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Welcome to the St.Margaret's Benefice website!
The St Margaret's Benefice consists of four churches and is located in the Dover Deanery in the Diocese of Canterbury. These four churches are:
St. Margaret of Antioch in St Margare'ts-at-Cliffe St. Peter at Westcliffe St. Augustine in East Langdon St. Mary the Virgin in West Langdon
Our villages are in a beautiful part of Kent, and you can see where we all are by clicking on the map link below. Once in the map you can zoom in, switch to satellite view and have a good look around to see where our churches are:-
Follow the links on the left to see Service Times and our Events page showing what's on in the benefice. Our Events Archive will show you previous happenings around and about - we always welcome write-ups from any roving reporters out there! There's also a Contacts page with who's who, along with details of how to get in touch. We hope to see you at one of our churches soon!
You can read the latest Monthly Message from The Rev Diane Fawcett, on Diane's Page.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ADVANCED NOTICE! On September 15th & 16th next year St Margaret's Church will be holding a Flower Festival! The theme for the weekend will be "A Celebration of Village Life". The PCC will be contacting a whole range of village clubs and organisations to invite them to enter a floral display which, along with any other embellishments, should exemplify their contribution to our village life. Letters should reach your organisations by the middle of December, with entry forms required in by the end of February - we have extended the date for registration of interest in case clubs have not yet had a chance to meet. The Parish News and this website will be carrying more information nearer the date.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Friends page on the website has now been updated to let you know what's been happening, and there is a new application form to download to make it much easier to join or donate to this great group and help them in all the hard work they do to maintain our beautiful church.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A huge "thank you" is sent out to everyone who has contributed funds to the Village Appeal Letter sent out towards the end of last year. We are still receiving donations, and up to the end of December had received an amazing £5743.00! We thank everyone sincerely for their generosity, and thank God that our request for help is being heard so clearly in our benefice.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * What does a holiday mean to you? A beach? Family time? Beautiful countryside? Interesting places to see? Many different things, but I am sure they all have one thing in common - getting away from it all. Whilst most of us are lucky enough to take a holiday, this is just not possible for some families, when time away from the considerable stresses of everyday life is what they really need. To this end, the Mother's Union fund the Away From It All holidays - an all-expenses-paid holiday for families with children up to and including 11 years of age, who are desperately in need of a break. This year's holiday is at Pilgrim Hall in Uckfield, Sussex and will take place on Saturday 18th August to Saturday 25th August. You don't need to be a member of any church or organisation to benefit from this event. More information about AFIA Holidays can be found at:
but for forms and information please contact Mrs Rosemary McArragher, Woodstock, Albion Road, Marden, Kent TN12 9ED. Telephone 01622 831007 or email steve.mcarragher@btinternet.com
Forms will need to be sent back by the 4th April, but have a think - could this be just what you need? Do you know a family who would really benefit from time away? You can apply personally or on behalf of someone else. Give it some thought.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The entry forms for St Margaret's Flower Festival are now steadily rolling in! We are extending the deadline for the return entry forms to the end of February, to give you all time to meet up again after the Christmas break. If there are any organisations that we have inadvertently missed off our mailing, please feel free to contact me on 853460 or email pccwebmoderator@btinternet.com if your organisation would like to make an exhibit. We will be publishing more information later in the Spring.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * We had a party yesterday! By 'we', I mean the Saturday Service crowd. We took over the Channel Room at the Village Hall on Sunday 15th January and had a fun afternoon of silly songs, games, craft and, of course, party food!
We made particularly menacing balloon-head pirates!
Balloons and paper plates - the staple of any craft activity!
Everyone got stuck in, mooed like a cow, walked like a chicken, raced with a balloon - whatever the afternoon required! With stomachs appropriately filled with sandwiches, sausage rolls (delicious, Sarah!) and far too much chocolate cake, we all had a great afternoon.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It was all hands on deck for the first Saturday Service of the New Year - well, all hands on tables at least. Reason being we were making hand-print doves to go onto our poster about Baptism, instructions later!. Our theme was the Baptism of Christ and the symbols of baptism. We gathered round the font and went through what happens with the help of baby Katie, generously loaned by Rosie. Not many children can say their dolly was baptised! It was lovely to meet up again after the festivities and all our babes in arms are now walking! As it was also close to Epiphany we walked in procession to take the Wise Men to the crib scene - they are surprisingly heavy - go and have a look before they are put carefully away for next Christmas, they are beautifully painted.
To make a dove - place your hand on a piece of paper, fingers together and thumb outstretched. Draw round it and add an eye and beak to the tip of the thumb, add a wing shape - one dove!
Our next Saturdya Service will be on Saturday February 4th, though we are having a bit of a party on Sunday 15th January in the Channel Room ,Village Hall from 2.00pm to 4.00pm.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * We were delighted to have a full church for Carols & Craft on Saturday 3rd December in St Margaret's Church. Everyone got stuck in (literally!) with the craft activities, making pine cone shristmas trees, decorating baubles, making crackers, cards and more. There is a fantastic nativity scene on the display board, made from a variety of materials and a whole lot of glue! With just a broad idea to start them off, it is great to see how everyone's imagination can really take off as people get absorbed into the task to hand. With mulled wine and mince pies, along with some delightful biscuits and cakes brought in we were well looked after.
It was lovely to have people just dropping in for a cup of tea, to see what was going on, and to have the church so thronged with Christmas activity. As a little addition to our usual activities, young Rosie Verren was selling Christmas cards she had made and some craft work all in aid of Porchlight, and I am delighted to say she raised a fantastic £45.00! This will be passed on to Porchlight and I am sure it will make a difference to someone's life this Christmas.
Our next Saturday Service will be January 7th 2012. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Was your Sunday ordinary? If you were part of the congregation at St Margaret's on Sunday 27th November, I can pretty much guarantee that it was anything but ordinary! We were delighted and priviledged to welcome The Arch Bishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to our church to celebrate Holy Communion. To have the head of worldwide Anglicanism here, in our church, talking to us was absolutely fantastic. What made it even more special was the amazing normality of it all. No pomp, no ceremony, just thoughtful, meaningful worship. No difficult theological conundrums (and we all know what an educated, cerebral theologian the Arch Bishop is), but a beautiful sermon on the value of taking time, of waiting, of nurturing the seed of faith that God has sown in all those who are open to His word. He talked directly to us all and it felt like a true, genuine connection with the congregation. The choir sounded amazing and the atmosphere was wonderful. He stayed for coffee and conversation afterwards ("and special biscuits!" - Georgie) and I am certain all present will treasure the memory and remember the warmth of the message.
Enjoying tea and a chat after the service
On parade!
My personal favourite - the Arch Bishop doing what he does so well, connecting with people.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Wow! If you take a look at the bottom of this page, you will notice that our website has now gone past the 1000 hits mark! That's over 700 hits since it's relaunch - thank you to everyone who keeps having a look at what is happening in our great benefice. I'll try my best to keep it up to date and relevant, but please contact me if there is anything you want adding/editing and I will get on to it as soon as possible.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Have a look at the latest Newsletter from The Friends of St Margaret's - you'll find it on The Friends page of this website.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * You can now find a Gallery page off the Home page of the website - this is for anyone to send in photographs of people, places, events etc. that you think make this benefice special. A little caption or explanation of the photo will help me to annotate them correctly, and if at any time you no longer want them displayed, just drop me a line and I will take them back down. You can email them to pccwebmoderator@btinternet.com or borrow our memory stick to download them onto, just ask at a church service and someone will point you in my direction! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looking for a practical present for someone? Want something that will contribute to the benefice? Then look no further than our new St Margaret of Antioch tea towels and cloth bags. At just £2.00 for the bags, £2.50 for the tea towels, special rate of £4.00 for one of each, they are sure to delight and perhaps be a lovely reminder to those no longer living in the area. They are available after most 10.00am services at St Margaret's, or call Sandy on 852265. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Monthly Prayer Service On the second Wednesday of every month, all are welcome to a short service of prayer for healing and wholeness, which will follow the weekly Wednesday Morning service of Holy Communion. You are also welcome to receive private prayer. If you wish to give names for prayer, please contact the Vicar 852179. For future services, keep an eye on our Service Times page.
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