery. Her most popular hymns include “All things bright and beautiful”, “Once in Royal David’s City”, “Jesus calls us o’er the tumult” and The roseate hues of early dawn”.

DAILY OFFICE is said in St Thomas’s Church every Wednesday at 4.30pm and is led by local resident Tom Ashmore. The Daily Office is a “divine duty” consisting of four daily prayer rituals in the Book of Common Prayer and the two main services are Morning and Evening Prayer. Everyone is welcome to join this service which lasts about twenty minutes and prayers for both Winchelsea Church and the world are included. The apostle Paul’s decree for believers on life’s journey is to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Cindi Cogswell [email protected]