November’s Events

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November has been a time for remembrance in the parish, beginning with the evening service for All Souls Day on Sunday October 30th when candles were lit on the altar in church to remember loved ones in our families who have passed to their eternal rest, in recent times and past years

 

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Then on Sunday 13th November we joined with the national remembrance services over the country, as we gathered in St. Mary’s for our traditional ecumenical service with prayers readings and hymns. This year the emphasis was on the Battle of Jutland and the Battle of the Somme. The service included the most powerful recollections from those men who were at the battles, and hearing them read out, brought home the horror and suffering our brave young men went through. These readings extended the service for longer than we would have wished and as a result the congregation, headed by the cross bearer and choir, were a little late in arriving at the village War Memorial. Thanks are extended to Dave Short of the Vale Brass Band for the music and also to the Wenvoe Community Council for providing the public address system for our use on the day. This enabled the calling of the Wenvoe Roll of Honour to be heard by the crowd of people who had gathered to pay their respects to those men of Wenvoe who answered the call to fight for what they thought was right for their families and country. The collection taken in church will be donated to the work of the Royal British Legion as part of their Poppy Appeal when they aim to raise 42 million pounds to look after survivors and their families of all the conflicts since WW1 and WW2.

 

On a lighter note the Chattery on Thursday 10th was well supported with stalls selling used CD’s and DVD’s, a cake stall and the usual Fairtrade selection of gifts and seasonal food items for the coming Christmas Season. This is a coffee morning with a difference where friends and parishioners can meet up in friendly and congenial surroundings. The moneys raised will be added to the church general fund to support church expenses.

The financial result from the Barn Dance has enabled us to donate £460 to the Romeo Hadley Trust fund and a further £400 has been given the Gwenfo Church in Wales school for additional equipment for the new extensions to the school.

At a recent meeting of the Parochial Church Council, the condition of the Albert and Hilda Morgan grave by the entrance to the churchyard by the Yew tree was considered. There is a trust fund to maintain this grave and we receive a small income each year. In previous years volunteers have attempted to clean the white marble stone, but with the rain and the droppings off the tree, the stone has badly deteriorated in recent years.

Mossfords, the monumental stone masons have inspected the grave and their estimate to repair and reinstate, and clean the stones to the best of their ability and has been accepted in the sum of almost £2,400.

 

This year Christmas cards designed by the children in our Pebbles Group, with a choice of 3 different colourful drawings of the Nativity giving the details of all the Christmas Services planned are to be distributed to every house in the parish and in St Lythan’s. The community Carol Service will be on December 14th at 7 pm. In St Mary’s followed by mulled wine and mince pies in the Community Centre, provided by the Wenvoe community council. All are welcome, the collection at the service will be donated to Ty Hafan Hospice for sick children at Sully.

 

The Welcome Packs have been updated and continue to be given to the new homeowners on the Grange development and the St. Lythan’s Park at the old HTV site. A warm welcome is extended to these new families as they settle in to their fresh surroundings you are among friends.

 

Once again the Toy Service combined with the all Age Worship at St Mary’s on the 27th of November was well supported and many toys were brought to be given to the Food Bank in Barry for children whose Christmas would be much the poorer without this special gift. The Big Wrap brought many decorated shoe boxes full of goodies from both our parish and Sully for distribution within the Vale

 

Dates for your diary in December:- Messy Church will be at the Community Centre on Saturday 3rd between 3.30 – 5.30pm it is FREE for all the family, come and enjoy arts and crafts, celebration and eating together and is high on fun and energymagi-03

 

Details of all the Christmas Services will be in the Christmas Cards and on posters in the village “For unto us a child is born and his name will be Jesus”

 

 

A very happy and blessed Christmas to all readers

Parry Edwards

 

 

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Parish News

ST. MARY’S PARISH CHURCH NEWS

 

CHURCH HALL FOR SALE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

A recent special meeting of the PCC was convened to discuss how St. Mary’s church could be made to fit the changing nature of the church. How we use it for worship and to what other uses the building could accommodate church activities in the future. Over a hundred years ago, the building we use today was greatly changed, and has been a wonderful resource in the village for so many memorable events. The Church Hall or the Reading Room, as so many of the older village people will recall was originally set up by the Jenner family to help with the education of the men folk in the village. It was used in the evenings as a recreational room with a piano and games etc. Then gradually the building became known as the Church Hall and was eventually gifted to St Mary’s Church for our use. Over the years, much has been done to improve the building, including a disabled toilet and a new kitchen and heating system, but now it needs more work and under the guidance of Jon, our priest, it was felt that the time was ripe to sell the building for residential use and use the proceeds of the sale to build an extension to the west end of the church, where we could bring the “Pebbles “ group into the church. Other plans will include toilets, kitchen and a meeting room together with much needed accessible storage space within the tower. These are the plans for the future, and much discussion will take place before we see any definite plans of what is possible when considering any alternation to our 12th century listed building.

Messy Church turned out to Messy Sports in the grounds of the village school on Saturday July 2nd The weather was wet in the morning but cleared up in the afternoon when some 70 mums, dads and their children turned up to a programme of outdoor activities including a water game with plenty of water and liquid soap. The afternoon closed with hotdogs etc around the camp fire, prayers and singing. A great occasion, well planned and thanks go to all who organised this time of fun with parents and others who have the welfare and care of the children at heart.

The Church in Wales has recently produced a document called the Church in Wales Safeguarding Policy and this has been on the agenda of a recent PCC meeting. It was wholeheartedly adopted and Mrs Jen Ford is our safeguarding officer for the parish. This policy sets out the way forward to keep our young children, teenagers and all vulnerable people safe when faced with any abuse in their lives, and can only be commended for all who call themselves Christians.

The Parish Magazine is being relaunched as from September. Our present editor Mr Byron Williams feels it is time he gave up the responsibility of the quarterly magazine, so it has been decided that we take this opportunity to combine our magazine with the Parish of Sully. It will now become a monthly magazine and will be on sale in our two churches on the first Sunday of each month at a price of 50p per copy. This is another way of bringing the activities of all our parishes together so that we can be more aware of what is going on within our part of the Ministry Area. I have agreed to be the co-ordinator of the Wenvoe contribution and if we are to establish a meaningful Wenvoe connection I will need to have contributions from our different sections within St Mary’s and to publicise the events we are planning during the year. It remains the intention of the PCC to circularise the whole of the parish at Christmas and Easter, details of our services to celebrate these great events in the life of the church in Wenvoe and St. Lythan’s

The Scarecrow Festival is planned for the weekend of the 24th September, which will also be our Harvest Festival. Last year’s event was a great success with many amusing entries to be seen and judged. This year we want it to be bigger and better, so thinking caps on and bring your entry along, and join in the fun. It is not the winning but entering that matters. Good luck.

The Barn Dance planned for the Autumn has been postponed to the Spring of 2017 due to a number of reasons. However, we look forward to this fund raising family event, the proceeds being split between the fund for Romeo and St.Mary’s Building fund.

Lastly our “Pebbles Group” enjoyed a super picnic and sports at Porthkerry Park on Sunday the 17th July as they wrapped up a terrific year’s activities, Sunday by Sunday in term time. The group has seen a steady growth in Mums and Dads bringing their children to take part in craft activities featuring the gospel message for the day. Once again many thanks go to their organiser Mrs Alison Williams for the time she and her helpers put in to bring our children too knowledge of all the Bible stories and prayers and songs.

 

With every blessing     Parry Edwards

March 2016

The month of March has been one of the most crowded of months in the calendar due to Easter being earlier this year.

Mothering Sunday was a very happy crowded church with the Pebbles Group playing an important part in the morning service, showing us their portraits of their Mums and what she meant to them. All very touching and often quite funny in a nice sort of way.

Holy Week which began with the Palm Sunday ceremonies was kept with solemnity in the days leading up to Good Friday, when the commemoration began at St Lythan’s church, then continued with the walk down to St Mary’s for the final hour marking the time of Christ’s Crucifixion. 

The following day the church was beautifully decorated for Easter Day with lilies donated by members of the congregation in memory of loved ones departed.  On Easter Day 9.30am morning service was a very special one, when the newly lit Pascal Candle was brought into the centre of the church.

The Easter garden in the church porch was blessed and the service proceeded with the baptism of 4 young people, who with their Godparents and supporters filled the church to capacity. It was a most joyous occasion and will long live on in the memory of other joyous occasions that the church has experience during the past years. As the congregation left the church Easter Eggs were given to the children and adults and were greatly appreciated. Once again the Queen of Festivals as Easter is often called lived up to all expectations with wonderful singing, memorable readings from the Bible, and with the affirmation of our own Baptisms many years ago and in different places, all remind us that we are one family with God our Father.

The Lent Lunches continued week by week, with soup provided by members of the congregation. The Lent group met in the Rectory to study the Psalms and the Bible Study group met in Sully on a number of weeks. The theme of Lent this year was to take on something extra rather than giving something up, and  these group meetings and Wednesday lunches were all opportunities for doing something extra during Lent.

The recent fine sunny but cold weather has enabled our stone mason to work on the stone wall in the grave yard, and the results are already showing great improvements. The removal of the sycamore trees has proved to be the correct course of action with daffodils blooming in profusion on the top of the wall which enhances the appearance of graveyard and cemetery alike. The ground surrounding a church is often called “God’s Acre” and here in Wenvoe we try to maintain as high a standard as possible, knowing that many in the community appreciate its surroundings for quiet contemplation and silent prayer. 

During Lent all our “brass ware” at the altar and in the chancel has been removed in place of more simpler candles and ornaments. Shortly before Easter the Brass Cleaning team met to polish and buff up the brass ware in time for the Easter celebrations.  They meet at different times of the year to keep the brass shining for our Sunday worship, not only are candlesticks involved in this, but the hanging lamps and the various brass commemorative plaques on the wall as well.

A vote of thanks to all the volunteers who turn up to get their hands on the Brasso with rubber gloves, and they seem to thrive on the heady aroma of polish. The weeks following on from Easter are generally quieter ones, but the work doesn’t stop. Plans are being made for Pentecost on May 12th and the Queen’s 90th birthday on June 12th. Watch this space. Easter Greetings to all readers

 Parry Edwards