Category: St Mary’s Parish Church News

May News and Events

 

The month of May opened with the feast day of St. Philip and St James, known to many as the feast of “Phil and Jim”, and May Day brings to mind the young maidens of the village dancing around the May Pole. How things have changed, with May Day being associated with parades, gatherings of working people to air their grievances and demand better working conditions, and the Bank Holiday transferred to the first Monday of the month. This year the weather was glorious and many a picnic or barbeque was organised to take advantage of warm sunny days after the long cold winter.

The good weather continued until Messy Church on the 5th May was held in the Gwenfo School grounds, when the theme of the afternoon was the Exodus of the Isrealites from Egypt to the “Promised Land”. Much fun was had in the children’s painted footprints being printed on a roll of paper symbolising the long trek all those years ago, and the inners of toilet rolls were made into representations of Moses who led the people out of slavery into freedom. The session ended with food and toasted marshmallows around the camp fire. All in all, once again a good gathering of parents and children who would not normally attend the more formal services in church.

Early in the month, Jude Billingham, gave a presentation in church, to introduce the Christian Aid appeal this month, featuring the building of homes in Haiti and other islands devastated by hurricanes and storms, which are strong enough to withstand the force of the winds and rain. We heard how one such house sheltered over 50 people during the storm, when their flimsy houses were destroyed, saving their lives and keeping them safe while the storm raged. These are simple houses that can be built quickly for around £50.00, and the appeal is focused on provided as many of these homes as quickly as possible. The house to house collection took place in the week commencing the 13th May and the result will not be known until mid June. This year the planned Big Brekkie did not take place, but the school has arranged a Big Breakfast at Lunch time and a no uniform day on Friday 18th May to raise money for the appeal, plus the money raised at the Lent Lunches and Agape supper there was also a collecting box in the local shop, the end result could be greater than last year.

Work started on digging the “French Drains” on the South side of the church, which means digging down at least a metre in depth. Archeologists were on hand to supervise the excavations for any artefacts and bones that might be found in the trenches. A new “soakaway” was also constructed under the path to the porch, to drain the rain water from the roof. This work was carried out by Mike who also dug the other drains last year. This work in necessary to eliminate damp creeping up the walls of the Nave, and is being funded from our Building Fund, using money received from the appeals made from time to time to top up this fund. St Mary’s is a

Grade 2 listed building in constant need of work to keep it in good order. Contributions toward future work will always be acceptable.

The Feast of Pentecost was celebrated on May 20th, this is commonly known as the “Birthday of the Church” when the Holy Spirit descended on the Disciples gathered in the Upper Room and is 50 days after Easter. A week later Trinity Sunday began the long season of “Sundays after Pentecost” lasting until The Kingdom Season” in the Autumn.

The three parishes have been responding to the appeal for Helen Ormrod SRN to raise money for her to be on The Mercy Ship which provides health care to impoverished place around the world. Helen has to raise £3000 to be able to be part of the team on board. Already there was the “Guess the Weight of the Simnel Cake” and “How many mini eggs was in the jar” and on the evening of Friday 25th May an “Evening of Entertainment with Johnny Tudor and Olwen Rees” was held in the Wenvoe Community Centre to help swell the fund.

St. Mary’s needs a new Gift Aid Secretary. Allen Oliver and Lynn are retiring after 16 years in office. This post is very important to St. Mary’s and St. Lythan’s churches to enable tax rebates to be collected from HM Customs on gift aid donations. At the Annual Vestry Meeting Allen and Lynn were thanked for the contribution they have made over the years. Now we seek a replacement Gift Aid Secretary to continue this work, for without the tax rebates our church finances would be not be as healthy as they are.

Thank you for taking the time to read this

Parry Edwards

 

 

April Report

 

Our Easter celebrations began with a memorable Palm Sunday procession from the Church Hall, complete with music from pipe and drum and singing “Make way, make way for Christ the King”. This was our way of re-enacting Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem, where he was greeted with palms and garments strewed on the ground. The only thing missing was the “ass the foal of an ass”..so maybe next year – who knows. (Jon take note). With our palm crosses blessed and held high we began that journey into Holy Week with special services, the Agape Supper, the Good Friday services where at the children’s service in the morning they decorated a bare wooden cross with daffodils in bud which had opened by Easter day itself. As in previous years the church was beautifully decorated with flowers and Easter lilies donated by members of the congregation in memory of loved ones, no longer with us. A special thank you to all who prepared the church for the most important service in the church’s calendar.

Another major event in the church’s year is the Annual Vestry Meeting, where the Parish Report is presented to the congregation as an account of what has taken place during the year. It is also the time when the Churchwardens and Officers of the Church and Sidespeople are appointed. This year we have had a change of wardens, Jenny Ford has stepped down and was thanked for all the work she has done in her years of office, and Carol Wyllie has been appointed as Rectors Warden, Sandra Dicks was re -elected as People’s Warden. The compilation of the Parish Report falls on many shoulders, covering all aspects of the happenings in the Church’s Year, and thanks go to Jenny for taking on this task as she prepared to hand over her work to Carol.

The main item in the report is the Incumbent’s Report, where the parish priest gives his take on the events during the past year. Thanks were given for all the willing help Jon has received during the year and he in turn thanked many people for their support and willingness in preparing the church for the wide range of services we now have week by week. Jon then read his report to the 9.30am Eucharist congregation on the 3rd Sunday of Easter when the Commissioning of Churchwardens, the PCC, Officers of the Church and Sidespeople took place.

The Building Committee recently met with our newly appointed Architect, Richard, with a site meeting to discuss the proposed drainage scheme in the churchyard along the South wall of the Nave, and East wall where there are two table tombs dating from the 18th century were considered to be in the way of adequately draining the proposed “French drains” into the “soakaways”. After much discussion and exchange of views, and an inspection of the internal wall adjacent to the Altar, it was decided not to proceed with an additional faculty as walls appear to be dry. There was a collective sigh of relief as this would have put a strain of our available building funds, and the enormous amount of permissions needed to move gravestones and even exhumations.

The churchyard is looking at its best, despite all the snow and cold winds, we experienced during March, this is due to the work Mike Tucker has put in since he started work in January. During a recent visit from our Archdeacon, she was not very happy with all the lovely daffodils planted in the graves, as in her opinion, they are not suitable according to churchyard regulations. Long may they remain there I say.

The PCC has had a response from Wenvoe Community Council to the ongoing saga of the sycamore tree, near to our churchyard boundary wall and have offered to lop some of the overhanging branches, this will be up for discussion and response at the next PCC meeting in May.

Lent Lunches and Agape Supper – An item in the in church weekly newsletter in April is worth sharing with our wider number of readers….. “Grateful thanks to everyone who contributed to making this year’s Lent Lunches and Agape Supper a success. To all who worked hard setting out the hall, making and serving delicious homemade soups, then of course washing up. Also thanks to everyone who supported the lunches and gave a total generous donation of £396.95 to Christian Aid.”

A timely reminder… the annual Christian Aid Appeal will be launched with a “Big Breakfast” on Saturday 12th May in the Community Centre. The following week will see the house to house collections. Please give generously to this appeal, so many people far worse off than we are really depend on the support they are given from your giving.

Thank you for taking time to read this.

Parry Edwards

 

 

Parish Events for March

This year the month of March came in like a lion and hopefully will leave as a lamb. The heavy snow fall, and the consequent drifting, confined a lot of us to our homes until we dug ourselves out. Thanks to Mike for doing a great job clearing the path to the church porch to enable access to the church for the Sunday morning services. Mothering Sunday was made all the more memorable with the presentation by our “Pebbles “ children on what their mothers meant to them. So a big Thank You to their leaders for organising this time in church in place of the sermon.

A recent meeting of the P.C.C revealed that we are still awaiting a reply to our request to the Wenvoe Community Council for the ash tree at the entrance to the Community Cemetery to be taken down as its roots are affecting the stone boundary wall. Also that when in full leaf it overshadows the 18th century headstone of Mary Morgan who died at the grand age of 109 years. This grave at present has a lovely show of daffodils in full bloom. The PCC Secretary has now sent a reminder.

Our financial situation is in good health, and donations to maintain the Building Fund are always welcome as we have quite an extensive programme of work planned for the year ahead.

BBC Radio Wales recordings…The Ministry Area has been chosen to record two programmes, to be broadcast on 28th October (Bible Sunday) and 6th January 2019 (Epiphany). The recordings will take place in St. Mary’s on October 8th 2018 and the support of all the congregations across the ministry area is needed to make this worthwhile.

More information about the formation of a Rectorial Benefice will be made available (but not to be discussed) to the Annual Vestry meetings before submitting it to the next ordinary meeting of the PCC on the 14th May.

A faculty will be presented to the Diocesan Care of Churches committee to allow us to improve the drainage at the East end of the Chancel by digging additional French Drains, a complication are the two box tombs which are in the way, which may have to be removed and re-erected close to their original position.

The Social Committee reported that 2017 had been a

busy year, and that this year the Annual Fun Quiz was a great success. The Lent Lunches have continued each Wednesday in Lent and the Agape supper on the evening of Maunday Thursday was also well supported. There has been no charge for these meals and donations were given for the Christian Aid appeal. The “Chattery” continues to be a friendly, enjoyable occasion on the 2nd Thursday of the month. Heartfelt thanks to the faithful small band of people who work so hard to make these occasions happen.

Messy Church – Messy Easter—The first session of Messy Church took place on Saturday 10th March in the Wenvoe Community Centre. The theme was the miracle of Easter and the Resurrection. There was a range of Messy Craft activities which included handprint Easter Chicks, edible Easter gardens, nail and wool woven crosses. Families also contributed to creating two large cross pictures by dipping their fingers in paint and printing their fingerprints onto the crosses which will be displayed in both churches over the Easter period. Many more activities also took place and the session ended with a delightful afternoon tea donated by the congregations of both churches. Messy Church regularly attracts between 50 – 60 people of all ages, so there is clearly a need in the village for this kind of worship.

A reminder and an invitation to the Easter Day Services at St Mary’s on Sunday April 1st. Please see the notice on the church gates and in the “Connections” parish magazine. Easter is known as the Queen of Festivals and a welcome awaits all who come to worship the Risen Lord.

Blessing to all our readers.

Parry Edwards.

 

 

February Parish Report

 

The solemn season of Lent is now with us, and you will notice that many of the ornaments in the Chancel and Sanctuary have been removed and replaced with more simple items, in line with the church’s teaching of self-denying during this period running up to Easter.

The services during Lent are simpler, with less singing and with more emphasis on hearing the Word of God in the Readings and Gospel narratives. Mothering Sunday is on March 11th when the children from “Pebbles” will be encouraged to bring the daffodils they have grown from the bulbs given to them last Harvest Celebrations, to decorate the church and to present their Mum’s with a gift of flowers,

The meeting to discuss the sale of the Church Hall took place on Thursday 8th February with a good crowd of people in the Community Centre Hall. This meeting called and hosted by Wenvoe Community Council to measure the public reaction of the Community Council purchasing the Church Hall. Jon, our Parish Priest was keen to impart the vision of St Mary’s looking forward to how the Church wishes to develop both the building and the congregation in the 21st century. The present hall was not seen as being part of that vision and was becoming a burden on the church as expenses are exceeding income. In addition, the hall need to be updated with improved kitchen and toilet facilities. By building a hall/meeting room facilities on to the North Side of the church that will enable the church to extend its role of hospitality both to the congregation and community. St Mary’s Church Council has worked very hard over the years to keep the church building in good order, with money raised from the Church Appeal and generous donations and grants, plus the income from our very successful “200” club. We are not state aided or supported by the Representative Body of the Church in Wales in any way, and we have to thank the generations that have gone before for what we enjoy today, and it is our responsibility to hand on to the generations yet to be born, a church building worthy of the 21st century.

An interesting debate was held about what the Community Council would do with the hall should they purchase it. This was the real purpose of the meeting to allow the council to gather a feel of the public opinion The Council will do doubt discuss their findings in due course. The alternative is to place the Hall on the open market, once we have the design of the church extension agreed by the many parties involved. Watch this space!

The Parochial Church Council met recently and was pleased to accept the Quinquenial Report from Mr Richard Dean, of Page and Dean Consulting Ltd. It is a very thorough report on the church fabric with items needing investigation. The council decided to appoint Richard as our Church Architect, which he has pleasure in accepting. The immediate work on

the drainage on the South Side of the church has been delayed as we have decided to include additional drainage on the East Wall which was not included in the Faculty. This will save us money in the long run, with the Archaeological surveys which have to be taken when any work is carried out in the churchyard. The churchyard is looking very pristine due to the work by Mike, the village gardener. He is keeping an eye out for any work that is needed during the months/seasons.

The Treasurer reported that our finances are in a healthy position, and recommended that we create a separate account, within the general account for money’s specifically given for the Building Fund. This would mean that money in the building fund would be “ring fenced” and could only be used for the repair and maintenance of the building fabric. The Christmas Collections from our three churches for the Ty Hafan Children’s hospice came to £1404.26 which is a wonderful result. Thank you to all who donated to this worthy cause. We have also received a donation of £103 from the Wenvoe Craft Workshop Christmas Fair for the Building Fund. Many thanks to Mr and Mrs Tucker. The “200” club had also made a payment of £1800 in December, once again many thanks to all are shareholders, in helping to support the building work necessary to keep on top of repairs and maintenance.

Events coming up in March. Mothering Sunday on March 11th. Special Service on Palm Sunday 25th March. Agape supper in the Church hall March 29th. Good Friday March 30th March and Easter Day on April 1st. All are welcome to these services, keep an eye on the notice boards in the Church Porch.

Blessings to all our readers.

Parry Edwards

 

 

Community Centre Meeting

 

Thursday 8th February – 7.00pm

An Open Meeting is to be held at the Community Centre on 8 February at 7 pm. The meeting will be hosted by St Mary’s Church and Wenvoe Community Council.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the future of the Church Hall. Some residents may already be aware that St Mary’s is considering building an extension to the church in order to rehouse activities currently undertaken in the Church Hall. The Church has determined that the Hall is no longer suitable for their needs and that maintenance costs make the building unsustainable.

As a consequence the Church are considering selling the Hall. This could either be for redevelopment or possible purchase by the Community Council

The purpose of the meeting is, therefore, to further explain the options and to gauge the views of residents.

We hope that as many residents as possible will be able to attend the meeting. For:those who are unable to be there we would welcome your views if you would care to email the Council at. wenvoecc@googlemail.com

Colin Thomas . Chairman

 

 

Winter Activities

 

Following on from all the activity in church over the celebration of Christmas, the month of January has seen the church settle in to a quieter time as we bring ourselves into the New year of 2018, and the plans we are making for the year ahead. 2017 was a continuing year of progress in the life of the church, and we intend to make 2018 another year we can be pleased, to look back on.

At a recent meeting of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), Vicar Jon gave a summary of his welcoming to the parish of Bishop June, who visited as part of her progress around the diocese, getting to know the different parishes of her diocese. This was very informal and the day ended with the Bishop meeting all the churchwardens of our six churches, where the discussion was how she saw the way forward and equally how the wardens saw their roles in supporting the clergy in making the church more proactive in the years ahead.

The other main item under discussion was the receiving of the Quinquennial Inspection (QI) report. This report is a very thorough statement of work needed to be carried out over the next five years. The PCC resolved to appoint the inspector Richard Dean as our church architect to oversee the works he has highlighted as most urgent. We will shortly see work beginning to remove the concrete channelling on the south side of the nave and chancel, to be replaced with a “French drain” to cure the dampness which is spreading up at the base of the walls. Other immediate work will be on the roof of the tower, dealing with slipping slates, drainage problems and vegetation infestation. This work will amount to some £12,000 pounds which will be met from the Building Fund.

Plans for the annual Christian Aid Appeal are well in hand and will be launched in the parish with a “Big Breakfast” in the community centre on the morning of Saturday 12th May 2018, more details to follow later.. The usual house to house collections will take place during the following week.

Announced at the meeting was the plan to change our present Ministry Area status to that of a Rectorial Benefice. Apparently as a Ministry Area we are not a legal entity recognised by the Church in Wales, so we cannot apply for any loans we might need, however as a Rectorial Benefice we have that legal status restored and parish are now working to adopt that model as in Barry and Penarth, In essence we would carry on much as we do at present, keeping our own church council, our own bank account, and will give us the flexibility to adapt and develop things as we may need to in the future. All PCC’s have to approve these plans once they have been formulated, with the new status coming into effect in early 2019.

As already announced, a Public Meeting hosted by the Wenvoe Community Council and St. Mary’s Church will be held in the Community Centre on February 8th 2018 at 7.pm. to discuss the possibility of the Community Council purchasing the Church Hall. Full details of the reasons why we need to sell the Church Hall…can be found in the January edition of “What’s On”.

Looking ahead in these dark days of Winter. February is the month for birthdays in our house. The next Faith in Film night at the Rectory is on 3rd February at 7.30 pm. Remember the public meeting in the Community Centre on the 8th February at 7 pm.. The Chattery meets in the church Hall at 10.30 am on the 8th February. Do you look forward to the postman dropping a card through your door on the 14th St. Valentines Day. Pancake Day on the 13th followed by Ash Wednesday on the 14th. (The beginning of the season of Lent) then the Quiz in the Community Centre on the 17th at 7.30pm.

The season of Lent is often called the “spring cleaning of the soul in readiness for Easter” there are opportunities hear and take part in discussions on the Lenten theme.. see the notice board in church and also the weekly newsletter and “Connections” parish magazine.

Thank you for taking your time to read about what’s happening and the plans for the month ahead…every one is welcome to St Mary’s at the times of services and also when Jon has his “Open Door” in church.

Parry Edwards

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