April Xtra newsletter

Dear all
Welcome to our April newsletter! On behalf of All Saints may I begin by wishing you a very blessed Holy Week and a wonderful Easter when it arrives.
I have just got back from from a parish weekend away with 38 members of All Saints. It was an amazing experience at the wonderful Judd's Folly Hotel near Faversham. Our speaker was the Dean of Canterbury, the Very Rev Robert Willis.
It was a brilliant way for those who came to get to know each other better and we will no doubt plan further weekends away in future years. We also learned a great deal from Dean Robert and I shall try and translate some of what I learned in my Easter Day sermon.

From the sublime to the more mundane.....

A reminder that we are updating our data for our contacts and - because of new EU data laws coming into place in May - I would be grateful if you could email me to confirm you are happy for us to keep your data on our system. 

If possible can you email me with this wording: (you can cut and paste from here)

"I give my consent for All Saints Whitstable District Church Council to use my data for Xtra emails and church communications and I also give my consent for All Saints Whitstable DIstrict Church Council to store my contact data at both the Vicarage and All Saints church office"

Then please send it to me at tillotsons@gmail.com and please remember to put your name and address at the bottom of the email. This will enable us to legally keep your data on our records and you will continue to receive the monthly Xtra email when the new law comes into place in May. 

If we do not hear from you by the end of April you will not be part of our email database which sends the Xtra over to you each month and includes extra notices when they arrive. That is absolutely fine if that is a decision you have decided to make of course.

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SERVICES AT ALL SAINTS WHITSTABLE

There is a lot happening this Holy Week and Easter at All Saints and we look forward to seeing you at our services. 

Monday 26th March - Sacred Space in the church from 8pm to 9pm


Tuesday 27th March - Compline at 8pm in the church

Wednesday 28th March - Evening Prayer at 5pm

Maundy Thursday 10am - Healing Eucharist

Maundy Thursday 7.30pm Agape supper and optional foot washing followed by Stripping of the Altar. Please sign up at the back of church or email Simon at tillotsons@gmail.com if you wish to attend this special event. NB It is only a ceremonial light meal. You are advised to have your evening meal before attending this event


Good Friday 9.30am We assemble at St John's Swalecliffe for the Walk of Witness. We walk along the seafront to the Harbour which we aim to arrive at approximately 11am. You can meet us there if you prefer. We then finish the walk at St Alphege Whitstable at about 11.30am. There is a request for everyone to wear blue to enable the group to be seen as one group of people

Good Friday 12 noon to 3pm. Three Hours at the cross back at All Saints. Three hours of prayers and devotions and reflections. You are welcome to stay the whole three hours or if you prefer to arrive and depart at the top of each hour. 
12 noon to 1pm led by Denise Blaskett
1pm to 2pm led by Canon David Springthorpe
2pm to 3pm led by Rev Simon Tillotson

Holy Saturday 8pm Easter Vigil and Renewal of Baptism Promises at St Peter's Church Whitstable

Easter Sunday 6.15am Easter Sunrise service on the Promenade below the Marine Hotel followed by a church service .This is an event which is always great fun. Please remember to bring transport with you.

Easter Sunday 8am Holy Communion Book of Common Prayer
10am Sung Holy Communion and Easter Egg hunt for children - Celebrate the Risen Christ with a stirring act of worship!
6.30pm Solemn Evensong and Benediction at St Peter's

CLICK ON POSTER TO SEE IN LARGE SCREEN SIZE

ALPHA COURSE

Quite a number of people from our current congregation came to a deeper faith through attending Alpha and I am intending to run another course after Easter. 

To find out about Alpha please visit

www.alpha.org.uk 

In my experience it is one of the best ways of growing in the Christian faith and of finding a deeper faith for the first time too. I therefore strongly recommend attendance. We will watch a video and then discuss the matter afterwards. It will take place on Tuesday evenings at the Vicarage from 7.30pm.

CLICK ON POSTER PLEASE TO READ TEXT IN FULL SCREEN FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ALPHA

Please let me know if you would like to attend my emailing me, Rev Simon Tillotson, at tillotsons@gmail.com or calling 01227 272308.

This Alpha course will not have a meal - just tea and coffee at the beginning of each evening. 

UPDATE ON TEAM NEWS - Search for Team Rector and now Team Vicar too!

St Alphege Seasalter Church Council made good progress in its prayerful discussions at their meeting about the appointment of their next Minister.  After prayerful consideration, and with the full support of Bishop Trevor and Archdeacon Jo, it was agreed that the diocese will be advertising for a Team Vicar, rather than Team Rector, making it possible for curates who complete their curacies this summer to apply.  This, of course, does not mean that a priest who is already an incumbent might not apply in response to the new advert as well.

 With the support of Bishop Trevor, Archdeacon Jo will be taking up the conversation with the Team Clergy about who should be the next Team Rector for Whitstable. More of that later.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES MINISTER AT ALL SAINTS (18 hours a week)

I am pleased to announce we have been able to appoint a Children and Families' Minister and as soon as the necessary processes are complete we should be able to announce who they are. They are hoping to start work as soon as possible, probably in April.


OUR FAMILY COMMUNION SERVICE IN APRIL will be on Sunday 8th April at 10am, led by Rev Keith McNicol. We hope to see you there.

Then on Sunday 15th April our President and Preacher will be our Bishop, the Rt Rev Trevor Willmott. This is again at 10am. It would be great to have a good congregation at this service so if you can attend that would be appreciated a great deal.

The Rt Rev Trevor Willmott, Bishop of Dover

CONFIRMATION

The Whitstable Team Confirmation service this year will take place on Saturday 12^th May at 6pm at Seasalter Christian Centre. It is time therefore to ask the question – is there anyone who would like to be confirmed this year?

There is also an option to “Renew your Baptism Promises” at the Confirmation service if you have already been Confirmed but it was some time ago and you would like to renew your commitment to God. 

Being confirmed means that you agree to take upon yourself the promises of baptism that were made for you when you were a child, or recommitting to God in a new way if you said your baptism promises yourself as an older child or adult.

In order to take on these promises for yourself, and thereby make a public profession of your Christian faith, it is important that all Confirmation candidates attend a number of meetings . 

I realise we are only one and a half months from the service but I am still willing to meet with anyone who would like to to discuss their being confirmed. A number of meetings will need to happen before the actual confirmation. Three adults have already attended confirmation classes from All Saints and St Peter's and will be being confirmed in May.

In order to work out when these meetings can be I need to hear from candidates as soon as possible. If your child is interested, they should be in Year 6 or above this academic year. We will sort out meetings to suit you. Historically these have normally taken place after school has finished on a weekday, though I can also do weekends if weekdays are impossible.

For adults, I already have two confirmation candidates who will be meeting me on some Monday afternoons when I am available at 12.30pm to 1.30pm. If you would like to join that group that would be great.   

If you would prefer an evening group please also let me know. You could attend our Lent course as part of your preparation which is on Tuesday evenings as well as a number of other options to help you prepare for Confirmation.

Receiving bread and wine, the body and blood of Jesus, is one of the greatest privileges and it is important those who are confirmed are prepared sufficiently so that they can fully understand what this sacrament means. Give me a call on 01227 272308 or email me at tillotsons@gmail.com.

A number of groups run within the life of the church





SINGING FOR FUN AND HEALTH

This takes place on the third Wednesday of each month at 2.30pm to 4pm at All Saints Church hall. This is great fun - a chance to singalong to a mixture of all sorts of songs in a relaxed setting in the hall with tea, coffee and cake.


CAMEO

A group that meets every Monday in the Church hall from 2pm to 3.30pm, apart from Bank Holidays. Cameo stands for Come And Meet Each Other. It is a friendly group where you can come and chat and make new friends.







FILM CLUB

The Film club meets on Thursdays from 11.15am to about 1.30pm nearly every week. It runs a mixture of films. Membership is £10 till the end of 2018 but we also ask for a contribution of £1 per person per week towards refreshments and heating costs.
The programme for the film club can be found by clicking HERE Send me an email for any of these groups and I will forward it to the group organiser. 
tillotsons@gmail.com
Alternatively please feel welcome to call me on 01227 272308

MIDWEEK COMMUNION
Please consider coming to a mid week Communion service where we pray for people and are strengthened for our spiritual journey.
Thursdays at 10am every week at All Saints Church.

 HOLYBALLOO

Holyballoo is the name of our after school club for parents/guardians and children of any age. It takes place in the church hall. We have recently purchased some new games for the children and we have some exciting craft. There is usually a short Christian video and short message as part of the afternoon. The parents and guardians enjoy catching up with each other over a cup of tea or coffee.
Sorry - no unaccompanied children.

There is no charge for Holyballoo. It takes place on Thursdays in term time from 3.15pm to 4.15pm at All Saints church hall.
Just come along. It starts again on Thursday 19th April. 


SACRED SPACE

The dates for Sacred Space have now been organised. Please click on the poster to see if in large format on your computer screen.

From Rev Keith McNicol

A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

13 to 22 November 2018

With the Rev’d Keith McNicol

Keith is leading a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land again in November.  This will be a time of discovery, prayer and reflection, and if you have been to the Holy Land before, a time of consolidation.

We stay in a Jewish hotel at Tiberias on Lake Galilee for 4 nights, then drive through the West Bank to a Palestinian hotel just outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem for 5 nights, returning home during the evening of November 22.

Part one of our Pilgrimage will be to go to places Jesus went during his lakeside ministry including Galilee, Capernaum, Tabgha and Nazareth.

When in Jerusalem, we will explore Jerusalem Old City and see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Mount of Olives, Bethany and other key places in Our Lord’s ministry.

The cost is £1915 which covers everything including travel, hotels and food.  You will however, need some pocket money for incidentals.

If you would like to know more, please contact Keith.  His email is: keithmcnicol2@gmail.com


HUGE THANKS to Phillip Williams for his 35 years as Groundsperson and Gardener at All saints Whitstable. Phillip has served the church admirably over the years and we are very grateful to him and wish him a blessed retirement, though he will still act as our Churchyard sexton for burials. 
We appointed Jason Tongue recently to be Phillip's successor. We wish Jason all the best as he takes on this important role.

Jason Tongue, our new Groundsperson at All Saints

NOTICES FROM OTHER ORGANISATIONS AND CHURCHES

FROM STONES AND SNAKES TO

BREAD AND FISHES

   

  A gathering to explore roads to inclusion of Lesbian,

Gay and Trans people in Church.

21^st April 2018  St Stephen’s Canterbury CT2 7AB

       12.30   Lunch                             14.00 Stories and discussion

       16.00    Open Table Eucharist   16.30 Tea and farewells.

  

       All welcome:   no charge but contact petertoon@aol.com                               to book for catering purposes.

To Friends’  members and volunteers

Extra help needed!
 

Could you spare an hour or two to help at the next Charity Car Park?

This is on Friday April 6^th at the Whitstable  County Junior School in the High Street and there are a few empty gaps on the rota that we need to fill – and you would be helping us to raise funds for the Friends.
 

Please get in touch if you would like to help.

Messages can be left on the Friends’ answerphone at the Hospital

tel: 01227 594636 or e-mail: anthonyahern@btopenworld.com

A Talking Newspaper for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Registered Charity 1030674

The WHITSTABLE ECHO is a talking newspaper with local news and information for the blind and visually impaired which is delivered each Saturday to its listeners.

We supply the simple equipment needed and new listeners are given help with its use. All aspects of the service are free of charge.

If you know of anyone who may be eligible, and who would like to receive the Whitstable Echo, please contact Brian Palmer on 01227 262685.

If you would like to know more about joining the team that produces the Whitstable Echo, please contact Sue Vargyas at: susanvargyas@hotmail.com