12 Days of Christmas Thank Yous – 5th Day

Posted on by MarkSanderson

8th Day – 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 Bryan Jones and Mark Sanderson who have been especially busy during this year with no Rector.

Week by week our voluntary cleaning team meets: Ian, Janet C, Janet N, Jean, Paul, Len, Julian, Sue, John, Avril and Toni.

 Special thanks to Sue and Bryan who are regularly to be found in church at the crack of dawn with a mop. To all who clean brasses and silver.

Thanks too, to all who donate and arrange flowers through the year, coordinated by Sue Jones. Lynn, Lindsay, Margaret, Marilyn, Pam, Viv, Freda, Penny, and Margaret.

Finally to the contractors who have worked in the building this year, especially the team from EG Carter who have constructed the new nave platform, to the amazing Andrew and Jim from APi Communications who have been back again this year working on our AV systems. Dave Blackham has given very freely of his time and resources to help here too. And thanks too to Gary Owens, our organ tuner.

12 Days of Christmas Thank Yous – 5th Day

Posted on by MarkSanderson

5th Day – To all who help us look after our churchyard and the environment.

A big shout out to our wonderful team of Churchyard Angels, who meet on the first Saturday of every month (April – October) to help us keep the church yard tidy.

Thanks also to the Community Payback team who are here every month throughout the year. Also to the army of people who tend graves of loved ones. And thanks to EnviroAbility for their help with wildlife projects and signage. Special thanks to John Setchfield, who manages it spends a good deal of time in the open churchyard, often unnoticed.

We are well supported by our local firms to funeral directors and monumental masons who also take great care of our churchyard. Thanks especially to Abbotsfield, Bevans and to Nigel Cave who is currently repairing, free of charge, a war memorial damage by a falling tree in the recent gales.

Ross  Town Council do a wonderful job of managing the care of the open churchyard and this year used a considerable budget to resurface the very wide path from the Prospect Gates to St Mary’s Hall. Next year they will refurbish the Plague Cross.

Rosie Winyard is our Eco Church and environmental champion. Look out for an extended focus on the Environment in March. We are also grateful to Greg Collier-Jones of Seven Wye Energy Agency who spent some time with us this year looking at ways in which we might work more towards achieving net-zero status, all sponsored by the Church of England.

A new Rector for the Ross Parishes

Posted on by MarkSanderson

The Bishop of Hereford is delighted to announce that the Revd Prebendary Kelvin Price has been appointed as Rector of Ross with Walford and Brampton Abbotts.

The licensing service will be held at St Mary’s Ross on Wednesday 30th April at 7pm.

Kelvin comes to us from the north of the diocese and has been in the Ludlow Benefice for the last ten years where he has been Rector since 2016.

As we eagerly await his arrival, we hold Kelvin, Ruth and their family in our prayers as he prepares for this next stage of his ministry, and for the people in the Ludlow Benefice.

Kelvin would like to thank all those involved in the discernment, orientation and interviewing groups that made him feel welcome and encouraged during the two interview days in October.

‘My family and I are very much looking forward to joining you all, and becoming new members of the church body within the Ross Benefice. I am sure together we will achieve great things for Christ and His church. 

There is still much for me to complete here in Ludlow. But for now, please do pray for my family as we begin to turn our sights towards moving. Also, I would appreciate prayers for Ludlow as they focus on their future as well.

April will soon be here, very much looking forward to meeting you all in person then!’

Yours faithfully in Christ,

Kelvin.