As September arrives we think of past and present church services...

As the church at Whatlington, St. Mary Magdalene, is a relatively rural church, it may stand to reason that a few of the past services used to be, and still are, based on the more rural or agricultural pursuits or maybe I am wrong - please feel free to comment below if I have got things wrong or even right!

Plough Sunday - does anyone remember the Young Farmers taking a tractor and plough, or was it a horse, to Sedlescombe church? This ceremony is said to go back to Victorian Times, according to the Church of England's Seasons and Festivals of the Agricultural Year, or further still as it could have been used to celebrate the first working day after the Twelve Days of Christmas. This ceremony is celebrated between the 7th and the 13th of January (the Sunday after Epiphany). The document also goes on to state that the ploughs used to be kept in the church during the winter.

Creation - The Church of England has recently created a form of celebrations based on the biblical traditions surrounding the Creation and a date put forward to celebrate this day on the Second Sunday before Lent. Does anyone in the village know if this has been celebrated at Whatlington?

Rogationtide - There are 4 Rogation days including April 25th and the three days before Ascension Day and it was originally thought, in Graeco-Romano days, as a way of invoking the work of the Gods to rid the crops of mildew. This grew into a festival of beating the boundaries of the Parish and the fields as well as a blessing of the land. One such example of this service in Whatlington went from St. Mary Magdalene Church to Leeford Farm then a hike to Maddamswood onto Vinehall and then back to Hancox with the service finishing on the green by the Royal Oak. Can anyone remember when this happened and has it ever been repeated?

Lammastide - often called Loaf Mass, as the service was held as a thanksgiving for the first fruits of the wheat harvest. The first of August was usually used as Lammastide and the local farms would bring their first sheaf of wheat as well baked items using local produce. I had heard that Vinehall Farm would bring their sheaf, does anyone know who else brought their sheaves? I also heard that the local baker, Mr. Honeysett from Mountfield would bake a loaf in the shape of a wheat sheaf for both Mountfield and Whatlington churches, does anyone else know of this tradition?

Harvest Festival or Sunday - This occurs around the time of the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox (about Sept. 23), which often occurs in October, and was first recognised by the Church of England in 1862. Can anyone tell me what happened in Whatlington Church with regard to this service?

With reference to the Church of England's Seasons and Festivals of the Agricultural Year, a recent addition has been added to create prayers in times of agricultural crises. This has recently included the recent outbreak of foot and mouth in England that restricted the movement of both mammal and person across the countryside, can anyone remember what happened at the church at this time?

As you may see, I have asked a lot more questions this time, so how do you answer these questions, either by sending an email to wvarchive@hotmail.co.uk or by adding a comment below. Thank you.