It was a delight to welcome Year 6 from Brampton Abbotts Primary School to St Mary’s yesterday evening for the premiere of their film “Zoom School the Musical”
Brampton Abbotts have been something of a beacon school for the county over recent months, making excellent use of learning platforms and Zoom for learning on a daily basis. They’ve become so proficient that the final icing on the cake was to make a 40 minute film, all remotely with clever scripting. direction and editing from their teacher and deputy head teacher Sara Herriott, assisted by teaching assistant Jemma Jones.
Two screenings took place in order to accommodate half of the class at a time, with their parents, in family bubbles, 40 people per screening.
With an introduction and endorsement by Frank Cottrell Boyce, they’ve already been featured on Radio Hereford & Worcester and this morning will appear on Radio 5 Live.
Put your questions to Richard Jackson, Bishop of Hereford
Meet Bishop Richard live via Zoom on Wednesday 15 July, 7.30pm. Get to know more about him, discuss the future of your parish and put your questions directly to him.
Ross and Archenfield Rural Dean Mark Johnson along with Lay Co-Chair Patrick Darling will be interviewing Bishop Richard and putting your questions forward.
As the church prepares to open its doors once more it’s a timely opportunity to take a fresh view, have an input into how you want your church to develop and make your views known. Contact Marion Lyons at randadeanerysec@gmail.com to receive log in details for the Zoom meeting
We’re celebrating the easing of Coronavirus lockdown measures in many ways and not least with a gala organ recital by one of Britain’s finest young classical musicians.
Laurence John, 22 and a Ross resident, will perform an hour-long internet programme of requests from St Mary’s on Saturday 25 July at 7.30.
This will be Laurence’s third summer recital at the church. His two previous concerts were near sell outs and attracted 300 music lovers from all over Herefordshire and surrounding counties.
Laurence said: “Though churches are now open for public worship, social distancing restrictions are still quite severe and effectively mean that holding a recital in the church itself is not a realistic possibility. So the concert will be streamed live on the internet and will still be available for viewing at home for some time afterwards.”
Laurence is also breaking with tradition in another way. “Organists generally tend to compile their own recital programmes. But this time I want to give audience members a relatively rare opportunity to select their own favourite pieces of music. I can’t guarantee to play them all. It all depends on the response. But I shall do my best and think I can promise a varied, interesting, and enjoyable evening.”
Five years ago, Laurence, who was then a sixth form pupil at Hereford Cathedral School, became possibly St Mary’s youngest ever organist in the church’s 700-year history.
He subsequently went on to become organ scholar at Hereford Cathedral where, on occasions, he also conducted the cathedral choir and once played a fanfare for the arrival of the Duke of Kent.
For the past three years he has been an organ scholar and music student at The Queen’s College Oxford. During this time he has accompanied the college’s world famous choir on BBC Radio Three’s Choral Evensong, played at a Westminster Abbey Eucharist, with a congregation from all over the world, and toured with the choir in the United States, Spain and Portugal.
Voluntary donations to the Friends of St Mary’s can also be made on the website. They will go directly to St Mary’s on this occasion and be used in accordance with the Friends aims and objectives.
We’re back in church in Ross and the service starts at 9.30. Almost all the tickets have been taken now but it’s still possible to join the service streamed live on our Facebook Page from 9.30.
We’re back in church again and there will be a service at 9.30 am. You are welcome to attend but you’ll need to book a place
The full order of service will be available here later in the week for you to download and bring with you (digitally on your device or printed).
The service will be live streamed to our Facebook page (you don’t need a Facebook account to view that – only to interact with it). It will also be recorded and available here and on Facebook when the service has finished.
Virtual Coffee will take place in Zoom immediately after the service. Feel free to bring your flask of coffee to church or to join in at home. We’ll have a live link to Zoom from the church and a screen to connect with folks at home.
Thursday 2nd July
There will also be a live stream from St Mary’s at 10.00 am on Thursday of a said Eucharist. Again, this will be on our Facebook page
Ross Remembers is a new website (https://rossremembers.org) where you can remember a loved one who has died.
All you need to do that, is a photograph (or more) and a short piece of text about the person. There is the option to add prayers and poetry, anything really that you think is relevant. All is explained on the site.
The site is free to use and you can include anyone there who has died for any reason. It is open to people of any faith and none.
We will also be holding a streamed service from St Mary’s on Monday 13th July at 8.30 pm at which we will remember by name all those who have died in Ross, Walford and Brampton Abbotts this year as well as all those who have been added to the site by that time. If there is anyone you’d particularly like us to remember in the service please let us know.
Live Family Service for the Ross Parishes – 10.45 on Zoom – All are welcome to join us for family worship. Please email Chris Blanchard in advance if you would like to attend, to receive an email link to the service with info about how to prepare and what to bring.
We will be imagining and exploring Jesus’ parable “The kingdom of God is like a party…” through songs and actions, story telling and prayers. Exploring the Bible and praying using imagination is an approach that Christians of all ages and backgrounds have used for centuries. You can also listen to a guided meditation on the same passage here: https://taketime.org.uk/themed-meditations/103-the-great-banquet/ You might like to try it. Do ask Caroline Pascoe or Chris Blanchard if you’d like to know more.
This morning’s service is now on the website. It’s a Deanery service this week from Little Birch led by the Rural Dean, The Revd Mark Johnson. https://rawchurch.org.uk/digital-services
Today is Music Sunday. A Eucharist combining music and nature will premiere on the website at 9.30 am. You’ll also find details of the national celebration of music in worship taking place this evening at 6.00 pm on the same page. https://rawchurch.org.uk/digital-services
We are delighted that work has started today on phase 3 of our ongoing remodelling of St Mary’s. This will bring major improvements to the accessibility and welcome of the main entrance. For more information on exactly what is happening (and what has been ached so far) please visit https://reordering.org
The church building remains closed this week and although the doors may be open while the building team begins the work we ask you not to enter.
However, following the government’s recent announcement that places of worship can open from Monday 15th June, the building will be accessible to visitors and for private prayer from that date. We are currently putting arrangement in place for that.
Tiffany Jackson, and her family have moved into Ross today. Tiffany will be starting work very soon as our new curate. The Mothers’ Union took them a welcome card and a hamper this afternoon
Welcome Tiffany, we look forward to seeing you soon, if only on our screens!
We’ve launched an online exhibition of creativity from the lockdown. It’s open to everyone. We’d like you to upload anything you’ve had a hand in creating in the last few weeks.
So far we have paintings, musical compositions and performances, literature, quilts … but Ross has to be more creative than the gallery suggests at present.
The Ross Parishes: Ross-on-Wye, Walford & Brampton Abbotts 