October News Update


October News Update


The church is now open for worship without the need to book your place in the congregation. We are still required to sanitise our hands on entry and leaving, to wear a face mask and keep social distancing.

This last condition is probably the most difficult to adhere to, for when any congregation gathers, having been prevented from doing so for such a long period of time, it is the most natural thing in the world to greet and converse, taking time to catch up on all that has gone before. Singing is now allowed, wearing a face mask, and somehow we raise our voices in praise, so we are getting back to a new kind of normality. Come and experience this for yourselves. You will be very welcome.


The fundraising for the repair of the tower is gathering apace, with the results from a number of fund-giving bodies expected during the month. We are extremely grateful for the response from those who have already donated. The work is being delayed until next spring when the lime mortar can be applied without the risk of any frost. The recent appeal for old and unusable IT appliances to be recycled brought a great response and filled the church hall kitchen to overflowing. We await to hear whether this will bring in funds for the appeal. We must also thank Mike and Glenys Tucker for organising their “stones for the tower” appeal. Do support them; fund raising is a thankless task, and as a well know multinational grocer, puts it “every little helps”.


However, like many things in life, we now have an additional problem with the church clock. Time is standing still on the Wenvoe clock. For some time the hands were stopping at ten to three each day. The clock people, Smiths of Derby who installed the clock in 1883 and have maintained it ever since, have examined the linkage etc and their report is likely to say that somehow the hands of the clock are fouling each other, causing the stoppage. Their report has been received, and the cost of repair is likely to be in the region of £16,000 inc VAT. Funding will be sought from recognised fund holders for church clocks, and the work will be carried out at the same time as the scaffolding is on the tower next year.


We have been opening the church on Saturday afternoons for visitors to see the freshly painted walls and chancel ceiling, and also to see the renowned wall monuments to the Thomas/Birt/Jenner families of Wenvoe Castle. These monuments are among the finest in South Wales and date from 1636-1824. The carved and gilded reredos at the altar was designed by the renowned church designer and architect Sir John Ninian Comper and was gifted to the church in 1901. The restored Victorian tiled floors complete the image of the church that the church restorers of the 19th century wished us to see. Although at the time, the restorations and improvements did not meet with general approval. But times change and we are the grateful inheritors of much that has gone before.


Our children’s “Pebbles” group has been meeting since early September and what a joy it is to see the youngsters back in church. It has been 18 months since they were last in church, and how some of them have grown! We welcome new faces as they join in the activities in the church hall under the guidance of the leaders and the parents. “Pebbles” is from 9.30am each Sunday morning during term time. There is always space for new faces. All are welcome.


We continue to support the work of the Food Bank in Barry and wish to thank those who make regular weekly donations to the food boxes in the church porch. The donations are collected from Wenvoe and Sully every Thursday morning, and they are most gratefully received for the families in the Vale who find themselves in difficult circumstances beyond their control. So, thank you for your help and support. Please keep the donations coming. Diolch.


The work towards the setting up of the Ministry Area, nine churches united to bring Jesus’s love to the Community, continues with the introduction of a weekly bulletin for the Ministry Area which is known as De Morgannwg. These are available in all nine churches, setting out the times of services and what is happening during the week. We are now nine months into the preparations and setting up of the various groups to bring us all into one large Christian family when the Bishop’s Decree is signed on 1st January.

A great welcome is assured to all from our Parish Priest and Churchwardens.

Parry Edwards