October began with the rehearsal on Monday evening, Oct 1st in preparation for the recording of the two services on Monday 8th Oct. Jon had written the service for Bible Sunday with the help of the many written suggestions from the congregations, who had been invited to share their thoughts and ideas from the Bible teaching that had helped them during their lives. As you would expect in Wales, hymn singing formed a large part of the service and we sang a version of the Gloria to the tune of “Cwm Rhondda” and finished up with “We shall go out with joy” and we were even allowed to clap, clap, clap during the final verse as is our practice in St. Mary’s.
The second service had Epiphany (the visit of the Magi or wise Men or Kings from the East to the baby Jesus) for its theme, and we were all transported to the Twelfth day after Christmas. The Gospel according to St Luke provided the readings, the carols included “We three kings of Orient are” and we finished up with “One more step along the way we go”
The actual recording of the services were quite different from the rehearsal. We began at 6.30 pm on Monday evening October 8th, and soon realised that the first thing to happen was the voice checks to get the right level. Then everything was recorded in segments, which the producer explained was for any editing to be done to make sure there was enough material to edit or to fill in to the allotted time allowed for the programme to go on air. It must have been about 10 o’clock before the recordings were in the can, and now we have to wait until the broadcast times to hear the final result. It was a good experience to have representatives of our three churches together in an act of worship that was not only fun to do, but enjoyable at the same time.
The 1st broadcast is on Bible Sunday on BBC Radio Wales at 7.30am on October 28th. With the 2nd broadcast on The Feast of the Epiphany on BBC Radio Wales at 7.30am on January 6th 2019.
A session of “Messy Church” was held on Saturday afternoon October 6th in the Wenvoe Community Centre, when some 60 parents and children gathered for this informal family type worship. The theme was “The Wedding at Cana” and the children all helped to make a banner showing the bride and groom with their hand prints in the form of footprints along the bride’s train. That, together with wedding like bunting to decorate the feast, brought the afternoon to a close. A special thank you to the Vale Church for the help they give to make these events such a success.
The recent “Scarecrow Festival” brought many famous people to Wenvoe, despite the wet stormy weather. Due to the rain the event was quickly moved into the church and every nook and cranny seemed to have a scarecrow. We had Geraint Thomas, the winner of the “Tour de France” on his bike in the transept, “Flora the Wenvoe flower Girl”
in the Nave and Donald Trump, the President of the USA presided over all. All were worthy of prizes, for the effort that goes to assembling the scarecrows, and we look forward to next year, when perhaps the weather will be kinder to us. A full list of the prize winners, judged by the people who came, can be found in the October edition of the Parish Magazine “Connections” available in church.
During the “Scarecrow Festival” weekend, the plans for the church extension were displayed in the Transept. They will remain there for some weeks to allow as many people as possible to examine them. There has been a lot of favourable comment for the design and the facilities we hope offer our congregation and the community at large, as we make St. Mary’s Church fit for purpose in the years ahead. For a selection of the illustrations and the floor plan see adjoining page.
Eira Jervis RIP – The church community was saddened to hear of the passing of Eira Jervis after many months of illness. Eira was born, raised and married in Wenvoe and her adult life was spent in the service of others in the community. She served on the Wenvoe Community Council for many years, and has been Chairperson during that time. She was a faithful member of the congregation and undertook the church hall bookings in her spare time. For many years she was the village hairdresser, working from home and then later opening the salon at the rear of the village stores. She was an active member of the Wenvoe Historical Group and provided the foreword to the Tempus book on “Old Wenvoe” Condolences are extended to Viv, her husband and to her sons and their extended families. Well done thou good and faithful servant.
A reminder that the Community Remembrance Service takes place at 10.00am on Sunday 11th November starting in church and proceeding to the Village War Memorial by 11.00 am. This year is the Centenary 1918-2018 of WW1 and so is a very special occasion as we remember the Armistice. We also remember the 100 years of the Royal Air Force and the part they played in both World Wars. We will remember them.
Blessings to all our readers and a welcome awaits you at St Mary’s.
Parry Edwards
