{"id":7519,"date":"2020-05-02T23:42:06","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T22:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7519"},"modified":"2020-05-02T23:42:06","modified_gmt":"2020-05-02T22:42:06","slug":"the-strangest-of-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7519","title":{"rendered":"The Strangest Of Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Strangest Of Times <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We have been through the strangest of times in the past month. The virus COVID19 has affected so much of our lives, with Government advice to STAY IN OUR HOMES, in other words we have faced a \u201cLockdown\u201d only going out for essential shopping, for medical reasons, some exercise and above all to \u201cWASH YOUR HANDS\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This meant that gradually all our public buildings closed down including St. Mary\u2019s church in Wenvoe. For the first time in living memory we were unable to gather as a congregation to worship during Lent, Palm Sunday and the glorious feast of Easter. Jon , our Parish Priest has worked tirelessly in preparing digital acts of worship on our parish \u201dface book\u201d page, which has been seen by many hundreds of \u201clikes\u201d recorded. We have set up \u201ccontact groups\u201d to keep in touch with members of the congregation facing isolation in their homes, with weekly telephone conversations. The Parish magazine \u201cConnections\u201d has been printed and is available digitally on line, and as the cartoon above states \u201cwhile we appear to be closed we are in fact open in so many ways, to be there offering a message of HOPE that things will get better and that we will get through this\u201d.<\/p>\n

Did you see the Cross of Hope in the churchyard at Easter. The churchyard cross was decorated with flowers in memory of past loved ones and friends as a sign that Easter is time of HOPE. It was our way of celebrating the \u201cRisen Lord\u201d as a visible reminder that the virus cannot stop the work of the church and that life in all its richness remains with us. We have to thank Glenys and Mike for their work in setting up the flowers and also to thank Sandra and Brian for the Easter garden within the church porch.<\/p>\n

All church activities stopped as soon as the \u201cstay in your homes\u201d advice was received, this has severely affected our financial position with our \u201ccash flow\u201d being cut off. We are still expected to continue our contribution to the \u201cFAIR SHARE\u201d which supports the work of the Diocese, we have immediately reduced as many of our outgoing costs as we are able to, but we are raiding our reserves to pay for those items that cannot be put off. We want to maintain the church grounds and keep the grass cut, that is a COST, the church clock needs to be maintained, that is a COST, the church building has to be insured, that is a COST. We have recently completed work on the church doors, that is a COST. The members of the congregation are being encouraged to convert their weekly offering on the collection plate to Gift Direct, Standing Orders or Direct Orders. So we appeal to the wider community around us. If you have had your child baptised, a son or daughter married or a funeral for a loved at St. Mary\u2019s now is the time to consider making donation, in gratitude for the church being there when you needed it.<\/p>\n

For the present the Church in Wales has decreed that no Baptisms, Marriages or Funerals can take place within its churches, until the restrictions imposed by the Government are relaxed, and we look forward in HOPE to a future time when we can resume our church activities and our pattern of worship with Jon\u2019s care and guidance.<\/p>\n

Mr Philip Morant RIP <\/strong><\/p>\n

The congregation and the community were saddened to hear of the passing of Phil in the care home in Barry. Phil was a faithful member of the church and was in his seat Sunday by Sunday. He was a most willing and helpful person, reaching out to anyone who he thought he could help. Whether in the school, the environment group, community council, the village work party and his much loved allotment. We missed him when he moved to Barry, and our thoughts and prayers are with Margaret and his two daughters at this sad time in their lives, \u201cmay he rest in peace and rise in glory\u201d<\/p>\n

God Bless Us, and keep us safe.. and WASH YOUR HANDS<\/p>\n

Parry Edwards<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Strangest Of Times   We have been through the strangest of times in the past month. The virus COVID19 has affected so much of our lives, with Government advice to STAY IN OUR HOMES, in other words we have faced a \u201cLockdown\u201d only going out for essential shopping, for medical reasons, some exercise and above all to \u201cWASH YOUR […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-1Xh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7998,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7998","url_meta":{"origin":7519,"position":0},"title":"St. Mary\u2019s Parish Church News","author":"Alan Williams","date":"11th August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"MARY\u2019S PARISH CHURCH NEWS There is some \u2018good news\u2019 to bring to you since the last church report in \u2018What\u2019s On\u2019. Churches can now be opened for private prayer. This is subject to social distancing being observed and many other regulations being put in place to keep everyone as safe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "St Mary's Parish Church News"","block_context":{"text":"St Mary's Parish Church News","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":514,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=514","url_meta":{"origin":7519,"position":1},"title":"Parish News","author":"Wenvoeadmin","date":"9th June 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"ST. MARY\u2019S PARISH CHURCH NEWS \u00a0 CHURCH HALL FOR SALE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. A recent special meeting of the PCC was convened to discuss how St. Mary\u2019s church could be made to fit the changing nature of the church. How we use it for worship and to what other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "St Mary's Parish Church News"","block_context":{"text":"St Mary's Parish Church News","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/DSCN0449.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/DSCN0449.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/DSCN0449.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/DSCN0449.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/DSCN0449.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7380,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7380","url_meta":{"origin":7519,"position":2},"title":"This Month\u2019s Parish News","author":"Alan Williams","date":"2nd April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This Month\u2019s Parish News In last month\u2019s Parish News, we were looking forward to a glorious Easter, when we celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord with colour, flowers, great hymns and full churches. How so much has changed since then. The coronavirus has changed all that, with most of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "St Mary's Parish Church News"","block_context":{"text":"St Mary's Parish Church News","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8357,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8357","url_meta":{"origin":7519,"position":3},"title":"St. Mary\u2019s Parish Church News – October","author":"Alan Williams","date":"5th October 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"ST. MARY\u2019S PARISH CHURCH NEWS It is good to be able to report that St. Mary\u2019s was opened for public worship at the beginning of September, in accordance with the Welsh Government and the Church in Wales COVID regulations. To comply with \u201csocial distancing\u201d the church can only allow 15\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "St Mary's Parish Church News"","block_context":{"text":"St Mary's Parish Church News","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7990,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7990","url_meta":{"origin":7519,"position":4},"title":"St Mary’s Church Appeal","author":"Alan Williams","date":"11th August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"St Mary's Church Appeal \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Miscellaneous"","block_context":{"text":"Miscellaneous","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=127"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/appeal.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/appeal.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/appeal.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/appeal.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4974,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=4974","url_meta":{"origin":7519,"position":5},"title":"News Update","author":"Alan Williams","date":"18th September 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The holiday month of August sees a little less activity in St. Mary\u2019s, with the \u201cPebbles\u201d on their Summer break and some of the faithful away on holiday, but the worship continues week by week and on the twice a month Wednesday Eucharist. 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