St Martin, Acrise

 Sunday 30th May

The service is an outdoor Holy Communion for all the Benefice churches with plenty of fine music and singing. The weather is forecast to be fine for a change.

Anne Beacham will have her stall of preserves which will be available for purchase after the service so don’t forget to bring some cash. All proceeds go to the church.

Church Services for June (All at 9.30pm)

Sunday 6th June Holy Communion

Sunday 13th June Matins

Sunday 20th June Fellowship Service

Sunday 27th June Lyminge join Acrise for a combined service

Where possible services will be held outside.  Please note that services may vary depending on the availability of clergy/lay readers so it is best to check the weekly prayer hub for up to date details.

Acrise Flower Festival 2021: 7th and 8th August

At a recent and well attended meeting to discuss the possibility of holding a Flower Festival this year it was decided to go ahead with planning the event for Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th August. Because of the covid pandemic and uncertainty about its future development it will be a more limited event than in the past and will be managed in accordance with any restrictions applying at that time. We cannot be certain until much nearer the event whether we will be able to safely go ahead with it.                     

The focus of the Festival will be the church with its flower arrangements and decoration. This year we will be relying on home grown flowers and flowers from other local sources. Our team of flower arrangers has been contacted and are all happy to help.

We aim to have our usual raffle and tombola as well as a range of stalls: church mugs, bags, tea towels etc., preserves, plants, books and puzzles, bric a’ brac, fancy goods and jewellery.

Refreshments will be more limited than usual with hot drinks, soft drinks and some wrapped snacks available. If you would like to bring a picnic then there is plenty of space available on the green; a beautiful setting on a fine day.

The church records will be available as will the display of local history photographs in the marquee.

The handling of money will be reduced as far as possible but you will need to have cash as we have no facility for cards. We will be reviewing the covid situation later in June and will let you know of any changes to our plans in the July Acrise Church News. Any enquires please ring 01303844640.

If anyone would like to make a donation to Flower Festival expenses, then please contact our Treasurer Jean Grieb at 01303892364 or jeangrieb@sky.com 

Shepway Foodbank

The need for foodbanks in our society increased every year from 2012 until 2019 before Covid 19. According to the Trussell Trust when the pandemic began there was a 47% increase in demand because more families fell into poverty as the economic impact of the pandemic hit home. Many thanks to those of you who have left food, household items and toiletries in the church porch; a consignment was taken to the collection point at Hawkinge Community Centre on 25th May. Please continue to donate when you can. The most urgently needed items are long-life milk, long-life juice, toothpaste, instant mash and tinned meat. The next consignment will be delivered in mid-June.

Victoria’s 100 kilometre Challenge in May

Some of you will know that our daughter Victoria is walking 100K in May for the charity Reverse Rett.     

She writes: ‘My daughter Poppy was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome at 2 years of age. All appeared normal at birth and her milestones progressed up to a year. However, from this point gross motor skills did not develop. At 15 months it was as if we had lost her overnight as a big regression came. She no longer smiled or made noises, she didn’t respond to her own name and completely lost the use of her hands. Soon, after reaching a diagnosis, our new reality was adjusting to care for a daughter who would have complex needs for the rest of her life.’

Rett Syndrome is a post-natal random neurological disorder which is estimated to affect 1 in 10,000 live female births.  Most girls with Rett Syndrome are unable to speak, walk or use their hands. Breathing problems, feeding tubes, seizures, anxiety, gastrointestinal and orthopaedic issues are common. 

The Syndrome is caused by mutations on a gene called MECP2 on the X chromosome. This gene makes a protein which everyone needs to make their brain function properly. Girls with Rett Syndrome do not have enough of this protein. 

Reverse Rett is working to improve the lives of girls like Poppy who are living with the syndrome by developing treatments for the symptoms, such as respiratory problems, and is also making progress towards a cure. Research has already proved that a cure is possible by using genetic engineering to replace the missing protein in mice, and ongoing research is planned which will be able to replace the protein which will activate the MECP2 gene in girls with Rett Syndrome. The charity has made amazing progress but needs finances to achieve its aim of reversing the syndrome so there is hope for the future. Despite her condition Poppy is a happy and smiley little girl who communicates in her own way and certainly knows what is going on.    

Victoria has just 6 k to go to complete her challenge in a rather wet month and has so far raised over £1,000. She thanks all those who have sponsored her. Anyone else who would like to donate can do so at:

http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/victoria-prebble1

 Easter Day Service 4th April 

Our outdoor service was meaningful and moving as we celebrated Christ’s Resurrection in our beautiful surroundings on a fairly mild and sunny morning sandwiched between cold days. We were joined by members of Lyminge church which increased our congregation to 38.

Many thanks to those who prepared and took part in the service, particularly to Sharon who led the service and to Simon, Mike C and Anita who provided the music. It was good to be able to catch up with each other after so many months. We also had the opportunity to buy from Anne’s stall of homemade preserves and chutneys.

Memorial Service for the Duke of Edinburgh: Thursday 15th April

Many local churches held memorial services to commemorate the Duke’s life of service and support for his queen and country. Thanks to Stephen for such a thoughtful and moving service which was entirely appropriate for the occasion.

Church Services for May (All at 9.30am)

Sunday 2nd May Holy Communion

Sunday 9th May Matins

Sunday 16th May Fellowship Service

Sunday 23rd May  Fellowship Service

Sunday 30th May Benefice Service at Acrise 

Where possible services will be held outside. Please note that services may vary depending on the availability of clergy/lay readers so it is best to check the weekly prayer hub for up to date details.

Easter Activity Packs

Many thanks to Joan and John for creating these packs which were distributed in time for Palm Sunday. They proved to be very popular and we received thanks from many families. We will be keeping in touch by providing the next pack for Pentecost towards the end of May.  When it is safe and possible to do so we will plan our next Family Service. 

Church Maintenance

Thanks to Richard for completing the weeding and then sowing of grass seed around the stump of the cedar tree. Now we need some rain and warmth to make the grass grow.

Shepway Foodbank 

Many thanks for those of you who made contributions of food and toiletries. Ten bags were delivered to our local collection point on 13th April and were gratefully received. We are now collecting for a delivery near the beginning of May so if you can leave any items in the church porch that would be a great help. Most urgently needed items are: long life milk, long life juice, instant mash, tinned meat, washing up liquid, toilet rolls.

Acrise Church Flower Festival 

The Acrise Church Flower Festival has been going a long time. Last year I wrote about the Victorian Frolic held at Wick Farm in 1964 to raise money for a new organ which in some senses was a forerunner of the Flower Festival. It demonstrated what Acrise residents could achieve through working together for a common purpose. This aspect of the community working together became an important ingredient of the success of the Flower Festival.

In the early 1970s an annual Church Fete became established at The Old Rectory at the Acrise Green end of the village about half a mile from the church. By the mid – 1970s it was decided to decorate the church with flowers and have it open on the same day as the fete. One-year Nancy Congdon, who lived in Shuttlesfield, used her pony and trap to ferry visitors between the two venues. By 1979 the event was entirely at the church and by the early 1980s it was decided to make it a two-day festival. As the visitor numbers increased the War Department was approached and allowed us to use the neighbouring field for parking. From then on the event continued to expand with the support of the church and local community working together to put on this popular traditional event. Disregarding the Victorian Frolic we could say that the Flower Festival has been happening each year for almost the past 50 years. In the early years Sue’s parents, Betty and Eric, with the help of the PCC and local families did much to establish the event. When Eric died in 1997 Sue and I gradually took over the coordination of the festival which has continued to develop and flourish. We have been involved with the event since the early 70s as have a few other members of the PCC and local families. 

Unfortunately, it was cancelled last year because of the Covid pandemic. This year we hope to hold an event of some sort if it is safe to do so and will let you know in the next Acrise Church News.