Category: News

News for July

St. Mary’s Church remains closed while the repairs and redecoration is taking place, and all services have been transferred to the Church Hall, on Sunday and for the midweek service on Wednesday. The work which is being done to a very high standard, is taking longer than was anticipated, and we are unlikely to be back in church until July. This has been a good exercise for the congregation, as so often the church is associated with a building, rather than thinking of the church as the people of God meeting together for worship. During the recent fine weather church gatherings have been taking place outdoors. The ministry area treasurers met in the shade on the north side of the church, and a family baptism took place around the churchyard cross. The current thinking is that when COVID-19 is finally kept under control with vaccinations, a new way of worship will be necessary, harking back to the Biblical days when Jesus taught the people wherever he found them. It is refreshing and a new way of thinking, perhaps the old ways were not the best way, and that God’s clean fresh air really does blow away the cobwebs.

The setting up of the Ministry Area is one way in which this can be done, with nine churches coming together, to pool ideas, share finances, and work towards the greater good. The smaller parishes will have as much say in matters to maintain the regular round of worship in each church as the larger ones. Jon wrote in one of the weekly newsletters an explanation of what the Ministry Area of De Morgannwg will mean to each one when we are brought together in 2022.

“As you are probably aware, the new Ministry Area of De Morgannwg will come into being by Bishop’s Decree on January 1st 2022. On this date, the nine churches of Dinas Powis, Michealston le Pit, Penmarc, Porthkerry, Rhoose, St Andrews Major, St. Lythans, Sully and Wenvoe will become one Ministry Area which will be called the Ministry Area of De Morgannwg. Each church will remain with its own identity, so these three churches will become

St Bleddians Church, St Lythans, in the Ministry Area of De Morgannwg

St John the Baptist Church, Sully, in the Ministry Area of De Morgannwg

St Mary’s Church, Wenvoe in the Ministry Area of De Morgannwg.

Each of these three churches will continue with their own Devolved Church Council which will be making decisions on a local level. The PCC will become the Ministry Area Council, each of the nine churches will have a representative on the Ministry Area Council. Each church will have an equal voice so that the views of all congregations can be aired.

There have been several meetings to discuss how our Ministry Area will operate within the Diocesan plan. There are two meetings this week, the first with each of the Treasurers and the second with

those who are serving on the communications Team. Your representatives from the churches are working very hard in order to come up with the best operating structure.

I will inform you of developments as they arise, but the important thing to remember is that your church remains your church, whilst also being able to enjoy time, fellowship and prayer with parishioners from other churches.”

The Christian Aid appeal “MAKING STEPS MATTER” had a number of people being sponsored with the number of steps they took during May. The final results are not yet available, awaiting for the monies to be brought together.

During the time the church has been closed for repairs to the plastering on the walls and repainting, the decision was made to re-site the organ console and speakers from the front of the nave near the chancel screen to the rear behind the font. The present two pews, will be placed in the transept and the space created around the font will be, filled with chairs from the transept. This decision was not taken lightly, but will allow for a better welcoming area when entering the church from the south porch, and the sound from the organ will be much improved coming from the back of the church, forward into the nave and chancel.

During the work around the font, the pews had to be removed to plaster in the gaps left by pews, this has revealed a decorative slate plaque, thought to be part of an early memorial on the wall which had been plastered over for many years. The decoration is of a vase of stylised flowers with a decorative border.

This is in the position where the Wenvoe Castle Family Pew was sited in the days when the church had box pews. These were replaced in 1887 by the pine pews we have at present, this little piece of history from the past will be preserved and left for all to see.

St Mary’s Tower Appeal

£60,000 needed to restore the tower!

In the early part of the year, we received a shocking report from our architect. The tower needs repointing. The restoration work has been costed; tenders accepted but we need to raise £60,000 before the work can begin.

The background to this sad story? In February 2021, an architectural inspection of the tower was undertaken following the discovery of fallen mortar and masonry at the base of the tower and to a lesser degree, the porch. Subsequently, a detailed rope access inspection was undertaken by steeplejacks to all four elevations of the tower. The steeplejacks reported that the pointing and masonry on all elevations was in poor condition with it either loose, falling out or hollow behind which in time will also become loose. Small amounts of plant growth were seen on all elevations with loose lead flashing on the North Elevation over the outbuilding. Imminently falling pointing and masonry was removed at the time, but it is expected that more will become loose, especially when winter frosts set in. The base around the tower has therefore been cordoned off as a safety precaution. We hope to undertake restoration this year as another winter would see more falling mortar and masonry which would compromise the watertight integrity of the building. Therefore, the PCC has resolved to launch an appeal for funds. Please consider donating either to our ‘Donate’ page as shown or if you wish by cheque sent directly to our church treasurer: made payable to St. Mary’s Church Wenvoe

Ray Harris, Orchard House, Port Road Wenvoe, CF5 6DF.

If you are a UK taxpayer we can claim an extra 20% from HMRC on top of your donation as Gift Aid. Please write your address on the back of your cheque.

If you would like to make an on-line donation, our bank details are: St Mary’s Wenvoe 08-90-03 50192159. Please include the reference TOWER

Once the restoration is completed, the community will be able to continue using the church and churchyard as they have done for centuries passed.

Thank you for reading this. God Bless and continue to keep safe.

Parry Edwards

News for June

Here in Wales, the Welsh Government has relaxed some of the COVID restrictions we have lived under for the past 14 months, but with new freedoms come the responsibilities we have to each other.

While cafes, museums, cinemas and much more can now open, churches still have to abide with the previous rules of social distancing, the wearing of face masks, no singing allowed, and having to book your place in the congregation. So, for the moment, nothing has changed. At St. Mary’s we are having repairs and repainting in the nave and chancel, so the building remains closed. All worship was transferred to the Church Hall and it is hoped services in June will be back in church. See the church notice board for the latest details and arrangements.

After much hassle and delay, Wi-Fi was finally installed in the church. The streaming of services will now go ahead when we are able to reopen. The delay was caused by not having a postcode, not having a letter box, the “Open reach” ladders were too short, need I say more!! The 10.30am service on Facebook stopped during the month as we were able to stream a service from either Sully or Wenvoe at the regular times of 9.30am and 11.00am. The Facebook service was widely popular with people logging in from far and wide, and far more were taking part on line than we could ever hope to see in church. Reaching out beyond the confines of the church building is our Mission to the community and we invite those who cannot attend in person and have a Wi-Fi connection, to join in with us as we explore different ways of doing “church”.

The Christian Aid appeal “MAKING STEPS MATTER” took place during the month, and first results are encouraging. This year like last year, we could not organise a house-to-house collection, but the bunting and banners outside the church and the village school, was a reminder that the gift of water in many parts of the world is a rare commodity. The appeal was to count the steps we take each week in our daily lives and compare them with the many steps the women in Africa have to take to fetch water for their daily use. The appeal remains open, and your gift of money will help so many to build water dams in their villages so that walking many miles will be a thing of the past.

The latest news on the church tower is that our architect has prepared the “spec” and this has gone out to tender, for the work to be carried out as soon as possible. Any contractor who submits a tender must have proven “conservation experience of stonework” in churches and other listed buildings. Until these tenders come in, we have no idea of what the likely cost is going to be. The churchwardens aided by the PCC have the responsibility of ensuring that the fabric of the church is kept in good order, and the last time the tower was under investigation was almost twenty years ago. The work carried out then has not stood the test of time and the weathering we have had over those years has caused the deterioration of the mortar applied at that time.

Kevin Barry, who has been serving his time as an ordinand in St. Mary’s is coming to an end with his ordination as a deacon in the cathedral on June 26th. He will then be welcomed into Wenvoe parish as a curate on Sunday 27th June. His ordination to the priesthood will be at a date and place yet to be agreed. To mark this great event in his life, it was decided, that he will be presented with a purple stole from the three churches (Sully, St Lythans and Wenvoe) as a mark of the great affection he was held in during his training with Jon.

Our congregation in Wenvoe, as in many other parishes, has a large number of elderly parishioners, and however hard we try to encourage younger people to join us, we remain as we are, reliant on older generations to keep the roof on and the door open. Recently Mrs Mary Turner celebrated her 90th birthday. Mary is not able to attend church these days so home visits are a real treat for her. A copy of the church magazine is really appreciated, as is a copy of the weekly newsletter, and she listens intently as the readings and lessons are read to her. During this time of COVID these visits are very limited, and her carers are doing a truly wonderful job in looking after her. To all in this older generation the congregation is very thankful for the support they have continued to give to the church in Wenvoe, and there will be a place for them when they are able to return to what we are calling the NEW NORMAL pattern of services.

The development and progression to the new Ministry Area has continued, with meetings arranged on Zoom. You will have read that the name of our ministry area will be “de Morgannwg” that is “south Glamorgan”, and that we in Wenvoe will be one of nine churches coming together to spread the “love of Christ to our communities”. There is still much to do in setting up the various groups to iron out any difficulties in time for the decree to be issued on January 1st, 2022.

At a recent meeting of the PCC, held on Zoom, the chairman, Jon, thanked all members of the PCC for their continuing help and support during these days. We are awaiting the very latest guidelines from the Bench of Bishops. Until then we are still under the same guidelines that have applied since we were able to re-open our church on the 21st March.

Keep safe and God Bless,

Parry Edwards