News & Events

The Friends of St Mary’s are organising an evening for residents of Ross and beyond to come along and question all five candidates for the Hereford and South Herefordshire seat in the forthcoming election.

Wednesday 19th June, 7.00pm in St Mary’s Church. Tickets are free (but must be booked in advance). We expect this to be a popular event so book early!

Booking at https://fosmross.org.uk/hustings

There is an opportunity to submit questions at the point of booking (or later if you keep the booking link email). We’ll select questions from those submitted and invite the questioner to present it on the night. Questions need to be submitted by 3pm on Tuesday 18th June.

We look forward to an exciting night.

You may have detected a bit of a buzz about the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Well, you can come and join either or both the events that Ross is offering tomorrow (Thursday 6th June) at 8.15pm in St Mary’s, for “The D-Day Story” – a short presentation about the events of 1944, followed at 9.15pm by the lighting of the town beacon out on The Prospect.

We will be joined by His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, Mr Edward Harley CBE and Mrs Harley and at least two D Day Veterans, Mr Stanley Wilson and Mr Peter Harkness. All of this is free of charge.

These events have been organised by St Mary’s Church and Ross Town Council.

It’s the first Wednesday of the month again which means the next FREE lunchtime concert is on at St Mary’s Church, starting at 1.00pm, but feel free to come along (with your lunch if you wish) when you’re ready.

this month we welcome Northwich Baroque with a truly European, 45 minute programme of music by Purcell, Monteverdi, Bach, Charpentier and others.

If you can’t afford the time, why not bring your work along – tables and Wi-Fi provided.

Spread the word!

It’s a busy day tomorrow (Saturday 1st June) at St Mary’s.

• 9.30 – Noon Churchyard Angels working on churchyard maintenance
• 10.30 – Noon – Coffee & Cake @ St Mary’s
• 5.00pm – Special Evensong, sung by Round Byrd
• 7.00pm – “Culture & Conflict in Ethiopia” A talk by Lisa Shekede and Stephen Rickerby

And on Sunday, as well as our usual services, we begin our exciting summer series, Faith@Five.

We hope to see you at one of those.

Join us tomorrow (Wednesday 29th May) at 7pm in St Mary’s to see the culmination of two days of hard work over half term in preparing this production of Little Women. The performance takes an hour and you won’t be disappointed. Tickets available at the door.

Come as a team (up to 4 people), or as an individual and we can put you in a convivial team on the night! No entry fee, though on the night all are invited to donate £5 for Christian Aid. Puddings at half time! Please bring a pudding to share. Pay bar available, profits to Christian Aid. Bar open from 6.45pm.

The Quiz will include questions both easy and tricky! Something for everyone. Two rounds of questions, with pudding available at half time. There will be a winners prize of course!

Christian Aid supports some of the poorest people on earth, providing emergency aid and development funding. A simply brilliant cause…

Join us in St Mary’s, tomorrow (Friday 24th May) as we screen Sean Semple’s consecration service live from Bahrain Anglican Cathedral in Bahrain. The service begins at 4.00pm (our time).

If you prefer to watch at home here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/live/_ewhBUr_dcI?si=i1AN6Xauro3tBG1h

Either way, the order of service is here (We’ll have a QR code for you to scan in church).

Tonight (Wednesday 22nd May), in St Mary’s, the Dean of Hereford, The Very Reverend Sarah Brown, is giving a talk based on a book by her mother, a Holocaust survivor. Just come along to church at 7pm – tickets are £5 on the door.

And on Friday (24th May), We have a joint Rossiter Books / Friends of St Mary’s book talk by Brighton and Hove MP Caroline Lucas. Many tickets have been sold but there are still some remaining (£9 with £3 back on the book purchase) https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/rossiterbooks/t-qjkmzen

The Wye River Festival may well be over but you can find out everything you ever needed to know about the river on a display by the Woolhope Club, in St Mary’s until the end of May.

Pop in and enjoy peace and tranquility as you learn.

https://www.woolhopeclub.org.uk/

Saturday, 12th May – 9.30am – 1.00pm

Join us for an exciting in-person teaching event at St Mary’s Ross-on-Wye. This event is all about strengthening our Christian faith and building confidence. Whether you’re new to the faith or have been a believer for years, this event is for you!

Bishop Richard will lead the teaching sessions, sharing valuable insights and practical tips to help us grow in our Christian faith. You’ll be able to engage in meaningful discussions, ask questions, and connect with fellow Christians.

At this event, we’ll explore various aspects of our Christian faith, including understanding the Bible, deepening our prayer life, and overcoming doubts. Together, we’ll learn how to live out our faith and share it with others confidently.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to strengthen your Christian journey. Mark your calendars and join us in Ross for an uplifting and enriching experience. See you there!

This is a free event but please book in advance: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bishops-teaching-event-growing-confidence-in-our-christian-faith-tickets-773031075757

Tomorrow (Thursday 9th May) is Ascension Day. Across the world the church will celebrate Christ’s elevation as the King of Glory. In the Ross Parishes our celebrations will centre on a Eucharist at 7.30pm in St Mary’s.  The bells will ring, a drinks party is planned, and the preacher is our very own Professor David Thomas.  We have also invited friends from other churches in Ross who will take a part. And besides all that, glorious music for Ascension-tide has been chosen.

There will also be a Eucharist at 10am as usual, at St Mary’s.

All are invited to keep the feast!

Join us tomorrow (Wednesday 8th May) as Heather Hurley leads a guided and informative walk along part of the John Kyrle Walk. This is a FREE event, organised jointly by St Mary’s Church and the Ross and District Civic Society. Meet at St Mary’s at 2.30.

This is a reasonably gentle walk, but decent footwear is advisable as some of the ground is quite moist.

There will also be an opportunity to be one of the first to buy a copy of Jon Hurley’s recently republished, limited edition book, “In Search of John Kyrle, The Man of Ross”

Calling all singers! Our next Come, Sing & Sup is an evensong for Pentecost on 19^th May (4pm rehearsal for 6pm service, followed by supper)

We’d love to see you – full details and booking are at https://rossparishes.uk/come-sing

Supper is filling up rather fast.

Join us tomorrow (Wednesday 1st May) for the second in our series of FREE lunchtime concerts. This month we welcome Ruth, Georgina, Pippa and Jane who are the Northwick Consort with a great programme of baroque chamber music.

As with all these events, this is an informal concert, please come along with your lunch as soon as you like and feel free to eat it before or during the concert. There are several food outlets on High Street, all ready to offer you a good deal on something delicious. Please support them.

Our First Wednesdays @ 1 lunchtime concert series continues on Wednesday 1st May with the Northwick Consort.

Our first concert in April was enjoyed by a large crowd and judged a tremendous success. Join us any time from noon, for this, or any other concerts in the series, with your lunch and enjoy a perfect midweek break in your week.

It was a huge delight for St Mary’s Adult Choir to sing evensongs all over the deanery last summer. Between now and September we’re doing it again. Please come and join us on our tour.

This evening (Sunday 21st April) we are singing the service at Pencoyd at 6pm. Here are directions: Google map link | HR2 8JY| ///armrest.repair.campfires

Next week we’re on the Brockhampton Estate (near Bromyard) in Brockhampton Chapel.

Evensong is one of the delights of the Church of England, a service largely unchanged since it first appeared in 1549. What better to come and enjoy it in some of the churches around (and a bit beyond) our Deanery.

The staff at the cathedral in Bahrain have confirmed that Sean Semple’s consecration and enthronement as Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf will be live streamed. We will be screening that in St Mary’s. The service start at 4.00pm (our time) on Friday 24th May. All are invited to join us.

If you can’t manage that, some of it happens all over again in Cyprus on Saturday 22nd June. More on that to follow.

Or of course, you can attend in person!

Join us tomorrow (Sunday 7th April) as we say goodbye to Sean, Jenny and Lex as Sean takes his last service in St Mary’s. The service begins at 9.30 (and is likely to be a packed house) and continues with presentations, with a bring and share lunch at around midday. Join us for any part of it.

There’s still time to donate to Sean’s leaving gifts. You can do that here: https://givealittle.co/c/aAteqq6EuAHLHweHDxVyB