An interview with Gretel Scott

Transcript:

What first attracted you to St John sub Castro Church, Gretel?

Gretel: Well it was the nearest church to my house and I thought I’d give it a try and then I received such a warm welcome that I’ve been there ever since.

When did you start to attend?

Gretel: In 1997 when we moved to Lewes.

What was the Church like then?

Gretel: Well the church was very traditional. It had three services a day. So on a Sunday, eight o’clock early Communion, and then ten o’clock Family Service, and then evening service of Holy Communion again, that was every Sunday. But the main thing about it was it’s warm welcome.

Who was the Rector then?

Gretel: The Rector then was Robert Bell and he lived at the Rectory at the bottom of the Avenue with his wife Jean, who’s died since, and they were very kind to me when my husband died. They invited me back to lunch and he asked me if I would like him to pray with me. I will never forget their kindness.

What was your role in the church?

Gretel: I had no special role at that time, but after my husband died, I joined a House Group: Tony and Myra were in that group and so was Dick Field. Then later on I became Home Link rep and I volunteered as a governor at Pells School, which was St John sub Castro’s church school.

So what do you think of the new developments?

Gretel: Well I think it’s a wonderful God-send that this money has come and with Steve Daughtery’s vision, the Church has been restored and made watertight. It’s now a warm and welcoming space and it’s full of young families, which is just what we needed – it’s the life-blood of the Church and had that not happened, it would have had to close down. I think it is warmly to be welcomed.

What do you know of the Church’s heritage and it’s role in the local community?

Gretel: Well I know that Pell’s School, as I said, was dependent on St John sub Castro as when it was founded about 150 years ago, it was in the parish and where Lewes New School is now. And I have at home a plaque, which is to be mounted on the wall of the Church, which commemorates the foundation stone of the Pells School, which was built using money raised by the Church and the names of all the Church Wardens of those days are engraved on it.

Excellent, so we can look forward to that in the future can we?

Gretel: I hope so.