Dear friends, This week my 40 year old niece died. She was severely disabled but anyone who would talk across her would do so at their peril: she had a keen intellect. It saddens me that I feel the need to explain this to people. With all the progress we have made as humankind many of us still haven’t learned to look past what we feel is the norm. We should not hesitate to take the plunge and interact with people who act, look or sound differently. We should all know by now that we are all God’s creatures, loved equally by Him and we should follow where He leads. Please note that cafe church is in St John tomorrow. The weather is gorgeous but still a bit cold for our guitarists. Today’s picture is of our balloon flight 2 weeks ago. It took us from Billingshurst to Petworth in perfect weather. God bless Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250511.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250511.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 8:25am on Sunday May 10th, 2026

Dear friends, In the Netherlands May 4 is remembrance day, the eve of liberation day when the country was completely freed of German occupation by English, Canadian, American, Polish and Dutch forces. The Polish and Dutch forces may surprise you but during the occupation many young Dutchmen escaped across the North sea and trained to fight. Many Polish lads made their way to the UK as well via various routes and fought alongside the English. Also, the south of the Netherlands was liberated almost a year before the north giving southern lads the opportunity and incentive to fight. On May 4 the national flag is flown half mast from all official buildings and many private houses. The orange pennant must be omitted for this occasion as it is for Royal family occasions only. Most churches will be ringing a single bell from 19:45 till 19:59 and at 20:00 is the time for the two minutes silence. After the silence the flag is raised to full until sunset. On 5 May the flag is raised again in celebration, without the pennant, and the celebrations begin. The picture today is of the climbing rose we bought several years ago and feels quite… Read More

Dear friends, Yesterday we had a wonderful walk just south of Haslemere. Near the top of Tennyson’s Lane this beauty was sunning itself. It made a hasty retreat when we disturbed it on the sandy footpath. Adders are no longer common in the land and it was quite magical to have a sighting. It is such a joy to be spending time in God’s creation. God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250427.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250427.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 7:34am on Monday April 27th, 2026

Dear friends, The picture today is of our small flock with a one year old laying almost every day and three youngsters that haven’t started yet. They are a very happy bunch. I wish you a very happy Easter. God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250420.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250420.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 10:24am on Saturday April 18th, 2026

Dear friends, An additional attachment today for the APCM tomorrow. I hope you have time to go over it before the meeting. The picture today is of the river Maas (Meuse) in the Netherlands and the flood plain on both sides. The stair-like structure in the foreground is to measure the water level in the river. This one has been restored recently and is no longer in use as it has been replaced by more modern ways of measuring the water level of the river, but 100 years ago these structures were very common along all rivers in the Netherlands. Flooding was (and still is!) an ever present danger in a land crisscrossed by so many large rivers. God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250413.pdf Weekly notes Readings-20250413.pdf Weekly Readings APCM-Reports-2025.pdf APCM Report  Post expires at 8:13pm on Sunday April 12th, 2026

Dear friends, This was the best my camara could do to capture the solar eclipse last week. Not very revealing but I still think it’s a nice picture. We are going away for a few days so this is the preview and the actual notes will be posted separately as and when they arrive. Have a lovely time in the sun! God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Readings-20250406.pdf readings Post expires at 10:08am on Friday April 3rd, 2026

Dear friends, Earlier this week I needed to get on the garage roof to clean the solar panels of Sahara dust. When I climbed on the first thing I saw was this brick that we left out for some reason. Isn’t it amazing how these mosses have colonised it? I like old-fashioned clay bricks anyway but this is now truly a thing of beauty and it will stay where it is for a long time to come. Tomorrow will be a full day of occasion with Rev Andrew Coe preaching for Mothering Sunday, the first teas of the season and sale of goods of fair trade, organic and animal friendly product. The stall will now also offer refills of cleaning products although for some of these you will need to make an appointment to see me as the containers are very unwieldy! I hope to see many of you tomorrow. God bless, Dineke Notes-20250330.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250330.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 9:48am on Sunday March 29th, 2026

Dear friends, Nothing says ‘Spring’ to me like the appearance of these humble flowers in our woodlands. A good second is the pond in our garden filled with frogs and frogspawn. Please note that on Mothering Sunday, 30 March, we have the first Teas in Church in St John, Capel starting at 15:00. Also next week we will have our LOAF stall. Details in the notes attached. God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250322.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250323.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 10:41am on Sunday March 22nd, 2026

Dear friends, March is fickle as usual. The sun is getting stronger but we still have rain, hail and night frost. Todays picture is of our solar PV panels covered in beautiful ice patterns earlier this week. Luckily that cover does not stop them from doing their work. I hope you are all taking the opportunity to have a lovely lunch in St John in aid of charity. There are still two more to go: 27 March and 10 April. Lovely soup, bread and cheese and great company! We are also looking forward to the first teas of the year on Mothering Sunday, 30 March. On that day we will also have our LOAF stall, not just during the teas in the afternoon but also after the joint morning service. God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250316.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250316.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 5:07pm on Saturday March 14th, 2026

Dear friends, This Sunday is the first Sunday in Lent. Coming Thursday, the 13th and two more Thursdays before Easter soup, bread and cheese will be served in St John in aid of the Bishop’s Lent Appeal. For more information please see the notes attached. All in all it’s a great way to meet people and help raise money for this excellent cause. God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250309.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250309.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 4:19pm on Saturday March 7th, 2026

Dear friends, Last week we went to Newlands corner. The short walk we chose led past a boardwalk through woodland with ancient yew trees. We took the detour and were rewarded with these magnificent 1000 year old yew trees, all gnarled and twisted in the most fantastic shapes. What a beautiful part of the world we live in! If you have a few hours I can recommend you go and see these ancient giants. The weather forecast is favourable. God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250302.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250302.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 11:27am on Saturday February 28th, 2026

Dear friends, Some weeks ago we had the Christingle service in St John. That is when I took today’s picture. I hope you don’t find it inappropriate to show this now but I strongly believe that we should remember all the highlights of the Christian calendar throughout the year. By all means hum a Christmas song in summer and play the passions at Pentecost and, throughout the year, remember to donate to the Children’s Society and other worthwhile charities. God bless. Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250223.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250323.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 9:51am on Sunday February 22nd, 2026