Greetings From a Beleaguered Parish Church
MARY’S PARISH CHURCH NEWS
Greetings from a beleaguered Parish Church that remains closed and unable to offer worship and comfort to her congregation. If 2020 was the year when we were forced to lock the church door, let us hope and pray that 2021 will be the year in which we shall be able to open to all, and welcome all into the hallowed space we have had in Wenvoe for more than 800 years.
In these worrying times, the business side of St. Mary’s has carried on with the help of Zoom. Regular meetings of the officers of the church have been held, backed up by regular meetings of the Parochial Church Council to enable the church to meet its financial and legal responsibilities. We are grateful to all who have maintained their financial giving, to those who have supported the limited fund raising we have been able to arrange, and to those who have kindly donated money over the past months. Wenvoe Church is needed more than ever, for the time when our lives and the life of the community will be back to a “new” normal. Where else can you get your child baptised, your sons and daughters married and say that final goodbye to a loved ones? There is only one place and that is in St. Mary’s Church. So, a big, big thank you to all who have supported us.
During the dark nights of December, in the run up to Christmas, the Wenvoe Advent Window displays were a great success. The windows were shown on our Facebook page and from the generosity of many people, £186.00 was raised for church funds. There have been a number of requests of ‘what do we do next year’ meaning of course what will we do for this year. Any ideas please to Jude Billingham, the organiser.
The closure of the church has meant that Jon and Kevin have been able to offer an online service each Sunday morning, and there have been many followers who have ‘hooked up’ to take part. Many are local members of the congregations from our three churches, and they are joined by others from far and wide. Together we have maintained close contact with one another, by simply keying in that you are watching and that you have sent a greeting. Thank God for technology that is useful and so necessary in these days when we cannot meet as was our usual practice.
CHURCH HALL
Every few years we come around to considering what do we do with the church hall. We know only too well that it is not fit for purpose, and that a lot of money is needed to bring the building, the toilets and the kitchen up to modern day standards. These lockdowns have concentrated the minds of church officers that we do something or else the building will continue to deteriorate. A recent survey of the building and its facilities have been circulated to all members of the PCC, with options as to how things could be improved. Watch this space.
Another project is what do we do to bring our church building into a better state, and can we do this while we are closed and shut down. The church needs redecoration, we really do need toilet facilities on site, we would like to offer refreshment facilities on site, we would like to get rid of the pews and bring in stackable chairs, so that we can re-arrange the seating for different types of services, and hold our “chattery” get togethers in a more comfortable setting. There is much we would like to do, but getting the necessary permissions takes a great deal of time and effort, with the church authorities wishing to keep us preserved in aspic. Once again watch this space.
The Steering Group for the NEW MINISTRY AREA has met on Zoom as we start the process of coming together. Two sub-groups on Governance and the other on Communication have been set up. The work of either is to bring together the common things we hold so dear. We are a diverse group of Christians worshipping the ONE true God…. NINE CHURCHES WORKING TOGETHER TO BRING GOD’S LOVE TO HIS PEOPLE.
Keep safe, wash those hands, wear your mask and God Bless.
Parry Edwards