Mission Planning ‘Away Day’
Many thanks to members of the congregation and local residents who joined us yesterday. The plans for the developed church were projected onto a screen and talked through in detail and artist’s impressions of the proposed extension and the interior of the church were revealed (copies are on the wall in the porch). This was an open opportunity for people to ask questions, raise concerns or offer positive feedback. The rest of the day was spent exploring ways in which we might inhabit the newly created space, and it was good that many people contributed imaginative ideas and are willing to get involved. We will be looking for volunteers to help run events in the church and to maintain the churchyard. Thank you to Heather for facilitating and to Dawn for organizing the catering. A happy day!

Knit & Natter is resuming!
The group is reconvening on Wednesday 6th October at 1900 in church. New members always welcome. We knit and we natter. Just come along! Sue Leaney

Jazz Night
Come along to a jazz concert in church on Saturday 16th October at 1930. ‘Work in Progress’ Swing sextet (including our very own Mark Danieletto) play and sing Big Band classics. Tickets £7.50 (inc. refreshments) from Dawn (07808 170 117), Heather (07932 958 116), or Ewart (07584 496 190)… and on the door.

Quiz Night
Quiz Night in the village hall (with fish and chips!) on Saturday 23rd October. Please sign up on the notice in the church porch or be in touch with Elaine Eardley to book a place: 01273 302 255. Tickets (including food) are £10. Liquid refreshments will be available, as will raffle tickets.

Preparing for Christmas – The Gospel of John Study Course
I shall be running a 6-week study course on the Gospel of John as preparation for Advent and Christmas. Saturday mornings at 1100 on 13th, 20th, 27th November and 4th, 11th 18th December. Please let me know by e-mail or a written note if you are interested. Fr Anthony

Church Services – a change
Now that the majority of people who have returned to church are attending the 1000 Eucharist on Sundays, and given the very low attendance at the 1130 service last week as a result of that, today will see the last celebration of the Eucharist at 1130. From Sunday 3rd October there will be one service, the Parish Eucharist, at 1000. The Thursday morning service will continue. Although we will not be reintroducing the 0800 Holy Communion on Sundays, we will begin to experiment with the idea of the occasional Choral Evensong on Sundays, reintroduce the Healing Service, and explore other alternative non-Eucharistic services.

Confirmation Service at St Margaret’s
The Bishop of Lewes, The Right Reverend Will Hazlewood, will be with us at 1800 on Sunday 21st November this year for a service of Baptism and Confirmation. We have two (possibly three) candidates for this. If you – or anyone you know – might be interested in being prepared for Baptism and/or Confirmation please let me know. Fr Anthony

The Smugglers Play!
‘Touched Theatre’ will present ‘The Smugglers Play’, a free family puppet show, on Sunday 3rd October at 1400/1500/1600 in St Margaret’s Church marquee. The event is being sponsored by Rottingdean Heritage. Do come – it’ll be fun!

Rottingdean in Bloom Silver Award for the churchyard
Below are some comments from the judges’ report. Many thanks to our gardener, Paul Wright, for all his efforts. We’d like some volunteer help too!

‘This very extensive and historic churchyard is made up of a number of separate areas divided by old flint walls and is clearly an attractive haven for wildlife. A very large part of the churchyard has been largely left to nature. Paul the gardener has up to one day a week allocated to managing the site and with no volunteers, this is clearly insufficient to maintain this very large area of land to a reasonable level.

Paul is keen to encourage wild flowers by leaving large areas uncultivated. This is to be encouraged but rather than leaving entirely to nature, wild flower areas need to be managed. There are many volunteer groups in Rottingdean and it would be worthwhile tapping into them via Rottingdean in Bloom.

The churchyard would benefit from some interpretation boards indicating what is going on and explaining the extensive flora and fauna to be found. Bird and bat boxes would be a useful addition. Overall an area with much scope which is an obvious wildlife haven but would benefit from a management plan and some volunteer input.’

Monthly Ecumenical Prayer Group on Zoom
Last Monday in each month at 2000 for 40 minutes free Zoom time. Everyone is welcome especially members of local churches and anyone is welcome to lead the Group if they want to – just let me know. It can include Ignatian Meditation, Lectio Divina, and any other ideas around prayer. If you would like to join us please email me for a zoom link at racy.stickland@gmail.com. Please feel free to join as and when you can, there is no commitment.
Tracy Stickland from Our Lady of Lourdes Church