News & Events

The Hereford Passion is a new play, a dramatic retelling of the last week of Jesus’ life with a cast drawn from across the diocese.

The  production is being staged inside Hereford Cathedral  on March 8th and 9th from 7.30pm. 

Tickets cost £8 for adults and £6 for children and, are available to purchase from the cathedral website The Hereford Passion 2024 | Hereford Cathedral or from the Cathedral Shop (01432 374 210).

We’re delighted that our former Bishop of Hereford, The Right Reverend Anthony Priddis, has agreed to lead our Lent course this year. His subject is Forgiveness.

You can join the six sessions at Walford Church on Thursday evenings at 7.30pm, from 15th February.

To book a place, call Rachael in Ross Parishes Office (01989 562175) or leave your name and email address below.

We celebrate Candlemas on Sunday 1st February, and bring the longer 40 day season of Christmas & Epiphany to its close.

Join us at 9.30 for our Sung Eucharist at St Mary’s or come along to our special Candlelit service, In his temple shall appear at 6.00pm. It will contain much great music, some movement in the church and plenty of candles will be used!

The service will be sung by the combined choirs of St mary’s, Ross-on-Wye and Holy Trinity Church, Hereford.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Hope Mansell but were afraid to ask will be revealed in local filmmaker, Ian Lewis’s film “A Parcel of Time.” We’re screening it at St Mary’s, Ross-on-Wye on Sunday 21st January, at 2.30 pm. Ian will be on hand to introduce it and to answer questions, the composer of the music used in the film will be performing on the day too.

Come along and watch over a cup of tea and an opportunity for a chat. Tickets are £5, on the door.

More at https://hopemanselllhistory.uk

Coffee & Sgwrs @ St Mary’s is on today (Saturday 6th January) – in church from 10.30 – noon. Best coffee venue in town, especially given the seriously good home made cakes. Welsh speakers, come and join one of the Sgwrs tables. St Mary’s Youth Choir (and helpers) will be there to serve you today.

See you there!

Come and explore their journey and the wonder they found as they followed the star…

What star will you follow into 2024 to guide your feet…? 

Don’t forget – Messy Church is 3.45 – 4.45 pm every first Thursday of the month @ St Mary’s Church.

So it’s THIS Thursday!

Snacks and chat, old and new friends, thought starters, inspiration for your journey through life, activities, crafts, songs, bible, prayers… for families together and people of all ages!

Hope to see you there!

Caroline 

To all who look after and beautify St Mary’s Church

A 740 year old building requires constant attention to keep it in a good state of repair and looking good. This work is ultimately the responsibility of the churchwardens and we say a big thank you to John Setchfield who retired in April after 10 years of service. Thanks to current wardens Bryan Jones and Mark Sanderson.

Week by week our voluntary cleaning team meets: Ian, Janet, Jean, Paul, Julian, Sue, John, John, Avril, Fiona & Edward.

Thanks too, to all who donate and arrange flowers through the year – a team too numerous to name, coordinated by Sue.

Finally to the contractors who have worked in the building this year, especially: Alder Preece Electrical, and Andrew and Jim from APi Communications who have worked hard this year on our AV installations (with more still to come in 2024).

#12BigThankYous

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.