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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.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * We are really pleased to announce that we have been awarded a grant of £110.00 from the Children's & Young People's Ministry team at Canterbury! We are going to use this money to purchase a set of books for children to use, to help them through the communion service. They follow a standard service and explain the meanings and reasons why we do each part of the service. With lively text and lovely pictures we really hope they will help our young people feel more engaged with our worship. We hope to have the books in the next couple of weeks - we'll yet you know!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Do you have an adventurous teddy bear living in your house? Do they want to be involved in something special? I though so! In that case, they can come and take part in our Teddy Bear Parachute Jump from the church tower on Sunday 3rd June at 11.00am as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Parachutes have been prepared and safety-checked by the good ladies of the village craft group and are awaiting willing volunteers to fill their harnesses.
All you have to do is complete an application for a Pawsport, which will allow your charge to take part on the day. Forms can be downloaded by clicking on the following link, and returned to the address at the base of the form.
We hope there will be many brave volunteers to have a go at this special event - fingers crossed for good weather! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The heavens stopped teeming and the sun melted away the clouds this afternoon (Sunday 29th April) especially for the Annual Spring Walk from Maydensole Farm, West Langdon. So a big "thank you" to the organisers for ordering up such a lovely afternoon again! We did come fully prepared with wellies (did you see the rain yesterday?!) which were well used in some areas of squidgy mud, which my daughter said looked like the butter cream on George's birthday cake - I think that might have been a compliment! A great turn out gathered at the barn, eyeing up the delicious looking spread of cakes, biscuits and scones all ready for the hungry walkers on their return, and I can assure you they were every bit as lovely as they looked, all washed down with hot tea - fantastic!
We took in the beautiful coutryside, the sound of the skylarks and a surprisingly warm breeze, as we followed the route.
Even the cows had a good tea!
It is always a lovely way to spend a Spring afternoon, if you couldn't get this year, do come along next time.
I received a lovely note from the organisers ofthe walk:
"After the wettest April on record and black skies in the morning, the clouds lifted in time for a lovely sunny walk in the afternoon. Well equipped for the mud underfoot, the large crowd of walkers set off from Maydensole Farm, along the North Downs Way waist high in the brilliant yellow rape flowers, down to the village of Ashley and back in a circuit through the fields to the farm. Old friends and new and several families with children enjoyed tea in the barn, with a challenging country quiz and games for the children. Support for the bring-and- buy stall of plants and produce was as generous as ever – masses of cakes, preserves, garden produce, and a great variety of plants for the garden. Many thanks to all contributors and supporters."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Oh my goodness! What a fantastic afternoon we have had today (Friday 6th April) at the Good Friday Workshop. We thought people might choose to make the most of the beautiful sunny weather, but we were completely bowled over by the number of people who came to the Village Hall. I stopped counting at 65! Everyone got stuck in making all sorts of Easter crafts and lots of children had a go designing parts of the wonderful Easter frieze - making palm leaves, cutting out people, making trees, sheep and clouds.
The Easter Garden was constructed with lots of little helping hands (and a centipede and snail, courtesy of the fresh moss!) and can now be seen in the church. I must send out a heartfelt "thank you" to the ladies who pitched in and organised the refreshments for me - your help was really appreciated on such a busy afternoon.
Getting stuck in to all our activities!
Our eager crafters meant that I was required to make a couple of rapid trips back home to pick up some extra craft supplies (thank goodness we eat a lot yoghurts, we needed those pots!), and again, the lovely ladies held the fort. Everyone seemed to have a fantastic time and it was a totally delightful afternoon!
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Saturday 17th March saw a church full of eager children (and adults!), armed with glue sticks and scissors making some lovely things for their Mums and anyone else they could think of. This all happened at our Mothering Sunday Craft Morning, the third year running we have held this increasingly popular event. The children made cards, flower basket collages, decorative hearts, daffodils, mini sunflowers and tissue paper peonies, samples of which can be seen displayed on the children's board, along with a fantastic collage entitled We Are Loved.
Fortified by drinks, biscuits and an amazingly delicious simnel cake, we all enjoyed a fulfilling morning, and I'm sure the the fruits of their labours were greatly appreciated.
Our next children's event will be the Good Friday Workshop, on Friday 6th April in the Channel Room of St Margaret's Village Hall, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * We had a Vision Day on Saturday 10th March! No, we weren't hallucinating, but around 20 people from the benefice did have a fantastically productive morning down at Temple Ewell Baptist Church. We were there to talk about Ministry, Worship, the Spiritual side and Outreach - the what, when, how and why of our actions as a benefice. This all works forward towards the writing of the Deanery Mission Plan, to which every benefice contributes. Even after just a few minutes, some really considered thoughts and themes were coming to the fore. It's not often, in any walk of life, that you have the chance to step back and look at what it is you do, and after the quality of discussion we had over the two hours, I am sure we will make the most of our opportunity. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Want to know what's going on in the wider deanery? Have a look at the Christians Together In Dover (CTID) website www.christianstogetherindover.org.uk to see what can be achieved when we talk to each other! The link will be on our Links Page.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * What happened to February?! Blink and you missed it. At least we are getting some much needed rain. It will wash the grime of Winter away, leaving a clean slate for this period of Lent. Our March Saturday Service looked at giving our cares and worries over to Jesus to bear their weight, as he did when he died on the cross for us. Diane talked to us about Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness after his baptism, his temptations and his ultimate trust in God's plan for him. During our craft session, we were encouraged to write down our cares onto pieces of grey tissue paper, or draw a symbol to represent them. Then we screwed them up into a 'stone' and glued them onto a cross, to represent Jesus carrying the weight of our cares. This is an ongoing interactive craft project and anyone who wishes can add their own stones to complete the picture by Easter. Try it, you may be surprised at how difficult it is to put into words what we feel, and how cathartic adding to the collage can be. We also drew Christian symbols onto actual stones to take away with us as a physical reminder of what we had been talking about.
Our creative efforts!
Our next Saturday Service coincides with Easter, and will actually be the Good Friday Workshop, held in the Channel Room at St Margaret's Village Hall on Friday (when else!) 6th April. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 - just click on the link to download it - 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.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Wow! If you take a look at the bottom of this page, you will notice that our website has now gone past the 2000 hits mark! That's over 1700 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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Getting stuck in to all our activities!
