Church News

After a reasonably short interregnum, the churchwardens and the Parochial Church Council (PCC) are delighted to announce that the Rev. Anne Dunlop will be licenced by the Bishop of Lewes to the parish of Plumpton with East Chiltington cum Novington, on Tuesday 18th May at 7pm in All Saints church. Due to ongoing Covid regulations numbers will have to be limited to allow for social distancing. 

During our time without our own priest, Rev. Anne Dunlop has been helping with weddings and funerals, and she is looking forward to a number of forthcoming weddings already booked for this summer. Rev. Anne Dunlop will share her time and duties  between our parish and the parish of Hamsey and Offham, where she currently resides.   We expect her to move into the rectory in Plumpton Green in due course. There is universal delight at Rev. Anne Dunlop’s appointment, given the qualities and experience she will bring.

If you are a regular member of the congregation, or a newcomer to the village, please note that from Sunday 23rd May, which is Rev. Anne Dunlop’s first service, all Sunday services at All Saints Plumpton Green will move to the slightly later time of 11.00am. This is in order to accommodate her leading Sunday morning services at both the Offham and Plumpton churches.

The churchwardens and the PCC would like to record a big thank you to the Archdeacon of Brighton and Lewes, Martin Lloyd-Williams, for the support he has offered during the last few months, not only behind the scenes, but also through his inspirational preaching.  After the Easter Service we gave him and his wife a bottle of malt whiskey and a bunch of flowers as a small presentation of thanks.

The Archdeacon’s last service for us is likely to be a special service for Ascension day on Thursday 13th May at 3pm in All Saints church. 

All Saints church was beautifully decorated for Easter Sunday, thanks to all the wonderful people who donated flowers and gave of their time and skills. Thank you also to all the amazing  volunteers who offered hot drinks and Easter eggs outside after the service. 

In other news, St Michael’s church in the grounds of Plumpton college, which had not been used since a carol service in December 2019, has recently received a deep clean in readiness for a funeral service and committal.  Thank you to Josephine Butler for her generous financial support, and thank you to Trevor and Janet Hook for helping to prepare St Michael’s for its deep clean, and for cleaning and repairing the altar frontals. 

In next month’s magazine the Rev. Anne Dunlop has promised to tell us a little about herself and her new role in our parish. We know that she is looking forward  to walking out in the parish and meeting as many of you as possible.  

The church annex  will be available to hire from Monday 17th May.