Liz’s letter

I hope you had a happy Easter and enjoyed the fine weather. We certainly did at home as we have enjoyed some family celebrations and were able to eat outside. This was particularly helpful as a certain little puppy was born and has taken over our dining room! Our lovely dog Ruby had a planned pregnancy but quite unusually for a large dog conceived only one puppy. This led to some birthing issues and post natal care in the form of hand rearing for the first five days. Ruby has now taken over her pup and both are doing very well I am pleased to report. Puppy is staying in the family so we have an exciting journey ahead. It has though been a very steep learning curve and plans to breed certainly did not go exactly to plan, despite careful consideration and preparation. While writing this I am hoping that soon I too will be able to sleep through the night once more!!

As we consider the Easter story and the resurrection appearances that took place which we remember through this month’s ‘Sundays of Easter’, things certainly hadn’t gone as expected for Jesus’ friends as they thought he had been laid to rest in the tomb. The wonderful resurrection appearances on that first Easter Sunday and to others in the days and weeks that followed convinced his first disciples who were initially terrified on this wonderful but unexpected turn of events, that the Lord Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. The rest as they say is history but the gospels do stress that people received the news of Jesus’ resurrection in different ways. The disciples thought it was an ‘idle tale’ when the women discovered the empty tomb, until they themselves discovered the truth for themselves. Famously Thomas told the disciples that until he saw the marks in Jesus’ hands for himself he would not believe. Jesus then obliged! A mix of joy and terror accompanied these appearances until Jesus breathed his peace upon them and opened their minds and hearts so that they could understand what was going on.

I myself have been reading a newly published book by Sam Wells, a scholar and author who is the Vicar at St Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square. He also happens to be married to our own Bishop of Dorking, Jo Bailey Wells. I always enjoy his books as he writes so beautifully and profoundly on Christian theology. This latest one ‘Humbler Faith, Bigger God – Finding a Story to Live By’ is a book for seekers, doubters, questioners, and those who wonder what faith might mean in these days. I would like to read this book with any who might consider themselves in any of these categories; particularly the doubters!! Will you join me in an informal reading group discussing the arguments put forward by this book?! It seems to me that we need to be discussing the challenges that faith brings when all around us things are not as we would expect. Is the resurrection an idle tale or did it really happen? Yes its an age old conversation but will you join me when we feel so powerless in the West witnessing Russian aggression in Ukraine? By the way I hope you like the blue and yellow knitted flags adorning the yew tree in the churchyard?! Anyway, have a think and email me liz@hostmyserver.co.uk  or telephone 01306711260 if you would like to join my reading group. In the meantime may God’s peace be upon you all!

With all my prayers and blessings
Rev Liz

Dear Friends,

Happy Easter! What a wonderful time of the year this is, everything is bursting back into life, the days are getting longer, and I’ve seen lambs gambling in the fields. I do hope you are able to spend this weekend with your nearest and dearest, and have a chance to enjoy the wonderful scenery around us.

This week’s services are of course slightly different to normal which is why this email is coming to you a couple of days early. Please do check the times – you have been warned!

Good Friday 15 April
9.30am One Friday – tells the story of Jesus’ final day using Contemporary Ockley images of the Stations of the Cross
11.00am Stainer’s Crucifixion – the combined choirs of St Johns& St Peter’s Capel Newdigate sing this moving choral work with narration and congregational hymns.
4-5pm Church Teas Capel

Sunday 17 April – Easter Day
9.30am Easter Celebration CW Ockley
10.30am Easter Celebration CW Capel
3-5pm Church teas Capel

Easter Monday 18 April
3-5pm Church teas Capel

Do come and join us for one of our services and bring any visiting family – we love to see the children – there may even be some Easter eggs on Easter Sunday!

Photo of the week this week is a picture of Wood Anemones with the Bluebells just starting to poke through – such lovely gentle flowers. There are of course Wood Anemones in little clumps throughout our villages but I took this picture on Standon Lane where they are growing in profusion.

With love and prayers

Debbie von Bergen
debbievonbergen@icloud.com
07774 784008

Weekly-sheet-17.04.2022.pdf

weekly-sheet-22.04.17.pdf

Dear Friends,

I hope you’ve all had a good week, with the April sunshine and showers that we are having at the moment. We have spent a couple of days this week viewing houses in Somerset and Dorset. It’s meant a lot of driving, but it has been great fun visiting little villages and seeing spring unfold around us.

There are three events coming up in the next few months that we need your help with. They are:

Thursday 5 May – Capel village lunch at The Crown. May is the churches turn to help host this lunch. We need to supply about 8 puddings and then serve them on the day. If you can help either making a pudding or serving them there is a sheet at the back of Capel church for you to sign.

Saturday 25 June – The Vicarage Fete. We are looking for volunteers to help on the day and set up the day before – please sign the list at the back of our churches. We would also like donations for our raffle hampers (these should be wine, food, garden stuff or lovely pampering things) – you were so kind to donate such wonderful things for the Christmas Fair we are doing a more pared back version for the fete – just 3-4 large hampers.

The Weekend of 1/2/3 July – Capel Military Fair The church and WI together are going to run the coffee and cakes stall. We’re looking for volunteers to help man the stalls over the weekend (in 3 hour shifts) and bake cakes beforehand – again there are lists at the back of our churches. Please do help if you can, this is a real opportunity to raise some much needed money for our churches.

This weekend’s services are:
9.30am Family Communion Ockley
10.30am Cafe Church St John’s Capel
Sadly Francis McFaul can’t be with us for Cafe church this week, please do include him in your prayers. Bob and the band have stepped in, so please do come and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.

With Holy Week starting on Monday there are extra services next week:
14 April Maundy Thursday
7pm Holy communion Capel

15 April Good Friday
9.30am One Friday Ockley
This service will tell the story of Jesus’ final day using contemporary images of the stations of the cross. The images will be on display throughout Holy Week along with a booklet that accompanies them.
10.30am Staner’s Crucifixion Capel
The combined choirs of St John’s and St Peter’s Newdigate will sing this moving choral work with narration and congregational hymns.

Lastly, our photo of the week is a beautiful picture of Cercis Canadensis taken by Mike Reeves on a visit to Wisley – also known as the Judas tree as it was reputedly the tree Judas Iscariot hanged himself from, it seems very fitting for it to be this week’s picture.

With love and prayers

Debbie von Bergen
debbievonbergen@icloud.com
07774 784008

Weekly-sheet-10.04.2022.pdf

weekly-sheet-22.04.10.pdf

Dear Friends,

So, the weather lulled us into a false sense of security and then wham! We were back to freezing cold winds and even a smattering of snow – no wonder we talk about the weather so much in the UK! Still, the spring flowers look beautiful and most of them are robust enough to cope with freezing temperatures for a few days.

Now that my family are fully recovered from Covid we have been out and about again. There is something about 10 days enforced isolation that makes you appreciate the daily social contact with people, even if it’s just stopping to say a quick hello whilst nipping to the shops or walking the dog. So, I now have a better appreciation of what all of you who are unable to go out, or who are still trying to self isolate as much as possible must be feeling. If there is anything we can do to make your time at home more bearable, please do let us know.

This week we have the following services and events:
9.30am Matins Ockley
10.30am Family communion Capel
Followed by 11.30 APCM, the documents for this important meeting will be sent out by separate email.
3-5pm Church teas Ockley

Sadly Francis McFaul will no longer be able to join us for Palm Sunday next week at Capel, he is in hospital and has asked for our prayers, so please do remember him and his wife Jacqui, as he battles yet another health problem.

Rev Liz had notification this week that the Parish Breakfasts will start again on April 9. The first gathering will be at Okewood Village Hall from 8.30am. These wonderful breakfasts are organised by Kindred Spirits who run the Pavilion Cafe at Ockley. There is always a delicious breakfast and an interesting speaker. This time this is going to be a spokesperson from the charity Compassion which many of us in the parish support. If you would like to go please book beforehand either by phoning 01306 627386 or emailing eofgparish@gmail.com <mailto:eofgparish@gmail.com> . I hope to see you there.

Photo of the week this week is a picture from my garden – the lovely cherry trees on our front lawn doing their thing – fleeting but so beautiful.

With love and prayers

Debbie von Bergen
debbievonbergen@icloud.com
07774 784008

Weekly-sheet-03.04.2022.pdf

weekly-sheet-22.04.03.pdf

Wishing all our readers a very Happy Easter!

I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.’/

John 16:28

publication.pdf

Dear friends,

What a glorious week of spring weather we have had. Such a joy after all the grey. Having been isolating with Covid (but not feeling ill) I have spent the week gardening and enjoying our garden, everything is such a delight at this time of year, and every day brings new surprises. I do hope you have all managed to have sometime outside this week.

Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday and both churches have been busy making lots of posies to be given out at church and Capel church teas. If you are coming to services tomorrow, do remember that the clocks change tonight. So what would have been 9.30 will now be 10.30!

Our services for tomorrow are as follows:
9.30am All Age Service Ockley
10.30am Family Communion Capel
The collections from both these services will go towards the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The PCC has taken the decision that our Easter Services will also go towards this appeal and one of our May services too. We all continue to pray for the Ukraine and I attach the prayer that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York issued some weeks ago.

Tomorrow afternoon sees the first of our church teas of the season at Capel (Ockley’s turn next week) 3-5pm. We do hope you will come and bring your families.

Later next week we have the joy of a lovely concert at Capel Church by the Leith Hill Timeline Choir led by Claire Robins entitled ‘Waters Run Deep’. This concert will be on Friday evening 7.30pm tickets £8. I attach a flier for you to have a look at.

Next Saturday sees the AGM of the Friends of Capel Church. This will be held in the church at 12.30pm and will last about 30 minutes.

Finally, this weeks photo has been kindly sent in by Mike Reeves and shows a beautiful daffodil cross which he and Jane discovered at St Oswalds church in Cumbria – something for us to think about maybe?

With love and prayers

Debbie von Bergen
debbievonbergen@icloud.com
07774 784008

prayers-for-ukraine.docx

27-March-2022.pdf

weekly-sheet-22.03.27.pdf