This edition starts with a wedding themed songs of praise service in celebration of Valentines Day. Other news includes Home Group, World Day of Prayer and 5Ts Fellowship Group. It also, of course, has the usual listings of services and contacts.
Special Wedding Themed Songs of Praise Service
February is the month when traditionally we celebrate Valentine’s Day on 14th February. So what better month in which to hold a special Songs of Praise service with a wedding theme! The service will take place on Sunday 27 February @ 6.30pm.
Cake & Prosecco
We will be inviting couples who have been married in our joint parishes over the last few years , and also couples planning to be married this year. But everyone from the village is very welcome to attend and enjoy cake and prosecco at the end of the service!
As part of the service, it would be lovely to display a selection of photos from people’s weddings, so if you have a wedding photo you would like to share, please contact Jo, our church administrator , or Rev Heather (contact details on page 2).
Do you have a special anniversary this year?
In particular, it would be good to celebrate special anniversaries that may occur this coming year, or indeed have taken place over the last two years when Covid has not allowed many opportunities to celebrate them fully. Please let Jo or Heather know if this is the case.
Last but not least, it would be good to sing a selection of hymns/songs which people had at their own wedding. So if you have one that was particularly important to you on your wedding day, please do send it in to Jo, or to Rev Heather.
We are looking forward to this opportunity of celebrating together and sharing God’s love with all the couples planning to get married in our churches this year.
Home Groups
The Tuesday evening Home Group will be meeting on Zoom at this time, but with a view to returning to physical meetings as soon as the Covid levels change for the better. We will therefore meet virtually on 15th February at 7.45pm. That will lead us up to Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. We will be finishing our study on Moses. He is still in the desert at the moment, but we hope to get him to the promised land in time for Easter! For more details please email: [email protected].
The Tuesday afternoon group is currently meeting in person, and is following the same Bible study as the evening group. Their next meeting is also on 15 February. For more details please contact Sue Day: [email protected].
Everyone is welcome to join either of these groups, even if they haven’t been part of a Home Group before, so do feel free to attend. You don’t need to be a biblical expert (we aren’t!) but this is a great way to encourage our faith together.
World Day of Prayer
This year’s service has been prepared by Christian women from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, drawn from all ages and denominations. The over-arching theme of the service is HOPE, which will be depicted through the lighting of candles, the distribution of seeds and the exchange of messages world wide using the hashtag #WDP.
This is what the women who prepared the service said:
It has been both challenging and rewarding to write about the three countries that make up our area: our landscape, people and culture all shaped by our history. We celebrate our diversity and the contribution made to our countries by the many groups and individuals who have made their home here. We use our Bible text “I know the plans I have for you” from Jeremiah to reflect on some of the issues facing us today: poverty, domestic abuse and disability, finding hope in difficult situations and encouragement in the help we can give to each other.
Our local service this year will be held at St Michael’s Church, Mile End Road, CO4 5DY. Time of service to be confirmed. For more details, please contact [email protected]. Find out more about the World Day of Prayer on their website.
5T’s Fellowship Group
The 5Ts fellowship group is back after taking a break during January and will start again on Thursdays from 10th February at 2.30 pm in the church hall.
Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy tea and cake and a chat. 5Ts (so called because it stands for Together on Thursdays for Tea at Two-Thirty!) meets every week, even in school holidays.
Don’t forget you can also drop in for morning coffee and cake in the church on Thursday mornings during term time.
Services & Other Dates
| 6th February | 10:00 am | Holy Communion (also on Zoom) |
| 13th February | 10:00 pm | Messy Church |
| 20th February | 11:15 am | Holy Communion (also on Zoom) |
| 27th February | 10:00 am | Praise on 4 Service (also on Zoom) with refreshments served from 9.45am |
| 2nd March | 8:00 pm | Ash Wednesday Holy Communion |
| 4th March | TBA | World Day of Prayer Service at Myland Church (see above) |
Our Team at St Mary’s
- Priest in Charge: Revd. Heather Wilcox
email: [email protected]
tel: 01206 240906 or 07503 151715 - Assistant Curate: Revd Anne Mason
email: [email protected].
tel: 07895 970834 (Sunday & Tuesday – Thursday). - Church Wardens:
Peter & Caroline Finlay, — [email protected] or 07926 387551 and
Kate & Stephen Penrose, — 07973 421306 - Lay Readers:
Richard Chadborn—01206 240541;
Michael Foster—01206 241022;
Joy Budden—01206 241871. - Parish Evangelist
Ron Seymour—01206 272579. - Church Administrator:
Jo Rassell — 01206 243683,
email: [email protected].
Church Office Hours — Monday 9 am—12:30 pm, Tuesday – Friday 9 am – 1 pm. - Hall Bookings:
Nicole Long—01206 240443. - Newsletter Editor:
email: [email protected]. - Website: Stmaryswestbergholt.co.uk
- Follow us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/stmaryswestbergholt.