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All Saints’ churchyard

We are indebted to those who created, developed, and maintained the Church and churchyard over the last 140 years. Devoted members of our Highbrook community volunteer for our regular working parties. We pay a Gardener to mow, strim, cut hedges and generally maintain. We focus our resources on keeping the area to the south of the church building regularly mowed.
The churchyard  is also an important refuge for nature. Insect life thrives in longer grass and vegetation providing an ecology attracting birds, reptiles, mammals.
We aim to balance the needs of those visiting the graves of loved ones with a sensible, practical and economic approach to the management of the main grave area to the east. Intersected by a few grass paths most of the grasses and vegetation is allowed to flourish and seed before strimming in the Autumn. If those visiting graves feel at all impeded do feel free to cut back vegetation in the vicinity of the graves to permit easier access. Inevitably the ground in a grave area can be uneven and care needed. Any donations towards the upkeep will always be so welcome.
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Thank you to the CWP team – and the next CWP is 17th August.

Thank you all for helping clear the squadrons of brambles and weeds yesterday morning. We achieved huge progress on the northern and southern boundaries and in the flower bed alongside the road . We have rediscovered the hidden oil tank also!

Monica, thank you for bringing us at almost zero notice , coffee and hob nobs.

There is more to do before the autumn in the south western corner , around the flower beds , around overgrown graves as well as having a bonfire .

It would be a huge help if you could lend some time on Saturday 17th August at 10am for 2 hours .

 

 

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Moth and Bat evening 2024

Thank you to those who contributed to our bat and moth evening. We enjoyed our picnics on the grass outside church as dusk fell, being entertained by our musicians singing from the church porch before hearing brief but informative talks from Paul and Gary on the habits of moths and bats.

The moths were prolific. When the traps were closed at 3.30am they were fairly humming with moths, with 51 species identified including the wonderfully named ‘Snout’ and ‘True Lover’s Knot’ moths! The bats were shy, with one solitary Pipistrelle putting in a brief appearance. Although a dry evening, except for dew, it was too cold for bats but okay for humans (just!) and there were no midges. You can’t have it all!

Here’s the full list of moth species identified the next day.

Gold W
Brown House Moth
Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix
Yellow Oak Tortrix
Common Marble
Garden Grass-moth
White-banded Grass-moth
Common Grey
Tawny Grey
Pied Grey
Small Magpie
Buff Arches
Riband Wave
Barred Straw
Pine Carpet
July Highflyer
Clouded Border
Brimstone Moth
Early Thorn
Swallow-tailed Moth
Willow Beauty
Mottled Beauty
Privet Hawk-moth
Poplar Hawk-moth
Buff-tip
Black Arches
Common Footman
Buff Ermine
Heart and Dart
Large Yellow Underwing
True Lover’s Knot
Purple Clay
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Bright-line Brown-eye
Delicate
Smoky Wainscot
Common Wainscot
Minor Shoulder-knot
Poplar Grey
Sycamore
Dark Arches
Marbled sp
Rufous Minor
Uncertain
Rustic
Mottled Rustic
Silver Y
Dark Spectacle
Spectacle
Snout
Fan-foot
Cnephasia sp (no vernacular name given).
And the scientific names…
Argyresthia brockeella
Hofmannophila pseudospretella
Pandemis heparana
Cnephasia sp
Aleimma loeflingiana
Celypha lacunana
Chrysoteuchia culmella
Crambus pascuella
Scoparia ambigualis
Eudonia lacustrata
Eudonia delunella
Eurrhypara hortulata
Habrosyne pyritoides
Idaea aversata
Eulithis pyraliata
Thera firmata
Hydriomena furcata
Lomaspilis marginata
Opisthograptis luteolata
Selenia dentaria
Ourapteryx sambucaria
Peribatodes rhomboidaria
Alcis repandata
Sphinx ligustri
Laothoe populi
Phalera bucephala
Lymantria monacha
Eilema lurideola
Spilosoma luteum
Agrotis exclamationis
Noctua pronuba
Lycophotia porphyrea
Diarsia brunnea
Xestia c-nigrum
Lacanobia oleracea
Mythimna vitellina
Mythimna impura
Mythimna pallens
Brachylomia viminalis
Acronicta megacephala
Acronicta aceris
Apamea monoglypha
Oligia sp
Oligia versicolor
Hoplodrina alsines
Hoplodrina blanda
Caradrina morpheus
Autographa gamma
Abrostola triplasia
Abrostola tripartita
Hypena proboscidalis
Zanclognatha tarsipennalis

 

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Choral Evensong (Cantu Amici) for the Fifth Sunday of Easter.

Choral Evensong for the Fifth Sunday of Easter can be watched here.

Choral Evensong, BCP, led by The Rev’d Heather Wilkin with guest choir Cantu Amici, directed by George Clifford.

Music: I sat down under his shadow (EC Bairstow)
Preces & Responses (William Smith)
Psalm 137 (WR Bexfield)
Exultate Deo (Alessandro Scarlatti)
Magnificat in B flat (Charles Villiers Stanford)
The Lord bless you and keep you (John Rutter)
plus congregational hymns: Ye choirs of new Jerusalem (tune St Fulbert): The Lord is risen indeed (tune St Michael).

 

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Thank you Tony

Tony Osborn was presented with a gift to mark his retirement after thirty years service as Churchwarden at Sunday’s Annual Parochial Church meeting. We thank Tony for his dedicated service and we’re delighted to share the news that he will be remaining on the PCC to lend his wisdom to sort out any thorny issues.  The PCC is delighted that Roger Cobden-Ramsay (r) has taken on the mantle and will be serving, with Adam Hackett (l), in the role of Churchwarden henceforth.

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Trees – part one…

The first phase of our planned tree maintenance works has been done today and the plane tree on the south side of the churchyard is now neatly pollarded. We are very grateful for your support and generous donations which have enabled us to go ahead with this very necessary work. We hope you agree it’s a great improvement!

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Worship for Good Friday.

Worship with music for Good Friday from All Saints, Highbrook, Sussex. 30th March 2023. Led by The Rev’d Heather Wilkin.
The Passion Reading, John 18:1-19:37. 

Watch here on youtube.

Music includes Ave Verum Corpus, WA Mozart,
Commit thy way, JS Bach
Christus factus est, Felice Anerio (ed. Rutter),
Good Friday Reproaches, Finlandia – Sibelius.
plus congregational hymns:
When I survey the Wondrous Cross; Were you there when they crucified My Lord; My song is Love Unknown.

 

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HIghbrook Hundred 2024

Tickets for this year’s Highbrook Hundred Club season are now on sale!

One ticket of £12 buys you a number which is entered in every draw throughout the year with a first prize of £25.  If we sell enough tickets then we’ll be able to add more prizes. Draws are on the first Sunday of the month immediately after Evensong. There’s no limit on the number of tickets you can buy and all proceeds go to the work and upkeep of All Saints’ Highbrook.  Download your form here  or pick up a form from the table at the back of church.

First draw will be after Evensong on Sunday 9th April.  For further information speak to Heather Chapman or please Hand or post completed forms and payment to Mrs Heather Chapman. Whitestone, Highbrook Lane, West Hoathly, RH19 4PL. If you’d like a specific “lucky” number please let Heather know soon.

Last year the Hundred Club raised over £300 – many thanks to everyone who bought a ticket (and there’s still the March draw to go so if you haven’t been lucky yet this month could see your ticket come up!).

Thank you!

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Lent Course 2024.

This year’s Lent Course will take place at West Hoathly Vicarage, North Lane RH19 4QF on four Saturdays during Lent. Each session will start at 11.30am and end with the option of staying for a simple lunch.

Rev’d Heather will be leading 4 reflective sessions in Lent based on the book ‘Lent in Plain Sight’ by Jill Duffield – which is a devotion through ten objects.

You can buy the book if you like but you don’t need to as Rev’d Heather will be adapting it to form four sessions and will provide the relevant material for each session. The sessions will each be stand-alone so if you can only make it to one morning that’s fine!

In order that sufficient materials and lunch can be prepared for each session, please let Heather know if you would like to be part of the group and whether you would like to stay on for lunch. Please sign up on the sheet in either church or email: heather.wilkin78@gmail.com or ring 01342 529047.

All sessions begin at 11.30am.

Saturday 24th February
Saturday 2nd March
Saturday 9th March
Saturday 16th March.

 

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Epiphany

Chalk was blessed at our Epiphany service last Sunday. It is now available at the back of church, together with a short explanation of the tradition and a prayer. We encourage you to take some and use it to add the Epiphany blessing to your homes. We then invite you to take a photo of your blessed door and email it to Rev’d Heather. We would love to see all the homes across our parish blessed!