ST. MARY THE VIRGIN, elham

 The present Parish Church of Elham, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, built of ragstone and flint, dates from 1170 to 1200, when it replaced a Saxon Church on the same sloping site in the valley of the Nailbourne. The view from across the Square reveals an impressive building with a massive tower of fine proportions completed during the 15th century. The real beauty of the place, however, is in the quality of its furnishings and owes much to the careful restoration of the interior carried out in the early part of the 20th century.

Christian people have worshipped God on this site for over 1000 years. Today, the people of Elham gather here every Sunday to worship in many ways, from the traditional Holy Communion, to the family-orientated Café Church. All ages are welcome to our services and we have a children's corner where they can play. 

Members of the community join together in the church for events other than worship, such as concerts and markets. 

We maintain our church as the living centre of our own Christian life and worship, and we also seek to hand on to succeeding generations not only the building, but also the living faith symbolised by it.  

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Dear Friends 

Please find below a statement that has been issued by the Diocese, in collaboration with Rev Jane, regarding her ongoing absence. I have been asked to send this to you verbatim. 

Please remember Jane in your thoughts and prayers.  The statement reads:
"Dear members of the Elham Valley Benefice,
As you will be aware, the Revd Jane Weeks has been away from ministry in the Benefice since the start of this year. Unfortunately, Jane is currently facing a number of concurrent health conditions. Although individually they are not life-threatening, the combination of these issues means that Jane is expected to continue to need to be away from her work within the Benefice for some while longer.
We know that this will be disappointing and concerning for you, particularly in terms of your care for Jane as your priest, but also because of the uncertainty this brings for ministry in the churches and wider parishes. Please be assured that we are working closely with Jane to support her during this difficult time - we are also providing additional guidance and support to the Revd Deb Scoble as she gets ready for her Petertide priesting in a few weeks’ time. At this time we ask that you continue to keep Jane and her family, Rev Deb, Rev Stephen, the wider ministry team and your churchwardens in your prayers as they each tackle their own associated challenges in the coming weeks.  

Please be assured that, as soon as there is more information that we are able to share with you, we will do so as quickly as we can. Until then, you can be confident that we are doing all we can to work with Jane to support her and enable a flourishing priestly ministry in this place.
With our continued prayers for you,
Archdeacon Darren Miller & Michael Keeler-Walker, Diocesan People Services"

St. Mary’s: 

Services for JULY

24th 9.30am Eucharist CW1

31st 10am Benefice Eucharist – Elham

Services for AUGUST

7th 8am Holy Communion BCP

14th 9.30am Eucharist CW1

21st 9.30am Service of the Word

28th 9.30am Eucharist CW1

Every Wednesday 8am – Morning Prayer by Zoom – For details see: www.elhamvalleygroupofchurches.co.uk 

St Mary’s – the church remains open daily from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm for private prayer and meditation.

Methodist Church: JULY

3rd – Local arrangement 10th – Mr Songer (HC)

17th – Barbara Lunn 24th – Rhodes Minnis EVC

31st– Local arrangement

AUGUST

7th Richard Blackwell - 14th Ralph Bradshaw

21st Rev John Lines  - 28th 1015am Lyminge EVC

There is a Sunday Service in Elham Methodist Church at 9:30 most Sundays, occasionally we join Lyminge and Rhodes Minnis for services at their Methodist churches. Please check our notice board for details. There is a Coffee and Cake morning every Monday from 10:30 until 12:00. There is a Prayer Meeting on the first Thursday of each month.

Churches     Together in Elham 

is hosting a prayer meeting in the Methodist Hall, open to all persons of any denomination or none. Bi-monthly, on a Saturday morning, at 8 am,  half an hour of prayer followed by breakfast at 8.30 (please let  David Whitethread know if you are coming – 840650 or 07961053335). 

The  next Prayer Breakfast is 6th    August.  All welcome, come and join us.

- The Quodlibet and Cake event, which you enjoyed in March, will be back on Saturday 17th September at 7.30pm.  We’ll have cakes, of course.

 Though the project has taken three years from concept to completion, and involved overcoming many challenges associated with building in an 800 year-old building, the New Facilities at St.Mary’s are now complete. The improvements include an addition to the South Porch to house accessible toilet facilities (including a baby changing station, and a sink for flower arranging); greatly improved access for wheelchairs by the installation of new ramps from outside into the heart of the Church; new main doors to the South Porch; new central heating boilers concealed in an enclosure in the South Porch; and inside the Church, a large servery with storage, and even a dishwasher! 

None of this would have been possible without the generous financial support of parishioners and the whole community of Elham through donations and various fund-raising events, and also the generosity of outside funding agencies. 

We are pleased to report that the entire project cost has been covered by these donations, coupled with fabric funds available from Church reserves for the cost of the replacement boilers.

By the time you read this, a celebration will have taken place in the Church to mark the commissioning of the facilities. A lucky raffle ticket holder will have had the honour of completing the first official flush! It is hoped that many of you will be attending events in a more user-friendly environment in the future. The servery area inside the Church can be viewed any time during weekdays when the Church is open (9.00am to 5.00pm), and the whole project viewed when the South Porch is open for services every Sunday. 

The Parochial Church Council of St.Mary’s would like to extend sincere thanks to the design and construction professionals, and to all who contributed time and financial resources to the New Facilities project.

Peter Swain and Graham Ernest-Jones - Church Wardens