Holy Cross Church News
We welcome worshippers of all ages to each service.
Rogation Walk and Beating of the Bounds
Sunday April 27th 2008
The weather forecast for Sunday 27th April was heavy rain all day and some of us fair weather walkers had the same idea – that we might skip the walk and meet at The Gate for lunch. However, by Saturday the south east corner of the weather map showed some sunny intervals and the prospect of a pleasant walk seemed possible. We were blessed by the weather – no rain, no wind and warm temperatures. I have to say, “thank you God.”
Following a service at Holy Cross, sixty five people and ten dogs met at Knaves Ash and set off through Hicks Forstal woods to enjoy the bluebells. Then we passed through fields with ewes with their lambs and cows with their calves. Spring has arrived at last.
It was good to feel that in 2008 we are still writing local history by continuing a centuries old tradition and holding an annual procession around the fields. The walkers beat the bounds at each farm, asking God to bless the livelihood of the farmers, the land, their livestock and the crops.
Rogation is not only an occasion to bless the crops but also the community and the village, and I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with friends and talk to people who I just wave at as we pass in cars.
The sunshine, good company and the beautiful countryside all contributed to making this a very pleasurable walk.
On schedule we arrived at The Gate where we beat the bounds for the last time in the car park before enjoying a pleasant lunch. Our thanks to Mike and Chris and their staff, who catered for us excellently. Walkers then set off back to Hoath.
As always my thanks to all those who planned and checked the route and led us, organised the tickets and lunch, the first aiders and of course the land owners, who allowed us to walk the land, sometimes off the footpaths.
I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.
Jenny Hadlow
Church history
The church we know as Holy Cross in Hoath was probably built in the reign of Henry 111 (1216-1272) to save the inhabitants the trouble of traveling to Reculver. However it was not allowed to bury its dead in the churchyard until 1303. One can imagine the hardship involved in transporting the deceased the four miles to Reculver, particularly during the winter with the ford at Ford in full flow! A century later in 1310 Hoath at last had its own resident priest. The tower contains three bells, one dated 1500 and the other two 1696 and the Parish Register dates back to 1554.
Around 1570 Robert Hunt was born in Hoath, in 1594 he became Vicar of Reculver and Hoath. He later exchanged parishes with one in Heathfield in Sussex. Subsequently he applied to join an expedition to America for the Virginia Company of London, and on his arrival in the James River in 1607 celebrated the first Anglican Communion in that land. From this beginning rose the Episcopalian church in the United States.
Church interior pre 1900 and now
Holy Cross is now part of the Benefice of St Mary’s Reculver and St Bartholomew Herne Bay.
There is an all age act of worship every Sunday at 10.15 am. Two services each month are Holy Communion. At each service there is a children’s session followed by activities to support their theme, which they complete together whilst the service continues. There are a variety of services to celebrate the major festivals of Christmas, Easter, Whitsun and Remembrance Sunday. Every service is followed with refreshments and a social time.
The church is frequently used for weddings and baptisms and some funerals. The churchyard is closed for burials but is open for the internment of ashes in the Garden of Remembrance. The southwest window of the church is designated as a memorial window and is available for flowers, plants and messages of loved ones and by it stands the Book of Remembrance.
The church takes its responsibility to the community and our world seriously and welcomes the opportunity to donate 10% of its annual income to charity. The Hospice in Canterbury, Demelza House (the children’s hospice in Sittingbourne), and Poverty and Hope (a Church of England charity), receive regular donations. In addition financial support is given to Maxine Raabe, a friend of the church to further her missionary work in Asia. In the last few years an appeal for the Mustard Seed Mission Charity ‘Love in a Box’, which is Christmas gifts for orphaned and disadvantaged children in Eastern Europe, has been well supported by the people of the village. For the past two years we have been helping to support the Kent Peoples Project Health Centre in the Gambia.
Hoath Church
The Youth Club is church based and supported financially by Holy Cross Church, meeting in the Village Hall most Thursdays between 6.30 and 8.30 pm during term time and on the 2nd and 4th Monday in the month under the umbrella of Canterbury Youth Bus (same times). Both are activity groups for young people between the ages of 8-14. Contact Sharon Bateman on 860818 or Barrie Beeching on 860432.
Holy Cross is open daily and is available for the community. Each week prayers for the sick and people in need are included in the service and a prayer book inside the church is available for anyone to add their names. As a church we are committed to serving the community and will always try and respond to any need of which we are aware.
Each month there are three Bereavement Support Coffee Mornings on Saturdays throughout the Benefice. All those who have been bereaved are invited to attend one or more of these, once they feel ready. These are simply for support and friendship, and provide a welcoming venue where, should there be tears, there is no need for awkwardness, as everyone is in the same situation
For further information or assistance please contact the Reverend Jenny Hadlow on 711516 or the Reverend Ronald Hawkes on 360948, Email Address: ronaldhawkes@unitedbenefice.org
Benefice Clerk’s Email Address: beneficeclerk@unitedbenefice.org
United Benefice Link Magazine
The United Benefice of our three local Parish Churches website:
http://www.unitedbenefice.org
LINK is our Benefice Magazine. It is published monthly, with double issues in December/January and August/September.
The magazine contains details of Church services and events, entries from the Parish Registers, local items of interest, articles written by its readers, covering such topics as travel, holidays, local history, and village life. There are often funny stories, jokes, cartoons, and quizzes, and always pages for younger readers.
If you live in the Reculver/Beltinge/Hoath area then we can arrange for your copy to be delivered free of charge. If you live outside our area then we are happy to post your copy to you, simply asking that you cover the P&P with an additional 30p per month.
Or you can collect a copy from Holy Cross Church Hoath.
LINK is a non-profit-making magazine, supported by generous donations from members of the congregations and readers, and by revenue from local advertisers. We are extremely grateful to local businesses which support our magazine by advertising in its pages; through that support we can keep the cover price low at 50p whilst production costs are actually in excess of 70p a copy.
Whilst each copy costs just 50p, with the current yearly subscription rate remaining at £3 for 10 issues until January 2007, you can still save by buying in advance!
If you would like to receive a copy please email beneficeclerk@unitedbenefice.org giving your details, or phone the Vicar on 01227 360948
GET LINK TODAY!
Hoath Parish Charity
Hoath Parish Charity seeks to support local residents who are experiencing financial difficulties. If you would welcome assistance, please write in confidence to:
The Trustees,
Hoath Parish Charity
C/O Holly House,
Hoath,
Canterbury,
kent,
CT3 4JT