Category: St Mary’s Parish Church News

Memories of Christmas  Etc

How was your Christmas of 2024? Was it spent with family and friends gathered around the table groaning with turkey and pigs in blankets, followed by lashings of Christmas Pudding. Or is it but a pleasant memory of an event which often begins with the carols on the radio heard in mid November and the stores filled with Christmas decorations from early September. The secular world starts its annual observance of the birth of Jesus months before the 25th of December, and yet by the 26th, the carols have stopped playing, the stores hope that the shelves will be empty, and what is left are subject to heavy discounting. How different is the celebration of Christmas in church,. First we have the short season of Advent to prepare for Christmas, the lighting of the Advent candles Sunday by Sunday tells us that we need patience before we get to the big day.

In the church’s calendar Christmas is followed by Epiphany, with the visit of the three magi, who having followed the star which lead them to the baby Jesus, with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Having been warned in a dream that Herod the king intended to kill all first born baby boys, the Holy Family left for sanctuary in Egypt and the magi returned to their distant lands. Lyndon in his sermon showed the congregation the empty stable wherein the Saviour of the World was born but now completely empty of man and beast.

In Tudor times it was the custom to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas after the big day, with much feasting and jollification. Now we celebrate long before the day and are only too anxious to put away decorations, make the left over turkey into sandwiches, curries and the like. But in church St. Mary’s like all churches continue to celebrate the Birth of Jesus until the feast of Candlemas on the February 2nd. By tradition it was on this day that all the candles used in church for the coming year were blessed, hence the name, and Christmas of 2024/25 was finally laid to rest.

Looking back we had a good celebration here in Wenvoe, our carol service of Nine Lessons and Carols set the scene with the true story of Christmas. The church was well attended for the services on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning at St. Bleddians. We thank everyone who helped with decorating the churches, those who arranged the services, chose the carols and hymns, read the lessons, and generally helped to make sure that all went without a hitch. Diolch Thankyou.

Now we turn our thoughts to the year 2025, and there is much to plan for but first we have the season of Lent which begins with the ASH Wednesday ceremonies on March 5th. as itemised below..

Lent 2025

Ash Wednesday, 5th March 10am – St Mary the Virgin, Wenvoe– Holy Eucharist & Imposition of Ashes 7pm –- St John the Baptist, Sully – Holy Eucharist & Imposition of Ashes This is the day we

begin our penitential season of Lent with the remembrance that we are mortal symbolized by receiving ashes on the forehead.

Lenten Weekday Eucharist on Wednesdays at 10am, 1st and 3rd Wednesday in Wenvoe & 2nd and 4th Wednesdays in Sully.

Lenten Meditation An opportunity to deepen our inner life – 30 minutes of silence bracketed with prayers. Please note rotating locations. Come to some or all.

Mondays 4:30-5pm at St Bleiddian’s Church, St Lythans – March 10, 17, 24, 31 April 7

Tuesdays 4:30-5pm at St Mary’s Church, Wenvoe. –March 11, 18, 25 ;April 1 8

Wednesdays 4:30-5pm at St John’s Church, Sully. – March 6, 13, 20, 27 April 3 (Not on 10 April)

The arrangements for the celebration of Easter will be in the March edition of “What’s On”.

During the year our faithful congregation have supported a number of charities with donations of money collected when need arises. Among these are Ty Hafan, in Sully at Christmas Time, the Royal British Legion at Remembrance tide and during the year our main charity we support is Christian Aid. Jude Billingham is our contact with the Christian Aid and we thank her and her team of helpers with organizing the collecting buckets and the counting and verifying monies donated. The response to Christian Aid is community wide and we are very grateful for this and for the Gift Aid declarations which swell the donation by a further 25%. We are confident that the money given does reach the intended communities who are suffering from many causes often by climate change or natural disasters.

See Jude’s account of the Christmas 2024 appeal below.

There will be much more to report in future editions of “What’s On” and we thank the team for all the hard work and hours they put in to ensure that your copy is with you towards the end of the month.

But for now, thank you for reading the church news. A welcome awaits you to join in our services.

Every Blessing on you and your families

Parry

CHRISTMAS APPEAL

“Considering others during Advent”  

Many thanks to all who donated to this appeal for the Sudan via Christian Aid and for the Vale Foodbank.

Many kindly gave for the Sudan including some donations from Sully. We are very pleased to let you know that we collected £473.24 including gift aid.  This has been banked and gratefully received. Many thanks for all your kind donations.

We were also pleased with the appeal for the Vale Foodbank. Your donations of food and Christmas goodies were very generous. Each week in December there was a car boot full of gifts which delighted those sorting and delivering parcels from the warehouse. In addition, we collected £310 (including gift aid) which will be used to purchase specific foods when items are in short supply.

The warehouse was closed for one week during the Christmas period, and we were pleased we had ongoing donations to deliver during January. Staple items requested throughout the year include:

Tinned meat, and vegetables including potatoes, dried instant snacks, tinned fish, tinned spaghetti and soups, milk and sponge puddings and custard, long  life fruit juice and milk, cereals, peanut butter and  sandwich spreads, toiletries, and treats.

We will continue to deliver goods weekly to the warehouse and would be grateful for any donations placed in the boxes in the church porch (they are  emptied on a regular basis)

.

Jude Billingham

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda. A Happy New Year  

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda. A Happy New Year to all our readers.

It is a tradition at this time of the year to look back into the previous year, recalling events that were good and perhaps those which were not so good. We do this in our work life and in our family and social life. For the past year at St. Mary’s it has been a bit of a mixed bag. We have been able to maintain a regular Sunday morning service at 9.30am albeit with a slightly reduced congregation, which is also live streamed for those who cannot make it to church. We have welcomed some new faces to our congregation, which is very good indeed, and there is always a warm welcome and a place for anyone who wishes to worship in our traditional way.

We have maintained a connection with the community at large with the many, many donations we have received during the year for the Food Bank at Barry. The past year has seen a greater demand from those who are unable to place food on the table due to the high cost of living, maybe for those who are unwell and cannot work, so the Food Bank for them is a lifeline for their families. To all who have donated food items or a cash donation we say thank you, and we will need your help during 2025 as the demands on the Food Bank will be greater than ever. Your donations can be left in the church porch where there are large boxes provided, and which are cleared daily and taken into Barry during the week

Our plans to create a St. Mary’s Church Centre, on the north side of the church, which would replace the present Church Hall are subject to stagnation at present. This is a great disappointment, considering the cost we have laid out to have plans drawn up for submission to the various authorities. The Diocese Advisory Committee gave an outline blessing, but the Vale of Glamorgan Local Authority said the scheme was too large, and their refusal really means it is not going to happen. The present church hall needs a major update in the kitchen and toilet facilities; the ingress of damp in places will again need some additional fund raising and grant applications. Watch this space.

On a more positive note our Harvest Celebration was a very happy event apart from the appalling weather which meant our Picnic in the Grounds had to be brought into the church. The Remembrance Sunday service attracted a good congregation, with the Scouts and Beavers and Cubs bringing their banners into church, Gwenfo School also took part with the Head Girl and Boy taking part in the prayers. The service continued at the Village War Memorial for the Silence and Laying of Wreaths, where a much larger number of people had been awaiting, while the Vale of Glamorgan Brass Band played suitable solemn music. The number of wreaths laid was greater than previous years from the many organisations in the village. Thank you to all who devised and printed the special order of service, the choir who attended and to all who still wish to be at the remembrance due to those who have fallen in the two World Wars and wars since.

It was good to see the response to the Light Up Your Windows in the village, bringing light to the world and our streets at this very dark time of year. The final event in the churchyard on Christmas Eve was followed by Carols and Readings of the Christmas Story in the church. A collection taken for Ty Hafan this Christmas, once again helped to support this facility for the mums and dads whose child is a patient there.

On New Year’s Day there will be the usual short mid-week Eucharist at St. Mary’s followed by refreshments and you are all welcome to bring in the New year with thanksgiving for all the previous years and looking forward to what 2025 may have in store for you.

So to all our readers, thank you for taking the trouble and time to read about what’s happened in St. Mary’s during the past year, and look forward for more exciting news items in the year to come.

Parry

CONSIDERING OTHERS DURING ADVENT 

This year during Advent we are considering others in need both locally and farther afield

Each Sunday throughout Advent we will remember those locally who are struggling financially and those farther afield who may have lost everything they own and are displaced away from their homes.

Locally we already donate goods each week to the Vale Foodbank. The goods are taken to the warehouse in Barry, which services 8 contact centres around the Vale. The Foodbank is affiliated to the Trussel Trust, whose philosophy is: “We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry”.

To access help individuals or families need a referral from someone in the caring services for 3 days emergency food. Two examples of those who have needed help include:

Holly who is a single parent with a daughter. She lived in a poor area with drug taking and trading all around, sometimes outside her door. She moved to a better area to be near her parents, however her rent doubled. She had never claimed benefits and remained independent setting up a small business selling second hand clothes. She did this from her home until she gained a space in a local shop to increase her sales. All was going well until her daughter became ill culminating in her needing a stay in hospital for 3 weeks. When she came home soon their cupboards were bare, bills were rising, and debts seemed inevitable. After seeking help at a Citizen Advice Bureau she was referred to her local Foodbank

Richard had been in the police force for 6 years followed by 12 years in the military. He was fit and did not foresee any problems. However, he then had a chest infection followed by two major strokes, 19 mini strokes, and was deemed unfit to work. He needs constant medication and found the cost of transport to get his prescription expensive, and so he found he had to choose between his prescription and buying food. He like Holly was referred to the Foodbank by Citizens Advice.

Both Holly and Richard saw the Foodbank as a lifeline, where they were made to feel welcome and cared for. Indeed, it was the way help was given that gave them encouragement and took away fears about seeking help

Current information of the Vale: During October there were 680 referrals, of which 438 were adults and 242 Children (of those 88 were new referrals). Stock was low during the summer months due to increased referrals, however many donations from Harvest celebrations have made improvements. These should help until January, however this prediction is causing concern as in previous years these Harvest collections should last through to the spring.

Looking further afield Christian Aid helps us to identify communities and individuals who also need our actions. Not all places in crisis reach our TVs or newspapers, or the media soon loses their interest.

“No Room for Comfort and Joy”

The Republic of Sudan has been at war between factions within the military since 2023. 15 thousand have lost their lives and 9 million have been displaced. There is evidence of killings, looting and sexual violence. Many of those fleeing for their lives have made their way to South Sudan, where the UN has declared the situation as the world’s worst hunger crisis. It is there we find Christian Aid taking action.

Here in South Sudan we meet Sheda who is married with 3 children. The youngest is 6 and the eldest also has a 6 year old. Previously she lived in the Republic of Sudan, where she farmed her food organically and though poor the family were able to care for themselves. Looking back to March 2023 Sheda describes: “Fighting broke out and homes were bombed, food was no longer available. The situation was dire. Conditions were very bad for us”.

Sheda’s brothers were killed and she decided to travel with her daughters and granddaughter to South Sudan, her husband stayed and she has not heard from him since. They had no belongings, just the clothes on them.

At the settlement Sheda who previously grew her own food now relies on food and cash supplied from Christian Aid and their partners.

Our role this Advent:

Vale Foodbank: We will be concentrating on collecting food, both festive foods and staple items, to replenish food stocks. Suggested foods for Christmas parcels include, Tinned ham and salmon, Christmas or sponge puddings, Christmas biscuits, Selection boxes, Custard, Savoury snacks, Christmas cake or mince pies.

If you would like to contribute there are collection boxes in the church porch which are emptied regularly.

Sudan Crisis: A Retiring collection for the settlements in South Sudan, will be taken each Sunday in Advent. envelopes will be made available for gift aid.

For further information please contact Jude Billingham on 01756112897