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

Dear friends, Looking out of a window this week, contemplating how to get rid of the neighbours’ out-of-proportion Leylandii, I suddenly noticed a movement in the top. It turned out to be a resting buzzard. I took several photos and waited until he decided to leave. Maybe I won’t broach it with the neighbours after all. God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250216.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250216.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 10:08am on Sunday February 15th, 2026

Dear friends, It’s February and I have filed my TAX return (just in time as usual), the days are noticeably longer and soon the frogs will return to our pond. The daffodil buds are about to burst but there is not a lot flowering in the garden yet so I have attached a bunch of flowers for you to enjoy instead. God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Candlemas-newsheet.pdf Weekly News Sheet Readings-20250202.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 9:18am on Sunday February 1st, 2026

Dear friends, The sermon of the Bishop of the episcopal church in Washington last Monday, where she implored the about to be sworn in US president to be kind and considerate has gone viral on social media. She has already received hate-mail for her words and we should pray for her safety and for the positive effect of her words on the new president and his administration. Today’s is the last picture of our break in Norway, I promise! This sweeping installation was one of two in the Vigeland museum in Oslo. God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250125.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250126.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 10:13am on Sunday January 25th, 2026

Dear friends, A belated happy new year to you all! The picture today is of a statue in Fauske, Norway that marks the arctic circle. Dik and I spend a very happy week in Norway, playing in the snow and celebrating a big-0 birthday of one of my nieces. This morning I circulated a message on Facebook: ‘You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That is how prayer works.’ God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250119.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250119.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 10:02am on Sunday January 18th, 2026

Dear Friends, How are you all holding up in the cold weather? I hope you are all well and warm. Dineke and I managed to pick just this week for a holiday. However, it isn’t warm here either. I’m writing this from the north of Norway, just above the arctic circle. As chance would have it, the temperature here is the same as in the Capel area. Tomorrow there’s a special Cafe Church, combined with Okewood and Forest Hill. We hope to see you there. Warm greetings from Valnesfjord, Norway Dik Sent from Outlook for iOS<aka.ms/o0ukef> Readings-20250112.pdf weekly reading notes-baptism-of-Christ-newsheet.pdf weekly news letter Post expires at 10:43am on Sunday January 11th, 2026

Dear friends, Last Friday I spent a glorious couple of hours on the coast. The sea air and sunshine were very welcome after the dull weather in December. It is quite wonderful how a different environment can conjure up a different outlook on life. It doesn’t have to be the beach or the weather. It can just as easily be a visit of a friend, a book or a craft that can give that lift and a new perspective. We just have to recognise it when it presents itself. Happy new year and God bless, Dineke van den Bogerd Notes-20250105.pdf Weekly Notes Readings-20250105.pdf Weekly Readings Post expires at 12:33pm on Sunday January 4th, 2026