Church letter

July 2026

Click for the church letter from June 2026

Community shines again on a day of sun and fun

Wow, what an amazing day! The Benenden Village Fete, in support of St George’s Church, showed once again how fortunate we are to live in such a great village. So many people from the community were involved in a wonderful event, and it was a real joy to see The Green bustling with people having fun.

The weather could not have been kinder to us: temperatures of 21–22°C, sunshine and a gentle breeze, compared with the previous Saturday’s 40 mph winds and heavy rain.

These great community events do not just happen, though; they take a huge amount of organisation and manpower to run. As a community, we should say a collective thank you to the fete committee, who pulled it all together and made it happen; to all the leaders of the various stalls for organising their teams and their stock; and to everyone who manned the stalls on the day.

The committee would also like to thank those who came along on the Friday and Saturday morning to help set up, and those who stayed behind afterwards to help clear everything away.

Despite the church building being closed for our Restore, Renew, Rejoice project, church teas went ahead, served from gazebos along the north wall of the church, with seating in the churchyard offering a wonderful view across The Green.

Visitors were still able to enter the nave of the church, the ringing chamber and the tower. Inside the church, progress on the heating phase of the Restore, Renew, Rejoice project was clearly visible. There was also a display of photographs showing the progress of the work, a selection of artefacts unearthed during the floor replacement, and samples of the Jura floor tiles now being installed.

Visitors also had the opportunity to sponsor one of the 800 floor tiles and have their name recorded as part of the church’s permanent record.

If you missed this opportunity, please get in touch via www.stgeorgeschurchbenenden.co.uk.

Apart from being a wonderful community event, the fete also raises much-needed funds for the running and ministry of St George’s Church. It looks as though this year will once again have raised an excellent amount.

Save the date for next year’s fete: Saturday 12 June. If you’d like to get involved and help in any way, please do drop me an email. As I’ve already said, these events do not just happen – they rely on lots of people working together to create such a memorable and enjoyable day for the whole village.

Revd David Commander, Rector