Winchelsea Village Voice

CONSERVATION AGM in the New Hall at 4pm on Saturday May 10th. During the Annual General Meeting of Winchelsea Conservation Society a film will also be screened called “Six Inches of Soil” which is about three young farmers who, with their mentors and advisors, embarked on the first year of their journey to regenerate the soil of their farms. They are an eleventh-generation Lincolnshire arable farmer, a small-scale vegetable farmer in Cambridgeshire and a farmer of pasture-fed beef in Devon. Under the terms of conditions for showing the film, WCS cannot charge an entrance or viewing fee. However, refreshments will be served and any members attending are encouraged to bring along a non-member if they wish. The subscription charges for current or new members will be taken in cash of £5 per person.

CHURCH MEETING on Saturday morning. The Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Winchelsea Church will take place at 10.30am this Saturday May 10th in St Thomas's Church. In order to vote at the AGM members must have paid their subscription for 2025. Any member who is unable to attend may request a proxy voting form nominating the chairman or another member to vote on their behalf. Please note there will also be an Exceptional Parish Meeting at 12.15pm on Sunday May 18th in the church to elect a Churchwarden. To be elected for this post you need to be on the Electoral Roll for at least six months. The nomination forms are at the back of the church and after completion they should be forwarded by email to [email protected] by 5pm on Thursday May 15th.

UPCOMING MEETINGS for Icklesham Parish Council this month begin on Monday May 12th. This will be a Planning Meeting followed by the Annual Council Meeting at 6.15pm in the Memorial Hall, Icklesham. Next month on Monday June 9th there will be a Planning Meeting followed by Open Spaces Committee Meeting at 6.15pm in the Court Hall, Winchelsea.Residents are permitted to attend the meetings.

BARNARDO’S HISTORY is the topic at the Second Wednesday Society’s next talk on May 14th at 2.30pm in the New Hall. The speaker Paul Beard worked for the charity Barnardo’s and now supports it as a volunteer ambassador. He is passionate about the organisation and will bring a very personal insight into the workings of Barnardo’s today and its history. Do come along to the talk and meet friends and neighbours. Afterwards enjoy a homemade tea. As usual there will be a raffle and the cost for visitors to the talk is £5 and refreshments are £2 per person.

THE SEA is the theme at the Members’ Evening of the Literary Society on Friday May 16th at 7 for 7.30pm in the Court Hall. Members’ Evening is an annual event in the Society’s programme and it is an opportunity for members to share some time together by listening to each other’s choice of readings. As a community living close to the sea the scent of the brine and crash of the waves serve as an inspiration for the topic of the readings which is indeed “The Sea”.

WESLEY’S CHAPEL will be open on Saturday May 17th for a Coffee Morning from 10am till 12pm and all are invited. This will include a presentation by local history expert, David Lambourne, at around 11am. David’s history talk will be interactive, informative and fun and it is a chance to just come and relax and have a good chat. The 18th century Methodist Chapel is a centre of history in the town. It contains within its small area a large pulpit above the congregation where the itinerant preacher John Wesley gave the gospel to the people of Winchelsea.

RHS Chelsea exhibitor Trudie Easton will be speaking on “Nature’s Pharmacy” which concerns the medicinal properties of plants and she will use them to create three arrangements. The talk is arranged by the Garden Society and will take place on Saturday May 17th at 2.30pm in the New Hall and all are welcome. Admission is £5 including a raffle ticket and the floral arrangements will be awarded to three winning raffle ticket holders.

WINCHELSEA ARTS presents the Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra on Saturday May 17th at 7.30pm in St Thomas’s Church, Winchelsea. Tickets are £24 (free for under 18s) available online at Winchelsea-arts.org.uk and at the door. The orchestra conductor is Marcio da Silva, flute player is Pasha Mansurov and the music is by Holst, Barber, Clarke and Britten.

SHOWALTER AND HOFFMAN together produced the popular hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms’. Anthony J. Showalter was born on May 1st 1858 in Rockingham county, West Virginia (USA). He studied music in singing schools and private classes taught by his father. Later he learnt the organ and at the age of 14 began teaching singing schools and then normal music schools at 22. His first book ‘Harmony and Composition’ was published at the age of 23 and his second work ‘New Harmony and Composition’ was printed in 1895. Showalter also became the vice-president of the Music Teachers National Association and in 1895 went to Europe to study the methods of music teachers.The author of over 130 music books Showalter’s works include ‘Hymns of Glory’, ‘Highway to Heaven’ and ‘Revival Choir’. He married in 1881 and had seven children of which two became professional musicians.Amongst his publishing contributions Showalter also looked after his fruit farm which contained thousands of apple, plum, pecan and peach trees. Following his many worthy achievements Showalter died in 1924 aged 66 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The hymn ‘Leaning on the Everlasting Arms’ came to Showalter after receiving letters from two of his previous students who informed him that their wives had sadly died.In writing letters of support Showalter was motivated by Deuteronomy 33:27 which states “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms”. On completing the letters Showalter wrote down the words and music of the chorus which is related to the scripture. Afterwards he sent his new composition to his friend the gospel hymn-writer Elisha Hoffman who then wrote three more verses and the hymn was born. The song begins “What a fellowship, what a joy divine, Leaning on the everlasting arms; What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, Leaning on the everlasting arms”. An alternate version of the refrain is “Leaning on Jesus, leaning on Jesus, leaning on the everlasting arms”. The hymn concerns Jesus Christ whose name carries great Authority in this world and in the entire spiritual realm. Fellow hymn-writer Elisha Hoffman was born on May 7th 1839 in the American state of Pennsylvania. Unlike Showalter his musical education was limited and he did not attend a school of music. Instead his musical knowledge began in the home and he was considered a natural musician.Hoffman’s parent involved their children in family worship and they sang hymns together. Simultaneously the children were nurtured by hymns which they enjoyed singing and learnt to revere. Through this background Hoffman understood that God had bestowed upon him a musical ability to express his feelings and ideas in song and at the age of 18 he wrote his first composition. Hoffman used the power given to him by God to produce many musical compositions of both words and music. Once the tune was formed in Hoffman’s soul the most suitable words followed which was usually how he created his hymns. His well-known hymn “Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?” is a reference to Revelation 7:14 regarding the end of the age. The hymn provides comfort and strength: “These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”. Hoffman wrote over 2000 musical compositions which include “I must tell Jesus all of my trials” and “What a Wonderful Saviour”. During his lifetime Hoffman was a gospel preacher in Michigan and ministered to the poor in spirit, but it was through his songs that he reached out to many thousands across the world. In 1929 after a fruitful life he died in Chicago aged 90.

WINCHELSEA BEACH Community Association (Registered Charity) is holding a 60’s and 70’s Disco and the music is by “Sounds Around” with DJ presenter Jeff Loveday. The Disco will be held in the Community Hall on Saturday May 17th at 7.30pm and you will need to bring your own refreshments. Dress to impress if you can as there will be a 60’s and 70’s Fancy Dress Prize awarded for the best costume. The tickets are £5 available by phone on 07927 107678 or email [email protected]

Cindi Cogswell [email protected]