St Mary and St Gabriel

Sharing the love of God

Notices:   

Incumbent of Harting with Elsted and Treyford cum Didling 

We are delighted to announce the appointment of The Reverend Harriet Neale-Stevens to the post of Rector in our Benefice. 

Harriet will hopefully be joining us in September with her young family when she moves into The Rectory. We very much look forward to welcoming them all. 

Please refer any church matters to the Churchwardens, Hatti and Sarah – click here for the contact

On Sunday 5th July public worship returned to Chichester Cathedral. We were delighted to welcome back our community for a revised schedule of services.

From Monday 13th July you will no longer have to reserve you seat for services taking place Monday - Saturday. We will still however continue to collect your details upon arrival in order to support the NHS Track and Trace system.

We ask you to reserve your space for Sunday services, however a number of seats will be put aside for those unable to book online.

The Cathedral remains open for individual private prayer every day, between 12.00 - 4.00pm. We encourage you to plan your visit in advance and have provided some guidance available on our website

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Public worship will return to Chichester Cathedral from this Sunday (5th July). We have made a number of changes to ensure that you can join our services safely.

When visiting, please follow the Government’s guidance, which includes practicing social distancing, and remember that if you or a member of your household are unwell, stay at home.

Our first week of services are as follows:

• Sundays: The Book of Common Prayer Service at 8.00am, The Eucharist at 9.30am and 11.00am and Said Evening Prayer at 3.30pm
• Weekdays: Morning Prayer at 8.00am, Mattins at 8.45am and Evening Prayer at 5.00pm

 Reserve your seat

In order to support the NHS Track and Trace system, we encourage everyone to use our online booking system. Online ticketing has been generously supported by the Friends of Chichester Cathedral.

For those unable to use the booking system, places have been allocated for those arriving without advance reservation. You will be asked for your name and phone number on arrival for recording purposes.

Visit the booking system to reserve your seat.

Changes to your usual visit

 A number of changes have been made to our services: Communion will be brought to worshippers by the presiding clergy and prayer books will not be provided.

Upon arrival, worshippers are asked to queue at the Cathedral’s West Door, using the floor stickers to adhere to social distance recommendations.

This route will be continually monitored to ensure everyone’s safety.

Visit the Cathedral's website for full information and further guidance on visiting for public worship.

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Reopening of church buildings for public worship Following the Government announcement that church buildings will be able to reopen for public worship from 4th July, providing physical distancing remains in place, the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, who leads the Church of England’s Recovery Group, said: “I welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement today that we will soon be able to begin to meet and worship together in our church buildings again. The last three months have been an extraordinary time - the first period without public worship and the sacraments in England in more than 800 years. There will be real joy as we begin to come together again – if even at a physical distance – but I also know that many will be understandably cautious at this news. “We will not be returning to normality overnight - this is the next step on a journey. We’ve been planning carefully, making detailed advice available for parishes to enable them to prepare to hold services when it is safe and practical to do so. It is important to say that the change in Government guidance is permissive, not prescriptive. "I would particularly like to thank clergy and lay leaders for all they have done during the time our buildings have been closed. Not all church buildings will be ready to hold regular services from July 4th, but we are providing whatever support we can to enable them.  “There will still be restrictions and we must all still do everything we can to limit the spread of the virus to protect each other, especially the most vulnerable. The online services and dial-in worship offerings we have become used to will continue. “This has been an incredibly difficult time for the whole country, especially for those who have been ill, who have suffered financial hardship, the loss of livelihoods and indeed, for many, those they love. We know that is not over and the Church has a task ahead to bring consolation and hope. “Churches and cathedrals have risen to the recent challenges, finding new ways of meeting for worship, of serving our neighbours, and of reaching new people with the love of God. The challenge before us now is to take the next steps carefully and safely, without forgetting all that we’ve discovered about God and ourselves on the way.” Guidance for parishes Detailed advice for parishes and cathedrals is available on the Church of England website. It will be updated, as necessary, in the coming days to reflect the detail of the Government guidance once published. Weddings will be able to resume, along with other services. Updated advice for couples will be published on our website this week. The Church of England Recovery Group will also issue advice on subjects including singing and music for which a review by Public Health England is currently in progress. More information The Church of England's current advice relating to COVID-19

Churches open for private prayer Anglican Churches across Sussex began to open their doors for private prayer after the Government announced last week that churches could open for private prayer from Saturday 13 June. Aware that this move was likely at some point during the month of June, many parishes had already been making plans to open as soon as everything was in place. Signing, seating and safety measures were top of the list of priorities for parishes, many of whom, took to social media to announce their plans. Chichester Cathedral opened its doors on Monday 15th June and set aside St Clements chapel for private prayer. Also permitted was the lighting of candles. More information is available on the Cathedral website.    Ad clerum message from Bishop Martin The Bishop issued an Ad Clerum on the 10th June regarding church buildings being open for private prayer, with an added update from the Church of England. Read Ad Clerum here Further resources on signage and hygiene supplies will soon be available on our website Message from Bishop Martin to local MPs - 3rd June Bishop Martin has written an Open Letter to all Members of Parliament whose constituencies are in his Diocese asking them to "lobby for an urgent review of the continued closure of our church buildings to individuals who seek solace in such places." Bishop Martin said: "At a time when tensions run high, I believe that there is a deep thirst for access to churches and cathedrals as places of prayer for people of committed faith, or for anyone who is in search of space in which to find peace." Read the full letter here Archdeacon Luke sends words of encouragement to our schools Click here for video The Archdeacon of Chichester has recorded a message of enormous thanks and encouragement to the Church of England schools across the Diocese both to thank them for all they have been doing during the lockdown and as many of them prepare to welcome pupils back to school. Praying for the Diocese with Bishop Martin As a Diocese, we are marking the 'Thy Kingdom Come' campaign with a series of events from the 21st May through to the 31st May. On the eve of the Feast of the Ascension which falls this Thursday 21st May, the Bishop will explain, in a video message to the Diocese, why these ten important days can deepen our prayer life together especially in these challenging times. Each day from the 22nd May - 29th May  Bishop Martin invites you to join him in prayer. He will be offering a short daily Novena prayer for the diocese from his chapel in Chichester. An Ascension Day service is being led by the Dean, The Very Revd Stephen Waine and a Pentecost service will be led by Bishop Martin, both at 10am.  All services will be available to view from our website. There will also be a reminder on our social media platforms prior to the services commencing. Update: Retirement of The Cathedral's Precentor Canon Tim Schofield is to retire this June after 14 years as Residentiary Canon and Precentor at Chichester Cathedral. His retirement service and reception due to take place in June has been postponed until we are able to celebrate and mark the occasion together. Join The Precentor online on Sunday 7th June for his final service which will be streamed via the Cathedral website. If the Cathedral community wish to leave a message for Tim and his wife Julie, an E-Card is available to sign.

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New Bishops for Horsham and Lewes

10 Downing Street has announced the names of the new bishops of Horsham and Lewes to serve as suffragan bishops in the Diocese of Chichester.

The Revd Ruth Bushyager, currently Vicar of St Paul’s, Dorking in the Diocese of Guildford will serve as Bishop of Horsham.

The Revd William Hazlewood, currently Vicar of the United Benefice of Dartmouth and Dittisham in the Diocese of Exeter will be the next Bishop of Lewes.

Click here for the full article

BELL RINGERS NEEDED - practices paused for now.

For several years we have been very lucky to have a successful band of ringers in the Harting Parish Church. However, with ringers moving on and others off to University sadly, our numbers have fallen. We urgently need to recruit or find new ringers.

If you would like to 'have a go' please come to our Tuesday evening practice at 7.30pm. Do come and have a look around the bells in the belfry and see our bells 'in situ' and watch the ringers in action.

Contact - Patricia James (Secretary ) on 01730 882669 or email