Church letter

May 2026

Click for the church letter from April 2026

From Buckingham Palace to the Benenden Fete

In May we had much to appreciate in our beautiful village and much to be thankful for. Here I report on things that have happened and will shortly be happening relating to our church.

The first involved both Helen and me. We were fortunate enough, as the Rector and “Mrs Rector” of the Benefice of Benenden and Sandhurst, to be invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace. What an amazing experience. The Prince and Princess of Wales were there the day we attended, as were the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and we were fortunate to spend five minutes speaking with the Duchess, who is the Patron of our Restore, Renew, Rejoice project. The weather was kind, the afternoon tea lovely, and the gardens huge. It was a very memorable and special day.

The second were the annual church meetings, the equivalent of an annual general meeting, which took place on 18 May. The annual parish meeting was due to elect the two churchwardens for the coming year, although at the time of writing the meeting hasn’t taken place, so I can’t tell you the result! This was followed by the annual parochial church meeting, at which, apart from the usual church business, elections, and report on the previous year, there was also a presentation on the progress of the Restore, Renew, Rejoice project. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

The third thing is the village fete in support of St George’s Church: Saturday 13 June, 12 noon to 4pm, on The Green. If you’re free on Friday 12 June, please come along anytime between 9am and 7pm to help with all the setting up. Many hands make light work. If you want to see and hear about the progress on the church project, you should be able to view the work in the nave on fete day. There will be photos of the build progress, as well as an opportunity to ask questions and make a donation to the project.

Work on the heating phase is going well. We would love to be able to give the go-ahead to the second phase of the project very soon, namely the toilets and then the kitchen, as fundraising and grant applications permit.

Revd David Commander, Rector