Older News From Steyning Parish Church Click on the heading to read the full post. Click here to see only our latest news.
FCW Commissioning
Commissioning our new Families’ and Children’s Worker On Sunday 1 September we were pleased to welcome Gary Pickett to St Andrew’s & St Cuthman’s as our Families’ and Children’s Worker. Gary comes with experience of sililar work at other churches in the Diocese. Fr Mark formally commissioned Gary at the 9.30 Holy Communion service, and […]
Evening with Peter James
Steyning Bookshop presents ‘An Evening with Peter James’25 September, 7:30pmOur friends from Steyning Bookshop are returning to the Church of St Andrew & St Cuthman for another interview with a well-known crime writer.Peter James will tell us about One of Us is Dead, the 20th book in his best-selling Roy Grace series. These police thrillers, set in […]
Pet service
Pet service Sunday 8 September 4pm Steyning Parish Church will be holding a Pet Service at St Andrew’s and St Cuthman’s on 8 September at 4pm. Pets are a blessing to us, let us thank God for them.Join us to celebrate our wonderful animal companions and theconstant joy they bring. Everyone welcome – with or […]
Sing out Sister
Sing out Sister – ‘The Greatest of These is Love’ The ever-popular Sing Out Sister Choir returns to St Andrew’s & St Cuthman’s Church on Saturday 7 September at 4:00pm for a musical celebration of love, including popular songs, jazz, and hits from the stage and movies. Christabel Cossins and the choir are joined by […]
Vicars of Steyning 1278-2024
The Lost and Found Vicars of Steyning 13 October, meeting starts 5pm, talk 5:30pm (with interval); finishing by 7:45pm Please save the date above, when the Friends of Steyning Parish Church will be holding their AGM, followed by a talk about The Lost and Found Vicars of Steyning. The story began during lockdown with the […]
Admission of Churchwardens
Admission of Churchwardens On Saturday 29 June our churchwardens were formally admitted to office by the Archdeacon of Chichester, the Venerable Luke Irvine-Capel at the church of St Mary, West Chiltington, along with the wardens from other churches in the deanery. Churchwardens have to be ‘sworn in’ each year following election at the Annual Meeting […]
Hanover Band
‘Cuth-bourne’ Festival? On Saturday 22 June we had a remarkable opportunity in St Andrew’s & St Cuthman’s to hear a major concert by one of the country’s finest baroque music ensembles. The Hanover Band played all six of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. The afternoon began with three concertos, Nos 1, 2 and 4. This was followed […]
Bookshop event 17 June 2024
A very special event Many thanks to our friends at Steyning Bookshop who, to mark Independent Bookshop Week, arranged a Crime Writers’ Forum in Steyning Parish Church on 17 June. Over 150 people attended the sell-out event, which featured well-known author William Shaw interviewing local crime writer Elly Griffiths and ‘borderline National Treasure’ Revd Richard […]
Hanover Band
Hanover Band – 22 June The Hanover Band returns to Steyning Parish Church on Saturday, 22 June. The Band will perform all six of JS Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos in church over two sessions – 3:30pm and 6pm. Concert prices start at £25 to cover both performances. Picnics cost £12 per head, or feel free to […]
Pastoral care team inaugurated
Pastoral care team inaugurated On Sunday 2 June at the 9:30am Eucharist, our pastoral care team was formally commissioned by Fr Mark. The service included specially-chosen hymns and readings appropriate to the occasion. The sermon was preached by Revd Steve Gurr, who led the training of the team. Revd Steve’s sermon can be viewed on […]
Bookshop Event, Richard Coles and Elly Griffths
A very special event – 17 June, 7:30pm In conjunction with our friends from Steyning Bookshop, to celebrate Independent Bookshop Week and their 40th year in business. Fabulous crime writers’ event – not one, but three star writers will be at Steyning Parish Church. Revd RICHARD COLES and ELLY GRIFFITHS will be in conversation with […]
Chanctonbury Chorus May concert
Chanctonbury Chorus – 11 May Join us for the next Chanctonbury Chorus concert. Tickets as below, or from Canon Nigel after 9:30 Sunday services.
Families and children’s worker
Families and Children’s Worker Appointed We are delighted to announce that Gary Pickett, who has many years’ experience establishing work with children and families, has accepted the new post of our Families & Children’s Worker. Gary will begin full-time work at the end of the summer holidays. Gary writes: “I am 39 years old and […]
Annual meetings
Annual Meetings – 21 April Our church annual meetings for Steyning will take place in church following the Music Group Eucharist on Sunday, 21 April. As well as the usual reports and elections for churchwardens and PCC members, this will be an important opportunity to update church members about our plans for fundraising, families and […]
Shoreham Chamber Choir Concert
Shoreham Chamber Choir 13 April Please join us for this concert on Saturday April 13th at 7:30pm where Shoreham Chamber Choir will be performing evocative music written by William Byrd (who died 500 years ago) and others including Elgar, Holst, Rachmaninov, and Gjeilo. The Choir is directed by James Elias and this is their first […]
Families and Chidren’s Worker
NEW FAMILIES & CHILDREN’S WORKER ROLE CREATED We’ve created a new role, Families & Children’s Worker, at Steyning Parish Church. Our mission at Steyning Parish Church is to know and share the love of Christ. We see families and children’s ministry as an exciting key area of church growth and discipleship. The purpose of the […]
Older news items
Fauré's Requiem
Saturday, 11 March 2023
Good Friday Concert – Fauré’s Requiem – 7 April
Brian Sawyer, Organist and Director of Music at Steyning Parish Church, says: “The choir, together with our friends from the Chanctonbury Chorus, will be singing Gabriel Fauré’s beautiful Requiem on Good Friday, 7 April at 7.30 pm. This sacred concert will also include shorter choral works by Brahms, Mozart and John Ireland and a short organ solo by J. S. Bach. The soloists are Helena van der Werff, soprano, Kit Holliday, bass and Neil Aiton, organ.
In Fauré’s own words about his Requiem, now a very popular piece in the choral repertoire: “Everything I have managed to entertain by way of religious illusion I put in my Requiem, which moreover is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest.”
The Requiem, with its full orchestral version, was performed at Fauré’s own funeral in 1924.
Brian continues: “I know that the Good Friday Sacred Concert is always well supported and I am sure that you will enjoy hearing this gentle, exquisite masterpiece again.”
Fauré’s Requiem will be performed in Steyning Parish Church on Good Friday, 7 April, starting at 7.30pm. There is no admission charge, but a collection will be taken.
New path lighting in the snow
Wednesday, 4 January 2023
STEYNING PARISH CHURCH CELEBRATES A REMARKABLE YEAR
Crib service - Christmas Eve 2022
2022 was a memorable year for Steyning Parish Church. We have seen a significant increase in our worshipping community, particularly at the younger end of the age range, which although it did not result from the happiest of circumstances, it has subsequently given us much joy and enrichment. Steyning responded magnificently to the call to offer a safe haven to refugees from the Ukraine, and we have several families in the town. Thanks to the generosity of our congregation and the wider community, we have been able to directly offer full support to two families as well as provide assistance to others. As a result, our junior worship was able to restart with a mix of refugee and our own children.
In other ways we have been returning to normality post-pandemic. But one of the biggest advances was to be able to start to put into place the ambitious plans made during the Parochial Church Council’s away day in 2021. We have two basic goals, which both go hand in hand. First, we want to recruit a children and families worker to further expand our age range and appeal to Steyning’s younger population. Alongside this, our architect has drawn up plans for sympathetic improvements to make our historic Grade 1 listed building fit for the 21st century – not only for worship, but to provide a place that can be used for a variety of purposes by the while community. This involves, among other things, a new accessible entrance eliminating the need to navigate various steps, expanded and accessible WC facilities, and a proper servery for drinks and light refreshments.
This is not a simple task in a building like ours, and will involve significant expenditure – so with that in mind we are going down the process of appointing professional fundraising consultants to assist with sourcing grants and donations. We are eternally grateful to the Friends of Steyning Parish Church, local people, not necessarily churchgoers themselves, who love our ancient building and want to see it preserved and enhanced.
The Friends made a significant contribution to the new electrical and lighting system, which was completed during 2022 by our contractor CES and has drawn much admiration, as well as being shortlisted for a major award, in competition with other much larger and well-known buildings. This was complemented by new lighting for our churchyard path, funded through local donations, the largest being from the Co-op community fund, and for which we thank the shoppers in our town’s supermarket.
The Friends also helped us celebrate the 500th anniversary of our Tudor Panelling – originally created in 1522 to celebrate the marriage of Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon, which found its way from the Bishop’s palace in Fulham to our church, via the two Steyning vicarages. The highlight of several celebratory events was a harp concert including the premiere of a new piece inspired by the panelling.
But it was towards the year’s end that we were able to reach out to everybody to the largest extent. Between Advent and Christmas, as well as our usual worship offering, we hosted very successful concerts from the Hanover Band (professional singers and musicians performing the Messiah, organised by the Friends of Steyning Parish Church), the Chanctonbury Chorus, the Agnes Collective (with two performances of Christmas-themed songs and readings). Plus a Christingle and two very special crib services (see picture) – in fact, including these events and the school services held in church, we estimated that we had just short of 4000 people through our doors.
Saturday 9 July 2022
A SUMMER’S EVENING WITH THE PATCHAM SILVER BAND
A fund-raising concert in aid of our local Ukrainian families organised in conjunction with Steyning Refugee Help.
Saturday 9 July, 7.30pm at Steyning Parish Church
Tickets are only £5 from Steyning Bookshop (01903 812062).
Bring your toe-tapping shoes! The Patcham Silver Band promise to fill our church with the most amazing sound. Their programme will range from light-hearted numbers to rousing marches.
There will be a retiring collection for those who can afford to give more than the ticket price.
Update 11 July
A big thank you to everyone who bought tickets and for all the effort that made this event possible, not least to the band members who gave this uplifting and memorable concert for free, and to those who defrayed various expenses so as to allow every penny raised to meet the needs of our local Ukrainian families. £1,017 was made through the sales of tickets and refreshments, and a generous £830 was given in additional donations on the evening.
Thursday 24 February 2022
Cuthman lecture 2022
‘Tax the Rich to Save the Planet’
by Revd David Haslam, MBE
David Haslam is a former Executive member of Anti-Apartheid and War on Want. He was secretary of the Churches Commission for Racial Justice from 1987 to 1998. He helped form the International Dalit Solidarity Network, campaigning against caste discrimination.
A Methodist minister, he has lived and worked in Harlesden, Brixton and Notting Hill. In 2012 he started the Methodist Tax Justice Network which in 2018 became Church Action for Tax Justice (CATJ) and which he now chairs. He is also a Board Member of The Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility. David gave a version of this talk to an ecumenical panel during the COP26 ‘People’s Summit’.
Please note that this lecture will be held in the church and not the Penfold Hall.
On this occasion we will be joined by our friends from Greening Steyning
Places are limited, please book tickets via Eventbrite, here.
Saturday 30 October 2021
Ringing Out for Climate Change
The twenty-sixth global ‘Conference of the Parties’ at Glasgow begins tomorrow. The church bells in our tower at St Andrew’s & St Cuthman’s will ring out at 6pm tonight, Saturday 30 October, along with many across the country, as a symbol of warning and hope that the climate conference lead to action for those already adversely affected by climate change.
Saturday, 6 November has been designated a ‘Global Day of Action’ to demonstratepublic support in towns and cities across the world for urgent action at Cop26 to combat the climate emergency. The local march will start in two separate locations, setting off at 2pm, from the Cuthman Field and Beeding Playing Field. These routes will converge at Bramber Castle for a rally and group photo taken from a drone. The organisers hope that as many people as possible, from local churches, schools, businesses and other groups will unite in support of tackling this most important challenge facing our planet.
Friday 13 August 2021
Songs of Praise
As part of the 2021 Steyning Festival, on Sunday 5 September, at 7.30pm, Steyning Parish Church will host a ‘Songs of Praise’ on behalf of the local Churches Together organisation.
Mindful of the reasons why Steyning’s 2021 Festival has to be smaller than usual, ‘Songs of Praise’ will follow a coronavirus theme. The service will comprise a selection of hymns, each chosen by representatives of a section of the community, such as the Medical Centre, the Hub and the First Responders, all of which helped Steyning and the surrounding villages cope with the effects of the pandemic.
The service will give thanks for the wonderful work carried out by the community, and the way the people joined together to help us see a way through this trying situation. At the same time it will be an opportunity to remember those we have lost, and those whose lives have been affected by the virus.
The church bells will ring out a welcome before the service, and you will have the opportunity to join in with the singing (behind masks please) to an organ accompaniment. There is no charge for entry but there will be a retiring collection; tickets may be booked online here.
Thursday 27 May 2021
Movement for Good 2021
Please nominate St Andrew’s & St Cuthman’s to give our church a chance to win a £1000 donation.
Ecclesiastical Insurance has recently launched its ‘2021 Movement for Good awards’ scheme, under the first phase of which 500 charities will each receive £1000. All you have to do is nominate our charity, and the more nominations a charity receives, the more chances it will have to win a £1000 donation. According to Ecclesiastical, the scheme is “Designed to give eligible charities in the UK and Republic of Ireland the financial assistance they need to help them make a real difference.”
All you need to do is to go to https://www.movementforgood.com/, fill in the charity details, which are (in full): 1132913 the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Andrew and St Cuthman Steyning (don’t worry, the number and/or part of the title should be sufficient), say who you are, and your nomination will then be counted.
Nominations must be received by 13 June. We have registered for the second phase of the scheme, which will be announced later this year.
Although no particular project has to be outlined, our Churchwardens would like to undertake a small-scale improvement to the Church Cottage, mainly involving a kitchen compliant with current hygiene regulations, including sink, storage and dishwasher. This, alongside other minor improvements to the general ambience of the building, will allow it to be used for various pastoral care and outreach projects, for example, a resumption of the Wednesday coffee mornings and helping people get to grips with social media and email in order to keep in touch with family and friends.
£1000 would go a long way towards achieving this aim – the project is also being submitted to the Co-op Local Community Fund, from which we previously received funding towards the churchyard path lighting.
Saturday 10 April 2021
Denise Bedford
Our dear friend and Churchwarden emeritus Denise died in the early hours of Monday morning, 5 April. She had received her Easter Day communion the morning before and had been keen for everyone to know how supported she felt by love and prayers, and grateful for the compassion and care she received in her short stay at St Barnabas House. We offer our sincere condolences to all Denise’s family and friends as they prepare for her funeral on 21 April. Anyone who would like to make a donation in loving memory of Denise to the family’s chosen charity, St Barnabas House, can do so here.
Rest eternal grant unto her, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon her. May she rest in Peace.
13 February 2021
Farewell Father Stephen
The parishioners of St Andrew’s and St Cuthman’s Church in Steyning were sad to say goodbye on Sunday 7 February to Father Stephen Mills, who has now left his post as Assistant Curate in the parishes of Steyning and Ashurst. Fr Stephen and David, and their dogs Mabel and Edna, will be moving into a newly built vicarage in Chichester. On Thursday, 25 February, Fr Stephen will be licensed by the Bishop of Chichester to a combined role of Priest in Charge of St Wilfrid’s in Chichester and Chaplain to the Bishop Luffa School, a Church of England co-educational secondary school in Chichester.
For the last three years Fr Stephen has been a central part of the pastoral team at Steyning and St James’s Ashurst; three years which have seen him grow from a new trainee to a confident and faithful priest, well-equipped for his new dual role. His time as a trainee, guided by our Vicar, Fr Mark, began with Fr Stephen’s ordination to the priesthood and ended with a year of extra challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ministering to an online congregation during the periods of enforced closure of the churches.
Because of the pandemic it was not possible to hold the customary farewell gathering to say farewells in person, so our goodbyes and presentation took place in an extended ‘Zoom Coffee Morning’ on Sunday, 7 February. Having visiting each of the several ‘meeting rooms’ on Zoom, giving Fr Stephen a chance to speak to all of the many parishioners gathered online, Fr Stephen’s and his partner, David answered the door to former churchwarden Denise Bedford. Suitably socially distanced she read a farewell message before handing over cards and gifts from the Steyning and Ashurst parishioners.
Collecting signatures, messages and donations during a pandemic was not straightforward, but the churchwardens managed to put together a card and collected donations. Such is the regard in which Fr Stephen was held that the card extended to over 20 pages. Collections amounted to over £1,800 and, in order that they would remember their time in Steyning, the pair also received a framed antique engraving of Steyning Parish Church to hang on the wall of their new vicarage.
Goodbye Fr Stephen and David, we wish you luck in your new venture, where, given Fr Stephen’s experience with the three church schools that serve Steyning and Ashurst, he is sure to shine.
A video of the presentation (concluding with Fr Stephen’s prayers and a song to sing along to) can be viewed below.
Friday 8 January 2021
There will be light
(News release). A church in Steyning is celebrating after meeting the target needed to ‘Let There Be Light’ within the building.
A small fundraising team have worked hard to raise over £70,000 from members of the congregation at St Andrew’s and St Cuthman’s and those in the local community. This sum includes a generous donation from the Friends of Steyning Parish Church. These contributions match a sizeable sum provided by the Parochial Church Council (PCC). The ‘Let There be Light’ campaign was established to replace and update the lighting and electrical systems, to provide more effective, more controllable and more energy-efficient illumination.
The Vicar of Steyning, Fr Mark Heather, who helped to coordinate the fundraising effort, said: “We are so thankful to all the people who gave their time and made donations to this appeal to ensure the new lighting installation can go ahead which will enable the church to be used by the entire community. By switching to controllable, low energy lighting, this will make a huge contribution to our ongoing plans to reduce our carbon footprint.”
He added: “Work is due to start on 11th January and is set to be finished by Easter which really gives a focus. The success of this fundraising has given us all a great lift to actually be able to get it started, and now our thoughts can move on to the next stage.”
The upgrading work will last for around three months and will mean that St Andrew’s & St Cuthman’s will need to be closed every week from 11 January until the Friday before Palm Sunday. It will remain open for Sunday services (when these resume), private prayer on Saturdays and Sundays, and funerals.
‘Let There Be Light’ is the first stage of a much bigger plans for the church to make it future-proof and accessible for the community. An architect has been commissioned to provide ideas of what the church could do to make it the best it can be for the community. In January consultation groups will take place, initially with members of the church, and then to receive feedback from the wider community.
For news enquiries contact wardens@steyningparishchurch.org
You may follow the progress of the lighting project on our dedicated Lighting page.
Thursday 31 December 2020
The vicar and wardens have made the following announcement about public worship at St Andrew’s & St Cuthman’s during January 2021:
- On careful reflection, and in consultation with the Parochial Church Council, we have made the difficult decision to suspend public worship at St Andrew’s & St Cuthman’s for the time being. Whilst we managed to hold joyful services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, as well as last Sunday, we did so without the help of our usual team of stewards, most of whom are well-advised to remain at home at present. Alongside this is the realistic possibility anyone may be asked to self-isolate at short notice after being in close contact with someone showing symptoms. These factors together mean that we can’t be confident of having a sufficient team in place on any particular Sunday morning to operate the safe procedures on which we have come to rely.
- We will of course continue to upload the usual Sunday worship resources each week. Whilst we cannot be sure for exactly how long public worship in Steyning will need to be suspended, we expect this situation to apply at least to Sunday, 17 January (inclusive).
- The same suspension will apply to worship on Wednesdays (which will also be affected by the closure of the church on weekdays when we come to install the new lighting and electrical systems, planned to begin on Monday, 11 January). Unless other arrangements can be made, midweek services will now be cancelled until Holy Week, with (we hope) the exception of Ash Wednesday.
- The church remains open every day for the time being although we have now roped-off more of the nave as we cannot continue to expect our team of volunteers to continue to wipe down whilst the local rate of infection continues to increase.
- We take this opportunity to thank our wardens, our stewards and sanitizers for their hard work over the summer and autumn. This situation demonstrates how much we have come to rely on them.
Saturday 12 December 2020
CHRISTMAS SERVICES AT STEYNING PARISH CHURCH
Unfortunately, because of coronavirus restrictions, we are unable to hold the usual Crib Service this Christmas. Instead, Canon Nigel and our ‘Open the Book’ team have made a special video, which can be found on our YouTube channel. You can watch a short trailer below this news item.
For the same reason, attendance at our Midnight Mass on December 24 at 11pm and the Christmas Morning 9:30 Eucharist (Holy Communion) will be strictly limited to pre-booked places only.
You may book here for Midnight Mass, and here for Christmas Morning.
Please join us for one of these joyous occasions.
Tuesday 1 December 2020
Worship in Church to resume on 6 December
Following last’s week’s government announcement about the introduction we are pleased to announce that public worship will resume at 9:30am on Sunday, 6 December. Our midweek Eucharist will resume at 11:30am the following Wednesday, 9 December. Careful precautions to ensure everyone’s safety will be observed. Resources for on online worship and recordings of daily Morning Prayer will continue to be provided on our Services page.
Monday 16 November 2020
TWO ORGAN CONCERTS
The Covid 19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the performing arts both at amateur and professional levels. It has particularly affected many church choirs, including our own choir, who sadly have not sung together since the Choral Evensong last March.
So, in the present circumstances, our organist and musical director Brian Sawyer is delighted to be presenting two organ concerts in aid of our lighting project ‘Let There Be Light’.
Government restrictions permitting, the concerts will be on Saturday, 5 December at 3pm and on Sunday, 6 December at 10.30am, following the morning service.
Because of Covid safety precautions, numbers will have to be restricted for each concert and entry will be by ticket, obtainable here for the Saturday afternoon concert on 5 December, and here for the Sunday morning concert on 6 December.
Entry is free and donations collected will contribute towards he back lighting of the three magnificent central East windows.
The programme was originally prepared in June for the Steyning Festival but had to be cancelled because of the Pandemic. The festive programme features the music of a number of English composers. There will be several pieces of well-known music including ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ March No. 4 and ‘Nimrod’ from ‘The Enigma Variations’ by Elgar, William Walton’s splendid Coronation March ‘Crown Imperial’ and the concert will finish with Mons Leidvin Takle’s great piece ‘The Power of Life’. A new dimension to the concert will be two large screens placed in the Chancel enabling the audience to see the organ console.
Brian Sawyer says: “Please support these concerts which I hope will not only cheer you up in these dark times but will raise most of the £1,200 needed for the lighting of the East windows.”
Note (12 December): The above concerts were recorded and each of the above pieces may be heard online here.
Friday 13 November 2020
Cuthman Lectures
An announcement about the Cuthman Lecture on Christian Aid-World Food Programme work in Africa:
It had been hoped to hold a virtual lecture, but lockdown and other factors have prevented this.
Roger Williamson, a member of the congregation and former Head of Policy and Campaigns at Christian Aid has made the text available, which can be found here.
Many thanks to all who donated through the Red Bucket appeal which raised over £10 thousand in real terms because of the multiplier effect outlined in Roger’s lecture. There is still time to make a donation via http://caid.org.uk/wfp if you missed the chance earlier!
The first Cuthman Lecture delivered on Zoom and recorded on 15 October, ‘Creating A Future We Want’ is still available as a video, either through the item further down this page, or on YouTube here.
Monday 19 October 2020
Thursday 15 October 2020
Church annual meetings
The postponed Annual Meetings, for the election of wardens, church council members and annual reporting will take place in church at 10:30am on Sunday, 18 October. Reports on group and activities can be downloaded here. The summary accounts are here whilst the full annual report and accounts, as submitted to the Charity Commission, is available here.
Friday 25 September 2020
THE CUTHMAN LECTURE15th October 2020, 7.00pm
'Creating the Future we Want: A new story for ourselves, our community and our planet'
delivered by Paul Hannam, via Zoom
Sadly, one of the casualties of the Covid pandemic has been the Cuthman Lectures. We hope the talks which were booked in for this autumn will be merely postponed until the time that we can meet up again.
However, one of our speakers, Paul Hannam, has kindly agreed to give his lecture via Zoom. Paul is very experienced at working this way and it means there will be opportunities for you to ask questions and engage in discussion with him. You will need to book a (free) place with Eventbrite, via this link. This is very easy to do. We will then send you the Zoom login details. If you can’t make it at the time, the session will be recorded and the link will be on our website for you to watch later.
The pandemic has enabled us to pause and reflect what matters most in our lives. During lockdown, many of us gained a renewed appreciation of our families, our friends and neighbours and our local community. Now, we have a clear choice in front of us. Do we return to the old normal or do we create a new future?
There is even greater urgency to change, as we are not only dealing with the virus and a depressed economy, we are also facing climate breakdown and ecological collapse. We have to change our lifestyles, and we have to do it quickly. The good news is that we have the knowledge and tools to achieve this, and also to improve both the quality of our lives and of our community.
In this talk, author and environmentalist, Paul Hannam, will outline a new vision for our community based on his work as co-chair of Greening Steyning. Applying exciting new research in health and wellbeing as well as established spiritual principles, Paul will describe how we can live healthily, happily and sustainably as we confront these challenges.
Paul and over fifty local residents are actively developing a positive vision for Steyning, Bramber and Upper Beeding that brings together best practices from around the world, and he will describe how other towns and villages have tackled climate change and built resilient and flourishing communities. He says: “Ultimately, we need a new story about what it means to be human. We need to reconnect to our spiritual roots, our community and, above all, our Earth. We are part of nature, not separate. We are citizens, not consumers.”
Paul is a Sunday Times bestselling author and former fellow of Oxford University where he taught environmental management. He has worked in the field of behavioural change and leadership for over 30 years as an entrepreneur, academic and consultant. He lives in Bramber and is co-chair of Greening Steyning.
Monday 21 September 2020
‘LET THERE BE LIGHT’ – WE’RE ALMOST THERE
The release was sent to the local press this week:
Final Appeal for Funds
A fundraising team for a church in Steyning has almost reached their target for an urgently needed new lighting system, but they’re making a final plea for donations as a crucial deadline looms.
The Let There Be Light campaign, organised for the 12th century church of St Andrew and St Cuthman in Steyning, located on Church Street, began earlier in the year with the aim to raise £70,000.
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has commissioned consultants to design a new lighting installation which will improve the quality of light, as well as highlighting historical features of the beautiful building enabling the church to be used by the entire community. The church will also overhaul its electrical system, which is many years out of date.
So far almost £60,000 has been raised, however for the full scheme to be realised a further £10,000 needs raising, otherwise the scheme will have to be cut back.
The pressure is on to find the funds as work needs to take place soon, so the church can pass its next electrical inspection and be ready for the very busy year of weddings set to take place in 2021 due to the numerous postponements caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Vicar of Steyning, Fr Mark Heather, who is coordinating the fundraising effort, said: “We’re so thankful to the Friends of the church for a substantial donation, as well as for the many individual gifts we have received to date, especially as the past six months has asked a lot from all of us.”
He added: “However, if we’re to realise this target which we’re so close to, we must ask you to ask your friends and family whether they’re in a position to help too. Let There Be Light is a project which will ensure the church can be fit for purpose for many years to come.”
Further plans are under discussion by the PCC to make the church a more comfortable and accessible place for worshippers and the wider community to gather in the 21st century. A very effective new audio system has already been installed.
There are three ways to donate to the Let There Be Light fund.
The first is to fund lighting of a specific area of the church, the second is to request a deferred promise and the third is to make a direct payment by cheque to the Steyning PCC.
For more information on how to make a donation either email lettherebelightsteyning@gmail.com or pick up an application form directly from the church. Alternatively call 01903 813276.
Jeremy Tomlinson, of the Friends of Steyning Parish Church, with Fr Mark.
Sunday 2 August 2020
This item has been withdrawn following the recent news that we will continue to have Fr Stephen as part of the clergy team serving Steyning and Ashurst for the time being.
Sunday 12 July 2020
Back to Church Sunday!
This morning it was with great joy that St Andrew’s and St Cuthman’s once again opened its doors for public worship. We had 47 people in church for this our first Sunday back, 12 July, whilst continuing to provide virtual worship resources to those who have to stay at home. A big thank you to those who prepared so hard so we could worship with the necessary social distancing, and to our our faithful team of stewards and sanitisers (some of whom are pictured above) who made this a safe event for all who were able to join us.
NOTE: Please click here for revised Questions and Answers about face coverings and other precautions to keep people safe during worship (updated 23 September, now taking account of the obligation for most people to wear face coverings in church).
Thursday 9 July 2020
Worship in Church to Resume on Sunday, 12 July at 9:30am
We are making plans for St Andrew’s & St Cuthman’s to reopen for worship on Sunday, 12 July (at 9:30am). Click here to read a letter from our Vicar with more details of how the necessary Covid-19 precautions will mean that worship feel different in the short term.
There will be one service on a Sunday in the short term at the usual main service time of 9:30am.
We will continue to provide resources for on online Sunday worship and recordings of daily Morning Prayer on our Services page.
[This news item, first published on 2 July 2020, was updated on 9 July to confirm the service time and to remove the link to a short online survey which has now closed.]
Thursday 25 June 2020
Churches to Reopen for Public Worship
We welcome recent confirmation from the Prime Minister on 23 June that churches and other places of worship will be permitted to reopen for services after 4 July, subject to careful precautions to ensure social distancing and prevent the spread of infections. (Small weddings will be permitted from that date too and small funerals in churches were already permitted.)
We are currently awaiting official guidance about how Covid-19 Secure Guidelines will be implemented in places of worship and anticipate that, in the short term, our acts of worship will feel different from normal especially if we are unable to sing in church. The Bishop of Chichester attended a video conference with the House of Bishops last week and has indicated that more advice will be forthcoming after this weekend.
Meanwhile Steyning Parish Church will remain open for private prayer seven days a week (except for Wednesday mornings). Our usual opening hours may be found here.
Monday 15 June 2020
Steyning Parish Church reopened for private prayer
We reopened our church for prayer on Monday, 15 June following the recent announcement that places of worship can be reopened for this specific purpose. Public worship is likely to resume in early July, subject to progress against the government’s ‘five tests’.
Our opening hours are shown here.
Meanwhile, we will continue to provide online Sunday services and Morning Prayer on our Services page.
Tuesday 9 June 2020
Churches to Reopen for Prayer
The vicar and churchwardens are delighted to hear of plans that churches and other places of worship in England will be able to open for prayer once again from the middle of June. The opening of Steyning Parish Church will be subject to a careful risk assessment. We are keen to open the building as soon as possible in the week commencing Monday, 15 June, subject to advice from the diocese and national church about how to ensure the health and safety of our visitors.
Monday 18 May 2020
‘Moments of Clarity’
Father Stephen has been commissioned to make one in a series of inspirational videos for the Diocese of Chichester. It can also be viewed on our Armchair Homilies page.
Monday 24 February 2020
LET THERE BE LIGHT
A beautiful medieval church in Steyning is fundraising for an urgently needed brand-new lighting system with its campaign Let There Be Light.
The 12th century church of St Andrew and St Cuthman is the pride of the medieval town of Steyning, nestling in the rolling hills of the South Downs.
Plans are underway by the Parochial Church Council (PCC) to make the church, located on Church Street, a more comfortable and accessible place for worshippers and the wider community to gather in the 21st century. The church is becoming an increasingly popular venue for concerts and other events, including the biennial Steyning Festival.
A very effective new audio system has already been installed. Now the PCC has commissioned an electrical installation dramatically improving the quality of light and highlighting historic features of this beautiful building.
The overall cost is £140,000 and of this, £70,000 still needs to be found.
The Vicar of Steyning, Fr Mark Heather, who is coordinating the fundraising effort, says: “We know that we’re looking for a lot of money, however the church is well used by many people within the community for a variety of reasons and the new lighting is essential to ensuring the church is kept in good use for many more years to come.”
There are three ways to donate to the Let There Be Light fund.
The first is to fund lighting of a specific area of the church, the second is to request a deferred promise and the third is to make a direct payment to the Steyning PCC.
For more information on how to make a donation either email lettherebelightsteyning@gmail.com or pick up an application form directly from the church. Alternatively call 01903 879877.
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