Gleanings from the Parish News

GLEANINGS FROM THE PARISH NEWS - DECEMBER 2024 AND JANUARY 2025

This page presents a selection of our latest news & other articles, updated at the beginning of each month. The articles are mainly taken from (or based on information from) our parish magazine, the Parish News,

For more details about the Parish News, including subscriptions, please click on “Groups and activities” in the navigation bar above.

Letter from the vicarage

Facilities improvements

for our churches

FAMILY SUPPORT WORK UPDATE

Dear Friends,

The end of the year is hurtling towards us, and our focus is on what we can do to support our families during what can be a very stressful few months. Many of our families are currently living in very unsuitable conditions so our practitioners are spending a lot of time liaising with the housing departments of the local council. We would love to see all of our families able to enjoy a safe and warm Christmas. Our usual Winter Fuel campaign has not been able to run this year because of the changes imposed by the new Government, but we have been blessed by many donations from individuals throughout the Diocese who want to help those in more difficult circumstances.

Our calendar is full with end of year treats including pantomime trips and visits from Santa, and our foodbank is overflowing with the incredibly generous donations we have received from all over Sussex. We are so grateful to everybody for their generosity in supporting us with donations of food, presents and volunteering time to make this a memorable time for our children. We received some lovely feedback recently from a parent who said:

“We had a fun-packed day and the staff go above and beyond to make it special for us”

Finally, we hope to see you at our carol service in Fletching on Thursday 12th December, where our new Chair of Trustees will be commissioned by the Bishop of Lewes.

With many thanks for your continued support and prayers.

October's work in numbers

- 262 individual visits and 1309 calls with families supporting 269 adults and 205 children

- 44 supported meetings with other agencies

- 58 group sessions held supporting 665 parents and 274 children

- 88 food deliveries made

Prayer points

- Give thanks for the very generous major gift we have recently received from an individual donor

- Pray for good health for all of our staff during the Christmas period when they are so busy with events as well as the usual family support activities

- Give thanks for all our supporters who have kept us in their thoughts and prayers throughout the year

Nikki Kerr, FSW Director of Fundraising and Marketing

[Family Support Work (FSW) is a charity that helps families in Sussex, working in partnership with the Church of England via the Diocese of Chichester. To donate to Family Support Work, please visit their website by clicking here – ed.]

ALPHA COURSE BEGINNING JANUARY 2025

As a Vicar I often hear throw away comments this time of year like, 'Christmas is really all about the kids.' 'It's a nice story, but no one believes it nowadays'. Well, this may be you, if it is, I would like to offer a new year challenge. How about coming along to our Alpha Supper Party on Friday January 10th at 7pm at the Vicarage in Wisborough Green. We will provide the meal, and it's an opportunity to watch a video entitled 'Is there more to life than this?' followed by a chance to ask those questions that you could never ask in your school R.E. lessons.

If you're interested in doing the Alpha course, we can try and fit around your busy schedule to a day and time that suits you. In the past we've run breakfast Alpha, lunchtime sessions and probably the most popular, evening Alpha preceded by a meal. So if you're up for a challenge, please let us know and book your place by contacting us at the Vicarage on 700339.

Clive

LINK TO HOPE SHOEBOX APPEAL 2024 – THANK YOU

A big thank you to all who have supported the Shoebox appeal again this year.

£205.00 was raised to buy toiletries, toys, gifts, hats, gloves, socks and scarves etc to go into the boxes and to contribute to the transport costs.

41 boxes were either donated complete or packed on the packing day – a fantastic total!

Thanks must also go to everyone who has been knitting throughout the year. This has made a wonderful contribution to our boxes. Some of the larger items such as lap blankets or thick sweaters have been sent separately. How lovely for the families to have homemade scarves, hats or mittens! These donations are very special indeed.

The boxes have now been delivered to the charity's main warehouse in Ferring. The boxes are packed into crates and delivered by lorry to Moldova, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria in December.

Every year each shoebox brings hope to poor families and tells them that someone far away cares about them. Many of these families live in very deprived villages without running water, heating or electricity. Some live in appalling conditions, often in just one or two rooms, and life for them is a real struggle to survive especially in the cold of winter.

If you would like more information about the work of Link to Hope, especially in Ukraine at this time you can visit their website at www.linktohope.co.uk and see a video of last year's excitement when the boxes were delivered.