As a result of the current Government restrictions and after taking advice, it has been reluctantly agreed that the Remembrance Parade and Observance at the War Memorial cannot be held this year.However, the service in St Bartholomew’s church at 10.30am will be broadcast online and will include all the usual aspects of the Act of Remembrance, including a reading of the names from the war memorial and the two-minute silence at 11.00am.A wreath will be laid symbolically at the memorial on behalf of all in the village, and others who normally lay wreaths will have the opportunity to do so at other times and will be provided with some suitable words and prayers they may use.We would ask you not to gather at the memorial, but instead hope you will join in spirit with others and share in Remembrance by watching the livestreamed service on www.facebook.com/StBartsOtford or the church website www.stbartholomews.co.uk
We are sorry to say that we are unable to bring you the usual quality stream of our Sunday morning service. This is due to a technical issue which is easily fixed but not in the time available before the start of our service.You will be able to see a fixed shot stream of our service using the following link.https://www.facebook.com/StBartsOtfordThe sound and picture quality will not be as usual and there will be no on-screen words.You can find the service book as an attachment on this page.
Silent Auction - Time, Talents, Gifts!Have you got something you can offer towards our fund-raising Silent Auction? We are looking for offers to be sent in by 20th October to be added to the catalogue - you can do this either via the church office or the church website contact form at www.stbartholomews.co.uk or direct to Jo who is organising this event at jo.chandler@live.co.uk or call her on 07703 797 039. Here are some of the gifts already received which will hopefully give you some ideas; Christmas flower arrangement, a day of wood working training, lemon polenta cake, 7 nights caravan stay, spring bulbs in a planter, bottle of wine, GSCE science tuition. All ideas and gifts are very welcome and we are very grateful for your support. The Silent Auction will open for bidding when the catalogue of items is published on 1st November.
Our new Vicar, the Revd David Guest, comes to us having been Team Vicar at Christ Church, East Sheen, in the Mortlake with East Sheen team ministry in Southwark diocese.His institution, induction and installation happened at a special service in church on August 26th with legal duties carried out by the Bishop of Tonbridge (the Rt Revd Simon Burton-Jones), the Archdeacon of Tonbridge (the Ven Julie Conalty) and the Rural Dean of Shoreham (the Revd Tim Hatwell).David was born in Shoreham by Sea, Sussex and brought up next door in Southwick, attending church schools in Shoreham and Worthing. He trained as a newspaper journalist and worked in Portsmouth, Petersfield, and Chichester, where he was the chief Arts writer and deputy chief reporter. After the call to ordained ministry David trained at Chichester (our chapel was dedicated to St Bartholomew) and was ordained in the Chester diocese in 1992. He served in a parish on the Wirral and then just outside Chester, during which time he also worked on the BBC Radio Merseyside Sunday morning programme. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">He moved to the Isle of Man to become an associate vicar in two churches in Douglas, diocesan communications officer, Head of Religious Broadcasting at Manx Radio, where he also produced and presented a weekly Sunday show, Bishop’s chaplain, and writer on the diocesan newspaper.</span>In 2000 David moved back to the Chichester diocese to become diocesan communications officer, and also served in Hove team ministry before returning to his “home parish” of St Michael’s, Southwick as assistant priest in addition to his communications job. In 2009 he became Vicar of All Saints, Heathfield, with St George’s, Broad Oak, then in 2016 moved to be Team Vicar of Christ Church, East Sheen.Among his interests are Celtic spirituality, and he has led a number of quiet days/retreats in addition to acting as a spiritual director for 40 years. He is a welcomer at the Two:23 network services held in London and a member of Mothers’ Union. David has a passion for the Arts: he has reviewed plays, sung, acted and danced his way through a number of amateur productions, and also written several plays, including whodunits, pantomimes, and a Passion Play performed in the streets of Chichester. He is a member of Theatre Chaplaincy UK and has most recently been Chaplain to the Garrick Theatre. Among mixed interests are musical theatre, crime fiction, Abba, Barbara Dickson, Seth Lakeman, cats, genealogy, cult TV (especially Doctor Who) and Scandinavia.He met a good many of my friends over dead bodies (having sleuthed on Original Murder Weekends for 35 years) or outside police boxes; he appears as a question in the 1996 version of Trivial Pursuit; he once played Agnetha in an Abba tribute band called Bjorn Yesterday; he has sung at the Royal Albert Hall; and one of his royal ancestors was a notable visitor to Otford Palace.
