VICAR'S LETTER.

My dear People,-

The Harvest Thanksgiving will be on the night of September 28th and continued on the following Sunday, October 1st.

The produce given will be sent, as usual, to the Keycol Hill Hospital, but the collection of money will go to St. Bartholomew's Hospital in Rochester. Special preachers, I hope, will come and occupy our pulpit. I feel sure you will all endeavour to come and give thanks to your God for the bountiful harvest with which we have been blessed this year.

Gifts of vegetables, fruit, and flowers should be at the Church on Thursday morning, the 28th. The 29th is our Patronal Festival, when we annually thank God for what our own Church has meant and still means to generations of Hartlip people. So it is good thing to combine the Church Festival with the Harvest Thanksgiving.

Colonel and Mrs. Locke, with their daughter, will be starting off to Malta about this time. They will be greatly missed, but our good wishes will go with them, and we shall hope the change of scene and the warmer winter will very match benefit the Colonel's health, and when he returns he may be invigorated and feeling his old self again.

Miss Barbara, as you know, is going to Malta to be married. By the time this is in print many of you will have enjoyed Mrs. Locke's hospitality at Guilsted Court and inspected the big array of wedding gifts given to her daughter from her very large circle of well-wishers.

I am sure you would all wish me to thank her for her work in Hartlip parish. We shall miss her cheery ways and and her musical ability; it is it real loss to the social life of our village. But from one all the warmest of good wishes will follow her to her new life and home, and we pray God's blessing may rest on the young couple and their cup of happiness be very full.

Your sincerely,

CECIL G. MUTTER.

DEDICATION FEAST AND HARVEST.

Sept. 28th - 7.30 p.m., Choral Evensong and Sermon.

 "   29th - St. Michael's Day. Holy Communion, 6.30a.m. Children's Service, 9 a.m. Holy Communion, 10 a.m.

Oct 1st - Holy Communion, 7 a.m., 8 a.m., and following Matins at 11. Children's Service at 3 p.m., with gift of eggs. Evensong and Sermon at 6.30 p.m.

G.F.S.

The Girls' Friendly Society had a Sale of Work, of things chiefly made by themselves, and a second-hand stall in the Vicarage grounds on Saturday, August 12th. Refreshments were provided, and the girls gave an exhibition of Morris dancing and sang some songs. It was a very happy function and on a beautiful afternoon. Over £10 was taken and as the expenses were small the promot ers are very pleased.

The goods left from the second-hand stall, together with some other gifts, are being sent to a Church of England Orphanage London. Our thanks go out to the many kind helpers.

The G.F.S. girls, together with some of the Day School scholars, collected money to buy a wedding gift for Miss Barbara Locke, who has been a good G.F.S. worker. The present sent was a beautiful Upchurch pottery bowl, which quite delighted the recipient.

HOSPITAL.

On August 3rd Mrs. Locke organised a gift day for the Kent Ophthalmic and Aural Hospital at Maidstone. It was part of a scheme whereby each local village was asked to take a share by giving vegetables, fruit, etc., towards the support of this Hopital. This first appeal was was a little disappointing. Another year we must do better. The Organiser wishes to thank Messrs. S. Wakeley, W. H. Luck, P. Whitehead, H. Twort, and the Vicarage for their generous gifts, and the writer can add Guildsted Court as well.

The scheme originated with Mrs. Gunther, the widow of a former High Sherriff of Kent.

BAPTISM.

Aug. 20th - Margaret Ellen, daughter of Horace Osborne Robert and Ellen Louise Taylor.

MARRIAGE.

Aug. 12th - Stewart William Minson to Ida Cecile Hoskin.