Category: St Mary’s Parish Church News
October Church News
October Church News
Greetings to you all from the congregation at St. Mary’s Church.
First a correction to the September Church News. The refurbishment of the Church Hall has been funded by the donations from members of the congregation who wish to see the hall restored to encourage more use from the community. To date the lighting has been replaced with LED strip lighting. The lobby has been redecorated, the reveals to the windows in the hall repaired, the Gents Toilet refurbished, the next phase will include the redecoration of the main hall and kitchen/storeroom, by Alex Reynolds’ company at no cost to the church. Thank you, Alex. Sound absorbing panels are to be fitted to the walls to lessen the noise factor when the hall is in use. The wood block floor is to be restored to its former state and with the addition of new curtains at the windows, the church hall will once again be a more welcoming place than previously. So, a big thank you to all who have contributed to the work with donations or practical help in sorting out the storeroom and helping with the hard work, it will be worth all your efforts.
Pilgrimage to Ewenny Priory and Merthyr Mawr
On Saturday 4 October you are invited to take part in our pilgrimage, starting at Ewenny Priory at 10.00am and proceeding via St Bride’s Major to the church at Merthyr Mawr. At each of the churches we will pause to pray and look around. We will finish with a pub meal at around 4.00pm. You can take part by walking (total distance about 7 miles), following by car, or by joining in the prayers at home. More details from Lyndon lyndontssf @outlook.com or David Kennedy kennedy dcf64@aol.com
The celebration of the Harvest took place on September 28th. We were pleased to welcome Alison Price who took part in the Eucharist service. Alison is an active member of the church and has led the Pebbles group for many years. She is currently undertaking her training for the ministry and has begun the final stage of her studies and practice experience during the month. To wish her well there were refreshments following the service and she was presented with a gift from the congregation.
The church was decorated with flowers and displays of the donated food items for the Food Bank were placed in the windows. Many thanks for the recent donations to the Food Bank. The weekly items placed in the boxes in the porch are well received. Items most in need are tinned meat products, tinned vegetables and potatoes, sugar, jams and peanut butter and toiletries. Many thanks for the continued support of the needs of the Food Bank.
A celebration of the Harvest at St. Bleddian’s church at St. Lythans will be held at 3.00pm on October 12th. “Come ye thankful people come”. Regular worship in the church is now limited to Festivals in the church’s calendar, so it is a joy to maintain the round of worship in this ancient church. All are welcome to join us and refreshments
will follow the service.
The Chattery continues to meet in the Church Hall on the second Thursday of the month and is well supported and the FREE raffle is always a time of much hilarity. This is an opportunity to meet in a safe warm place, especially during the coming Winter months, to catch up with news and chat to old friends with the latest news. The modest charge of £2.00 includes the free raffle ticket. All are welcome. The next date will be on October 9th at 10.30am. All are assured of a warm welcome.
200 Club. Renewal letters have been sent to all subscribers to the 200 club, The proceeds from the subscriptions are a major source of income for the building fund, which is used to keep the fabric of the church building in good order. Each share costs £12 for the year, half is used for prize money and half for the Building Fund and prize draws are monthly. Please consider joining if you have not already done so; new shareholders are always welcome. And to those whose support is gratefully received perhaps taking out an extra share this year, in addition to those already held, will help us to make more of a 300 club. Thank you.
The Inaugural Ministry Area BBQ Saturday 7th September. Representatives from the Ministry Area gathered at The Vicarage in Rhoose for a BBQ hosted by the Rev. Denise Maud. The weather was fine and the company enjoyed meeting up and making new contacts thank you Denise, Andrew and their two children for making us all so welcome.
Remembrance Sunday 9th November. Our traditional service of remembrance will be held at 10.00am in church followed by the silence and laying of wreaths at the Village War Memorial.
Quiz Night. Those of you who obtained your tickets for a quiz hosted by Ray Harris, enjoy the evening and do support the raffle in the half time interval. All monies raised go towards the refurbishment of the Church Hall.
It is good to share our news of St. Mary’s with you and maybe one day we will see you in church where a warm welcome awaits.
Parry
July 2025 200 Club Winners
September 2025 Church News
September Church News
Greetings to you all from the congregation at St. Mary’s Church.
Traditionally September is known as the season of mists and mellowness. This year, autumn seems to have arrived earlier with the trees already shedding their leaves. September is also a time of change for our young people as they change schools or move up to another school year. It can be a very unsettling time for them, leaving old pals behind and making new friends, very often far from where they are living. It is all called “part of growing up” and we as a church wish them and their teachers well, knowing that they will come to enjoy the new school year.
The month of August has been a busy one for those of us connected to St. Mary’s. We are so often complimented on how well looked after your church and grounds are kept. Mike keeps the grass cut, the paths swept and bushes removed. Before you enter the church, you know that great care is taken of this jewel in the community. Inside our visitors are again amazed at how well presented the interior is. Our lighting scheme plays a part in this, highlighting certain parts – the wall monuments to the Thomas family of Wenvoe Castle, the Rood Screen, the reredos at the altar. We opened the church on Saturday afternoons in August for visitors to explore our church. Numbers varied, but the volunteers who were present, reported the appreciation shown by those who came. There will be more opportunities for OPEN CURCH during September.
Church Hall with a New Look
The report in last month’s “What’s On” of the refusal of the local authority to support our application to extend the church, has spurred us on to look afresh at the Church Hall, known locally as the Reading Room. Money that had been kept in reserve for the church extension has now been released to refurbish the Church Hall to “make it fit for purpose” for today’s use. So far, the lighting has been renewed in the lobby, the toilets and main hall. The reveals of the windows have been repaired and painted. The damp in the Gent’s toilet will be eradicated and the fittings etc. refitted when the building work is complete. Hot air hand dryers have been fitted in all three toilets.
This current work has also been possible due to some generous donations received. The most generous response is the offer to decorate the hall and exterior woodwork. The kitchen area will have a revamp to bring it in line with today’s food preparation regulations. Finally, it was time to tackle the store cupboard/room which had over the years become a dumping ground for all sorts of things. Many black bags later, the space is now usable for the things that are needed. So, thank you everyone – you did a great job. Thank you also to those who donated towards this phase of the refurbishment, knowing that there are other works that are planned, which will need local authority agreement.
The Church Hall is sited, in a most prominent part, of the centre of the village and has been greatly enhanced by the development of the garden around the bench seat by Mike Tucker and will be the setting for the Village Show on September 6th. The hall has been valued in the community ever since it was given to the church by the Randolph family for use in the then parish, having been provided by Mrs Laura Jenner of Wenvoe Castle for her tenants to read the newspapers, warm themselves by the fire, chat to each other and generally as a place to meet and relax. Our long-term plan is for this to continue to be a place for hire for family occasions, parties and other meetings.
VJ80 A Day of Solemn Reflection
This took place on August 15th. HM the King paid tribute to all who suffered greatly under their captors and moving ceremonies were held around the UK. The main ceremonies took place at the National Arboretum away from London, though a lone piper played a lament at the Cenotaph in the early morning in Whitehall. The war ended by the dropping of two atom bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a tremendous loss of life and injury to the Japanese people. Their suffering is still present in the population to this day and many retold how their current ailments are related to those terrible events of 80 years ago.
There have been two funerals at St. Mary’s during August. On the 14th Barbara O’Grady was laid to rest in the community cemetery. The church was full to support her grieving family, and our condolences go to Mike and his children. The congregation was saddened to hear of the passing of Ian Moody after a short illness. Ian’s funeral was held on the 26th August and he was buried with his late wife Carole in the community cemetery. Ian was a well-respected and active member of the community and our condolences are sent to Kim and her family.
Dates for your Diary
Ministry Area Barbeque will be held in Rhoose on September 6th
Harvest Thanksgiving is on September 28th
An afternoon concert by Sian’s Singers will be at 3.00 pm on October 19th.
For those of you who may be unable to attend church in person, all services at St Mary’s are live streamed at http://www.ipcamlive.com/stmarys church
Thank you for reading,
Parry
May 2025 200 Club Winners
August Church News
August Church News
Greetings to you all from the congregation at St. Mary’s Church.
A warm welcome awaits you at our service on a Sunday morning at 9.30 am, but if you cannot make it log on to our website https://www.ipcamlive.com/stmaryschurch. We know many far and wide do log on, including our friends in the Glenburnie Care Home, and we consider this as a part of our mission to spread the Good News of Jesus in the world. Give it a try. You will be pleasantly surprised.
July has been a relatively quiet time in church with many enjoying their holiday at home or abroad. That does not mean our door is closed. We have hosted three funerals during the month. Each one was different to the other in many ways, but the same message is preached, that of hope. For Christians death is not the ending of a life but a beginning to a new life in the glorious heavenly kingdom that Jesus told us all about. It is natural to grieve for the departed, but a new day dawns and life goes on. Think on the words of this well-known Easter hymn
The strife is o’er, the battle done;
the victory of life is won;
the song of triumph has begun.
Alleluia!
The powers of death have done their worst,
but Christ their legions has dispersed.
Let shouts of holy joy outburst.
Alleluia!
Our dearly departed are not forgotten. Week by week we remember their passing a year after the event. We understand that a formal church funeral is not for everyone, and that Direct Cremation is gaining in popularity. Vicar Lyndon is only too ready to advise during difficult times when decisions have to be made to say farewell to a loved one.
The month may have been a quiet one, but there are always housekeeping jobs to be carried out. We have a very large safe in the Tower vestry that holds all our records. These comprise Registers of baptism, marriage and burials for Wenvoe and St. Lythans, service registers, and other misc. documents relating to church activities over the years. Many are facsimile copies of original registers deposited at Glamorgan Archives, and copies provided for use in the parishes. They have now been listed giving the years they cover dating from the 16th century. Parish registers are fascinating records of events many years ago and were authorised by Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister in 1535; there was a great deal of suspicion that Cromwell was bringing in a tax for his master on the sacraments of the church.
Registers began to be compiled for every “wedding, christening and burying” as the Act states. At the beginning the priest or churchwarden obtained a sheet of paper and ruled it into three columns for the three records to be written up. In 1597 a scheme for a “more careful keeping of parish registers” was introduced with entries now made on parchment, and copies were to be made of the old register previously written on paper. Our Wenvoe register appears to have been copied at this time. These loose sheets were then folded and placed in the parish chest, where over the years they were often attacked by mice and damp. Soon these loose sheets were bound into books and later legislation saw the introduction of preprinted register books which are much easier to read. For family history buffs they are an excellent source of historical facts.
Visitors to the church often ask when it was built, and who built it. The stock reply is we do not know, but we can safely say that there was a church on this site back in the 13th cent. Which means that the people of Wenvoe have worshipped here for 800 years and that the ancient Yew Tree possibly predates the building. At some point in time the church was financed by the introduction of a Church Rate levied on the landowners, on individual cottages or fields, the ale house and every farm in the Parish. The actual rate was fixed at the annual Easter vestry meeting and in Wenvoe we have records from 1829 -1870 when the amount of a penny farthing – 5d was levied. The amount raised was used to pay the parish clerk, see to the purchase of candles and coals for the stove, washing the surplice and the purchase of bottles of wine for the communion. Even the killing of polecats appears in the expenditure items. White liming of the interior was a regular feature, as were repairs and cleaning of the churchyard. The amount on the collection plate was not used for the church but went to supporting the poor and aged of the parish. The priest’s stipend came from the Tythe also levied on the parish or from his private means. The church Rate was finally abolished by an act of parliament in 1868, to the great satisfaction of the non-conformists who objected to paying a tax when their own chapels were self-financed by their own membership.
From the Wenvoe record of church rates, one year of 1860 stands out when the amount collected was increased by subscriptions from the wealthier parishioners to £64, 16 shillings, 10d and a farthing. Was that the year that the soaring Gothic chancel arch was raised, to replace the old crude low arch similar to the entrance to the tower?
More news next month of solar panels, alternative means of heating the church and renovations in the Church Hall.
Parry
July Church News
July Church News
Greetings to you all from the congregation at St. Mary’s Church.
A decade ago under the guidance of our then Rector, Revd. Jon Ormrod we set out a bold plan to extend the church building with an extension on the north side of the nave, to include toilet facilities, a kitchen, storage spaces, a meeting room and a large hall to replace the ageing Church Hall, all to be accessed by an opening from the church in the north wall. At that time many churches were encouraged to make their buildings more “fit for purpose” in providing on site toilets and to offer hospitality. Little did we realise the number of hoops we would have to jump through to get the necessary planning permissions.
Our vision then was to rehouse the flourishing “Pebbles” children’s group away from the church hall to avoid crossing the road in all weathers, to the new and exciting prospect of having them all on one site and we decided to call the project THE ST. MARY’S CHURCH CENTRE.
From the outset we had to convince the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) that the need was there. Then we wanted to breech the wall of the church to allow access to the new building. Site meetings were held with the DAC, Cadw The Victorian Society and Local Authority. Our church architect produced plans, visual drawings of how the new work would look, the bills were mounting, and progress was slow. We held a public meeting in the Community Centre to test the response of the village to our plans, which was positive, if that was what he church wanted then it was their business, although there was some reservation of disposing of the church hall, formerly known as The Reading Room” gifted to the church and community by an earlier generation of the Jenner family.
The first application for planning was turned down by the DAC, Cadw and Local authority as too large and too bulky. The years pass bye, another meeting with the DAC finally allowed us to breech the wall, so a fresh outline application was made to the local authority, another site meeting was arranged and the decision many months later was “NO” our plans were still too large and would affect the historical nature of the site situated in the Wenvoe Conservation Area.
A recent meeting of the Church Council considered this rejection and great saddened to see our plans and hopes for the future use of the church so greatly diminished. However, the church council decided to proceed with a much-reduced extension. again, on the north side to provide toilet facilities and a small kitchen on the site of the present boiler house. The church hall to be retained and refurbished to make it more fit for purpose. We need your help, tell us what you would like to see to improve what we have at present. Any ideas and help to give the hall a new look will be welcome. We invite you to write down your suggestions and ideas, place them in the secure post boxes in the church porch and church hall and make our church hall more welcoming and friendly
CHRISTIAN AID APPEAL OF 2015 The final result of this year’s appeal came to £3775.26 (including Gift Aid) which is an astounding amount raised in these difficult financial times, so THANK YOU to all who contributed, THANK YOU to those who organised the various money raising events, to those who collated the figures together and did the banking. A truly wonderful response to the needs of those who are not as well off as we are. Well done.
We are now in the season of TRINITY, a turning point in the church calendar. The liturgical colour is Green for the altar frontal and priest’s vestments. Our morning services are well attended and being streamed live on Facebook are watched by many including the residents of the Glenburnie Care Home. Join in at http://www.ipcamlive.com/stmarys church
A recent afternoon concert by SIAN’S singers with a singalong of WW11 songs was greatly enjoyed and will be returning in the autumn for an encore afternoon concert. More details later.
The Church Clock has been having a rest in recent weeks, and time has stood still while we decide what action is needed to get it going. Will it TICK will it TOCK will the hours be struck. The clock was donated in memory of Capt. R.F.L. Jenner in 1880 and has kept time in the village since that time so long ago. Those living near have you missed the chimes? Would you like to see them restored? We need to investigate whether the clock mechanism can be converted to an electric winding system,like us all our volunteer clock winder is getting older and climbing the ladder might not be an option. So we thank Martin Williams and Co for their sterling efforts week by week in winding the clock up.
It’s almost holiday time, school will break for the Summer holiday soon, why not send us a postcard from somewhere you have visited. Address it to St. Mary’s Church, Old Port Road, Wenvoe CF56AL Have a safe journey and return home refreshed
God Bless and see you in church or watch on line.
Parry
Christian Aid Week 11th To 18th May – The Results!
CHRISTIAN AID WEEK 11TH TO 18TH MAY – THE RESULTS
This year we have been really excited by the response to Christian Aid Week. We had concerns that our target of £3,000 (including gift aid) may be beyond what was achievable in one week. How wrong we were!
This year you joined in with the challenges, gave your time and donations. These included:
- Donation envelopes circulated throughout the village, which were returned to the designated collection points accordingly raising £1604 (including gift aid).
- The Sponsored silence challenge for adults with some undertaking this in Gwenfo library raising £482 including gift aid.
- Gwenfo school raising the sum of £700.95 (including gift aid) by taking part in the sponsored silence and a non-uniform day. A truly magnificent effort.
- The Cake, Cake, and More Cake event was as popular as usual, raising £422.17. I am sure the calorie intake in the village that day was also raised!
- Sully contributed by collecting donations and selling hanging baskets raising £411.14.
- The collection at the Maundy service of £145 was donated, and
- An additional £10 donations brought the total to £3775.26 (including gift aid)
And so, many thanks to all the envelop deliverers, bunting and poster hangers, photocopiers, those keeping silent and the teachers who helped in the school, the bakers and those who served refreshments, those who cleared up and the counters of all the money raised. We couldn’t have done it without any of you.
Also, remembering all of who gave cakes or money, or came and took part in the events.
Thank you,
Jude Billingham
June Church News
June Church News
Greetings to you all from the congregation at St. Mary’s Church.
The weather forecasters have said recently that this year the month of May has been the sunniest and warmest and driest for many, many years. The rainfall has been light and soon there could be calls to use our precious water carefully to conserve supplies. The churchyard is looking lovely this year with the flowering hawthorns showing an abundance of bright red flowers outside the church porch. However, we are missing the large cherry tree in flower. It is now the site of a carving of a leaping salmon, carved from the trunk by our ever-resourceful Mike who looks after the grounds so wonderfully. We get many complements on how well kept both the church and surrounding grounds are, and St. Mary’s is a real treasure in our village. Shortly we shall be working on the roof to replace some slates that have slipped and also replacing the ridge tiles on the Transept roof. These minor defects were reported in the recent Quinquennial inspection with other works needed to maintain the church fabric in good condition.
VE80 celebrations took place in the church and village over the Early Spring Bank Holiday, more commonly known as the May Bank Holiday. The longest period of peace in our country, was celebrated with the same joy that marked the ending of WWII in Europe in 1945, with prayers and hymns in church on the Sunday, a time of reflection at midday on Thursday, followed by the pealing of the church bells in the evening and the lighting of the Beacon of Hope at the village War Memorial at 9.30pm.
The Village Plant show brought the proceedings to an end, and we have to thank both Glenys and Mike Tucker for how well they organised, with their many helpers, a day marked with lovely warm sunshine. Events like this that make our community such a good place to live, a chance to meet up with other Wenvonians to chat about current news and reminisce over past times.
We continue the VE80 theme with an afternoon concert by the Sian’s Singers on Sunday 8th June at 3.00pm at St. Mary’s Church which will include a singalong of WWII songs. Sian’s Singers are a very talented group, and we are pleased to host them at this time. There is no admission charge but donations to church funds will be welcome, and there will be refreshments in the Church Hall following the performance. All are most welcome as we once again remember with gratitude the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces and the members of the civilian population during the years of 1939 – 1945.
The other big event taking place as I write is the Christian Aid Appeal organised by Jude Billingham and her team of helpers. The climate crisis is ravaging the farms of indigenous communities in Guatemala; your financial support
will help fund vital tools and training so farmers can support their community to escape hunger. Many events took place in the village during the week of the 11th May, the results will be reported in next month’s news.
St. Bleddian’s Church update: Those of us with large gardens know how difficult it can be when the lawn needs mowing, the edges trimmed and the weather can often be against you, well imagine the problem of keeping the churchyard at St. Lythan’s in a pristine condition.
Thanks to volunteers from the Friends of St. Lythan’s the maintenance of the churchyard has seen the grass cut, and a general tidy up done in recent days. The church is not being used for regular worship and is used as a festival church to mark those times of the year when special services are held to commemorate the great days in the church’s calendar. So, a big thankyou to all who have helped while the search for a more permanent gardener is made.
We are so grateful for the regular donations to the Vale Food Bank which appear in the collecting boxes in the church porch week by week. Due to your generosity, we are able to take a considerable amount every Thursday morning, thanks to Jude and Nigel, to Barry, and the staff are so pleased that our contribution to those in need, comes each week on a regular basis.
The items most needed at present are tinned potatoes, rice puddings, tinned fruit, meat products and carrier bags. Thank you, thank you! Your gifts are most needed. Alternatively a cash contribution is also welcomed to save carrying heavy items to the collecting boxes. Please place in an envelope clearly marked “Food Bank”.
It is good to have an opportunity to share the St. Mary’s news with the community. You are all held in our Sunday prayers, and if you need advice and help on family matters, please contact Vicar Lyndon on 029 2280 6018 (confidential phone).
Every Blessing to all readers,
Parry
