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

Spring is finally here as we look forward to celebrating Easter this month. The gardens are really waking up now and its been wonderful to see the daffodils and other Spring flowers especially out in the villages. Easter Day took place in the garden as Mary meets the risen Lord Jesus thinking him to be a gardener. Rather wonderfully it was only when he called her name that she recognised Jesus and that somehow he was alright, that he was very much alive, even though he warned against touching his resurrection body…. This is the reason for the hope that Christians have, that although Jesus was put to death he rose on the third day as he predicted, breaking into a whole new life, an eternal life which he gives to us if we would but let him break into our lives. I often demonstrate this in my Easter Day talk by breaking a chocolate Easter egg! Before that though we continue to travel through the days of Lent and Holy Week.

We begin this month by holding our Annual Parochial Church Meeting – a chance to review and take account of the last financial year. Reports will be ready for you to collect inside our churches or to look at online. Please see information on our website www.capelandockleychurch.org.uk
The following week we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem with Palm Sunday. This year we have the traditional Palm Sunday service with a dramatised reading of the Passion from Luke’s gospel at St Margaret’s at Ockley. At Capel we welcome back Francis McFaul who will be leading Cafe Church along with Bob and the Band, showcasing some of his new songs which will evoke the highs and lows of Palm Sunday.

Holy Week moves on then to Maundy Thursday where the Surrey Weald Team of churches, that’s us plus Newdigate and the Holmwood, have a service of Holy Communion where we remember the events of the Last Supper and the arrest of Jesus. It is a moving service which we finish by taking off all the altar vestments in silence, keeping a watch and leaving in silence. The following day is Good Friday and there are two services to observe this significant day. The first is at Ockley with a service of reflection and silence using contemporary painted images of the Stations of the Cross. Called ‘One Friday’ it comes with an accompanying illustrated booklet and the paintings will be on display at St Margaret’s throughout Holy Week. The second service on Good Friday is at Capel which has the combined choirs of St John’s Capel and St Peter’s Newdigate singing Stainer’s famous choral work ‘The Crucifixion’. A combination of choral singing, some narration and congregational hymns we hope this service will be a fitting tribute to the events of Good Friday as well as the recent terrible events in Ukraine who are undergoing their own Good Friday at the moment. Finally Easter Sunday dawns and both churches will have special Easter celebration services along no doubt with Easter eggs! Church teas of course will be back in strength so do look at our list of services and events here in the magazine for more precise details of timings.
Wishing you all a very happy Easter
My love and prayers
Revd Liz

The situation in Ukraine

We and the national church continue to watch and pray for Ukraine and are here to offer help and support to any refugee families when they start to arrive in our country, especially if they are resettling near us. We are liaising with Capel Parish Council also, so that we as a community can seek to do the best for our Ukrainian friends.

Dear friends,

This email is coming to you a little earlier than normal as I wanted to make sure that everyone knew that there will be no working party at Capel Church this Saturday as we managed to do most of the clearing required in February when we met. Thank you again to everyone who came along and lent a hand. I’m sure there will be more days in the future, but for now we are waiting on a digger to remove some of the debris from the site before we do anything else.

As some of you may have heard my family has had Covid this week, along with many others in the village. We have been lucky enough to have it very mildly and everyone is recovering well. I spent today pruning roses in the lovely spring sunshine and admiring all the flowering bulbs. I look forward to being declared ’negative’ soon and joining the rest of you. Please do spare a prayer for those who have had it more badly than us, may they all recover soon.

This week we have the following services:

9.30am Matins Ockley
10.30am Family Communion Capel
This service will have Traidcraft items for sale afterwards so do come with cash!

It’s Mothering Sunday next weekend and Capel Church teas will be back, so please bring your families along to sample the delicious cakes 3-5pm.

You won’t be surprised to hear that no-one has come forward to fill the role of editor for the weekly sheets when I leave at the end of May. If it had even crossed your mind that you might be able to do it, please do get in touch – there really isn’t that much work and Rev Liz tells me that they can now print them off at the vicarage if you don’t have a printer available.

I have two lovely photos for you this week, the first from Brian Belton of his beautiful Rose ‘Peace’, the proceeds from the sale of which you may recall were being given to the Ukrainian Red Cross appeal. The second photo is from James Moore of a rather ingenious squirrel attempting to steal nuts from their bird feeder.

I wish you all a calm and peaceful weekend with sunshine and love

Debbie von Bergen
debbievonbergen@icloud.com
07774 784008

Dear Friends,

My goodness it’s been a busy week, Hugh and I accepted an extraordinary offer well above the asking price on our house on Monday from a cash buyer who would like to complete by the end of May, so it’s now all go to find our next home or at least a rental home until that is possible. We have been here 25 years so moving is definitely a scary place – any tips would be gratefully received!

All of this of course means that I will need to find a new editor for the weekly sheets. If you think you could help even doing them occasionally – perhaps sharing the job with one or two others, please do let me know. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but you do need access to a printer. I’m really keen to hear from you, especially anyone in Ockley who might feel able to do it as we could do with more items from your village.

This week we have the following services:
9.30am Holy Communion CW Ockley
10.30am Cafe Church Capel
Cafe church this month will be lead by David Grant – known as Baptist Dave to most of us, thank you Dave we look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Thank you to all of you who gave so generously to the appeal by Leigh for clothes etc for Ukraine – attached is a picture of the mountains of stuff that were collected and are now on their way to help the refugees. The Ukrainians are still at the forefront of all our prayers, here again is the lovely prayer sent out by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York which is also on our weekly sheets this week:

God of peace and justice,
we pray for the people of Ukraine today.
We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons.
We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow,
that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.
We pray for those with power over war or peace,
for wisdom, discernment and compassion
to guide their decisions.
Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear,
that you would hold and protect them.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Amen

I have mentioned before that the Vicarage fete is back this summer on 25 June by kind permission of Rev Liz and Doug it will again be held in their garden. We are looking for volunteers to help on the day, setting up the day before and for brainstorming ideas. Please let me know if you can help. The eagle eyed amongst you will note that this date is after we are likely to have left the village, but I will be back to help with this event!

Lastly, the photo of the week is a lovely picture of a robin taken by Mike Reeves recently.

With love and prayers

Debbie von Bergen
debbievonbergen@icloud.com
07774 784008

13-March-2022.pdf

weekly-sheet-22.03.13.pdf