August Events
A year has gone by since we combined our Parish Magazine with that of the Parish of Sully. During this time we have tried to contribute the news of what is happening in Wenvoe and St. Lythan’s, so that combined with the events in Sully, we have an overall picture of what is going on in our part of the Ministry Area. We have not always been successful but things are improving, and any contributions from the Wenvoe and St. Lythan’s congregations are always welcome. The magazine has been renamed to “Connections” and sales, month by month, vary with some copies ending up in the waste paper bin. From this month we are encouraging our congregation in Wenvoe to subscribe £5.00 p.a. for all the copies of the magazine during the year. Money please in an envelope, with your name, and you can then collect your copy without the need to carry the monthly 50p. This will also help us to gauge the number we need to have printed, thereby cutting down on waste.
August has been it usual quiet self in church, and we miss the “Pebbles” children and parents. They bring a “buzz” into church when they join us for the communion, otherwise we have maintained a goodly congregation at the 9.30 a.m. service, though there is a concern that the 7.45 a.m. service is down in numbers attending. This is compensated in some way by an increase in numbers attending the mid week communion on a Wednesday morning. The “All Age Service” on the 4th Sunday of the month is always a lively affair and the combined service on the 5th Sunday of month brings our three congregations together in a joint act of worship. The last one was held at St. Bleddians church in St.Lythan’s and the faithful group of worshipers there had worked really hard to present the church as beautifully as possible. The church grounds looked magnificent and my lasting impression of the morning was standing with Jon in the Button Chapel watching the rain coming down at a 45 degree angle. With the uncertainty of the weather the Pilgrimage walk to Llandaff Cathedral was postponed for another time.
A Faculty is being applied for the removal of the old concrete channelling at the base of the South Wall of the Nave, to cure the damp in the walls. This has been successful elsewhere in the church and hopefully the work can be done before the Winter sets in. We also have to appoint an architect for the general care and repair of the church fabric for the next 5 years. We have just completed the work required from the last Quinquenial inspection and this has been “signed off” by our last architect, who has now retired from practice. The maintenance of our church to keep it in good repair is costly and the money raised from the Building Appeal and the “200 Club” helps towards the cost of any repairs. Please continue to support this work when appeals are made.
Jude Billngham who organises the “Fair Trade” and “Food Bank” for us writes elsewhere in “What’s On” of her concern that the “Fair Trade” brand is in danger of being diluted by some of the multi-national companies as they set up their own source of supply. Support remains strong in the parish for “Fair Trade” products and the “Food Bank” and we thank Jude and
her team for all the work they put in, in supporting these worth while causes.
The Scarecrow Festival takes place on Saturday 23rd September between 2.00 pm-5.00pm in the churchyard, with wonderful scarecrows, competitions and refreshments, followed by our Harvest Festival on the Sunday morning. There is no evening service at Wenvoe this year, as the response has been very poor over the past few years.
So forward we go into the Autumn, planning for Remembrance Sunday and Christmas. Pebbles will be back with us, with new faces and mums and dad’s. The next “Messy Church” will be on Saturday October 21st in the community centre at 3.30 pm, its FREE and all are welcome as is the invitation to join in the worship at St. Mary’s where the welcome is warm and friendly. With every blessing to all our readers
Parry Edwards