Category: St Mary’s Parish Church News
Building Fund Draw
November’s Events
November has been a time for remembrance in the parish, beginning with the evening service for All Souls Day on Sunday October 30th when candles were lit on the altar in church to remember loved ones in our families who have passed to their eternal rest, in recent times and past years
Then on Sunday 13th November we joined with the national remembrance services over the country, as we gathered in St. Mary’s for our traditional ecumenical service with prayers readings and hymns. This year the emphasis was on the Battle of Jutland and the Battle of the Somme. The service included the most powerful recollections from those men who were at the battles, and hearing them read out, brought home the horror and suffering our brave young men went through. These readings extended the service for longer than we would have wished and as a result the congregation, headed by the cross bearer and choir, were a little late in arriving at the village War Memorial. Thanks are extended to Dave Short of the Vale Brass Band for the music and also to the Wenvoe Community Council for providing the public address system for our use on the day. This enabled the calling of the Wenvoe Roll of Honour to be heard by the crowd of people who had gathered to pay their respects to those men of Wenvoe who answered the call to fight for what they thought was right for their families and country. The collection taken in church will be donated to the work of the Royal British Legion as part of their Poppy Appeal when they aim to raise 42 million pounds to look after survivors and their families of all the conflicts since WW1 and WW2.
On a lighter note the Chattery on Thursday 10th was well supported with stalls selling used CD’s and DVD’s, a cake stall and the usual Fairtrade selection of gifts and seasonal food items for the coming Christmas Season. This is a coffee morning with a difference where friends and parishioners can meet up in friendly and congenial surroundings. The moneys raised will be added to the church general fund to support church expenses.
The financial result from the Barn Dance has enabled us to donate £460 to the Romeo Hadley Trust fund and a further £400 has been given the Gwenfo Church in Wales school for additional equipment for the new extensions to the school.
At a recent meeting of the Parochial Church Council, the condition of the Albert and Hilda Morgan grave by the entrance to the churchyard by the Yew tree was considered. There is a trust fund to maintain this grave and we receive a small income each year. In previous years volunteers have attempted to clean the white marble stone, but with the rain and the droppings off the tree, the stone has badly deteriorated in recent years.
Mossfords, the monumental stone masons have inspected the grave and their estimate to repair and reinstate, and clean the stones to the best of their ability and has been accepted in the sum of almost £2,400.
This year Christmas cards designed by the children in our Pebbles Group, with a choice of 3 different colourful drawings of the Nativity giving the details of all the Christmas Services planned are to be distributed to every house in the parish and in St Lythan’s. The community Carol Service will be on December 14th at 7 pm. In St Mary’s followed by mulled wine and mince pies in the Community Centre, provided by the Wenvoe community council. All are welcome, the collection at the service will be donated to Ty Hafan Hospice for sick children at Sully.
The Welcome Packs have been updated and continue to be given to the new homeowners on the Grange development and the St. Lythan’s Park at the old HTV site. A warm welcome is extended to these new families as they settle in to their fresh surroundings you are among friends.
Once again the Toy Service combined with the all Age Worship at St Mary’s on the 27th of November was well supported and many toys were brought to be given to the Food Bank in Barry for children whose Christmas would be much the poorer without this special gift. The Big Wrap brought many decorated shoe boxes full of goodies from both our parish and Sully for distribution within the Vale
Dates for your diary in December:- Messy Church will be at the Community Centre on Saturday 3rd between 3.30 – 5.30pm it is FREE for all the family, come and enjoy arts and crafts, celebration and eating together and is high on fun and energy
Details of all the Christmas Services will be in the Christmas Cards and on posters in the village “For unto us a child is born and his name will be Jesus”
A very happy and blessed Christmas to all readers
Parry Edwards
Church Festivals
Looking back to the Scarecrow Festival and Harvest Festival Weekend at the end of September, the weather was dry but with always the threat of rain, the afternoon was a great success and enjoyed by all. The entries were numerous and the judging by the people was not made any easier due to the high standard of entries. For the children there was dressing up as a living scarecrow, competitions and delightful mouth-watering refreshments provided by volunteers from our Social Committee and friends.
The write up in our NEW joint Parish Magazine with Sully is well worth quoting here “Great attention to detail had been given to all the entrants in the competition and difficult choices had to be made to find the winners. Tin Beake welcomed us to the party from his orbit around the Yew tree. The Vicar of Dibley was offering bribes in the form of Quality Street whilst the Buxom wench fluttered her eyelashes and the Traidcraft entry outrageously touted for business. Peppa Pig was there along with Mr. Potato Head and a Minion, not to mention a whole cast from James and the Giant peach, very topical. Blodwen, the Welsh Scarecrow watched quietly from her corner while Fireman Sam encouraged us to be fire alert, and Down Town Abbie looked down her nose at the other entrants. The Cubs appeared to be growing little people in a night garden and the Scarecrow who slept through it all last year was wide awake on scaring duties this year”.
The winners were….
Best Individual (Child) Poppy for the Minion
Best Indiviaual (Adult) Mike and John Tucker for Tin Beake
Best Organisation was a tie between Down Town Abbie by Tuesday Group and James and the Giant Peach by Gwenfo School
People’s Favourite – Tin Beake
Da Iawn. well done and see you all next year.
The Harvest All Age Eucharist the following morning was well attended with Wenvoe School choir singing the Harvest Samba, and our Pebbles Group gave us a Harvest Presentation, which with the use of our new radio mike, enabled everybody to hear what they had rehearsed. A contribution from the morning collection and the evening Community Harvest Praise collection has been sent to Christian Aid.
The NEW joint Parish Magazine has been well received and being now a monthly magazine the items can be topical in content. The magazine is available in church on the first Sunday of the month at 50p a copy.
“Messy Church” with the theme of “Jesus the Light of the World”, was once again well attended on Saturday Oct 1st. with parents and children enjoying the activities and the meal at the end. A big thank you to all the volunteers and to the Vale Church for the help that is needed to stage this weekend event.
The Barn Dance on Saturday Oct. 15th in the Village Hall was enjoyed by all with a comment that it “was a great family night out". The main luxury hamper was won by Sandra Davies and the financial
result will be available in the Weekly Newsletter.
Traidcraft and Fairtrade. Tradecaft goods are now on sale in Sully and Wenvoe at the after church coffee and the Chattery meetings, The Christmas Range has now been launched with an increased range of goods suitable for the coming festive season. Look out for the “Real Advent Calendar, with chocolates and the real Story of Christmas Booklet plus many other gift ideas and a good range of Christmas Cards. Fair trade means that the person who produces the food and other items get a fair price for their work, and all these can be seen at Jude Billingham’s home when she and Nigel stage an OPEN DAY on November 18th at Church Rise in Wenvoe. The invitation is open to all and a warm welcome awaits, with refreshments
available.
Looking ahead the “Christmas Chattery” will be held in the Church hall on Thursday 10th November between 10.30 – 12.00 with a selection of Traidcraft and other goodies for sale.
Remembrance Sunday is on the 13th of November with a Community Remembrance Service at St. Mary’s at 10.10am followed by the service at the War Memorial at 11.00am. A contribution from the collection at church will be given towards the work of the Royal British Legion.
The year is moving on at a pace, the short season of the Kingdom is now with us, to be followed by the solemn Season of Advent. The colours used at the altar and vestments will change to Red and then Violet, as we prepare for the Christmas Celebrations. This year we shall be sending a Christmas card to every home in Wenvoe and St Lythan’s, designed by the children of “Pebbles” giving a suitable greeting and the times of all the Christmas Services.
With every Blessing and see you in church
Parry Edwards
September’s Events
The return of our “Pebbles” group after their Summer break, brought the usual joyous hustle and bustle when they joined the congregation during the communion. It is lovely to see new children attending for the first time and also the mums and dads joining in the worship. It is due to the expertise and encouragement of their leaders during the short time they are in the Church Hall. In what they are taught through the medium of play and crafting, that they are able to tell us what they have been doing and learning about the theme of the Gospel readings for the day. Well done and may it long continue.
It is has been a busy time, during the month for the smaller congregation at St Lythan’s. Apart from a meeting of their PCC on the 14th of the month, the Cadw Open Day on Saturday 17th which brought a response from people who had not visited the church before. The idea of opening our churches is a good one, but needs to be staffed with church members to explain details of the building that they may not be aware of. September seems to be the month in which many buildings not normally open to the public are invited in to see for themselves the treasures contained inside. In any village or hamlet with a church many centuries old, these buildings are a constant reminder they have weathered many a storm during their lifetime and would not exist today but for the care and attention by the worshippers who Sunday by Sunday come together to praise and worship Almighty God and Jesus his son. On Sunday 18th there is a Pet Service at St Lythan’s hoping to build on the success of last years’ service, when many people brought their pets to be blessed.
At long last our builder Mike has made a start on the work in and around St Mary’s church, which was highlighted in the last Quinquennial Inspection of the church’s fabric. Mike comes 
highly recommended and is a skilled craftsman in the restoration of old buildings and structures. The work is outside repairing some of the boundary walls of the churchyard, the flooring in the porch has to be regrouted and the barrel ceiling to be replastered and painted. The steps of the Churchyard Cross are to be repointed to prevent rainwater entering and so avoid frost damage during the winter months. Stonework on the outside of the Vestry has perished and new stone set in place, and recently it was discovered that a piece of the corbel on the roof of the Transcept had fallen away and this also will need to be replaced. Looking after the fabric of church buildings is a major item in our budget, and this is helped by the 200 Club which has been able to fund a lot of the work
We are looking forward to a repeat of the success of the Scarecrow Festival in St Mary’s on the 24th September, which is combined with the Cadw Open Door programme between 2pm and 5pm. This is followed by our Harvest Festival on the following Sunday with the normal morning services and Harvest Praise at 6.00pm. A report of these events will be in next months “What’s On”.
Looking ahead Messy Church in the Community Centre on Saturday 1st October at 3.30 – 5.30 pm when the theme will be “Light of the World”. Barn Dance in the Village hall on October 15th, Tickets from Sandra Davies.
With every Blessing and see you in church
Parry Edwards
St Mary’s Parish Church News
August Review
The month of August is often called the “Silly Season” often due to fact that nothing of great import happens during this month. Our School closes for their summer break, parliament is in recess, and the country slows down while we bask in long lasting sunshine. However life in the church keeps going, often against the odds, and while we miss having “Pebbles” with us, they are always in our thoughts and prayers that they and their leaders enjoy their break and will return once again in September, when they will be back in church on the 4th September.
The long awaited work on the sound system in church has been carried out during the month, and the difference between the old and the new is there for all to hear. We have installed new speakers in the nave and transept, and also one in the porch. Plus we now have the facility to provide an outside speaker for any overflow of people during large funerals or outside services or events. In addition a microphone has been installed on the chancel screen to pick up the vows being made between bride and groom at their weddings, so that the congregation can hear. And the work doesn’t stop there, for we also have a mobile microphone so that we can hear the children when they make their contribution to our services on special occasions. This is a wonderful asset to have in the church and even more wonderful it has been gifted to the church in memory of wonderful parents. Many of the things around us in St Mary’s are there because in the past they have also been gifted to beatify the building, in providing new hymn books, the pew Bibles and so much more. When the current building programme gets going and the planning of the proposed extension at the west end of the church is granted and completed we will have a church building that is more than fit for purpose. As the words of the hymn has it “We love thy place O God, wherein thy glory dwells” so we are looking forward in hope for all these things to come about. So to all the generous men and women who have donated, not only their time, but the money, both in the past and the present we say THANKYOU.
At the recent united service of the Ministry group at
St Lythan’s Church, it was distressing to see that, a large wall monument in the Button Chapel had detached itself from the wall and crashed to the floor. Luckily there was no damage other to the top stone panel which was shattered in pieces. And upon examination, it seems the iron fixing had become corroded with the amount of water and damp within the walls. The memorial is to John Sproson aged 6 years the son of Richard and Mary Sproson of the City of London who died in 1809. The only other record we have is the burial of Mary Sproson in 1826 when place of abode was given as Dyffryn. St Lythan’s church, like St Mary’s has a problem with damp and water infiltration in the walls, and the proposed remedy is to create around the base of the outside walls a “French Drain” which means digging down a metre or so and refilling with crushed stone, plus drainage pipes to take the rain water away from the building to soakaways. This causes all sorts of problems when you start digging in graveyards, with archaeologists being called in to supervise, make reports and decide which way the work has to proceed. This was the remedy at St Mary’s, some years ago, when the walls around the base of the tower, had a “French Drain” installed, and has solved the problem we had of damp, and as a result the walls are now dry.
September will bring a new surge of life to St Mary’s with the “Scarecrow Festival” on the 24th/25th, the Harvest Festival Services on Sunday 25th, including the Community Harvest Praise at 6.00 pm. The launching of the combined Parish magazine with the parish of Sully and with Jon refreshed from his holiday visiting the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe events, who knows what delights we have in store during the Autumn and Winter months.
With every Blessing, see you in church
Parry Edwards
Building Fund
Parish News
ST. MARY’S PARISH CHURCH NEWS
CHURCH HALL FOR SALE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
A recent special meeting of the PCC was convened to discuss how St. Mary’s church could be made to fit the changing nature of the church. How we use it for worship and to what other uses the building could accommodate church activities in the future. Over a hundred years ago, the building we use today was greatly changed, and has been a wonderful resource in the village for so many memorable events. The Church Hall or the Reading Room, as so many of the older village people will recall was originally set up by the Jenner family to help with the education of the men folk in the village. It was used in the evenings as a recreational room with a piano and games etc. Then gradually the building became known as the Church Hall and was eventually gifted to St Mary’s Church for our use. Over the years, much has been done to improve the building, including a disabled toilet and a new kitchen and heating system, but now it needs more work and under the guidance of Jon, our priest, it was felt that the time was ripe to sell the building for residential use and use the proceeds of the sale to build an extension to the west end of the church, where we could bring the “Pebbles “ group into the church. Other plans will include toilets, kitchen and a meeting room together with much needed accessible storage space within the tower. These are the plans for the future, and much discussion will take place before we see any definite plans of what is possible when considering any alternation to our 12th century listed building.
Messy Church turned out to Messy Sports in the grounds of the village school on Saturday July 2nd The weather was wet in the morning but cleared up in the afternoon when some 70 mums, dads and their children turned up to a programme of outdoor activities including a water game with plenty of water and liquid soap. The afternoon closed with hotdogs etc around the camp fire, prayers and singing. A great occasion, well planned and thanks go to all who organised this time of fun with parents and others who have the welfare and care of the children at heart.
The Church in Wales has recently produced a document called the Church in Wales Safeguarding Policy and this has been on the agenda of a recent PCC meeting. It was wholeheartedly adopted and Mrs Jen Ford is our safeguarding officer for the parish. This policy sets out the way forward to keep our young children, teenagers and all vulnerable people safe when faced with any abuse in their lives, and can only be commended for all who call themselves Christians.
The Parish Magazine is being relaunched as from September. Our present editor Mr Byron Williams feels it is time he gave up the responsibility of the quarterly magazine, so it has been decided that we take this opportunity to combine our magazine with the Parish of Sully. It will now become a monthly magazine and will be on sale in our two churches on the first Sunday of each month at a price of 50p per copy. This is another way of bringing the activities of all our parishes together so that we can be more aware of what is going on within our part of the Ministry Area. I have agreed to be the co-ordinator of the Wenvoe contribution and if we are to establish a meaningful Wenvoe connection I will need to have contributions from our different sections within St Mary’s and to publicise the events we are planning during the year. It remains the intention of the PCC to circularise the whole of the parish at Christmas and Easter, details of our services to celebrate these great events in the life of the church in Wenvoe and St. Lythan’s
The Scarecrow Festival is planned for the weekend of the 24th September, which will also be our Harvest Festival. Last year’s event was a great success with many amusing entries to be seen and judged. This year we want it to be bigger and better, so thinking caps on and bring your entry along, and join in the fun. It is not the winning but entering that matters. Good luck.
The Barn Dance planned for the Autumn has been postponed to the Spring of 2017 due to a number of reasons. However, we look forward to this fund raising family event, the proceeds being split between the fund for Romeo and St.Mary’s Building fund.
Lastly our “Pebbles Group” enjoyed a super picnic and sports at Porthkerry Park on Sunday the 17th July as they wrapped up a terrific year’s activities, Sunday by Sunday in term time. The group has seen a steady growth in Mums and Dads bringing their children to take part in craft activities featuring the gospel message for the day. Once again many thanks go to their organiser Mrs Alison Williams for the time she and her helpers put in to bring our children too knowledge of all the Bible stories and prayers and songs.
With every blessing Parry Edwards
March 2016
The month of March has been one of the most crowded of months in the calendar due to Easter being earlier this year.
Mothering Sunday was a very happy crowded church with the Pebbles Group playing an important part in the morning service, showing us their portraits of their Mums and what she meant to them. All very touching and often quite funny in a nice sort of way.
Holy Week which began with the Palm Sunday ceremonies was kept with solemnity in the days leading up to Good Friday, when the commemoration began at St Lythan’s church, then continued with the walk down to St Mary’s for the final hour marking the time of Christ’s Crucifixion.
The following day the church was beautifully decorated for Easter Day with lilies donated by members of the congregation in memory of loved ones departed. On Easter Day 9.30am morning service was a very special one, when the newly lit Pascal Candle was brought into the centre of the church.
The Easter garden in the church porch was blessed and the service proceeded with the baptism of 4 young people, who with their Godparents and supporters filled the church to capacity. It was a most joyous occasion and will long live on in the memory of other joyous occasions that the church has experience during the past years. As the congregation left the church Easter Eggs were given to the children and adults and were greatly appreciated. Once again the Queen of Festivals as Easter is often called lived up to all expectations with wonderful singing, memorable readings from the Bible, and with the affirmation of our own Baptisms many years ago and in different places, all remind us that we are one family with God our Father.
The Lent Lunches continued week by week, with soup provided by members of the congregation. The Lent group met in the Rectory to study the Psalms and the Bible Study group met in Sully on a number of weeks. The theme of Lent this year was to take on something extra rather than giving something up, and these group meetings and Wednesday lunches were all opportunities for doing something extra during Lent.
The recent fine sunny but cold weather has enabled our stone mason to work on the stone wall in the grave yard, and the results are already showing great improvements. The removal of the sycamore trees has proved to be the correct course of action with daffodils blooming in profusion on the top of the wall which enhances the appearance of graveyard and cemetery alike. The ground surrounding a church is often called “God’s Acre” and here in Wenvoe we try to maintain as high a standard as possible, knowing that many in the community appreciate its surroundings for quiet contemplation and silent prayer.
During Lent all our “brass ware” at the altar and in the chancel has been removed in place of more simpler candles and ornaments. Shortly before Easter the Brass Cleaning team met to polish and buff up the brass ware in time for the Easter celebrations. They meet at different times of the year to keep the brass shining for our Sunday worship, not only are candlesticks involved in this, but the hanging lamps and the various brass commemorative plaques on the wall as well.
A vote of thanks to all the volunteers who turn up to get their hands on the Brasso with rubber gloves, and they seem to thrive on the heady aroma of polish. The weeks following on from Easter are generally quieter ones, but the work doesn’t stop. Plans are being made for Pentecost on May 12th and the Queen’s 90th birthday on June 12th. Watch this space. Easter Greetings to all readers
Parry Edwards
Parish News
On the fourth Sunday in June, the first All Age Communion Service took place at 9.30a.m. with all the “Pebbles” taking part. Many with their Mums and Dads. The church was full and the informality of the service went down well with the congregation, with gusty hymn singing, some with actions, clapping etc. The next All Age Communion Service will be on the last Sunday in July.
The past month has seen much work carried out in the churchyard. For many years the churchyard has been left to “mother nature”, and she has been a vigorous grower of lots of vegetation which we do not need. Contractors, at a cost of £500, have taken away the ivy, saplings and undergrowth which has been festooning the boundary walls of the churchyard and the collapsed dry stone wall between the churchyard extension and the Community Cemetery. This wall is an important feature of the churchyard, being the old boundary wall of the Rectory Orchard, and the wall will be rebuilt, using a local craftsman, once the trees which have been allowed to grow on the top have been removed. This is likely to be a costly exercise but one which the Parochial Church Council agreed to be the correct course of action to take. It will make a much better and well built wall for future generations to admire.
The large Poplar Tree near to the Churchyard Cross has also been removed at a cost of £350 and the stump will be ground out during the coming weeks. It is sad to have to remove trees at any time, but this tree has been cause of much damage around the plinth of the Cross, and as it was likely to grow much taller, removal was the sensible action to take.
The table tomb dedicated to the memory of Morgan Morgan who died in 1776 had been giving concern for some time becoming unstable. So in accordance with Health and Safety Rules it has been lowered to ground level. The vault entrance stone to the Nell family grave near the Tower has also been repaired and made safe, Mossfords carried out this work at a cost of £2010.
The PCC at its recent meeting authorised the payments for all these works which amounted to £4709, the bulk of which has been taken from the results of the Church Appeal which has raised £3875 to date and will remain open to receive additional funds to enable us to carry on with the other jobs scheduled for the next five years.
From the Church Quinquenial Report of December 2014 the lightning conductor on the church tower needed to be checked, this has been carried out at a cost of £127.20 and it was reported that remedial work needed to be carried out, again at a cost of £628 plus VAT to ensure the safety of the building.
Also the church and church hall has been checked for any Asbestos used. The church was found to be free of it, but the church hall has low grade Asbestos in the Artex used on the ceiling and in the roof tiles. The cost of this survey came to £780. The building has had smoke and heat detectors fitted and a carbon monoxide detector in the kitchen area.
The congregation of St Mary’s has risen to the challenge of providing the funds for this work to be done, and as we today enjoy the work done by previous generations, we too have a duty to ensure that the buildings we worship in are fit for purpose for the generations which lie ahead of us. We get no funding from central church funds for this work to be carried out, and our income comes from what is given freely on the collection plate at our services, the 200 club contributes from its funds towards the repair of the building and of course we make sure that we get our contribution from H.M Gov on Gift Aid refunds. That is why the St Mary’s Appeal remains open for future contributions to this vital work to keep the roof secure, the lights on and more importantly the church door open.
Plans are being made for events surrounding our celebration of the Harvest on September 26/27th Scary things will be going on in the churchyard with a Scarecrow Competition for scariest, the funniest, on the Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The church will be open to view the Harvest Decorations, there is planned to have a talk on our church history, refreshments will be available in the Church Gazebo erected in the churchyard, all in all this is going to be a great occasion to show the church to the village and also to welcome our new villagers from the “Redrow” Grange site, who should have moved into their new homes by that time. The scarecrow competition is open to all ages, all groups and families so get your thinking caps on and join in the fun.
We continue supporting the Food Bank with regular weekly collections in church, Tradecraft products are on sale at The Chattery and the Coffee morning on the 4th Sunday of the month and this year the fresh produce from the Harvest will be donated to the Salvation Army and the canned and dry goods passed on to the Food Bank in Barry.
Summer seems to be late in arriving this year, but who knows what August has in store for us.
Parry Edwards