Category: St Mary’s Parish Church News

 

Looking back into October we seem to have been celebrating the HARVEST FESTIVAL for most of the month. Following on from the highly enjoyable Scarecrow Festival, we began by giving thanks for the Harvest at St Mary’s on Sunday 29th September, when the “Pebbles “ children gave us a presentation of the colours of the rainbow, with fruit and vegetables to line up with the colours of the rainbow. They also brought to the altar the gifts of tinned goods and other foods for the foodbank in Barry, whilst the fresh vegetables were taken to the Salvation Army for use in their kitchen to feed the homeless in Cardiff. In addition the money we raised from the weekend’s activities and the morning collections in church came to £324.27 which was donated to Christian Aid for the East Africa Appeal. This amount was further increased by the giving in Church to the appeal over the past weeks.

The Harvest celebrations continued in St. Lythan’s and Sully churches over the weekend of October Ist, with beautifully decorated churches and more money donated to Christian Aid. On October 16th St. Lythan’s held a Harvest Lunch at Dyffryn Springs in aid of their church funds, and a goodly number settled down to a hot lunch and super desserts in the lovely surroundings of the fishing lakes.

To round off the harvest, Messy Church met in the Community Centre on October 21st to explore the theme of “Messy Harvest” and once again the response was good and the children and parents enjoyed the craft activities and joined in the worship and all appreciated the meal at the end of the session. Once again thanks are given to all who help to organise and arrange these afternoons for a different kind of worship which are arranged with members of the Vale Church in Wenvoe.

On Sunday 29th October, being the fifth Sunday of the month, the congregations of sully, St. Lythan’s and Wenvoe churches came to together to celebrate the Eucharist. The morning began with a Parish Breakfast in the church hall, followed by the service in church. In the evening a “Songs of Praise” service was held in Sully to sing the Ministry Area Six Favourite Hymns. The congregations have been voting during the month in each church for their favourite three hymns, and the highest votes were then sung with great gusto.

 

OBERAMMERGAU Germany 2020:-

In 1633, the residents of the beautiful Bavarian village of Oberammergau made a vow, that if God would spare them from the plague which was ravaging Europe, they would produce a play thereafter for all time depicting the life and death of Jesus Christ. True to their word the first Passion Play was performed in 1634 and now almost 300 hundred years later the play is still performed once every 10 years between May and September. 2020 marks the 42nd Passion Play and we are beginning

to explore the possibility of running a coach trip with Edwards Coaches. In the meantime we would like to know how many people from the Ministry Area would be interested in being part of this trip. Expressions of interest – which does not at this point commit you to anything- should be made to Howard Rees, churchwarden of St Bleddians’ church. St. Lythan’s c/o The Rectory, Port Rd, Wenvoe. CF56DF

 

 

In Memorium :- The village of Wenvoe was shocked to hear of the passing of Carole Moody, a long time member of St Mary’s Church, from almost the day when she and Ian moved into the village. Carole was involved in so many activities in Wenvoe, from Scouts, Church choir, Wenvoe Ladies choir, the Sunday School, Mother Union to name but a few and she made many, many friends during her time here. Her health had been a concern for a number of years but she soldiered on despite the pain, and Wenvoe will be a little greyer without her cheerful take on life. Her funeral was held on October 25th at St Mary’s with many gathered to pay their respects and to support Ian and Kim in their loss. She was remembered in our prayers in church on Sunday 15th October, and the Bible quotation came to mind. “Well done thou good and faithful servant” Rest in peace Carole, it has been a pleasure to have known you.

With every Blessing

Parry Edwards

 

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September saw a quickening of the pace in activity in the church. People are so used to thinking that the church is only used on a Sunday that it may come as a surprise at the other times that services take place. During the month the Eucharist has been celebrated on 10 occasions, Evensong has been held on the first Sunday of the month. There has been 2 baptisms when three children were added to the Christian family, 2 funerals have arranged for the faithful departed, and 1 wedding celebrated. In addition we have had 2 sessions of “Open Door”, 1 meeting of the “brass cleaners”, The Parochial Church Council has met in church, The Scarecrow Festival was held in the churchyard. The Chattery met as usual in the Church hall on the 2nd Thursday of the month The church was decorated for the Harvest Festival, Lots of people involved with lots of “goings on” in the church proves that our lovely building is in constant demand during the week. It is for this reason that our building fund is so important to maintain the building in as good a condition as is possible, by drawing the community of Wenvoe into as many of our activities as they feel comfortable with. Sunday mornings are busy but there always room and a warm welcome for all who wish to join in the worship.

What a joy it was to welcome our “Pebbles” back after the Summer break. They bring such a buzz with them, and they enjoy sharing with the congregation the craft work they have been doing in the Church Hall. New mums and Dads have joined their children and they are most welcome and valued for the care and concern that have for their children to experience something a little different on a Sunday morning. We are very fortunate to have sincere Christian leaders to monitor the group’s activities while the children are in their care. They have been preparing a special something for our Harvest celebration, which has been very carefully kept under wraps until the morning service. We will not be disappointed.

The joint parish Magazine “Connection” is a very high quality print, a number of people have taken up the offer of paying for year in advance, which will help us to plan the quantity we need for the month. We still send many copies to the waste despite trying to include as much news of Wenvoe and St. Lythan’s as is possible. The content of the magazine is open to all, and contributions and ideas are always welcome, whether it is some where you have visited on holiday. Something you have read in another church magazine you may have had in a church you have visited. The Sub Editor in Wenvoe would be most pleased to receive it to forward it to Lynda in Sully, who compiles the magazine for the printer. The copies are always in church on the first Sunday of the month to collect or purchase.

The congregations of all three churches have been invited to Vote for your favourite hymn by October 15th . It would be good to know why the three you have chosen are your favourites, so if you would like

to, please give a reason. There will then be a special service where we will sing the top six hymns as voted for by you on Sunday 29th October at 6 pm at St John the Baptist Church in Sully. So the invitation is there to vote for your favourite hymn and come along see if it has made the top six

Tea Party at the Rectory in Wenvoe for the children and families of the Parishes of Sully and Wenvoe with St. Lythan’s.

Jon writes – On Sunday 17th September all the children and young people who have been prepared for Confirmation in the last three years were invited along with families who attend Pebbles at Wenvoe, and the Sunday School at Sully to come to a Tea Party at the Rectory. The table “groaned” with cakes and the rain held off so we were able to go outside and those who wished to played in the garden with footballs and giant Connect 4 and Noughts and Crosses. Thank you to everyone who came and contributed to a wonderful atmosphere throughout the afternoon.

Next “Messy Church” on Saturday 21st October at 3.30.pm in the Community Centre, Wenvoe.

With every Blessing

Parry Edwards

 

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