Author Archive

We are delighted that our stonemason has been able to complete the west side of the churchyard wall in the past few months.  Many of you have contributed and raised money so that this project could at last begin and the result is outstanding.  I know that he has been much encouraged by many who have passed by and stopped and chatted and encouraged him in the work. Post expires at 10:57pm on Saturday March 21st, 2020

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Loving Father, help us to see this holy season of Lent as a time of spiritual renewal rather than a time of deprivation.  Motivate us to reach a new level of experiencing your Grace. Issue-25_March2019.pdf Post expires at 7:29am on Tuesday March 3rd, 2020

The post March 2019 Issue 25 The Beginning of Lent and Mothering Sunday appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.

March is here and I cannot believe it is now just over a year that our new united parish of Capel and Ockley has been in effect and that later this month we will be holding our first Annual Parochial Church Meeting together to review our first twelve months and set our sights to imagining the future. Just as nature around us is greening so too we are hoping that lots of new shoots and some young tender plants of church growth will begin to flourish and take root around our two communities. As I prepare to write my report for the APCM I can look back and reflect on all that we have achieved – the highs and lows, joys and challenges we have faced. Everyone has worked so hard to enable ministry to flourish in both villages and we are grateful for all the support both communities have given us. Each church has been able to hold a regular Sunday morning service three out of four Sundays in the month and then on the fourth Sunday we take turns to worship together at either Ockley or Capel. It has worked very well and for me it has been… Read More

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Dear all Well hello from ‘panto-land’ – three performances down and three to go. So far, so good; it seems everyone who has seen Ali Baba and the forty thieves has thoroughly enjoyed it and so too are we performers I think! I have really enjoyed how the Ockley Dramatic Society production encourages people of all ages and abilities to tread the boards and especially the children who really make the pantomime special by their acting and dancing. It has been great fun. As I write this letter I am looking forward to Candlemas next Sunday which brings to a close the season of Christmas and Epiphany. Epiphany means revelation and all the themes of our services in January are all about revelation from God about whom Jesus was and is. St Margaret’s decided to keep their Christmas tree and other festive decorations up for the whole of January in church at Ockley – something which maybe has not been done before. This is perfectly in order as many churches all over the world do the same as technically Christmas doesn’t end until the beginning of this month. I can hear some of you scream in horror at the thought!!… Read More

The post Looking back and looking forwards appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.

It is with a mixture of sadness and gratitude that I write to you this month. There is an overriding sadness at the loss of two of our most celebrated and loved parishioners – Tony Goddard and Canon Christopher (Chris) Drummond, who have both died within a month of one another. However, I was so touched at both services of Thanksgiving for their lives and the feeling of great joy that we all felt for having known them. Continued in the attachment Issue-24_February2019.pdf Post expires at 4:36pm on Sunday February 2nd, 2020

The post February 2019 Issue 24 ‘We love because he first loved us’ appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.

Dear all Happy New Year! I hope you had a good Christmas and are now raring to go into 2019?! Oh dear, January is a tough month isn’t it. The Spring seems a long way away but at least the nights are already drawing out which is amazing. Light is such a marvellous thing isn’t it – we long for it in the darkness of these winter days and in the darkness of some areas of life too. So light is my theme for this month’s letter because before Christmas I went on a family trip up to the West End in London to see the Christmas lights. This turned out to be very exciting as I haven’t been to see the lights in town for many, many years and I had forgotten just how magical they are. The trip included a visit to Hamley’s toy store in Regent Street, which was suitably manic, with Christmas elves singing Jingle bells outside the store and being bombarded by bubble machines as we entered the shop. Never mind we survived even that! There were Christmas lights everywhere – more than I ever remember – but perhaps that’s because of LED now? The… Read More

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Spend your time and energy in the exercise of keeping spiritually fit. 1 Timothy 4:7 Issue-23_January_2019.pdf

The post January 2019 – A Happy New Year to all our Readers and Sponsors appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.

Wishing all our readers a joyous and peaceful Christmas.  “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift”  2 Corinthians 9:15 Inspire-December-2018-Web.pdf

The post Issue 22 – December 2018 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.

Dear all On putting pen to paper so to speak, as I write, the weather has turned very cold! What a shock to the system after our beautiful autumn and the generally mild temperatures we have enjoyed. The central heating is definitely being turned up a bit! I wonder what this next month of December will bring? It is such a busy time of the year, although I think it’s busy in Capel and Ockley all year round with the amazing range of activities, events and groups that offer such a wide and varied programme. However, as we approach Christmas it always seems there is virtually no time in December before the 25th and so this month we I hope will enjoy the various Christmassy events on offer. The churches in Capel and Ockley will be hosting and supporting much of these so do study the December services and events list in this magazine to find the detail. Everything is also on our Capel and Ockley website too. If you haven’t visited it yet here is the address www.capelandockleychurch.org.uk So if your Christmas has to include donkeys, carols, Christmas trees, excited children, nativities, cribs, Father Christmas, mulled wine and mince… Read More

The post Strange preparations appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.

What a lot we have going on in our Parish this November. So many events to suit different tastes! Our inaugural Spanish Fiesta takes place next weekend on 3rd and 4th (see advert inside, although ticket sales have now closed). We have our annual Children’s Society Coffee morning on Saturday 10th and of course several important services including Remembrance Sunday and All Souls. This year’s Remembrance will be particularly poignant as we mark 100 years since the end of World War 1. November_2018_webversion.pdf

The post November 2018 Issue 21 – We Will Remember them appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.