FROM THE RECTOR

There is something wonderful about long summer days. The opportunity to enjoy our gardens, the countryside and all that makes village life special. But the heat and lack of rain have also reminded us how dependent we are upon something as simple as water. The parched grass and thirsty plants are a gentle reminder that, for all our ingenuity and technology, we remain creatures dependent upon the gifts of God.

Perhaps that is one reason why Harvest remains such an important part of the rhythm of the Christian year. Harvest reminds us not simply to be grateful for food, but to recognise the many things we so easily take for granted: rain and sunshine, fertile soil, the work of farmers and growers, and the countless people whose labour brings food to our tables.

Our Harvest Festival at St Mary's will be on Sunday 4th October at 9.30am, when our Family Service will give us an opportunity to celebrate God's generosity and to give thanks for the harvest. Everyone is warmly invited, whether you regularly come to church or haven't been for a long time. Do come and join us for what is always a joyful occasion.

Harvest Festival Saturday 4th October at 9,30am

And, in true Balcombe fashion, we shall also be celebrating harvest with a little less solemnity! Our Harvest Barn Dance will take place in the Victory Hall on Saturday 3rd October. It promises to be a good evening of dancing, music, food and fellowship. You don't need to be an expert dancer - indeed, being able to dance may not be a prerequisite!

Tickets will be available online, from St Mary's Church and from the Village Stores. We would love to see plenty of Balcombe people there.

There is also a rather delightful mystery which has recently come to light concerning St Mary's. I received an email from someone who had discovered, quite by chance, a teapot bearing a picture of Balcombe church - not in Balcombe, nor even in Sussex, but in Orkney!

"Teapot Mystery”

The story begins when the writer's sister found herself staying in an Airbnb in Orkney which, disastrously, had no teapot. Her husband apparently felt that a holiday conducted with teabags and without a proper teapot was in danger of being ruined. So, they went in search of one in the local charity shops. They eventually found a suitable teapot in the Stromness Cat Rescue shop, decorated with a picture of a church.

It was only later, when the sister passed the teapot on to her relative in Shrewsbury, that they noticed the small words underneath the picture: "Balcombe Church". A quick search of photographs on the internet confirmed that the church depicted was indeed St Mary's. The really remarkable part of the story is that the Family already knew Balcombe well. They had grown up in Turners Hill, and their mother later lived in Handcross. So, this little teapot had somehow travelled from Balcombe to Orkney, only to be discovered by people with local connections!

At the time of writing, the teapot is in Horsham and we hope it will shortly be collected and, perhaps, eventually find its way home. But it raises an interesting question: does anyone know anything about these commemorative teapots depicting St Mary's Church?

Were they made for a particular occasion? When were they produced? How many are there? And, perhaps most intriguingly, how did one of them end up in a charity shop in Stromness?

If you know anything about the teapots or happen to have one tucked away in a cupboard, I would be delighted to hear from you.

It is a lovely reminder that churches, like villages, have a way of connecting people and places across generations and across considerable distances. A little picture of St Mary's on a teapot may seem insignificant, but it has brought a family connection back to Balcombe and given us a small piece of our village's history to discover. As we move from summer into autumn, may we continue to notice and give thanks for the gifts that surround us - the beauty of creation, the food we share, the people with whom we live, and the community of which we are part.

And perhaps, as we celebrate our Harvest Festival, we might remember that gratitude is not merely something we express once a year. It is a way of seeing the world: recognising that what we have is a gift, and that we are called to share those gifts generously with others.

With many blessings

Fr David