Called to Love and Praise
Larkfield and East Malling
Methodist Church
Minister: Rosemary Pritchard

Larkfield and East Malling
Methodist Church
Larkfield and East Malling
Methodist Church
Called to Love and Praise
A Warm welcome awaits visitors to our Warm Space in the Sycamore Tree.


Welcome
We are a friendly, welcoming Church, of all ages with a membership of around 80, and many more in our wider Church family.
Our Church family comes mainly from the villages of Larkfield, East and West Malling, Kings Hill, Addington, Leybourne, Ditton and Aylesford, all of which are just west of the County town of Maidstone in Kent.
We enjoy worship in a variety of styles from traditional to modern, and our congregations usually include a wide variety of ages, from toddlers to octogenarians.
See our Services page for full details of in-person and on-line services and opportunities for worship.
There are a large number of regular groups and activities (see activities and Children and Family pages).
Girls Brigade, Boys Brigade and Messy Church are term-time only.
Rosemary's News...
17/3/23
Dear friends at Larkfield,
Yesterday was my first ever Synod in this District. For those of you who may be newer in the life of the Methodist church, we belong to the Southeast District which includes Surrey, Sussex and part of Hampshire as well as Kent. Ministers and representatives meet twice a year and ministers a third time, to renew the promises we made in ordination and have fellowship together. I had great joy spotting some old friends..two I trained with (Marieanne who came to you in 1997 is another.) I also met a couple, both ministers, who'd served in the Circuit I candidated from, and have just moved to Canterbury in retirement. Belonging to one another in Christ is precious, and often Methodism enables this very well.
In the Synod we shared experiences of how much had changed post Covid. Many people feel that when history assesses this time, it will be labelled as a key turning point. Our Chair of District preached on John 3, as many of us did 2 weeks ago. His final sentence rang very true. 'Is this the time,'he asked, 'when the church needs to be born again from above?'
I was particularly struck that this resonates with similar insights coming from other Christian writers and speakers. We are in fast changing times when so much is shifting. In order to model and present the good news of Jesus, church may need to take a very different shape. Challenges to us as individual disciples and as the body of Christ may be new and perplexing. A key message from the conference I went to three weeks ago was that we need to rely, not on human wisdom and effort but on God's Holy Spirit.
Synod ended, as it always does(!) with a treasurered hymn by Charles Wesley 'Captain of Israel's host' I think I saw the second verse in a new light:
'By thine unerring Spirit led
We shall not in the desert stray,
We shall not full direction need,
Nor miss our providential way.
As far from danger as from fear,
While love, almighty love is near.'
Blessings
Rosemary
Stop Press:
Updated 18/2/23
Natural Evangelism Course - Starting Sunday 16 April
Beginning on Sunday 16 April, Bart Woodhouse will be leading a six-session course at 5.30pm for anyone interested in building their skills and confidence in evangelism. The sessions will take place at Larkfield & East Malling Methodist Church. I know that many of you who took part in the 'Known & Loved' Mission Week earlier this year were delighted to find that speaking to people about faith doesn't have to be frightening, and that there are lots of different ways of sharing the good news. This is the perfect opportunity to continue to build on that experience with friends from across the circuit. Contact Bart with any questions, or to register your interest: bart.woodhouse@gmail.com / 07361 253747
Dial-in service - Thursday 6th April at 10am
Our dial-in service is now taking place monthly, at 10am on the first Thursday of the month. You are warmly invited to join us this morning, as we reflect together on the theme of Epiphany, through poetry, through Scripture, and through prayer. The details for joining from a phone or computer are as follows:
Step 1: At 10am dial 020 3481 5237 from a mobile or landline
Step 2: When requested, enter the Meeting ID 999 8764 3710 followed by #
Step 3: When requested, enter the Passcode 345080 followed by #
You do not need a 'Participant ID' - just press #
If you have a laptop, iPad or phone, you can also get into the service on these devices with just one click using the following link:
https://zoom.us/j/99987643710?pwd=bmhvSlh2Nk45QUZXS2JubXgxbElYdz09
(In case you need it, the Meeting ID is: 999 8764 3710 and Passcode: 345080)
Warm Spaces
With Christmas behind us, many people in our local communities will be feeling the squeeze and worrying about their ever-increasing energy bills. Larkfield & East Malling Methodist Church (with its sister churches in Larkfield) and the Church in Burham (working together with All Saints, Wouldham) are now both offering Warm Spaces, with a warm welcome, hot drinks and light refreshments, friendly volunteers, and WiFi - all for free.
It's always a warmer, more welcoming atmosphere when there are more people there - so even if you're not feeling too anxious about your heating bills, please do pop by for a cuppa and a chat!
No Cash?
No Problem!
Donate to the church the cashless way
You can now donate to the church with your smart phone!
Scan the QR code on the Donate page of the website or any of the QR codes shortly appearing in the church.
For more information or questions contact Martin White





Introducing the Revd Rosemary Pritchard
I'm delighted to introduce you to the Revd Rosemary Pritchard, who has generously agreed to offer cover when I am on maternity leave. If all goes to plan (!), my maternity leave will begin on Sunday 15 January, and I will be back with you on Monday 30 October 2023. Rosemary has recently arrived in our circuit - but, as you'll find out, she's no stranger to the area! I've asked Rosemary to introduce herself, so you can read all about her below. I'm sure you'll have the pleasure of meeting Rosemary in person soon, and that you'll make her very welcome in January.
Hello everyone – I’m Rosemary Pritchard, I was a German teacher before training for ministry and I’ve been a Methodist presbyter since 1997 – in fact my welcome service at Gerrards Cross (near Windsor, and at that time in the Hillingdon Circuit) was held the day of Princess Diana’s funeral. After 5 years in that appointment I went to the South Essex Circuit, which is actually the next-door Circuit North of here. I always value working with other churches too, so that together we can be a blessing to our communities. In Thurrock we had an evangelistic Youth mission, supported the Seafarers’ ministry on the Thames, hosted the Foodbank and the Thurrock Art Trail, to give four varied examples. I was there for 12 years during which time we saw the population of the Circuit become much more diverse and multicultural, and one of the churches I had the joy of serving latterly had lots of West African families – including a certain Ghanaian Local Preacher you might have met too.
This led to a trip to Ghana with a small group of Methodist ministers, led by the Rev William Davis, a minister from Ghana seconded to our Conference (who’d been Fred Yamoah’s Sunday School teacher back in Kumasi). William had told Grays Methodist that their minister would never be the same again. I don’t think he could have foreseen that on that trip God would stir up afresh a long-dormant sense of call to serve in Bible Translation. The Connexion was receptive to my sense of call into this work, and I did some specialist training with Wycliffe Bible Translators, spent 6 months in France resurrecting my A Level French and finally went to Burkina Faso in West Africa. I’ve written more about this for the Grapevine.
In the end I sadly gave up the idea of returning there after the pandemic, mainly because my parents are now very elderly. My mum (who enjoys the Keep Fit group at Spital Street) does a wonderful job of caring for dad at home, and it seemed only right to be around to help as needed. They live near Dartford, you see, which is where I grew up. I’m so thankful for my time at Dartford Grammar School for Girls which ignited my passion for languages. When I was a child, my granddad used to take me to Crayford or The Brent, and when it was Harvest he took me to Hartlip where he had grown up (though I went to a Sunday School run by Christchurch Dartford, which is why my Methodist connections in Kent are limited.)
I’d thought I might be becoming Supernumerary this year, but God seemed to have something else in store – and it meant I was available to stand in for Naomi when she takes her maternity leave.
Spreading the Word
In 2022 we had more than twice as many visits as 2021!
In 2021, 418 people visited the website 605 times for an average of 5 minutes 4 seconds.
In 2022, 721 people visited the website 1299 times for an average of 4minutes 59 seconds.
Visitors were from all parts of the UK, with multiple visits from US (30), Ireland (5), Nigeria (3) and Russia (2).
Popular pages visited were:
Services 13
Contact 9
Home 9
Welcome everyone.