Winchelsea

Burns Night: The Burns Night Supper and Ceilidh takes place tomorrow Saturday from 7 till 11pm in the New Hall. If you would like tickets they can be purchased online via Eventbrite and the cost is £20 adults and £10 children. Robert Burns the Bard of Ayrshire was born on January 25th 1759 and this is an opportunity to celebrate the occasion in good Scottish style. The evening will include traditional haggis, neeps and tatties, poetry readings, bagpipes and Sottish dancing to the live ceilidh group the Black Cat Band with caller. Families are welcome and the event is in aid of the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre Appeal. Burns was a farmer and two of his poems reflect his concern for the damage made by his plough on the smallest of creatures which he compares to the destiny of humankind. ‘To a Mountain Daisy’ which was crushed beneath the plough he wrote:

‘Wee, modest crimson-tippèd flow’r,

Thou’s met me in an evil hour;

For I maun crush amang the stoure

Thy slender stem:

To spare thee now is past my pow’r,

Thou bonie gem.

And ‘To a Mouse on turning her up in her nest with the plough’:

That wee bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble,

Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!

Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,

But house or hald,

To thole the winter’s sleety dribble,

An’ cranreuch cauld! (hoar frost cold)

Electoral Roll: For local residents who would like to be included on the Church Electoral Roll you will need to fill in a form which the electoral officer James Payne will be circulating very soon. Completing this form will enable you to vote for the PCC (Parochial Church Council) and attend the APCM (Annual Parochial Church Meeting) which will be on Saturday March 23rd 2019. The regulations concerning eligibility to serve as a Church Warden, PCC Member or Deanery Synod member have changed in the last twelve months due to the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 and new versions of the Nominations forms are available on the Parish Resources website.

Open the Book: is a project organised by the Bible Society which provides primary school children with the opportunity to hear the main stories of the Bible and increase knowledge of scripture from a team of Christian volunteers from local churches. For Winchelsea this would involve attending St Thomas’ Primary School for a maximum of six times a year to present assemblies and might require some rehearsal and dressing up but nothing too heavy. If you are interested in taking part, you will need to contact the Rector Jonathan Meyer.

Day of Prayer: With temperatures averaging a burning 40 degrees in Australia and Austria at -6 battling under 3 metres of snow, the weather here is not so bad. Some frost and sleet so far but that’s to be expected for January. By the time we leave the EU on March 29th we should be over the worst of the weather. In the meantime, a Day of Prayer, taking into account the scripture: ‘‘If my people will humble themselves and pray …I will heal their land” 2 Chronicles 7:14, has been arranged by prominent evangelists for Saturday January 26th. This will be held at the SSE Arena in Wembley from 10am to 6pm. Although not everybody is able to make the journey to London, instead prayers for the nation can be held individually or in groups nearer home and all are invited to take part to great effect.

Winchelsea Beach

St Richard’s: There will be a Holy Communion service at St Richard’s Church this Sunday January 27th the fourth Sunday after Epiphany. Friends and visitors are always welcome to attend and the service will take place at 9.30am with the Rector followed by light refreshments. The Sunday Eucharist service at St Thomas’ Church will be at the usual time of 11am.