September Rouundup
September has seen the resumption of “Pebbles” returning after their Summer break, and how good it was to see them in church. The All Age Eucharist Service took place in St John’s church, Sully, when Bishop June presided and preached to a packed church. The PCC has met on two occasions during the month to consider and approve the final plans for the church extension we are planning on the North side of the church nave. These are ambitious plans and have the WOW factor in spades, but is still in keeping with the present fabric of the building. These plans were exhibited during the weekend of the Scarecrow Festival and the Harvest Celebrations, and comments for and against were recorded. The aim of this enlargement of the church is to make it fit for purpose in the 21st century, as we reach out into the community, and also to safeguard the continuing use of the building during the week and not only on Sundays.
Richard Dean R.I.P – The church plans were drawn up between Ray Harris and Richard working very close together over a number of weeks. Richard was only appointed our architect this year and we were saddened to hear of his sudden death. We extend our sympathies to his wife and family and know that due to his work with many heritage organisations, he will be sorely missed.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory…Amen
Church Hall Bookings – For many years Eira Jervis has handled the bookings and keys of the hall to those who wish to make use of its facilities. Eira now feels that the time is right to hand over to another, and we give her thanks for the years of service she has given the church over such a long period of time. For the time being Carol Wyllie will be looking after the bookings and she can be contacted on Tel No. 20592655. If anybody would like to take on the role please contact Carol.
The “200” Club – The renewal letters for the “200 Club” have gone out during the month to the 300 plus subscribers to this fund raising scheme. Half of the money raised is placed in the Building Fund to cover the normal repairs and improvements made to the fabric of the church. This over the years has been a tremendous help in financing repairs and new members are always welcome. Please contact Dickon Oliver on Tel. No. 20679108 if you wish to join.
On Sunday 16th September we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the priesthood of Rev. Canon John Oeppen. John presided and preached at the 9.30 am Eucharist service and there was cake and some bubbles afterwards. John and his wife have been regular members of the congregation since his retirement and has often taken our services when Jon is away on holiday. John and Janet are also celebrating their Golden Wedding in November, so the occasion was a double celebration for them.
Congratulations.. and well done thou good and faithful servant.
The church and the church hall have had a “Deep Clean” during the month, we are so grateful for the work the volunteers put to keeping the church clean and tidy, but we needed to get the cobwebs, layers of dust on the walls and on the heating pipes that it was necessary to bring in the cleaning specialists, and a very good job they did. We plan to repeat the exercise every two years. Thanks are also due to Lyn for the care she has taken of the Church Hall on a weekly basis.
The Webb Casey Foundation Trust has made a donation of £150.00 to the “Pebbles” group. From this year’s fundraising, they wanted to help to provide services for our young children in the church. A big thank you for this very kind gesture. The money will go to providing materials for the craft work during their morning sessions in term time.
At a recent meeting of the Parochial Church Council mention was made of Vision 2020, the name chosen for the church extension, and the need to appoint a new architect to take on the plans drawn up by our late architect Richard Dean. A plan to lower the Chancel floor by means of a shallow ramp, to take away the hazard of the chancel step is being drawn up. There is evidence of condensation under the present carpet laid on a tiled floor which will need to be investigated .
The Chairman suggested that this year’s donations from the collections at the following services:-…. 9.30 am Harvest to be given to Christian Aid, Remembrance Service, shared between the Royal British Legion and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, Community Carol Service and “Waiting for Jesus” to Shelter Cymru.
BBC Radio Wales CELEBRATION recording takes place on Monday Oct 8th with the First Service broadcast on Sunday 28th October which is Bible Sunday and the Second Service broadcast on Sunday 6th January 2019 the Feast of the Epiphany.
Blessing to all our readers a welcome awaits you at any of our services.
Parry Edwards