Hartlip Parish Magazine. April, 1923.

The Vicarage,
April 3rd, 1923.

My Dear Friends,

I have kept back the Magazine that I might write a little in it about Holy Week and Easter.

It is with great pleasure that we can think about the observance of these Seasons in our CHurch to me, personally, it has been a great joy and encouragement to find them so well observed in Hartlip. To all the Services in Holy Week some came and on Good Friday we had quite a nice Congregation in the morning and most of our Children in the afternoon.

Then in the evening it was good to see the large gathering for the Lantern Service and to mark the evident reverence and earnestness of those present as we thought together of our Saviour's sufferings for us.

For the great Festival of Easter (rightly called the "Queen of Festivals") the Church was beautifully decorated with an abundance of Spring flowers and we thank the ladies who carried out the work and those who sent the flowers. At the morning services there were sixtyr Communicants and in the evening we all felt the uplifting of a large congregation.

There is the blessing on the "two or three" gathered together but we are helped in our worship by the sense of joining in it with many others. To our organist and choir we owe much for the bright and hearty services.

Altogether it was a delightful day.

At the Annual Parochial Church Meeting which was held in the Schoolroom on March 19th, the following were elected to serve on the Churhc Council for the coming year. Messrs. W. Miles. J. Harriss, E. J. Friar, S. D. Hollands, W. Kitchingham, J. Musselwhite, J. Labrum, W. S. Stevens, Miss Faussett-Osborne, Mrs. Creaton, Mrs. E. Friar, Mrs. L. Hales, Mrs. L. Rainey, with Lieut. Col. R. G. E. Locke and Sir William Haggard Ex-officio. Col. Locke wass elected as the Representative to the Diocesan Conference and Sir W. Haggard and Messrs. J. Harriss and W. Miles to the Ruridecanal Conference.

Miss Faussett-Osborne was chosen to act for the parish on the R.D. Board of Finance. The Sidesmen for the Year are Messrs. J. Harriss, G. Harriss, W. Hills, W. S. Stevens, S. D. Hollands, F. Musselwhite, and E J. Friar.

The Churchwarden's accounts were presented and passed and a vote of thanks was accorded to Col. Locke few his careful and thorough work in connection with them. They show a balance of £15/14/5 on the right side and to this about £20 has to be added for money paid out for carrying on the Services of the Church

from the late Vicar's death to 31st December.

This sum has now been repaid to the Churchwardens by me and it will appear on the Credit side in the 1923 Accounts. We have before us a large expense in connection with the Churchyard and it is good to find that the Churchwardens have something in hand. This question of our churchyard will have to be gone carefully into soon. I feel that we ought not only to provide additional ground for the reverent burying of the bodies of the departed but also to do something to improve the present ground. Is it now quite worthy of Hartlip and of our beautifully kept Church? I always feel that our sense of respect for our Christian brethren departed this life (through all the centuries,of the village history) should make us wish to have the resting place of their bodies, where they await the great Resurrection of which Easter speaks to us, as nice as possible and to me there is something very beautiful in a well cared for Churchyard.

We have everything else so nice and I am sure we shall all wish to help in making God's Acre" in keeping with the rest.

Perhaps what I have said about this is a little premature but it seems to fit in with our thought at Easter.

I am very pleased to say that the Bishop of Dover has consented to hold the Confirmation in our Church. It was to have been at Stockbury but Mr. Young has kindly agreed to let us have it this year as we have the larger number of Candidates. The date will be either May 24th or June 15th - probably the former. May I ask for the prayers of the parishioners for those who are preparing for this solemn Rite?

In future there will be a celebration of the Holy Communion every Sunday at 8 a.m. instead of only on 2nd, 3rd and 5th Sundays, but we shall have the mid-day Celebrations on 1st and 3rd Sundays as before. A slight change will be made in the 11 o'clock service on 3rd Sunday in the month. It is felt that the service on this Sunday morning is rather long so we shall conclude Mattins at the Benedictus. This is the suggestion made in the proposed revision of the Prayer Book and it avoids repetition when we have both Mattins and the Holy Communion Service. Much of what we have in Mattins after the Benedictus is repeated (though not in exactly the same words) in the Ante-Communion Service. I hope that these arrangements will be appreciated.

I am, your sincere Friend and Vicar,


D. H. CREATON.