Join us in St Mary’s Churchyard for the great Easter egg hunt at 10.45 on Easter Day. Coffee and Easter cheer available in church when you’re done. Everyone is welcome. We ask that you take only one egg so that as many people as possible can have a chance. (Marco the cat is not involved, he just photobombed the picture!)
And of course, you’re welcome to join us before that, at 9.30 in church (or at Walford) for our great Easter Celebration.
And don’t forget to change your clocks or you’ll be too late!
This week is Holy Week, the most important in the Christian calendar, churches and cathedrals throughout the world will be offering the usual wide range of emotion in their services in against some of the best architectural backdrops available.
God of compassion You suffer with every victim of terror and war Grant to those who have died, eternal rest; To the wounded, medical care and healing; To leaders, wisdom and an irenic spirit And to those who commit terrible acts of violence Justice, repentance, and their own healing. We ask this, in the name of the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus. Amen.
Gracious God, we pray for the continued recovery of the Princess of Wales, for her husband, and for their family. Grant to them, and all who are affected by sickness, faith, hope and the knowledge of your love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
It was great to be able to wish Colin a belated Happy Birthday at the team meeting. He was 80 on Monday. It’s good to see his diary there, perhaps indicating that he’s not planning on stopping any time soon. And a local touch to the card (even the bottle!)
Did you know that Jesus washed his disciples feet…! Have you ever wondered why? And then… he had supper with his friends… Have you ever wondered what they ate and talked about? And, can you remember what happened next…?
Come and help remember what happened… and get ready for Easter too with Easter crafts!
All ages! All welcome!
RSVP! It helps if you can let us know if you can come (but not essential) !
We will also be sitting and eating together just like Jesus and his friends, so please let us know if you have any allergies – specially gluten or fruit.
We will say our final “goodbye” to our much loved Rector at the 9.30 service in St Mary’s on Sunday 7th April. This will be an All Age service for the whole of The Ross Parishes. There will, of course be a reception and a bring and share lunch (cold) – contributions welcome.
If you’d like to make a donation to Sean’s leaving gifts you can do that here.
If you prefer you can give cash, in an envelope labelled “Sean’s collection”, via Rachael in the office (she is on leave until Monday 11th March), any of the churchwardens or welcomers at our services, or in the general cash donations boxes in our churches.
Come and tell us about your super hero on World Book Day at Messy Church.
St Mary’s Church – after school on Thursday 7th March. Come in costume if you can.
Tell us all about your favourite characters and how your superheroes are making a difference in the world. Discover your special superpower for making a difference in the world… All for FREE!
It’s the first Saturday of the month so Coffee @ St Mary’s will be in full swing from 10.30 – noon. This time with an even stronger Welsh flavour (the event, not the coffee) with costume and live music from Ruth Cartledge on the harp.
This evening (Saturday) at 6pm our new occasional choir, Round Byrd is singing evensong – a short service crammed with some of the most glorious 17th and 18th century music on offer, it will last about 45 minutes and will be the perfect end to your day. The choir will be rehearsing from 3pm.
We are delighted that St Joseph’s show is coming to St Mary’s – for one performance only – Thursday 29th February, 6.00 pm. It’s already been performed three times at the Phoenix Theatre and is being repeated in St Mary’s by special request.
This not just another school production, it’s a highly polished and most enjoyable show performed by some highly talented and well rehearsed children. Please consider coming along.
Tickets are £6 and can be reserved by email at admin@st-josephs.hereford.sch.uk or probably bought on the door on the night (subject to availability).
It was a great delight to welcome the Steel City Clerks to sing our Eucharist yesterday. Special thanks to them for allowing our own Youth Choir to sing with them during the Communion.
Steel City Choristers was established after Sheffield Cathedral unexpectedly closed the cathedral choir in July 2020, in order to maintain a high standard of cathedral-style choral music in the city and to make choral music more accessible and visible.
Steel City Choristers is an independent charity who raise their own funds, and they sing for a wide range of churches and different communities all around Sheffield, performing a diverse programme of church services and concerts. They are pioneering new ways of engaging with cathedral choral music and taking it out to hard-to-reach audiences, for example through innovative projects with food bank choirs.
If you love the choral tradition perhaps you might consider supporting Steel City Choristers. They rely on the generosity of supporters and funders across the country to cover the cost of their professional Director of Music and singing teachers and their annual budget is around £40,000. If you can help them in any way please look them up at steelcitychoristers.org.uk
Following on from the fantastic response to the parable of the talents during Lent 2023, we will be considering two of the most well known verses in the bible from St John’s Gospel this Lent.
How will we do this?
Everyone is invited to show hospitality to someone they don’t really know. It could be someone in the congregation or a neighbour in your street. This can take whatever form you wish. At its simplest level, it may be just talking to someone after church and making them feel welcome, or you may decide to invite someone new to your neighbourhood to morning coffee or afternoon tea with a few friends. You may find an offer to help out with a particular task would be appreciated or walking the dog together, inviting someone to join a group you are involved in or even having a supper party.
Whatever you decide to do, you will be showing love to your neighbour just as God shows his love to each of us.
As we welcome all to join us each week at St Mary’s and celebrate our vision as an inclusive church, we have this opportunity to get to know our neighbour. Invitation cards are available from the office if you wish to use them or you can download an ecard here.
We are greatly looking forward to a visit from the Steel City Clerks who will be singing our Sunday Eucharist in Ross this coming Sunday (18th February) at 9.30am. The Clerks are the altos, tenors and basses of the Steel City Choristers (Sheffield) who are spending the weekend in Herefordshire. Our own Youth Choir will be joining them for the Communion pieces.
The announcement of my recent appointment and pending move from the Ross Parishes will come as a great shock to many of you, particularly at a time when our parishes are flourishing, and for this I am truly sorry. My ministry in the Ross benefice has been a time of great fulfilment and happiness, and Jenny and I and our family have loved living here.
For these reasons we were certainly not looking to move but through a series of extraordinary events, I have been elected to Episocpal office in the Diocese I served in before coming to the Diocese of Hereford. For anyone who knows the Anglican Church, such happenings are vanishingly rare. And it is because of these unusual circumstances that I believe we can have hope. God is at work – God, whose wild and unpredictable Spirit disrupts and challenges and blesses – God is in this and is leading us forward.
What I have witnessed in my five years here is that when God’s people humble themselves and pray and seek his face; when they take the risk of being open to God and neighbour; when they begin to believe in themselves as God’s people, faith, hope, love and joy grow. It is your joy that first comes to mind when I think of you.
In the months I have left with you, I will relish our partnership in the Gospel and the the bonds forged through pandemic and change; and I ask for your prayers, as I hold you all in prayer and love.
In the wake of this afternoon’s announcement regarding the appointment of our Rector, The Revd. Sean Semple, as Bishop of Cyprus and The Gulf, we’d like to invite you to a short prayer service at 6pm tomorrow (Thursday 8th February) in St Mary’s, the service will be followed by the opportunity for a glass of wine and some nibbles. We hope that this will provide an opportunity to talk with Sean and Jenny.
If you are able to bring along a plate of nibbles that would be great, but please feel under no pressure to do so, particularly given the short notice.
The Rev’d Sean Semple announced as the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf
Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, and the Synod of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf are pleased to announce the election of the Revd Sean Semple to be the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf.
The Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf is one of three dioceses in the Province of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East. It covers a large geographic area of around 10 countries including Cyprus, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirites, Oman, Yemen and Iraq.
Sean is currently the Rector of the Benefice of Ross with Walford and Brampton Abbotts in the Diocese of Hereford. He moved to Herefordshire in 2015 when he was appointed Rector of the Benefices of Weobley and Staunton. In 2019 he was collated into his current appointment, and served as acting Rural Dean and then Rural Dean of the Deanery of Ross and Archenfield from 2020 until 2023.
Before coming to the Diocese of Hereford, Sean served as a priest in the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. He was ordained priest in the Diocese of Natal in 2011 following ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.
Sean’s undergraduate studies in Psychology and Theology were undertaken at the University of Natal and the University of South Africa, followed by post graduate studies in Spirituality and Clinical Psychology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of Nicosia.
Sean is married to Jenny and they have five children and one grandchild.
A date for the service of consecration will be announced shortly and this will be followed by enthronements in the two cathedrals of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf: St Christopher’s, Bahrain, and St Paul’s, Nicosia.
Sean said of his appointment. “It has been a most unexpected and humbling experience to be discerned for episcopal ministry in a Diocese I came to love during my time of ministry there. Working with the clergy and laity of its chaplaincies I look forward to encouraging and supporting the ministry and mission of the Diocese at a time of great tension in the region.
I am grateful to Bishop Richard Jackson for his encouragement and support during this process of discernment. Jenny and I are sad to be leaving the Ross Parishes and the friends we have made in our adopted home of Herefordshire. May I request your prayers for both Dioceses, the Ross Parishes, and my family during this time of transition; and as I take up the challenge and privilege of serving as the Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf.
Bishop Richard said. “Sean has made a huge contribution to the life of our diocese as a parish priest, Rural Dean and member of Synod. He is passionate, strategic and pastoral. We will miss him. However, I am delighted that these gifts will now be deployed in a larger context where he can bless others as he has been a blessing to the parishes here where he has served. The invitation to become a Bishop serving Cyprus and the Gulf is an enormous privilege and it is clear to me that Sean has been called by God to this role. Sean’s gifts and wealth of experience will be richly used. and I greatly look forward to watching him from afar in his new capacity. I will be praying for him and his family as they make the move to Cyprus.”
All in the Ross Parishes will want to congratulate Sean on this appointment; many, too, will rightly be concerned that we will soon (most likely in the summer) need to say goodbye to our wonderful and much loved Rector. What is certain, is that the legacy he will leave in Herefordshire is exemplary.
We are holding a short service of prayer on Thursday 8th February at 6.00pm, in St Mary’s to mark Sean’s appointment, which will be followed by refreshments. This will provide an opportunity for us to gather together with Sean and Jenny in prayer, celebration, and fellowship.
A Pastoral letter and response from Sean
Dear friends in Christ
This announcement will come as a great shock to many of you, particularly at a time when our parishes are flourishing, and for this I am truly sorry. My ministry in the Ross benefice has been a time of great fulfilment and happiness, and Jenny and I and our family have loved living here.
For these reasons we were certainly not looking to move but through a series of extraordinary events, I have been elected to Episocpal office in the Diocese I served in before coming to the Diocese of Hereford. For anyone who knows the Anglican Church, such happenings are vanishingly rare. And it is because of these unusual circumstances that I believe we can have hope. God is at work – God, whose wild and unpredictable Spirit disrupts and challenges and blesses – God is in this and is leading us forward.
What I have witnessed in my five years here is that when God’s people humble themselves and pray and seek his face; when they take the risk of being open to God and neighbour; when they begin to believe in themselves as God’s people, faith, hope, love and joy grow. It is your joy that first comes to mind when I think of you.
In the months I have left with you, I will relish our partnership in the Gospel and the the bonds forged through pandemic and change; and I ask for your prayers, as I hold you all in prayer and love.
The Ross Parishes: Ross-on-Wye, Walford & Brampton Abbotts 