ST. MARY’S CHURCH NEWS
ST. MARY’S CHURCH NEWS
The Penrhys Pilrimage was for those who took part a very humbling and rewarding experience. Over three days the pilgrims set out from Llandaff Cathedral and walked the Pilgrimage Way in searing heat with some of the hottest temperatures we have seen so far this year. The final stretch of the way was on the last day with steep climbs, when finally reaching the site of the shrine to The Blessed Virgin Mary, they were greeted by others who had made their way to the hill top in Rhondda Cynon Taff. After visiting the Holy Well a short form of the Eucharist was celebrated and the pilgrims duly returned to their homes, tired but blessed by the experience of the fellowship enjoyed with each other. Thank you David and Helen and Lyndon and Chris for organising the arrangements. Well done.
Lyndon and Chris have been on holiday during the month, when they returned to Canada for family reunions and many catch ups with their children and others. We look forward to seeing them refreshed and full of “ where do we go from here”. In Lyndon’s absence Services have been held by our long time friend John Oeppen who also celebrated his birthday in church on “Father’s Day” being given a lighted candle and we all sang Happy Birthday.
WENVOE OPEN GARDENS
On a sultry Saturday afternoon, 12 gardens were opened for visiting in aid of the Church Building fund from 12.00 noon to 5 .00 pm. All the gardens were different, some large some small and others in between. The one thing they all had in common was how the gardens are an extension of how we live our lives and that the garden is an extension of the home itself. There was a tremendous response and many of the gardens were visited by 80 or more during the opening time and many made use of the refreshments provided in the church grounds. Following many weeks of hot dry weather most gardens welcomed the rain in the early hours of the day, and there were many fevered checks on the weather forecasts, but the day was humid and hot but at least we did not suffer any health problems by our most welcome visitors.
The problem most gardeners have in their gardens is the presence of weeds, and how to keep them in check. We are told that a weed is simply a plant growing in the wrong place and are good for the natural world, and it so happened the next day, that we sang a hymn that contained the following words. “ but oh what tares (weeds) the evil one hath in his garden sown” which made me think that the morning rain had caused the many weeds to grow during the day. Oh well a gardener’s lot is not a happy one.
The financial result stands at a whopping £1000.00 including the amount raised by the surplus cake sales in the church porch after the morning service. A splendid result and thanks go to all who opened their gardens, made the cakes, sold the cakes and made the Tea/Coffee in the church grounds, but above all a big THANK YOU to all our visitors who
bought the tickets, gave donations for the refreshments and the sale of greeting cards, without you there would be no report to share in the success of the day. So thank you Glenys and Mike for all your work in pulling all the arrangements together and we look forward to 2025 for the next OPEN GARDENS.
During the month we were saddened to hear of the passing of two residents who had in different ways helped the church in the recent past. Trevor Case who had lived in Walston Road and worked with the Environment Group and church grounds, and Mike Flynn of Springfield Close who audited the church accounts for a number of years. We hold their families in our prayers at their loss. Well done thou good and faithful servants.
Thank you for reading the church news, We may be a small church but we have a large heart for all in the community. Contact Lyndon on Tel 029 2280 6018 (confidential phone) in times of need or fjust advice or even just to say hello.
See you in church, its FREE and you will get a good welcome