MONTHLY UPDATE FROM SIMON

August 2026

Dear Friends

Sussex is a county that was once full of religious communities. I have fond memories of staying with some of them over the years: the Roman Catholic sisters at Sayers Common; the Sisters of the Holy Cross at Lindfield; the Sisters of the Love of God at Burwash; and the St Margaret’s Sisters at East Grinstead.

In their heyday their convents were places of beauty, peace and order, where many people like myself found spiritual solace. Now they have either been repurposed or demolished altogether.

The monastic life is sometimes described as the best kept secret in the Church of England. The hard truth is that it has now disappeared almost completely.

Does anyone care? Does anyone feel, as I do, deeply saddened to think of the monks and nuns whose life of disciplined prayer and service has now come to an end? Some communities have survived, but most of them are on the brink of extinction, with just three or four elderly members facing the agonising decision to leave their communal home and go their separate ways.

I remember that when Marriott House Care Home was built in Chichester about 20 years ago, some of its first residents were a handful of former nuns who tried to maintain some kind of daily spiritual pattern. One by one they died, still committed to a set of values that must have been incomprehensible to the other residents.

One of the great pioneers of the religious life was John Mason Neale, a Victorian priest who served as warden of Sackville College in East Grinstead. He did much to reinvigorate the Church of England at that time, not only founding the Convent of St Margaret, but also translating ancient hymns and restoring the use of candles, vestments and other things of beauty.

I can’t imagine the sadness that Neale would feel if he could witness the state of today’s Church, in which there seems to be such disregard for the beauty of holiness and the value of ordered worship. It would surely have broken his heart to see the near extinction of the religious life that he worked so hard to reestablish little more than 150 years ago.

But he was a positive and cheerful person (he wrote 'O happy band of pilgrims') who was seldom discouraged by the many challenges that he faced in his ministry.

On 7 August, the anniversary of his death, Neale will be gratefully commemorated, together with the generations of St Margaret’s sisters who faithfully nursed the sick, taught in their school, and maintained a rich pattern of daily worship.

With my prayers and best wishes,

Simon

Atom Heart Floyd

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday 12 September for a performance at the church by Atom Heart Floyd, the South Coast’s leading Pink Floyd tribute band. Tickets are available on our website. An evening not to be missed!

Well done to Harting School

Last month Harting School had its SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) inspection. It was immensely positive and recognised that the school is living up to its foundation as a Church school and is enabling pupils and adults to flourish. Among other things, it highlighted the close partnership between the church and the school and the value of worship and singing. Warm congratulations to Mr Tidey and his staff.

Dates this month

Our Quiet Garden Afternoon will be on Wednesday 19 August, starting at 2.00pm.

Our monthly discussion group will meet that evening in the Law Room at 6.00pm.

Tent Service

We look forward to joining our friends from the Congregational Church for this year’s Tent Service on Sunday 16 August at 10.00am. The speaker will be Anne Barford, from the animal charity 'Helping Hounds'.