October Events Report

October began with the rehearsal on Monday evening, Oct 1st in preparation for the recording of the two services on Monday 8th Oct. Jon had written the service for Bible Sunday with the help of the many written suggestions from the congregations, who had been invited to share their thoughts and ideas from the Bible teaching that had helped them during their lives. As you would expect in Wales, hymn singing formed a large part of the service and we sang a version of the Gloria to the tune of “Cwm Rhondda” and finished up with “We shall go out with joy” and we were even allowed to clap, clap, clap during the final verse as is our practice in St. Mary’s.

The second service had Epiphany (the visit of the Magi or wise Men or Kings from the East to the baby Jesus) for its theme, and we were all transported to the Twelfth day after Christmas. The Gospel according to St Luke provided the readings, the carols included “We three kings of Orient are” and we finished up with “One more step along the way we go”

The actual recording of the services were quite different from the rehearsal. We began at 6.30 pm on Monday evening October 8th, and soon realised that the first thing to happen was the voice checks to get the right level. Then everything was recorded in segments, which the producer explained was for any editing to be done to make sure there was enough material to edit or to fill in to the allotted time allowed for the programme to go on air. It must have been about 10 o’clock before the recordings were in the can, and now we have to wait until the broadcast times to hear the final result. It was a good experience to have representatives of our three churches together in an act of worship that was not only fun to do, but enjoyable at the same time.

The 1st broadcast is on Bible Sunday on BBC Radio Wales at 7.30am on October 28th. With the 2nd broadcast on The Feast of the Epiphany on BBC Radio Wales at 7.30am on January 6th 2019.

A session of “Messy Church” was held on Saturday afternoon October 6th in the Wenvoe Community Centre, when some 60 parents and children gathered for this informal family type worship. The theme was “The Wedding at Cana” and the children all helped to make a banner showing the bride and groom with their hand prints in the form of footprints along the bride’s train. That, together with wedding like bunting to decorate the feast, brought the afternoon to a close. A special thank you to the Vale Church for the help they give to make these events such a success.

The recent “Scarecrow Festival” brought many famous people to Wenvoe, despite the wet stormy weather. Due to the rain the event was quickly moved into the church and every nook and cranny seemed to have a scarecrow. We had Geraint Thomas, the winner of the “Tour de France” on his bike in the transept, “Flora the Wenvoe flower Girl”

in the Nave and Donald Trump, the President of the USA presided over all. All were worthy of prizes, for the effort that goes to assembling the scarecrows, and we look forward to next year, when perhaps the weather will be kinder to us. A full list of the prize winners, judged by the people who came, can be found in the October edition of the Parish Magazine “Connections” available in church.

During the “Scarecrow Festival” weekend, the plans for the church extension were displayed in the Transept. They will remain there for some weeks to allow as many people as possible to examine them. There has been a lot of favourable comment for the design and the facilities we hope offer our congregation and the community at large, as we make St. Mary’s Church fit for purpose in the years ahead. For a selection of the illustrations and the floor plan see adjoining page.

Eira Jervis RIP – The church community was saddened to hear of the passing of Eira Jervis after many months of illness. Eira was born, raised and married in Wenvoe and her adult life was spent in the service of others in the community. She served on the Wenvoe Community Council for many years, and has been Chairperson during that time. She was a faithful member of the congregation and undertook the church hall bookings in her spare time. For many years she was the village hairdresser, working from home and then later opening the salon at the rear of the village stores. She was an active member of the Wenvoe Historical Group and provided the foreword to the Tempus book on “Old Wenvoe” Condolences are extended to Viv, her husband and to her sons and their extended families. Well done thou good and faithful servant.

A reminder that the Community Remembrance Service takes place at 10.00am on Sunday 11th November starting in church and proceeding to the Village War Memorial by 11.00 am. This year is the Centenary 1918-2018 of WW1 and so is a very special occasion as we remember the Armistice. We also remember the 100 years of the Royal Air Force and the part they played in both World Wars. We will remember them.

Blessings to all our readers and a welcome awaits you at St Mary’s.

Parry Edwards

 



 

Vision 20/20 St Mary’s Church Extension

 

Here are a few of the drawings showing the proposed extension to St Mary’s Church, Wenvoe to provide a hall and kitchen and toilet facilities on the north side of the church and a balcony in the nave at the west end. Further plans can be viewed in the transept of St Mary’s. If you have any questions or comments about these designs then please contact Jon on revjonormrod @yahoo.co.uk.

 

 

The provisional plans were designed and drawn by the architect, the late Richard Dean, who sadly died whilst working on this project in September. It is still the intention of the PCC to proceed as we can use this concept as the basis of our design. More details will follow later, in the meantime our prayers go to Richard’s partner Jo at this sad time.

 

 



 

A Buffalo Called Wenvoe

 

On a recent trip to India, Gary Smith, the Pastor at Vale Village Church bought a buffalo and gave him the name Wenvoe! You may wonder why. Since the church was started they have partnered with the charity that Gary runs who have been working in India since 2005.

Partnering with a Gateway ministry in Rajahmundry, Andra Pradesh, Ignite, Vale Village Church, Message Wales and many other churches and individuals have paid for the construction of more than 25 churches. In addition, they developed a 300+ pupil school for Dalit children. Dalits are the lowest caste in India and used to be called “untouchables”. They are from some of the poorest villages and were it not for the Gateway School many would not have access to education. This English medium school teaches most of the same subjects as in the UK plus Hindi, the Indian national language and Telegu, the language in that part of the country. Since its inception it has produced excellent results.

Six years ago money was also raised to build a children’s home on the school compound. The 25 children housed there are either orphans or “semi-orphans” meaning they have lost one of their parents and the surviving parent is simply too poor to care for them. This is where the buffaloes come in! We are establishing a small herd to provide milk for the children and also possibly generate an income for the children’s home. Gary shared some information:

“When I was visiting this August I saw that there are currently 4 buffalo on the land. Rotation means that only 2 are currently providing milk. Now clearly I am not a herdsman but I tried to understand the facts and this is what I discovered. Each buffalo produces about 3 litres of milk. The children’s home needs 9 litres per day. So with only 2 currently available to milk it meant they were buying milk to meet the shortfall. A quick call home to our church and we decided to gift them one to get them over the current ‘crisis’. In order to ensure this supply remains constant we will need to find a way to provide a further buffalo. In addition they need to pay a stockman. In simple terms an additional buffalo in milk would provide the income for the whole operation. Ultimately we want to raise the funds for a total of 10 buffalo. This would feed the kids, pay the stockman, provide a small income and have capacity for buffalo not to be providing milk.

I discovered a few other things. Milk from cows is not consumed in India. That is because it curdles in the heat and also the Hindus consider it to be a sacred animal. Also because Hindus are vegetarian and Christians do not eat beef there is almost no value in buffalo meat. Meaning male calves are worthless. The most surprising discovery is just how expensive buffaloes are! Wenvoe the buffalo cost almost £1,200! This is expensive by most standards but in India it means the herd is incredibly precious to their owners”

 

If you would like to sponsor a buffalo, the cost is £1,200. Or if you would like to make a part cost donation for any amount, please make a cheque payable to Ignite and post it to 17 Rectory Close, Wenvoe, CF5 6AQ

 



 

September Rouundup

 

 

September has seen the resumption of “Pebbles” returning after their Summer break, and how good it was to see them in church. The All Age Eucharist Service took place in St John’s church, Sully, when Bishop June presided and preached to a packed church. The PCC has met on two occasions during the month to consider and approve the final plans for the church extension we are planning on the North side of the church nave. These are ambitious plans and have the WOW factor in spades, but is still in keeping with the present fabric of the building. These plans were exhibited during the weekend of the Scarecrow Festival and the Harvest Celebrations, and comments for and against were recorded. The aim of this enlargement of the church is to make it fit for purpose in the 21st century, as we reach out into the community, and also to safeguard the continuing use of the building during the week and not only on Sundays.

Richard Dean R.I.P – The church plans were drawn up between Ray Harris and Richard working very close together over a number of weeks. Richard was only appointed our architect this year and we were saddened to hear of his sudden death. We extend our sympathies to his wife and family and know that due to his work with many heritage organisations, he will be sorely missed.

May he rest in peace and rise in glory…Amen

Church Hall Bookings – For many years Eira Jervis has handled the bookings and keys of the hall to those who wish to make use of its facilities. Eira now feels that the time is right to hand over to another, and we give her thanks for the years of service she has given the church over such a long period of time. For the time being Carol Wyllie will be looking after the bookings and she can be contacted on Tel No. 20592655. If anybody would like to take on the role please contact Carol.

The “200” Club – The renewal letters for the “200 Club” have gone out during the month to the 300 plus subscribers to this fund raising scheme. Half of the money raised is placed in the Building Fund to cover the normal repairs and improvements made to the fabric of the church. This over the years has been a tremendous help in financing repairs and new members are always welcome. Please contact Dickon Oliver on Tel. No. 20679108 if you wish to join.

On Sunday 16th September we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the priesthood of Rev. Canon John Oeppen. John presided and preached at the 9.30 am Eucharist service and there was cake and some bubbles afterwards. John and his wife have been regular members of the congregation since his retirement and has often taken our services when Jon is away on holiday. John and Janet are also celebrating their Golden Wedding in November, so the occasion was a double celebration for them.

Congratulations.. and well done thou good and faithful servant.

The church and the church hall have had a “Deep Clean” during the month, we are so grateful for the work the volunteers put to keeping the church clean and tidy, but we needed to get the cobwebs, layers of dust on the walls and on the heating pipes that it was necessary to bring in the cleaning specialists, and a very good job they did. We plan to repeat the exercise every two years. Thanks are also due to Lyn for the care she has taken of the Church Hall on a weekly basis.

The Webb Casey Foundation Trust has made a donation of £150.00 to the “Pebbles” group. From this year’s fundraising, they wanted to help to provide services for our young children in the church. A big thank you for this very kind gesture. The money will go to providing materials for the craft work during their morning sessions in term time.

At a recent meeting of the Parochial Church Council mention was made of Vision 2020, the name chosen for the church extension, and the need to appoint a new architect to take on the plans drawn up by our late architect Richard Dean. A plan to lower the Chancel floor by means of a shallow ramp, to take away the hazard of the chancel step is being drawn up. There is evidence of condensation under the present carpet laid on a tiled floor which will need to be investigated .

The Chairman suggested that this year’s donations from the collections at the following services:-…. 9.30 am Harvest to be given to Christian Aid, Remembrance Service, shared between the Royal British Legion and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, Community Carol Service and “Waiting for Jesus” to Shelter Cymru.

BBC Radio Wales CELEBRATION recording takes place on Monday Oct 8th with the First Service broadcast on Sunday 28th October which is Bible Sunday and the Second Service broadcast on Sunday 6th January 2019 the Feast of the Epiphany.

Blessing to all our readers a welcome awaits you at any of our services.

Parry Edwards

 



 

News Update

The holiday month of August sees a little less activity in St. Mary’s, with the “Pebbles” on their Summer break and some of the faithful away on holiday, but the worship continues week by week and on the twice a month Wednesday Eucharist.

We ended July with a United Service at St. Bleddian’s church in St Lythans. The hot weather had broken on that day but the church was full and it was a delight to see representatives of the three churches coming together to worship and praise Almighty God. Helen Ormrod was there to thank the parishes for the wonderful response to her appeal to help fund her place on the Mercy Ship, which will be based off the coast of Guinea. The total raised was £3,100 and Helen has already booked her passage and we wish her well, knowing that she will be part of a team of health care professionals bringing their skills to a part of the world that so desperately needs it. As a Thank You to the parishes, Jon and Sheonagh held an “At Home” at the Rectory on the afternoon of Sunday 19th August to show how much they and Helen appreciate the kindness, the fellowship and support they have received.

At the United service at St. Lythan’s, we had a guest organist, Mary Williams from Barry. Mary normally attends All Saints Church in Barry and as our rota of organists were all on holiday, she was available to play for our service. Mary is the daughter of JF Williams a former Dean of Llandaff, and her aunt Mrs Idris Davies lived in Wenvoe. So she felt really at home and played very well on an instrument she was not used to. Thank you Mary.

Jon has felt for some time that more people are needed to be Licensed to Assist in the distribution at the Eucharist, and Jenny Ford, Allan Oliver, Judith Billingham and Sandra Davies have all been licensed by Bishop June, in addition to those already able to carry out this important ministry and took up their duties during August. The involvement of Lay people in the ministry of the church is a good sign that all is going in the right direction in the life of the church.

The Building Committee had an opportunity to see

the latest version of the plans for the proposed church extension, on the North side of the nave. Following on, the P.C.C. met on the 28th August to discuss and approve the plans, before they are submitted to the Diocesan Advisory Committee for their comment and decision. We are much in the hands of our architect, Richard, to spearhead this through the negotiations with the DAC and we await their response.

Things to look forward to in September at St. Mary’s, and to which a warm welcome awaits.

Saturday 22nd September 2pm – 5pm SCARECROW FESTIVAL

Sunday 23rd September HARVEST FESTIVAL

Sunday 30th September at St. John’s church in Sully, United Eucharist Service with Bishop June at 10.30am.

BBC “Celebration” programme rehearsal on Monday October 1st at St. Mary’s with the recording a week later on October 8th at 6.30 pm. Jon wishes to thank everyone who took part in selecting their favourite passage and book of the Bible. Many of the comments made for interesting reading and there is a broad sweep of favourites which will make the broadcast meaningful and thoughtful, and represents how the congregations of the three churches approaches the worship of Almighty God in 2018/9.

The Parish Magazine “Connections” which is available in church on the first Sunday of the month, proves popular with a near “sell out” in recent months. A reminder to the congregation in Wenvoe that we offer a year’s subscription for £5.00, payable now, which many find more convenient than paying month by month. The magazine, which shares news with St. Lythan’s and Sully, brings the activities of the parishes together in a well produced publication.

Blessings to all our readers

Parry Edwards

 



 

St. Mary’s Scarecrow Festival

A poem to celebrate
St. Mary’s Scarecrow Festival.
“ The Scarecrow” by Walter de la Mare

 

All winter through I bow my head
Beneath the driving rain;
The north wind powders me with snow
And blows me black again.
At midnight ‘neath a blaze of stars
I flame with glittering rime;
And stand above the stubble, stiff
As mail at morning prime.
But when that child called Spring
And all his children come
Scattering their buds and dew
Upon these acres of my home;
Some rapture in my rags awakes,
I lift void eyes and scan
The skies for crows, those ravening foes
Of my strange master, Man.
I watch him striding lank behind
His clashing team, and know
Soon will the wheat swish body high
Where once lay sterile snow.
Soon will I gaze across a sea
Of sun begotten grain;
Which my unflinching watch has sealed
For harvest once again.

 



 

Good News…. The “French Drains” are in

 

St. Mary’s Parish Church News

Good News…. The “French Drains” are in and the work completed with the church path to the porch restored with tarmac laid where the “soak aways” were dug.. The bones which were discovered during the “dig” have been re-interred near to where they were found, this is always a problem when work is done in the churchyard, and the reason why an archaeologist is always in attendance, and his report will be received in due course cataloging the finds. The next phase of work necessary will be on the top of the tower, both internal and external, to clear away an accumulation of foliage and silt etc and to examine the roof timbers for signs of rot and infestation of any beetle activity.

The churchyard is looking good, but is suffering from the long spell of dry hot weather with the grass being parched. It is at times like this that, patches appear in the turf showing that a gravestone lies underneath.

On Sunday 15th July, we said farewell to Rev, Canon Robin Morrison and his wife Linda as they are moving to live in West London to be near their daughter. Robin, since his retirement, has been a regular member of our congregation as well as taking services when Jon has been on holiday. He presided at the 9.30 am Eucharist and in his address he reminded us that we are called with the three “P’s”… we are to be Pastoral, Prophetic and Priestly, how God reaches out to us in everyday life as well as in the church. We will miss him, for he has been a good friend to St Mary’s and we wish him and his wife every happiness in their new home.

Every member of the congregations of the six churches in the Ministry Area has been invited to submit their favourite book of the Bible, or favourite verse from the Bible, in preparation for the recording of BBC Wales programme “Celebration” which will be broadcast on Bible Sunday October 8th (with a rehearsal on Oct 1st). Jon will be taking these suggestions to form a service around them. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the Ministry Area and how by drawing people together, with praise and hymns, the Good News of Jesus is taken out from within the church to the world around us.

The summer Session of “Messy Church” was held on Saturday 21st July when the theme was “Jesus Feeding the Five Thousand”. A good time was enjoyed by the parents and children, with craft work, storytelling, singing and of course the feeding at the end. Thanks are given to all who help to organise these events which have been very popular during the year, and of course there are more to come.

Ministry Area Confirmation Service took place in Llandaff Cathedral on Wednesday 18th July with Bishop June presiding, The candidates from Wenvoe are Adam, Jacques, Erin, Christopher, Celyn, Maisey, Tia, Nathan, Harry, Lucia and Poppy. They were well supported by parents and friends together with others from within the Ministry Area churches.

July has been a very busy month at St. Mary’s with two memorable funerals of John Custance and Gwyn Rees of Wrinston Farm and looking ahead August will also be a busy time with three weddings planned in Wenvoe. Our little church is doing well at present with good congregations and a welcome awaits all who come to church perhaps for the first time. The Wednesday morning Eucharist services are especially well attended when refreshments are available for a time of friendship and social chat. Similarly the monthly “Chattery” in the Church hall is an opportunity to meet up with friends and those who are not in the congregation and chat over all the local news. A warm welcome awaits all in this very friendly gathering on the second Thursday of the month.

Its holiday time, so enjoy it and let us hope the sun continues to shine though a little rain in the nights would not come amiss.

With every blessing to all readers

Parry Edwards

 



 

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