ASH AND RIDLEY CHURCH NEWS MARCH AND APRIL 2021
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ASH AND RIDLEY
CHURCH NEWS
MARCH AND APRIL 2021
Before I started to write this I thought I’d look back to see what was on my
mind this time last year for the Spring 2020 newsletter. Apparently it was wet,
cold and windy but we were looking forward to lots of Lent and Easter events, a
Hodsoll Street Big Breakfast and being entertained by The Hartley Players and
Les Barker; alas these things did not happen!
This time last year a coronavirus was hitting the news but had yet to be named as
COVID- 19. This time last year I had no idea what a Zoom meeting was; furlough
was a word I’d never used; and face masks were not a daily essential item in my
life. It has been a year like no other.
I’ve had other memorable years both happy and sad, but those experiences were
only shared by a few. This last year has been shared by us all, locally, nationally
and globally, like few other years have been. We will all have a pandemic story
to tell in years to come; yes they will be different but we have all shared the same
lockdowns, government messages and statistics. The things that are important to
us have been revealed often in very raw and difficult ways – loss, vulnerability,
and disempowerment are things that will be remarkably familiar to us all.
Last year I said, “The hope is that by the time we reach the celebration of Easter … the sun will have made
an appearance and the puddles dried up.” And so they did – we had the most beautiful Spring that many of
us were able to enjoy in a way we hadn’t been able to before because lockdown meant what else was there
to do but marvel at creation in its fullness.
And over this year we have been stabilised and sustained by the seasons which reassuringly came round as
they always have and always will; yes Easter, Harvest, Remembrance Day and Christmas were different, but
they happened and we marked them in new and creative ways.
Now, once again, the blossom is starting to bloom on the trees, the days are getting longer and this year we
are looking forward to freedoms being restored, rather than taken away.
We thank God for those who have held us over the last year in so many ways and for the wonder that is not
just one but multiple vaccines. We hold our nerve and practise restraint as we learn how to live with this
new virus.
We continue to pray daily and earnestly for each other and the healing and recovery that is to come, trusting
in the new life and hope in abundance that comes from the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as we gratefully and
reassuringly celebrate Easter once again.
So I pray that you will know and be blessed by God’s sustaining love this Easter.
Rev Helen.
In order to fully comply with current
Government guidelines our
church buildings are currently closed.
However, we are providing a service of
Sunday Worship via Zoom
each Sunday at 10:00am
If you would like the Zoom connection details
and a copy of the service sheet
please email a church warden and ask to be added to
the contact list.
A Sunday service via email and on Ash Church
website continues, as does the Gathering@4
during this period.
We will continue to review this regularly and look
forward to the time when we can gather for worship
once again in church.
Virtual Lent Pilgrimage
Gael and I have committed to walking 100k during Lent with our Church in
Boulogne , part of the Anglican Chaplaincy of Pas de Calais. The charities we
are supporting are
L'Arche, a charity for people with learning disabilities.
Restos du Coeur, a charity for those in need and the poor and homeless.
Calais Lifeboats.
We are asking for sponsorship please and have set up a just giving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/gaelgillie-
lewis?utm_id=1&utm_term=gY4MGnBbr
If you want to give some other way please email me with a pledge
gillpn@btinternet.com and I can send my bank details.
We will be walking in Kent as we are not allowed to leave the country at the
moment.
Thank you all very much
Gael and Gillie Lewis.
Revision of the Electoral Roll
The church Electoral Roll is an important means of providing a way for everyone who values the
worship and life of Ash Church to play a part in helping to ensure its continuing work in the
community.
In readiness for the 2021 Annual Parochial Church Meeting, which it is hoped will be on be on
Sunday 12 May, the Electoral Roll will be revised to ensure that everyone who is entitled to take
part in the meeting can do so. This is only an updating of the existing Roll so if you are
already on the Electoral Roll and your details have not changed, you do not need to do
anything. A list of all the names on the current Electoral Roll is on the church notice board. If you
want to be added to the Roll or have changed your address, email or telephone number, please
complete an application form.
Please submit completed forms by Monday 29 March. Late applications may be allowed until 17
April but after that date they cannot, by law, be accepted until after the APCM when additional
names may again be added to the roll.
The Annual Parish Meeting for the election of Churchwardens, which precedes the APCM, is open
to all people on the church Electoral Roll and also to everyone who is on the register of local
government electors and who lives in the ecclesiastical Parish of Ash.
Application forms for the Electoral Roll will be available from the Electoral Roll officer, Carol Clark
(carol@cclark.me.uk – 01474 874526).
Under the Church Representation Rules any lay persons are entitled to have their names entered
on the Electoral Roll if they—
(i) are baptised and aged 16 or over;
(ii) have signed a form of application for enrolment;
and either:
(iii) are members of the Church of England or of a Church in communion with it and
resident in the parish;
or:
(iv) are members of the Church of England or of a Church in communion with it, are not
resident in the parish, but have habitually attended public worship in the parish during the
preceding six months;
or:
(v) are members in good standing of another church which subscribes to the doctrine of
the Holy Trinity, are also members of the Church of England and have habitually attended
public worship in the parish during the preceding six months.
Young people who will reach the age of 16 during the coming year may apply now and have their
names added on their birthday.
If you are not already on the Electoral Roll, please consider whether you can help the church by
putting your name forward. There is no other commitment implied although of course help in any
form is always very welcome.
St Peter & St Paul, Ash is an
ECO CHALLENGE
MARCH and APRIL
Spring will soon be in the air with thoughts of cleaning!
In the house - Think carefully about the cleaning products you use.
There are effective ECO products available.
In the garden – wherever possible, compost the dead material you clear up.
Compost bins can be found a home in most gardens and homemade compost is wonderful for
your plants. All vegetable and fruit peelings decompose very quickly too and can be added to
the mix.
Please let us know if you have taken the advice of our Eco Challenges and what you have
gained from them.
Marion Simmons – 90 years young!As many of you will already know, Marion celebrated her 90th birthday on Tuesday 23rd February, and was entertained with a special tea on the day by George and Joan Mills. We are grateful to Jan Kennedy for the above photographs (taken, of course, from a suitable social distance!) showing Marion having a thoroughly enjoyable time. Marion says : I would like to thank everyone for all the wonderful flowers, plants, cards and, most of all, words of love and encouragement I have received from all my friends at Ash Church on the occasion of my birthday. Congratulations and many happy returns, Marion!
A Message from Alison Harding
Flowers for John’s funeral
We were very touched to see so many friends, especially from the Ash and Ridley congregations, but also
from the wider community, lining the road as we began the drive to the crematorium. At a time when we
can do so little together, we felt – as we have done throughout these past weeks – very supported by the
many people who cared about John and who continue to care for us, his family. You would have glimpsed
the flowers on top of the coffin as the hearse drove past, but I’m glad to be able to share a couple of photos
here so that you can appreciate them properly.My thanks go to Ann and Pauline for creating such a beautiful arrangement, to Bob who had the initial idea
of including some edelweiss (artificial, of course, but extremely life-like), and to Thalia for making the
Swiss flags which were integral to the whole design. By no stretch of the imagination can I describe John as
a flower-lover, but he would undoubtedly have loved the symbolism of the edelweiss and the flags and the
fact that each flower was put in place by people who knew him personally.
Alison
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Thomas Hennell: The Land and the Mind
A major reappraisal of the life and work of watercolourist and war artist Thomas Hennell .
This hardback book by Jessica Kilburn will be published by Pimpernel Press on 4th March. It will throw
both parishes of Ash and Ridley into the limelight, as it covers the life and times of a local man with strong
association to our churches. The father of Tom was Harold Barclay Hennell, who was the rector of both
parishes from 1900 to 1941. They lived at Ridley Rectory till 1912 when they moved to the Ash Rectory. In
later years Tom was a lay reader in the church, and served on Ridley PCC in the forties, taking a major role
in Ridley church on the death of his father, up to his own demise as a war casualty in Indonesia in 1946. In
Ridley church, there is the stained glass window by artist Leonard Walker, in memory of the Hennell family.
How many people have picked out Tom's palette in the bottom corner? Tom's name is also recorded on the
Ash war memorial.
The author has spent some 6 years exclusively researching Tom's life, travelling extensively throughout the
British Isles, tracing Hennell's associates and his paintings, most of which are in the major museums, but a
surprising number of which have emerged in private ownership. Consequently, it is not surprising that the
book is a tour de force in its comprehensive depiction of his life. This, coupled with the inclusion of a
multitude of his paintings in colour, make the book a work of art in its own right. Paintings of our churches
shown here are courtesy of the author. Her work complements an earlier sought- after book on Hennell by
Michael Macleod in 1988, but unfortunately the illustrations were not in colour.
Tom Hennell has often been referred to as the "forgotten genius". He was a contemporary and friend of the
artists Bawden and Ravillious, who both regarded him as a brilliant painter. As an artist he was prolific in
depicting country scenes, agricultural practices and rural pursuits, largely located locally in Kent. He was
one of the artists selected by Kenneth Clark to paint scenes of British life at the start of World War 2
("Recording Britain", authorised by Churchill, was subsequently printed in 4 volumes). Later he became an
official war artist.
However his genius did not stop there. He was very much a countryman in all his activities, and he was also
the author of several books, and an accomplished poet: clearly a man of many parts with an undying love of
this part of Kent. A major factor in Hennell's life was developing a schizophrenic episode, and from 1932 he
spent several years in mental hospitals before fully recovering. He recorded his experiences in detail ,(see
his book "The Witnesses") which with his paintings have been of great value to the medical world in
developing their understanding of this illness.
The book will certainly appeal to academics and the art world, but will be of great interest to those interested
in local history and country life. At an RRP of £60 it is not cheap, though the Pimpernel Press offers a copy
with a 10% discount. For those interested in a more detailed appraisal of the book, "Country Life"(March
issue) and "The Spectator" are publishing reviews.
The author had kindly offered to do a presentation on the life of Hennell in this district, but this has been
deferred on account of the Covid crisis.
Andy WishartRidley Church in the snow by Thomas Hennell Ash Church c. 1940 by Thomas Hennell
And following on from these depictions of our two churches in the early twentieth
century, and with thanks to Paul King, here is a photograph of Ash Church taken
during the recent snow.
It Wasn’t All Bad!
As we near the end of Lockdown, I realise how lucky I am. I love walking and have been blessed with the health to do so. I have
always walked whenever possible. Long walks to schools; long walks with prams and here, in New Ash Green, I walk to the
shops and to Church, not to mention delivering the Church’s Christmas cards, the bi-product of which is to be able to find my way
around most neighbourhoods.
During the past year, Frank and I have trodden every footpath, bridle way and country lane within the area… please don’t tell
Boris that our daily exercise often lasted all day. We justified our actions by the fact that we hardly saw anyone!
Last summer, the campsites were open for a while so we set off in my trusty old campervan, Roma (see portrait). Our “Great
Escape” took us to North Wales. We camped on Anglesey and one day, drove over to Snowdonia.
The scenery of this area never fails to take my breath away. Last time I climbed Snowdon, the whole country was bathed in
brilliant sunshine, apart from the top of the mountains. I only caught a fleeting glimpse of the view. I was determined to go again
so off we went.
We tried not to look too sanctimonious as we waved to the people on the trains, and slowly, but surely got to half way where I was
delighted to see that the Half-Way café was open. It is run by a delightful lady who has done it for seventeen years. When I asked
where she started from each morning she said, in a suitably Welsh accent, “Oh not far”, and pointed to a farm nestling miles away
in the valley below us. The snacks and water are delivered on a quad bike.
Thus, unexpectedly restored, (most things open have been unexpected this year) we carried on to the top – still smiling and
waving at the trains. This time we had a view of the mountain tops all the way up. We joined a good-natured, sensibly distancing
queue and waited for our turn for the final few yards.
The views were stunning and not a hint of mist. We sat and munched yet another snack before the walk down. Definitely the
highlight of this strange, and often, very frustrating, year.
It was very good!
Jean Bentley.
Quiz Answers
Here are the answers to last time’s quiz where you were asked to identify from the initial
letters the title of a song or aria and the musical or opera from which it came.
1) Bring him Home from Les Miserables
2) Nessun Dorma from Turandot
3) A Wandering Minstrel I from The Mikado
4) Memory from Cats
5) Bali-Hai from South Pacific
6) Toreador Song from Carmen
7) Consider Yourself from Oliver!
8) Vilja from The Merry Widow
9) Steam Heat from The Pyjama Game
10) Send in the Clowns from A Little Night Music
11) A Policeman’s Lot from The Pirates of Penzance
12) Secret Love from Calamity Jane
13) Hello Young Lovers from The King and I
14) Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany’s
15) Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific
16) Seventy-Six Trombones from The Music Man
17) You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel
18) Tell me it’s not True from Blood Brothers
19) My Funny Valentine from Pal Joey
20) I Know Him So Well from Chess
An Easter Quiz
This is similar to the quiz in the Christmas edition, except this time the answers
contain words that are all associated with Easter.
1) A variety of chilli pepper that sounds as if it comes from north of the border.
2) The last British man to contest a Wimbledon singles final prior to Andy Murray
in 2012.
3) The by-name commonly given to Mahler’s Symphony No.2 .
4) Member of the Goodies who was also a qualified Doctor of Medicine.
5) The American name for the aubergine.
6) Before the ----- Passes By – a song from the musical Hello, Dolly.
7) Pretender to the throne of Henry VII, who ended up working as a scullion in
the royal kitchens.
8) Name of a constituent college of both Oxford and (with a slightly different
spelling) Cambridge universities.
9) The main ingredient of hummus
10) Surname of 19th century siblings Charles and Mary best known for the
children’s book Tales from Shakespeare.
Good luck – answers as ever in the next edition ! (In the interests of full disclosure, I
should say that 7) was originally more associated with Mothering Sunday than
Easter.)With thanks to Helen, here are some ways that we can catch up with our reading during Lent.
A final word from the editor
Looking back a year as Helen has done on the front page, I see that I later described the
equivalent edition last year as ‘a great work of fiction’ –full of events that never actually happened.
This year,with the continuing roll-out of the vaccination programme, the prospects look much
brighter for a gradual easing of the restrictions so that we will once again be able to gather in
person. Meanwhile, I hope once again that you will find plenty here to entertain and inform you.
The next edition of Church News will be published in early May and will cover the months of May
and June. Please send any items for inclusion to n.noakes@btinternet.com by Sunday 25th April
latest. Have a happy and blessed Easter, everyone!
ASH CHURCH PRIVACY POLICY
Ash Church PCC have agreed a Privacy Policy in light of the new General Data Protection
Regulations (GDPR) and these can be found on the church website:
http://www.ash-church.org.uk
If you no longer wish to be contacted by Ash Church by email or other means please contact Ian
Nurdin (ian_nurdin@hotmail.co.uk) and request that your contact details are deleted and removed.Who to contact at Ash & Ridley
Rev Helen
Rector 872209 ashandridleyrector@gmail.com
Reeves
Positions
Rev Elizabeth
SSM Associate Priest 871637 elizabeth@revemr.me
Robertson
Churchwardens - Ash j
Ian Nurdin 873414 ian_nurdin@hotmail.co.uk
Tricia Carr 873647
Churchwardens – tricia.triciacarr@googlemail.com
Ridley
Alistair Davidson 871932 alistairandjenny@btinternet.com
Alison Harding 874770 alison.harding@btinternet.com
Licensed Lay Ministers
Susan Heads 873777 susanheads@gmail.com
07970
Carol Bridge 146332 bridgecarol@hotmail.com
Sacristan Bryan Parlett 873655 bryan_parlett@hotmail.com
Rhian Rutland 831216 rhianrutland51@btinternet.com
Parish Safeguarding
Officer - Ash
Parish Safeguarding
Officer - Ridley Belinda Ballard 873897 belindaballard@zoho.com
j
Choir Masters
Nick Noakes 874122 n.noakes@btinternet.com
Rev Helen
Committees 872209 ashandridleyrector@gmail.com
Reeves - Chair
Cameron Clark
PCC - Ash 874526 pcc@ash-church.org.uk
(Secretary)
(Treasurer)
Rev Helen
872209 ashandridleyrector@gmail.com
Reeves - Chair
PCC - Ridley Ian Paddy 873314 ianpaddy2014@gmail.com
(Secretary)
John Airey 01732
john.airey@zen.co.uk
(Treasurer) 822418
TBA
(Chairman)
TBA
Premises Committee
(Vice-Chairman)
Rev Helen
872209 ashandridleyrector@gmail.com
Reeves
Rev Elizabeth
Ministry Team 871637 elizabeth@revemr.me
Robertson
Alison Harding 874770 alison.harding@btinternet.com
Cameron Clark 874526 cameron@cclark.me.uk
Deanery Synod
Alison Harding 874770 alison.harding@btinternet.com
Social Committee - Ash Marion Simmons 872363 simmons274@btinternet.com
Fete Management
TBA
Committee - AshWebsite: http://www.ash-church.org.uk
Groups - Ash
Junior Church Dionne Munn 873379 dionne_munn@yahoo.co.uk
Rev Elizabeth
871637 elizabeth@revemr.me
Anna Chaplain Robertson
Bell ringing Sue Fever 874611 susanne.fever@gmail.com
Flowers
Julia Kilfoyle
872731 kilfoylejulia@gmail.com
(Leader)
Healing Ministry
Jane Davison 872764 jane.davison@keme.co.uk
(Secretary)
Mike Rose 873445 mikeinnag@hotmail.com
Friends of Ash Church
Bryan Parlett 873655 bryan_parlett@hotmail.com
Rotas - Ash Nick Dunsdon 872660 nickdunsdon@hotmail.co.uk
Master Rotas
Ian Nurdin 873414 ian_nurdin@hotmail.co.uk
Servers Bryan Parlett 873655 bryan_parlett@hotmail.com
Sidesmen and
Welcomers
Ian Nurdin 873414 ian_nurdin@hotmail.co.uk
Bible readings and
Intercessions
Ian Nurdin 873414 ian_nurdin@hotmail.co.uk
Transport and
Refreshments
Ian Nurdin 873414 ian_nurdin@hotmail.co.uk
Brass cleaning George Mills 872455
Church cleaning Joan Mills 872455
Keeping in
Touch - who to Nick Noakes 874122 n.noakes@btinternet.com
contact Church News
Publicity and PR
Jean Bentley 872333 jeanbentley51@gmail.com
Rev Helen
Baptisms
Reeves 872209 ashandridleyrector@gmail.com
Website - Ash Colin Irving 879500 colin.irving@btinternet.com
Weddings Jan Kennedy 873675 jankennedy2546@aol.com
Pew sheetsYou can also read
