There’s a special Eucharist at St Mary’s this evening at 7.00pm to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany.
The party continues on Sunday evening when we have a Come, Sing & Sup Epiphany Carol Service. All are welcome to join the special choir when it rehearses at 4.00pm or to come along to the service which starts at 6.00pm. Unfortunately the supper is now fully booked. It will be a great service, featuring Ruth Cartledge (harp) for some of the accompaniments. Full details at https://rossparishes.uk/come-sing
For many, this is where Christmas begins. Join us at 4pm on Sunday 21st December in St Mary’s for our most popular Christmas service, all by candlelight.
You can download the order of service to your phone at rossparishes.uk/oos
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?
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
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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
Do you know a child who likes to sing, who perhaps enjoys a bit of drama? Then please encourage them to come along on Saturday 27th September at 2pm, to St Mary’s Church in Ross-on-Wye, where we’re running a Taster Day for children aged 7 or older who might like to join our vibrant Youth Choir.
Do you know a child who likes to sing, who perhaps enjoys a bit of drama? Then please encourage them to come along on Saturday 27th September at 2pm, to St Mary’s Church in Ross-on-Wye, where we’re running a Taster Day for children aged 7 or older who might like to join our vibrant Youth Choir.
The Ross Parishes: Ross-on-Wye, Walford & Brampton Abbotts 