Remembering our Heroes
In the autumn of 2018, the Parish of Buxted and Hadlow Down received a National Lottery grant of £10,000 for a project ‘Remembering our Heroes’ within the parish but mainly in the Hadlow Down area. Awarded through the Heritage Lottery Fund’s First World War then and now programme, the project focused on paying tribute to the men and women from our community who bravely served their country during WW1.
Working with St Marks Primary School, volunteers and members of our community, we have worked to engage with all ages and investigate why, and how, we remember World War One. The project encouraged the school, volunteers and community to think about the experiences of the men, women and children who lived through World War One. No soldier from the 1914 to 1918 war is now alive to tell his story, however we can still see some of the soldiers and still hear their voices through their families and descendants.
To mark the Centenary of the First World War, the project enabled local people in the parish of Buxted and Hadlow Down to come together to preserve the memories and heritage of the people who lived through the First World War. Volunteers and the children in the school, supported by educational workshops and by local historians, collected photographs, newspaper clippings, documents, letters and photos of keepsakes, as well as family tales passed down to help them to build a clear picture of what life was really like.
England’s Nazareth in Sussex
S. Mary’s Church & The Walsingham Chapel
S. Mary’s Church, in the heart of the village of Buxted was erected and endowed by Father A.D. Wagner. The church (Grade II listed) was consecrated in 1887. The small church, built in the traditional Sussex style, is of flint construction, in line with the Wagner churches of Brighton, and is the only church built by him in the Sussex countryside. S. Mary’s, designed to promote the Catholic faith, had, at one time, a community of religious (the Society of S. Mary) attached to the parish.The Lady Chapel (or Walsingham Chapel) was built to the dimensions of the medieval Holy House at Walsingham in Norfolk. In turn these dimensions are as those of the Holy House at Nazareth. The ancient shrine of Walsingham was destroyed in the 16th Century, so the Walsingham Chapel at S. Mary’s became the first restored Holy House and precursor of the revival of devotion to our Lady of Walsingham in England. Father Hope Patten, once curate of S. Mary’s and then parish Priest at Walsingham was instrumental in rebuilding the current shrine. It is a recognised fact, that without S. Mary’s Buxted, there would probably be no shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham, either Anglican or Roman Catholic.
Quote from the pamphlet ‘Nazareth in Sussex’, first printed in 1934:
“May Nazareth in Sussex, standing as a witness to the doctrine of the Incarnation in the Southern Counties, become known and loved, and draw many to visit this Shrine who, for one reason or another, are but seldom able to ‘take the Walsingham Way’”.
SERVICES
Sundays: 11.15 a.m. Parish Mass 2nd Wednesday of the month: 10.30 a.m. Walsingham Cell Mass 4th Wednesday of the month: 10.30 a.m. Walsingham Cell House Group The church is open daily for visitors.
CONCERTS
Concerts are held throughout the year. For further information please view the parish website: www.bhdchurches.org.uk or the Buxted Messenger
Pilgrimage to “England’s Nazareth in Sussex”
If you or your parish would like to arrange a special pilgrimage to S. Mary’s please contact: Colin Woolgrove Tel: 01825 830076. Email: colinhwoolgrove@aol.com If you wish to celebrate Mass and are unable to bring your own priest, please let us know in advance. The Parish of Buxted and Hadlow Down, of which S. Mary’s is part, comprises a variety of churchmanship. In consequence, there is no resolution in place under the House of Bishops’ Declaration. However, the Rector gives his assurance that only male priests will celebrate the Eucharist at S. Mary’s. There is an outside space for picnics, when the weather permits, and a church hall that can be used with adequate notice. We are happy to provide tea and coffee.
S. Mary’s underwent an extensive internal redecoration programme in 2016. However, in common with many other churches, there is always something else to do. Future projects include a new roof, repairs to the stained glass windows and a certain amount of re-ordering. All donations will be gratefully received.
Funerals and expressions of grief
We are here if you need us to provide a church service for someone close to you who has died. If you, or the deceased, are parishioners or have special connections with the parish then please consider contacting us. We can offer you support and consolation, if you need it, for whatever reason in the event of a death of someone close to you. We understand that death can happen at any time to any of us.
A funeral is one way to mark the end of someone’s life here on earth. Family and friends come together to express and share grief, to give thanks for the life lived and to commend the person into God’s keeping. A funeral service can be in a small, quiet ceremony or a large occasion in a packed church. Holy Communion can be taken.
If you wish to talk to someone about a funeral or the death of someone close to you then please use the contact us page, so that we can discuss with you how to thank God for the life of your loved one.
God’s love is everywhere with us. Every life is precious to God. As Christians we believe that there is hope in death as there is in life, and that we have a new life in Jesus Christ after death.
One thing is certain, even those who hold such belief experience a real sense of loss at the death of a loved one. All of us share, or will share, the same experiences of life and death, with many memories and feelings of love, grief and respect.
On the Sunday closest to All Souls Day (November 2) we hold a special service to remember and give thanks for the lives of the departed.
Marriage Services in Our Parish
If you want to investigate getting married in a Church of England church please click on marrying in church. The website has lots of practical advice and information on everything to do with getting married.
MARRIAGE
We warmly welcome enquiries by couples wishing to get married in one of our lovely churches.
A wedding is one of those wonderful milestones in human life which provides us with the opportunity for great joy and celebration. As Christians we believe that a marriage in a Christian church blesses a husband and wife in the presence of God and is the beginning of a shared life together in the love of Jesus Christ. Couples are asked to make a firm covenant with each other to love and support each other, through good times and bad. They also make a solemn promise that if and when children arrive, and they move from being a couple to a family, that they share in their care and upbringing.
If you wish to talk to someone about getting married in one of our churches, then please use the contact us page. Provided that couples satisfy the Church of England’s guidelines, which we must observe, we will be able to discuss important stages leading up to their big day: preparation for marriage, reading of the banns; choice of hymns,prayers and readings; flowers in church; costs of using the church, bells, the choir etc. Please follow the Legal Requirements link for in-depth information. Couples may choose to have Holy Communion within the service.
2017 Wedding Fees Please feel free to click on and open the attached file detailing 2017 fees for weddings in the parish. This document can be printed, completed and sent to the address, as detailed in the file. Please read the document carefully.
We also welcome enquiries from couples for other marriage celebrations, as described below.
PRAYER AND DEDICATION AFTER A CIVIL MARRIAGE
We offer the same warm welcome for those couples, married in a civil ceremony, who wish to dedicate to God their life together.
If you wish to talk to someone about getting a service of prayer and dedication in one of our churches, then please use the contact us page. Provided that couples satisfy the Church of England’s Legal Requirements guidelines, which we must observe, we will be able to discuss aspects of the service. Couples may choose to have Holy Communion within the service.
THANKSGIVING FOR MARRIAGE
The Church of England has a service of Thanksgiving for Marriage, which we would be delighted to perform in one of our churches. There are many reasons why couples wish to celebrate their lives together in marriage in a thanksgiving service.
It may be:
when one or more couples wish to reaffirm their lives together;
to celebrate an anniversary;
after an interval of separation or problems in marriage;
celebrated either at home or in a church;
celebrated within another service, such as Holy Communion
If you wish to talk to someone about arranging a service of thanksgiving for marriage either at home or in one of our churches, then please use the contact us page.