St Mary and St Gabriel

Sharing the love of God

Letter from Harriet, 5^th November 2021

Dear Friends, On Sunday this week we have our All Age Eucharist in Harting, starting at 10am.  It will be a celebratory service as we have a baptism within the service and we will also be saying thank you to Patricia Grigsby, our Lay Reader, who is retiring from her role after many years of loving service in this benefice.  After the Eucharist there will be a celebratory drink and nibbles in the Law Room so do please join us this week! On Sunday at 11.30am there will be a service of Mattins from the Book of Common Prayer at Didling, which Deacon Emma will be leading. Having celebrated the feast of All Saints last Sunday morning and commemorated the souls of the faithful departed in the afternoon, we turn our minds this week to the call of Jesus upon his disciples to go out and "fish for people"!  What does this mean, I wonder, for us in our daily lives? The image of a fishing net, so very pertinent to first century communities living by the water, is perhaps a little more distant to those of us who live in 21st Century rural West Sussex.  I like to think of the fishing net as a symbol of God's love which is cast out into the sea of the world so that all people may be drawn to God's mercy and safety.  As disciples, we are all called to be part of this work, to join in God's mission of love and grace which extends to all.  In our school assembly this week we were thinking about the Saints and we focused on five saints in particular, one of which was St Therese of Lisieux.  St Therese was well-known for her "little way", believing that we needn't do great and grand things for God but little, everyday things which speak of our love of God and our love of our neighbour.  She was very young when she died in 1897, only 24, but had a wisdom well beyond her years. Advent Windows As we look towards Advent, I am beginning to prepare a list of people who would like to create an Advent window for the Advent Window trail this year, beginning on 1st December.  Please do let me know if you would like to take part.  It involves decorating one window in your house, that can be seen from the road or pavement, to be lit up on an allotted night and then lit for the rest of Advent each night after dark. Advent Carol Service Do make a note in your diaries of the Candlelit Advent Carol Service to be held on Sunday 28th November at 4pm in Harting. Toys for Toddler Group Thank you so much to all who have donated toys for the toddler group. I am hoping to relaunch the group in the New Year.   Carol Singing  The Congregational Church and Harting Parish Church are teaming up to go carol singing around the village on Friday 17th December. We will meet and sing at the following locations: 7pm Warrenside 7.30pm The Square 8pm The Harting Club (where there will be refreshments) Please do join at any or all of the locations.  We will be taking a collection for the Salvation Army.   with every blessing Harriet

_______________________________________________________________ New Welcome Area and Children's Space in Harting You will notice in Harting that we have two revamped areas!  The first is the welcome area to the right as you enter.  Here there's "what's on" information displayed on the noticeboard, the votive candle stand for lighting candles and leaving a prayer request, and also the lending books which I have added to so that there is a good range of things to borrow, particularly on the subject of prayer. The new children's area is in the South Transept and there's a comfy space for little ones as well as a table and activities for older children.  There are lots of new books, from Old Testament I spy, to the Psalms adapted for children and the very popular Action Bible - the whole Bible written and drawn in graphic novel style.  I hope this area will be fun and comfortable and also allows children a really good view of what's going on at the front, so they can be included in all that we do. There are also worship bags for children who would like to sit in the pews containing mini wooden chalices, fun toys, mini clipboard and quiz etc. Do go and have a look and see what's there. School News This term Revd Harriet has been going into school to lead collective worship once a week outside in the playground.  Recently, that worship took the form of "walking the labyrinth" which was created in the Roundhouse.  Each class came and spent half an hour exploring this feature and walking it in groups. Labyrinths have only one path to follow but walking them slowly, with intention, can be a very calming experience.  Christians have used labyrinths as prayer walks for centuries and one of the most well known is the labyrinth in the floor at Chartres Cathedral in France.  Perhaps some of you will be familiar with the labyrinth at Boxgrone Priory near Chichester. In this last week of term we also held the Leavers Service in church where we said goodbye to all the year 6 children and blessed them for the next stage of their journey.  Our headteacher, Fiona Mullet also retired this week so we said goodbye to her in the afternoon of the last day of term, and she was presented with a gift and card from the church.  The whole school joined in the blessing that we gave for her and the other staff who were leaving.  In September we welcome our new headteacher, Mr Nick Tidey.

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Welcome to our website. Please browse the pages to learn about us. Should you require further Information, do not hesitate to contact us by letter, telephone, or email.

The Parish Church of St Mary & St Gabriel, in the West Sussex village of South Harting, is part of the United Benefice of Harting with Elsted and Treyford cum Didling (in the Diocese of Chichester).

For nearly 800 years, our Church has witnessed to the love of God. Over that period, people have gathered Sunday by Sunday for worship and to share in the Eucharist (Holy Communion). They have come here to be baptised, married, and finally to be buried. 

The Church building is widely recognised as one of the finest in England, and we are pleased to welcome many visitors, especially during the Summer months. South Harting is on a popular cycling route, and is very close to the glorious South Downs Way. Our Summer cream teas (Sundays 2.30pm to 4.30pm) attract villagers and travellers alike.

Of course, although our building is very important to us, the essence of our Church consists of the people who belong to it. We seek to follow Christ, and to share God's love with our local community. Aside from our Sunday services, we hold regular courses (especially during Lent and Advent) where people can learn more about the Christian Faith, and dare to ask questions. We like to think of ourselves as very open minded. Authentic Christian Faith is not about blind belief, but about growing in faith and love and service.

We enjoy an excellent relationship with the local Congregational Church. The Rector and the Congregational Ministers work closely together, and meet together most weeks to share news and to pray.

If you are able to visit us, or to join in any of our activities, you will be most welcome. 

Last updated - 26/11/2021

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We are delighted to welcome our new Rector, The Reverend Harriet Neale-Stevens. 

Harriet joined us on the 24th September when she was formally Inducted as Incumbunt of Harting with Elsted and Treyford cum Didling at a service led by the Bishop of Horsham. 

We extend to Harriet and her young family a huge welcome and hope they will be very happy here in their new home.

We have support from our Benefice Deacon Emma D'Aeth, together with Roger Williamson (Honorary Priest) and our Lay Reader Patricia Grigsby. The Deanery also supports our weddings and funerals.

Please refer any church matters to the Churchwardens, Hatti and Sarah – click here for the contact page. Information about services will be updated regularly. 

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding Policy Statement

As members of the PCCs of Harting and Elsted with Treyford cum Didling we are committed to the safeguarding, care and nurture of all our members.

We recognise that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

We are committed to implementing all safeguarding policies and practice guidance issued by the House of Bishops

We will carefully select and train all those who work or volunteer in positions of trust.  We will use the Disclosure and Barring Service, amongst other tools, to check the background of each person.

We will respond, without delay, to every concern made that a person for whom we are responsible may have been harmed. 

We will co-operate fully with statutory agencies during any investigation concerning a member of the church community.

We will seek to ensure that anyone for whom we have pastoral responsibility who has suffered abuse is offered support that meets their needs.

We will respond appropriately to those who have committed sexual offences who wish to join our fellowship, following House of Bishop's guidance and the advice of the Safeguarding Team.

We will review this policy annually and as part of this process will ensure that all our procedures, particularly in relation to the Disclosure and Barring Service, are up to date.

Our Safeguarding Representative is Jane Thwaites

Address: Pond Cottage, Elsted, West Sussex, GU29 0LA

Telephone: 07444299054 or 01730 82565

Email: jane.thwaites@btinternet.com