The 3B’s News Service

A lick of technology paint....

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:18:04 +0100

We have a brand new website. Sorry it has taken so long to get in up and running but there have been some trials and tribulations along the way. We feel that it is so much better then the old website. The new one has loads of new sections that never existed on the website which we are really pleased with.

Scanned for information

Thu, 17 May 2007 23:27:54 +0100

On Thursday 17th of May Timothy, Jacqui and Christopher travelled to Sanddown Park Race Course in Surrey for The National Christian Resources Exhibition.
It was the day of the accession service at Bramber castle so it was an early morning start for all of us. The tickets normally cost £9 per adult but we had been very fortunate to have been given some free tickets by a company that we had mad some enquires with recently.
We travelled down to Surrey, gasping at the gorgeous big houses that you see as you enter Surrey and made our way to the Race course. The National Resources exhibition - as you might expect, is a massive exhibition for companies, charities and orgnaisations that have anything to do with Christianity and Church. With such a wide scope there are literally hundreds of exhibitors - with stands including, church orgnaisations, charities, architects, mission groups, lighting and sound designers and engineers, youth orgnaisations, music companies too name but a few.
As soon as we walked through the huge doors a lovely lady took all of our details such as name, address and e-mail etc. She then printed out name badges for us and we were told to wear them whilst exhibition. This badges however are quite clever. They have a little barcode on them so that if I want information from a particular company organistation or charity they are able to “scan” my details and take my information. This is very clever and so useful because it saves having to write down your name, address, phone number and e-mail every time you want some information. You can just get yourself scanned - much like you would at Tescos. Sometimes companies are also inviting you to get scanned in order to be entered into a prize draw. I’ll sign up for anything if I might get a prize out of it - so I was being scanned left right and centre.
We were amazed by the size of it all and the variations between exhibitors. Not knowing were to start we decided to dive straight in to the main hall. Each of us had things were were interested in finding more information on. Timothy was looking for church leadership info as well as money managing, Jacqui was looking for information to help with Sunday club, youth activities and ideas for social events and Christopher was looking for information on Fund Raising, Church mission, stewardship, audio and visual, re ordering, advertising, web design and basically anything that meant you got a free pen or a sweetie.....

Article continues in The Summer Edition of the New Adur Herald.

Up at the crack of dawn...

Thu, 17 May 2007 13:29:47 +0100

This years Ascension Day Service was held outside, as per tradition, at Bramber Castle. There was a little bit of drizzle but it certainly didn’t dampen the spirits (no pun intended) of those attending.

Ascension Day takes place every year on the Thursday before Pentecost. The service is a said Eucharist.

A lovely breakfast was provided and once again and this was enjoyed on the terrace outside St Nicholas.

Rare service at St Botolph’s...

Sun, 6 May 2007 20:03:26 +0100

The Rogation Service was once again held outside in St Botolph’s Churchyard. It was extremely windy but everyone had a good time. It is always lovely doing anything outside at St Botolph’s, the area is so beautiful and peaceful.

History: A common feature of Rogation days in former times was the ceremony of 'beating the bounds', in which a procession of parishioners, led by the priest, churchwarden, and choirboys would proceed around the boundary of their parish and pray for its protection in the forthcoming year. Hymns would be sung, indeed a number of hymns are titled for their role, and many places in the English countryside bear names such as "Gospel Oak" testifying to their role in the beating of the bounds.. The name derives from the practice of lightly bumping the heads of younger parishioners on the ground, throwing them into bushes or a pond, or hitting them with willow switches, possibly to help them remember the location of each reference point.

Present: Not all of what you have just read above still happens but we still have a procession round the churchyard singing hymns and saying prayers

Funds grow at plant sale...

Sat, 5 May 2007 13:30:45 +0100

This year’s spring plant sale was once again a massive success. Held in the beautiful gardens of Old Barn, the plant sale is always a lovely morning. Hundreds of plants are sold and refreshments are enjoyed This year we raised a grand total of £850.

Many thanks go to all of the organisers and helpers, especially Elisabeth and John Bell for all their hard work.

An end creates a new beginning at Eden...

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:05:26 +0100

Members of the parish visited Derek’s, the Deanery Youth Missioner, last service at Eden. It was a super service which we really enjoyed. It was great to have the Bishop there as it was his last stop on his ‘Walking the Way’ mission.
It was sad to see Derek leaving after working so hard over the last three years. We were amazed to see how many young people attend the service - and its all down to Dereks hard work!
It was a little bit of a departure from ‘the norm’ for us in this parish - but it’s always really good to do things differently. I think a few of us thought about a lot of things differently after attending. The theme was Israel - a covenant people and focussed on the covenant.
The worship was led by a great band Dwell - click to visit their website. They were amazing and getting the congregation going - even the Bishop was jumping up and down.
To read one of the best blogs out there - visit Derek’s Eden blog!

A Bishop for breakfast...

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:06:37 +0100

Bishop Lindsay came and had breakfast in the parish today as part of “Walking the Way”. He joined us for ‘Media Matins’, our name for Matins - but with visuals.

He then enjoyed breakfast (which was prepared by the Social Committee) in The Gladys Bevan Hall along with lots of parishioners.

The Bishop was taken to The Primary School to lead assembly and to have a tour of the school.

At 10.30am The Bishop lead the Friday morning service at St Nicholas and then later on in the morning he had a tour of The Steyning Bowl by a local Farmer.

It has been heard in whispering corridors that The Bishop really enjoyed his time in the parish

Good morning on Good Friday...

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 13:31:31 +0100

Holy week was once again very busy in the parish. With services everyday in one of our three churches parish life was very busy. Holy week is always special and Fr Timothy preached 7 very good sermons on the subject of The Seven Spiritual Acts of Mercy. The only week addresses are soon to be published, if you would like a copy please contact the Parish Office.

Pomp, circumstance and a few gremlins

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:07:11 +0100

The St George’s Day Service was held at St Peter’s Church and was full of pomp and circumstance. Well, a little more pomp then normal because those gremlins that live in our sound system thought it would be a good time to come out to play!

Luckily the service was able to have some sense of occasion as the congregation were in good hearty voice! Every time there was a blimp in the sound system the congregation would raise the roof with their singing.

As with every St George’s day service the hymns were traditional and required belting out!

Burning of the crosses

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 13:33:29 +0100

Ever wondered how the ash is created for Ash Wednesday? The gallery bellow will point you to a few photographs but this step by step guide will help:

1. Collect in Palm crosses that have been kept in peoples houses throughout the year.

2. Put the Palm crosses in the microwave for about 45 seconds - this is to dry out the crosses so that they burn better.

3. Find yourself something on which the crosses may be burnt. A lid to a metal dustbin is this parishes preferred choice. A plastic bin lid would not be ideal.

4. Set fire to the Palm crosses - if your lucky one match will be sufficient.

5. Burn the crosses down to the tiniest flakes of ash you can manage

6. Put the ash into a container (a solid silver bowl or a jam jar) and crush to a powder.

7. Add oil of crism consecrated by the Bishop (Olive oil is not a substitute)

You now have ash that is suitable for the imposition of Ashes and can be used by a Priest on Ash Wednesday. Of course you could just go to an Ash Wednesday Service and this will have been done for you.

Ash Wednesday was celebrated at St Peter’s Church this evening. Everyone was marked with a cross on the forehead with the Ash by Fr Timothy to mark the beginning of the Lent season.

Continuing wonder...

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 13:32:19 +0100

Fr Timothy led a party of eight 3Bs worshippers to the annual Caister Retreat in April - held for the first time at Pakefield in Suffolk rather than at Caister. The Stardust Ballroom was reconfigured into a place of worship for over 500 people. This led to the tag line “From the depths of Neptune’s Palace at Caister to the dizzy heights of the Stardust Ballroom”.

Bishop Lindsay of Horsham was the retreat organiser and his presence was felt at every turn. He led the bible study each morning and gave a new meaning to the words of the 23rd Psalm, spread over the three sessions.   Each morning there was time to reflect on God’s word with a keynote address followed by an hour of prayer and Benediction to follow. I have never felt an hour go so quickly whilst sitting and reflecting on God’s word.

Each evening (and on Friday morning before departure) a Sung Mass was held with a different setting at each, and thought provoking sermons at each service, by one of the eleven Bishops who were present. The theme that ran through the whole week was the “Continuing Wonder” of God’s word that is written in the Bible, following the celebration of Easter. At this time we find Jesus gently unfolding to his disciples the wonderful ways in which they will experience him ‘until he comes again’. It was these ‘Fresh Expressions of Christ’ that formed the basis of the teaching ministry at the retreat.

The seminars and ministry together with the singing, not only from the excellent choir, but also from the congregation, was an uplifting experience for all.   But it was not all serious; there was considerable fun to be had with the telling of funny stories and jocularity at many of the keynote addresses and homilies. The meals were excellent and the whole retreat was well served by the centre’s staff. You could always find a bishop or two in the bar at lunchtime or in the evening, and Bishop Lindsay implored any one who found a Bishop in the bar by himself to buy him a drink. I stuck with Fr Tim and his J2Os! The last evening saw the unusual sight of bishops and nuns dancing to ‘YMCA’ and ‘Blame it on the Boogie’ - something you won’t forget in a hurry!

One of the highlights for me was a thought provoking seminar led by our very own ‘Director of Digital Media’, Chris Golds. He demonstrated the communication programmes that he has developed at the 3Bs, and even though the Ballroom Cathedral at the retreat was equipped with two massive cinema screens for our worship, everyone agreed that Chris (and the parish of 3Bs) were miles ahead of most parishes, and of the retreat itself. Many very envious clergy tried to ‘poach’ Chris for their own parishes!

It was the first Caister Retreat that Elaine and I had attended, but we have promised ourselves that we will be attending again, as even though it may not have changed our lives completely, nonetheless it certainly gave us much more to think about other than church flowers and churchyard mowing, and it sent us home refreshed and renewed.

Look back at the tag line I quoted in the first paragraph; it could be rewritten as:

‘If I go down to the depths of the seas you are there; if I go up to the heavens you are there also’.

He was definitely at Pakefield this April.

By Chris Carter

Blessing of the throats...

Wed, 4 Apr 2007 13:34:16 +0100

St Blaise’s day was celebrated at St Peter’s Church this Sunday. Everyone went up to the Lady Chapel Altar for a blessing from Father Timothy. Father Timothy blessed everyone with two candles as pictured above. Why? - Read the story of St Blaise below.

St Blaise, bishop and martyr, is invoked against diseases of the throat. Blessing of the throats takes place at his feast. St Blaise is pictured with two crossed candles. As Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, he had to go into hiding to escape continual persecution, but was finally arrested, atrociously tortured and put to death, under Licinius, in 316.

Many cures were attributed to him, notably that of a child who was suffocating through a fish bone being caught in his throat. He is invoked for all throat afflictions, and on his feast day two candles are blessed with a prayer that God will free from all such afflictions all those who receive this blessing.

Ablaze with light....

Fri, 2 Feb 2007 13:44:32 +0000

A lovely Candlemas service was held at St Peter’s on Friday. The church was beautifully decorated by the flower arrangers and the church was ablaze with many candles bathing St Peter’s in a soft orange glow.

The service was well attended and the congregation enjoyed joining the procession to the font at the end of the service. Coffee and hot chocolate were provided as refreshments down in the Gladys Bevan Hall at the end of the service.

Full bloom in the valley...

Thu, 1 Feb 2007 13:45:30 +0000

We thought it was about time that the flower arranging team had a go at being pride of place on the front page of the website. The flower arranging team is now a large group of women (and a man) who are responsible for the decoration of St Peter’s Church throughout the year. They have created some beautiful arrangements over the Christmas and Epiphany time (and throughout 2006) and we thought the website crew would take this opportunity to say thank you.

“Deep and crisp and even...”

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 13:46:05 +0000

Well that was a little unexpected. This morning the parish woke to find everything had turned to white over night.

Everything looked beautiful and we couldn’t resist the opportunity to photograph St Peter’s Church. A member of the website team donned a blue overall and dashed up to the top of the tower at St Peter’s to photograph the valley and the churchyard below.

Unfortunately because he had to get to work he didn’t have time to photograph St Nicholas’ and St Botolph’s!