downsmail.co.uk Thameslink


SCHOOL HOURS


Tiny Tots Nursery School


route on way TRANSPORT secretary Chris Grayling has apologised that a pro- posed Thameslink service to Lon- don from Maidstone has been delayed. The quick route to the capital,


Est.1969 • OFSTED Inspected Tel: 736270 / 630001


Memorial Hall, Manor Rise, Bearsted ME14 4DB


Weekday Mornings 9.15 to 3.30 for children 2to 5 years of age


stopping atWestMalling, Borough Green, Wrotham and Otford, has been put back until December 2019. Some have expressed concerns


that itwill not happen at all. On a visit to Maidstone, Mr


Grayling said that people should not be “sceptical” and that it is coming. He said that the new services to


London are among the “most com- plicated” pieces of railway ever produced in Britain. He said: “I don’t want people to


be given a new service they then discover doesn’twork at the start.”


Unlock help


UNLOCK, the Maidstone-based charity which helps to get former criminals back into work, is hold- ing a seminar on the disclosure of convictions inMay. Go to tinyurl.com/unlockwork


R.A.D Ballet I.S.T.D. Tap & Modern 3 years to senior level Street Dance


Teeny Tiny Tots


A very successful parent and child group. Grandparents welcome too!


News


‘Archaic’words blamed for fewer churchgoers


A VICAR has warned that poten- tial church-goers are being turned off by archaic language they do not understand. Rev SteveHughes,who has pub-


Wednesday afternoon 1.30pm - 3.30pm for children 0 to 2years. (Term time only)


licly expressed concerns that two of his four parishes could go bust for lack of attendance, says the Angli- can church uses words “beyond the experience ofmany people”. The minister for Otham, Leeds,


Langley and Broomfield blames an “uncanny knack” to choose “barely singable” hymns. In the Two Spires parish newslet-


ter, Rev Hughes, pictured, says part of the problem in attracting worshippers is that weddings and funerals “no longer involve a reli- gious element”. He adds: “Another reason is that


01622 850329


Autumn Term


we often (albeit unintentionally) make the Gospel inaccessible. “It remains hidden or shrouded


starts 9th September formore details.www.lenhamballetschool.co.uk


behind liturgy that is incompre- hensible tomany.We usewords in our services which are perfectly normal to those with a church background but which are not a


More than a ballet school


part of everyday language and therefore beyond the experience of many people. “Unfortunately, we also have a


baptism service which is barely fit for purpose, given that the vastma- jority of parentswhowish to bring their children to baptism (and I praiseGod that they still do) do not come from a background of regu- lar church attendance. “Add to these things the fact that


we (as in the church at large) some- times have the uncanny knack of


Future Schools Trust


being able to choose hymns that are barely singable and we end up with a very simple template for lit- tle, or no, church growth.” The church’s problem is how to


preach the Gospel without having to “dumb down” the central mes- sage and theology of the church, claimed Rev Hughes. Earlier this year, he warned that


Othamand Langley parishes could be “bankrupt” within three years. Vicar at theHolyCross church in


Bearsted, Rev JohnCorbyn, said he operates two streams of worship – classic and “newway”,which cov- ers traditional and modern tastes for the larger parish. He said: “I guess it’s not a ques-


tion of one size fits all – it’s a case of different approaches for different people.We’re able to do that here. “With the classic approach, we


have more traditional and formal styles of music while ‘new way’ is contemporary and informal. “Perhapswhat ismore important


than the words is the style of the music.”


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24 Maidstone East October 2017 Maidstone Weald May 2018 31


also


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