Author: MarkSanderson

Have you seen this delightful animation from the Church of England? Happy Christmas!

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Before we get too deep into Christmas, here’s a bit of forward planning for you with an opportunity to think of Epiphany and Candlemas in The Ross Parishes. Perhaps you’d like to Come, Sing & Sup with us on Sunday 11th January?

Save the dates!

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Please be aware that the office at the Rectory is closed this week on Tuesday and Friday. It is open as usual on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9.00am to 2.00pm

Have you lost your glasses? They were found in the churchyard and you can retrieve them from the welcome desk in church.

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Michael Lunts will be performing at the Christmas Tree Festival today.

It’s really two for the price of one: a great concert and the tree festival. The concert begins at 1.30. There are tickets to be had on the door (just £10). We look forward to seeing you.

Join us this weekend for the Christmas Tree Festival. There’s a great orchestral concert this evening at 7pm, the first event among the trees. And another, quite different one, on Monday afternoon. Full details below.

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It is with deep sadness that we have to report the death of Gerald Altree. Gerald has been in our thoughts and prayers for some time and died yesterday, following a heart attack (Sunday 16th November). We continue to pray for Gerald and for Pam, Kate and Glen and their families at this sad time.

Gerald has been a very active member of the community at St Mary’s and around the town for many decades. He has served on the Deanery Synod for some time and was churchwarden in the 1990s. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to him and to Pam.

Details of Gerald’s funeral will be shared here in due course.

Christmas Tree Festival – Saturday 29 November to Tuesday 2 December. Help needed! If you are able to help at the welcome desk, keeping an eye on the trees or serving refreshments, please put your name down on one of the rotas behind the welcome desk. Thank you. This is one of our main fundraising events and this year it is vital as urgent funds are needed to help with access to the church while the tower path is closed.

Calling all Cake Makers! – Thank you to everyone who has made cakes for us over the last year or so for all manner of occasions. Thanks to you we have gained a reputation in the town for really good cake and made a lot of money for the church. We are looking to update our list of willing bakers – if you are not on the list and would appreciate being asked (you can say no!) please tell one of the fundraising group (Jean B, Pat M, Rachel or Jane) or if you feel that you are no longer in a position to be able to bake, please let us know. Our next plea is for the Christmas Tree Festival when we will be selling refreshments from Saturday to Monday – offers of cake for this will be much appreciated.

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The Four Last Things – Heaven, Hell, Death and Judgement – Advent is a time of waiting. We wait for Jesus the infant, coming to live a human life, but we also wait for Christ the Judge, 

coming to reward and punish. On the Sundays in and around Advent, Kelvin Price, Emily Goy and John Davies will help us to explore these ancient beliefs in our modern world. Come to listen, ponder, ask questions if you wish. All meetings take place in St Mary’s Church Hall from 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm – tea from 3.30 pm. 

• Sunday 23 November: Old beliefs in a new world 
• Sunday 30 November: Hell and Purgatory, a traveller’s guide 
• Sunday 7 December: Heaven and how to get there 
• Sunday 14 December: Is death the end? 

More information from David.

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One of the highlights of St Mary’s Christmas Tree Festival will be a Friday evening concert by the professional Orchestra of the Swan. All in the magical setting of St Mary’s illuminated by the light of many trees. It will also be your first chance to see the festival.

Friday 28th November, 7.00pm

Tickets are just £15 (£5 for those under 18) the price rises to £18 on the door, on the night.

The Orchestra of the Swan perform over 45 concerts per year in collaboration with distinguished guest conductors and solo artists, bringing the music of the world’s most celebrated composers to our loyal and evolving audiences.

Midwinter’s musical pendulum swings between the ancient and the contemporary, the religious and the secular, the familiar and the unknown. This is a tapestry of music woven from works spanning the 12th century to the present day, illustrating the richness and enduring allure of midwinter’s musical traditions.

Programme:
Corelli Christmas Concerto
Anon arr. Le Page Nowell Tydings Trew
Anon arr. Le Page Coventry Carol
Purcell arr. Le Page Now Winter Comes Slowly
Anon arr. Le Page Noel 1
The Pogues arr. Le Page Fairytale of New York
Vivaldi L’inverno ‘Winter’ RV 297 i. Allegro non molto
Holst/Le Page Midwinter
Anon arr. Le Page Ríu Ríu Chíu
Goss/Le Page See Amid the Winter’s Snow
Anon arr. Le Page The Snow Melts the Soonest
Liszt arr. Le Page The Shepherds in the Manger
Vivaldi L’inverno ‘Winter’ RV 297 iii. Allegro
Anon arr. Le Page O Little Town of Bethlehem

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Join us on Saturday, 1st November for a service sung by St Mary’s occasional choir, Round Byrd. Music by 20th century composers and including William Harris’s masterpiece, Faire is the Heaven.

The service starts at 5pm and will last about 45 minutes.

There are many services on offer for you over the course of the Remembrance season in The Ross Parishes. They are:

What will happen on Remembrance Sunday in Ross?

The parade steps off from Old Maid’s Walk Police Station – all Serving Personnel and Veterans are invited to form up at the Police Station by 10.00. To be followed by Act of Commemoration and Wreath Laying at the War Memorial on The Prospect at 10.50 am and ecumenical Remembrance Day Service at St Mary’s at 11.15 am. Refreshments will be served following the Service. 

We look forward to seeing you.

Booking (free) is now available for this.

Please book in to help us with arrangements.

Nathaniel Morgan was an important figure in Ross in the first half of the 19th Century. 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of his birth. To mark that, Ross Civic Society and Virginia Morgan (no relation) have created a small exhibition that you’ll find at the back of Ross Church until 6th November.

You can learn even more by downloading Virginia’s Pink Publication (number 7) from the Ross Civic Society website. https://rosscivic.org.uk/publications

Tomorrow (Wednesday 1st October) we welcome back Ruth Cartledge for our next First Wednesday @ 1 free recital. The concert will last about 45 minutes.

We look forward to seeing you.