Dear friends,
The picture today is of our small flock with a one year old laying almost every day and three youngsters that haven’t started yet. They are a very happy bunch.
I wish you a very happy Easter.
God bless,
Dineke van den Bogerd
Post expires at 10:24am on Saturday April 18th, 2026
The post Notes for 20 April 2025 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Dear Friends,
The APCM last Sunday, following Cafe Church was attended by some 25 parishioners.
The electoral roll exercise closed at the end of last month. We have 91 members on the roll. Lists of names will be available for the next two weeks in both churches.
We said goodbye to Norman Ede as Church Warden after at least 10 years of service. He was presented with a small token of appreciation but with huge thanks. Stuart Cole is stepping into Norman’s shoes.The other church wardens remain in post.
Rev. Liz presented the APCM report and it’s various sections which you will find attached (the latest version which includes some sections missing from the report sent last week).
Our treasurer, Helen Burt, presented the acounts which you received last week. It was made clear that the church’ income through regular giving is not sufficient to maintain/pay for our ‘parish share’ which the Diocese demands from our PCC (some £81,000 annually). This is the reason why our income needs to be supplemented with fund raising activities such as the ‘Teas and Cakes’ at the Military Show and the BBQ at the Capel Show. Even this is unfortunately not enough and effectively causes a (small) deficit.
We should add here, that the accounts have been ‘subject to independent examination’ and not audited. The scope of an independent review which is all that is required for small charities is more limited than a full audit.
Lastly, all sides persons currently on the rota were confirmed by the meeting.
The APCM report can be found here APCM Reports 2025 V2. A signed version is kept by our vicar.
Blessings
The PCC
Post expires at 7:05pm on Wednesday April 15th, 2026
The post Capel and Ockley PCC APCM ’25 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Dear friends,
An additional attachment today for the APCM tomorrow. I hope you have time to go over it before the meeting.
The picture today is of the river Maas (Meuse) in the Netherlands and the flood plain on both sides. The stair-like structure in the foreground is to measure the water level in the river. This one has been restored recently and is no longer in use as it has been replaced by more modern ways of measuring the water level of the river, but 100 years ago these structures were very common along all rivers in the Netherlands. Flooding was (and still is!) an ever present danger in a land crisscrossed by so many large rivers.
God bless,
Dineke van den Bogerd
Post expires at 8:13pm on Sunday April 12th, 2026
The post Notes for Sunday 13 April 2025 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Dear Friends,
In advance of the APCM tomorrow, please find attached/linked the revant documents for the Church’ audited accounts for 2024
Financial Accounts 2024 FINAL (Accounts summary)
IER PCC Accounts 2024 (Independednt Examiner Declaration)
We hope to see many of you tomorrow at Cafe Church and then straight after, the APCM.
Blessings
The PCC
Post expires at 9:13am on Sunday April 12th, 2026
The post Capel and Ockley PCC Church accounts for 2024 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Dear friends,
This was the best my camara could do to capture the solar eclipse last week. Not very revealing but I still think it’s a nice picture.
We are going away for a few days so this is the preview and the actual notes will be posted separately as and when they arrive.
Have a lovely time in the sun!
God bless,
Dineke van den Bogerd
Post expires at 10:08am on Friday April 3rd, 2026
The post Notes for Sunday 6 April 2025 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Dear friends,
Earlier this week I needed to get on the garage roof to clean the solar panels of Sahara dust. When I climbed on the first thing I saw was this brick that we left out for some reason. Isn’t it amazing how these mosses have colonised it? I like old-fashioned clay bricks anyway but this is now truly a thing of beauty and it will stay where it is for a long time to come.
Tomorrow will be a full day of occasion with Rev Andrew Coe preaching for Mothering Sunday, the first teas of the season and sale of goods of fair trade, organic and animal friendly product. The stall will now also offer refills of cleaning products although for some of these you will need to make an appointment to see me as the containers are very unwieldy!
I hope to see many of you tomorrow.
God bless,
Dineke
Post expires at 9:48am on Sunday March 29th, 2026
The post Notes for Sunday 30 March 2025 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Post expires at 9:08pm on Thursday March 26th, 2026
The post Issue 91 April 2025 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
I am writing this on the first day of Spring following several days of beautiful warm sunshine.
What a treat! The early blossoms are burgeoning amidst the brightly coloured daffodils and primroses which adorn our beautiful countryside around here. How blessed we are! Only this last week someone posted a photo of a bluebell – the first one seen. We get so excited don’t we at these markers of Spring – the winter passed – and new life abounds. Reflecting on this reminded me of Easter Day which is only a few weeks away – the excitement and joy which followed the resurrection of Jesus. Of course before the joy came, Good Friday had to happen – akin to the darkness of winter – a dark day for humankind. However, on the third day, when Jesus’ beloved disciples came to visit his grave very early in the morning, there still wasn’t joy yet as fear and grief struck home once more as they discovered the stone had been moved from the grave entrance. It wasn’t until Mary heard Jesus call her name that she turned and knew it was Jesus risen. She thought she had been talking to the gardener – but no there he was. Jesus made many other appearances over the next 40 days until he ascended into heaven. Fear turned to joy. Imagine seeing the resurrected Jesus for the first time. Fear and shock turns to peace, joy understanding, and of course new life. What would we give I wonder to have that peace, joy and understanding as well as a real hope in the new life to come?
Well we have some lovely things in store for you to help with that at church. The week before Easter called Holy Week begins with our wonderful Cafe Church at The Crown garden where we will celebrate the triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The mood darkens though as the triumph changes to betrayal and on Good Friday we will be reflecting through readings, prayer and music the seven last words Jesus spoke from the cross. There are congregational hymns and some beautiful music sung by our combined choir of Capel and Newdigate churches. Please do join us for a very special time – about 1.5 hours – with the option to join us in some hot cross buns and a hot drink afterwards.
Our Capel Church teas have now returned following on from the success of our Lent Soup Lunches and they will be up and running Easter Day and Easter Monday in the afternoon as well as the May Bank Holiday weekend. All that is left for me to say is to wish you all a very happy Easter and may you enjoy some peace, joy and understanding as we celebrate our risen Lord Jesus and are assured of the love of God and the promise of new life to come.
With all my love and prayers
As ever
Revd.Liz Richardson
liz@hostmyserver.co.uk
Post expires at 9:28am on Tuesday March 24th, 2026
The post Peace, joy, understanding and new life appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Dear friends,
Nothing says ‘Spring’ to me like the appearance of these humble flowers in our woodlands. A good second is the pond in our garden filled with frogs and frogspawn.
Please note that on Mothering Sunday, 30 March, we have the first Teas in Church in St John, Capel starting at 15:00. Also next week we will have our LOAF stall. Details in the notes attached.
God bless,
Dineke van den Bogerd
Post expires at 10:41am on Sunday March 22nd, 2026
The post Notes for Sunday 23 March 2025 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Dear friends,
March is fickle as usual.
The sun is getting stronger but we still have rain, hail and night frost. Todays picture is of our solar PV panels covered in beautiful ice patterns earlier this week. Luckily that cover does not stop them from doing their work.
I hope you are all taking the opportunity to have a lovely lunch in St John in aid of charity. There are still two more to go: 27 March and 10 April. Lovely soup, bread and cheese and great company!
We are also looking forward to the first teas of the year on Mothering Sunday, 30 March. On that day we will also have our LOAF stall, not just during the teas in the afternoon but also after the joint morning service.
God bless,
Dineke van den Bogerd
Post expires at 5:07pm on Saturday March 14th, 2026
The post Notes for Sunday 16 March 2025 appeared first on The Parish of Capel and Ockley.
Notes-20250420.pdf