St Margaret’s Church Underriver
We want our beautiful and much loved Church to be at the heart of our village community, the focus of our worship and good-neighbourliness.
Carter’s Hill, Underriver, Sevenoaks TN15 0RY
REVISION OF THE CHURCH ELECTORAL ROLL
Every six years, all Church of England parishes make new Church Electoral Rolls. We are about to start on this process; and we will finish it in April.
Because the 2025 Electoral Roll will be a new one, we have to ask all those on the 2024 Electoral Roll to tell us whether they still wish or are still qualified to be on it.
This is an invitation to anyone who would like to be on the Church Electoral Roll, whether they are already on it or not, to apply to have their name added. Applications should reach Arthur Rucker, our Church’s Electoral Roll Officer, by Thursday 27th March. Inevitably, there will then be some forms to fill in. Arthur’s address is Thrums, Vines Lane, Hildenborough, Kent TN11 9LT. His telephone number is 01732 833227 and his email address is arthurrucker@btinternet.com.
The names of those on the new Electoral Roll will be posted on the notice-board in the Church porch for a short period, but no other personal information will be published or used without permission.
The Church Electoral Roll has nothing to do with the Electoral Roll used for central and local government elections. It is the list of those qualified to attend and vote at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) (on 24th April this year) and to elect our Churchwardens and members of our Parochial Church Council at that meeting. If you are on our Electoral Roll, you also get a weekly email from Serena telling you about upcoming services and other Church events.
The number on the Church Electoral Roll is one of the factors which can have a material influence on decisions regarding the future of the parish. Being on the Church Electoral Roll is one of the ways in which people can show their support for our lovely Church, as well as for Serena Willoughby and Gretel Wakeham (our Vicar and Lay Reader) and the many volunteers who work so hard to keep our Church alive in Underriver. Do please speak to one of us if you would like to know more.
MAXINE CLARK, Churchwarden.
Please click below to download the relevant forms.
At the heart of Underriver village
St Margaret’s Church enjoys a close relationship with Underriver Village and is central to village life.
The Church was built in 1867. Much of the cost was met by John R Davison of Underriver House. The dedication was in memory of his mother Margaret Davison. The parish was created in 1866. The construction of the church was by Henry Constable (price £1,931), a Penshurst builder and the church was opened on 8 June 1867.
Our usual pattern of Church services is as follows:
First Sunday in the month - 9.45am Morning Worship ( no communion)
Second Sunday - 8am Holy Communion ( Book of Common Prayer)
Third Sunday - 11.15am Matins or 6pm Evensong (summer months)
Fourth Sunday - 11.15am Holy Communion
Occasional Fifth Sunday - an opportunity for a different kind of service, advertised on home page.
The Church is open during the day at the weekends for private prayer and quiet. We have a number of events including concerts during the year which will be listed on our Events page.
Underriver is a small village, just south of Sevenoaks in Kent. However, despite its size, the village has an active and lively community.
The Village Association website details local news and events, as well as general information about local businesses, societies, clubs and organisations active in the area.
REGULAR GIVING
Charity of the Year
Each year, we choose a specific charity that we support practically and prayerfully as well as financially.
Special Collections
Throughout the year we have a number of special collections for specific charities. Details of these are announced at the services at which the collections are made.
Other Charities
Sustain which is run by the Tonbridge Baptist Church. This hands out food parcels three times a week to those in need who have been referred to them. Anyone interested can look up Sustain on the Tonbridge Baptist Church website.
If you would like to consider setting up a Standing Order, the process would work as follows:
Contact the Vicar or Church treasurer to provide you with the Church’s bank account number and sort code.
You decide what amount you would like to donate, and what the frequency would be. We have donors who contribute monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually, so it’s really a matter of what’s most convenient for you.
Once you have made the decision, you can contact your bank to set up the standing order (or do so yourselves via online banking). You can obviously amend or cancel at any time, since it’s all done directly with your own bank. If you could include your names as a reference on the payments, that would help us immensely.
It’s not a requirement from our side, but if you could let us know how much you intend to donate on an annual basis (in other words, the amount and frequency) it will help us to budget. We can, of course, always work this out for ourselves by monitoring the bank statement over the course of the year.
Regarding Gift Aid, if you are a tax payer and your donations are thus eligible for Gift Aid top-up payments, we’d ask if you could kindly complete a declaration which will allow us to claim an additional 25% over and above your donation. You can download the declaration form here and hand it to one of the Wardens next time you’re in church.
