Church letter

September 2026

Click for the church letter from August 2026

Support my fundraising challenge as I walk Pilgrims’ Way

Work continues on the Restore, Renew, Rejoice project in St George’s. By the end of November, the underfloor heating system will be installed and will be working in time for the Advent and Christmas services - that’s Phase 1. The toilet extension will hopefully be complete by the end of spring 2027; that’s Phase 2a. These two phases are funded, thanks to legacies, grants, and generous local donations. The next phase of the project is then to clad the shell of the kitchen and to kit it out. For this, we need to continue fundraising.

To help get us over the line and hopefully be able to complete the kitchen, I will be taking on the Pilgrims’ Way in September as a sponsored walk. The Pilgrims’ Way runs from Winchester Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral, via Guildford Cathedral and a little detour to Rochester Cathedral. I was ordained in Rochester Cathedral 16 years ago, so both Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals hold special places in my and Helen’s hearts. The walk, assuming I don’t get lost along the way, is 147 miles. I start on Thursday 10 September and arrive at Canterbury Cathedral for choral evensong on Tuesday 22 September. This route has been walked by thousands of pilgrims over many, many centuries.

If you would like to sponsor me for this walk and raise funds for the kitchen, that would be wonderful. The various ways you can do this are listed on page 9.

I hope you will feel able to make a donation so we can complete Phase 2b of the project. Phases 1, 2a and 2b, all together, will give us a comfortable church with accessible toilets and good facilities for serving food and drink, making the church building much more usable as a community space. Please drop me an email. It will be very encouraging.

Revd David Commander, Rector