I suspect this last Christmas is one l shall remember for a while. Finding the box containing the Christmas decorations on 6 January has to be iconic for the season! What will also stay with me is how warm the welcome has been, with folk ensuring that l have stayed warm, fed and generally equipped (and orientated), in the midst of my relocated bewilderment. I am grateful. Amid the sea of faces (and forgive me if you have to introduce yourself to me more than once) one relatively prosaic gathering stands out: the Forest Church meeting in Penshurst, mid-January. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many children so relaxed in a country church. We had children from each of our three schools gathered into a celebration of light that was - because of the numbers and breadth - more exuberant than I think any one church could have pulled off without significant effort or circumstantial favour. It was rather wonderful. l mention it because it demonstrates what we are trying to achieve by grouping together the parishes of Penshurst, Fordcombe and the Chiddingstones into a single Church ‘Benefice’. As I have whirled around our communities and seen the variety and resources we have to offer one another, I bless the Archdeacon who said to me, ‘There’s a post coming up that might suit you’. We have between us a wealth of experience, of buildings, businesses and institutions that would rival a small town - set in some of the prettiest countryside in Kent. By working together, we’re confident that the Church in these communities of Chiddingstone, various, with Penshurst and Fordcombe can be a family that worships God with all our established variety, but which can also be a hub of all kinds of mutual support and resourcing across the High Weald. Broadly speaking, you’ll see Lisa (and her Labrador) in Fordcombe and Penshurst, and myself (plus greyhound) in the Chiddingstones. The pair of us, however, are very much looking to work together across the Benefice to explore with you what we can achieve, share and celebrate in this new High Weald Benefice of Churches. Footnote: For any wondering who I am, and what’s brought me here, I’m a very slightly Welsh priest (I trained in Wales near the home of the family matriarch) who’s been knocking around the South-East for about 20 years. I did ten years of parish ministry, before diverting to chaplaincy for a bit, and I’ve now returned to parish life. l bring with me a husband, Douglas, who works in Tonbridge, two fairly grown children (Imogen and Morgan) and a dog. I’ve done a bit of writing, recently - “Bertha’s Daughters: a history of Church in Kent”. (It’s a series of thumbnail biographies of women in Kent from Bertha to Simone Weil) - if you’re curious you can find it buried deep within Amazon’s shelves. Do get in touch if you fancy a chat: associatepriest@highwealdchurches.org.uk; 01892 319907; or, if you like Twitter, I’m @Lindsay_the_ Rev l look forward to getting to know this place and its people. Lindsay Llewellyn-MacDuff Associate Priest: The High Weald Benefice of Churches (Penshurst, Fordcombe and the Chiddingstones)
