Author: MarkSanderson

Christmas begins tomorrow (Sunday 17th December) at St Mary’s, with our annual service of Carols by Candlelight. The service starts at 4 pm but come a bit earlier than that for a good seat. We hope you’ll stay after the service for a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie. If you can’t get to us, the service will also be live streamed on our website.

The Ross Parishes are seeking an Administrator in their Church Office in Ross-on-Wye.
The position is part time – 25 hours per week, 5 hours per day.

This is a key role, as the Administrator is the community’s first point of contact with the Church of England parishes in Ross, Walford, and Brampton Abbotts, and the Administrator deals with the general administration of the parishes. Such responsibility includes: 

• Arranging baptisms, weddings, and funerals 
• Basic accounting, invoicing, and reconciliation 
• Producing a weekly newsletter 
• Diary management for the Church and Church Hall 

The preferred candidate will be: 

• A competent general administrator, able to work with the Microsoft Office suite. 
• A people person with excellent communication skills 
• Self-motivated, able to work to deadlines, and able to maintain confidentiality. 

The Ross Parishes is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders (and volunteers) are expected to share this commitment. All appointments are subject to acceptable pre-appointment checks, including a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check. In addition, you will be required to complete Diocesan Safeguarding Training to C1/Safeguarding Foundation level as a minimum. 

Salary is in line with the Real Living Wage. 

For an informal chat about the position please contact Louise Jarvis on 01989 562175 between 9am and 2pm. 

Expressions of interest and CVs can be sent to administrator@rossparishes.uk  Or via indeed

The closing date for applications is Friday 24th November. 

There are less than two weeks to go to the 2023 Christmas Tree Festival in St Mary’s. This year’s Saturday concert (25th November) is by the professional group, The Mellstock Band and will transport you back to the world of Thomas Hardy for “Christmas in Mellstock.”

The Mellstock Band presents a show built around the descriptions of Christmas festivities in the works of Thomas Hardy and his friend, the Dorset dialect poet William Barnes. The band performs in costume, with village band instruments of the nineteenth century including fiddle, clarinet, concertina and serpent.

The stunning surroundings of St Mary’s filled with Christmas trees will be the backdrop to this great evening of entertainment, please come and join us.

Tickets (£15, accompanied children don’t need one) are available on TicketSource or from Rossiter Books.

Full details and tickets: https://fosmross.org.uk/christmas-in-mellstock/

This great concert takes place in St Mary’s in less than a month as part of our Christmas Tree Festival. Tickets (£15) can be bought at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/fosmross/t-xmzylrr where full details can be found. The Mellstock Band is a professional group.

This event is brought to you by The Friends of St Mary’s Church. We hope to see you there.

Did you know that our full fibre broadband at St Mary’s is provided for us, free of charge, by BeFibre. We’ve been enjoying their game-changing and reliable connectivity since the beginning of June.

AND we are part of a referral scheme whereby both St Mary’s and anybody who signs up to a BeFibre package will receive £50 when using this referral link: http://aklam.io/lE4bif Please spread the word (and the link).

The BeFibre team have entered a tree in our Christmas Tree Festival, and will be around in. church over the weekend (25th & 26th November) to answer any questions.

The Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, and the Archbishop of Canterbury have issued a joint appeal for prayer, advocacy, and financial support for the work of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem. They are particularly needing funds to continue offering critical care to the injured at the Al Ahli hospital.

Donations can be made to JMECA UK (The Jerusalem and Middle East Church Association) https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/24666

The Ross Parishes are seeking an Administrator in their Church Office in Ross-on-Wye.
The position is part time – 25 hours per week, 5 hours per day.

This is a key role, as the Administrator is the community’s first point of contact with the Church of England parishes in Ross, Walford, and Brampton Abbotts, and the Administrator deals with the general administration of the parishes.

Full details attached.

Join us in St Mary’s this Sunday evening (22nd October) at 6 pm for a short specially constructed service to pray for Peace in the Middle East.

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of The Venerable Paul Wheatley. Paul was Rector of Ross from 1979 to 1991 when he was appointed Archdeacon of Sherborne. Paul’s time in Ross is remembered by many as a time of growth and efficiency. Paul was a great moderniser and many of the changes he brought about in St Mary’s and in its ministry to the town are still evident today. There are many people who will have cause to be grateful to Paul, and for his time here.

We hold his widow, Iris, Andrew and Tim, and Ollie in our thoughts and prayers at this time.

This is your last chance (before Wednesday 18th October) to buy tickets for Jill Crossland’s Piano Recital at St Mary’s Church, Ross-on-Wye. Tickets available here https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/fosmross/t-dvllyry

There is a tale, that the Tudor composer and organist of Chichester Cathedral, Thomas Weelkes was fined for urinating on the Dean, from the organ loft, during evensong. Sadly it’s not documented, but many only slightly less serious incidents, are very well recorded.

We celebrate his music, in his 400th anniversary year, with a special service of Choral Evensong (one of the Church of England’s greatest jewels). It will be sung by the newly established occasional choir, “Round Byrd” in St Mary’s. The service will last about 45 minutes. Come along and judge for yourself!

This week is Baby Loss Awareness Week and we’re holding a very short service in St Mary’s at 6.30 pm on Friday. If you’ve lost a bay or know people who have please come along. There will be an opportunity to light a candle as part of the national campaign.

More on Baby Loss Awareness at https://babyloss-awareness.org.

Sunday, 15 October, 6.00 pm in St Mary’s Church, Ross

A Vigil for Peace; Join us for thirty minutes of silent prayer, to lay before God the unfolding  tragedy in the Middle East, and all involved.  

People from across Ross and the area are invited.

The coach is now full, but please register below if you’d like to join the waiting list, in case of cancellations – We’ll let you know.

We’ll be leaving from Wilton Road carpark at 5.45pm, Tuesday 7th November (the coach will then take us to the refreshments after the service, retuning to Ross around 10pm). Cost is £10 – please bring cash on the day.

We celebrate our patron saint (St Michael) on Friday 29th September with Evening Prayer at 6 pm, followed by drinks.

And Harvest Festival on Sunday 8th October at 11am, followed by harvest lunch.

St Mary’s very own, Adrian Taylor is giving a recital in Linton Church tomorrow (Saturday 9th September). And it’s FREE!

ORGAN ODYSSEY: SATURDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 7pm
In what is becoming an annual Organ Concert we are delighted to welcome Adrian Taylor
from St Mary’s Ross.  The evening will include a demonstration of the Hauptwerk software
which can electronically change the sound of the organ so it can sound like some of the greatest organs from across the world.  This software is currently being used in Gloucester Cathedral whilst its organ is restored so that the temporary electronic organ sounds like Hereford Cathedral.  Admission is free with a retiring collection and refreshments in the interval.

The great music keeps coming at St Mary’s! On Saturday, 19th August, we welcome Laurence John (St Davids Cathedral) to St Mary’s once more for an organ recital.

Tickets / Details of this and many other events hosted by the Friends of St Mary’s at https://fosmross.org.uk/blog

Trumpet Tune in D major – Daniel Bishop (b 1981)                       

Sonata No 3 in A major – Felix Mendelssohn (1809–47)            

A sad pavane for these distracted times – Thomas Tomkins (1572–1656)           

Coronation March: Orb and Sceptre – William Walton (1902–83)                 

Prelude and Fugue in D major bwv 532 – J. S. Bach (1685–1750)                         

Three Preludes founded on Welsh Hymn Tunes – Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)

Sortie in E flat major – L.–J. A. Lefébure-Wély (1817–69)

SUMMER TEA PARTY – Thursday  27th  July, 2.30 to 4pm

Hosted by Sarah, Penny & Viv at  Arthur’s Barn, Wilton, HR9 6BH  (opposite Castle Lodge Hotel)          All in aid of St Mary’s church Funds Tickets £5. Numbers are limited and booking is essential. We’ll be indoors if rains.

Contact Sarah for details and tickets sarahmcgillveray@gmail.com or 07775 942410