Another busy month ahead for St Mary’s and the village too as we celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. May I remind everyone of the Benefice Jubilee Songs of Praise at St Britius on Sunday 5th June at 6 p.m. This should be a joyous occasion and a service not to be missed. Parking is at the Elderbank Hall car park.
We are pleased to announce that Jeremy will be taking our bible study sessions again starting on Wednesday June 8th from 5 to 5:45 p.m. in church. Rev Ron will hopefully be joining us and we will continue through the summer, as long as support is forthcoming. Our group is usually about 8 to 10 people and we gather at the back of the church to discuss the following Sunday’s reading from the New Testament. It is very interesting and I do recommend it.
Following on the next week, St Mary’s will be hosting the Benefice prayer meeting on Wednesday 15th June at 1.30 p.m. This is new for us but I am told it is a 30 minute informal gathering for prayer.
For those of us who are interested in the many environmental issues facing us at the moment such as pollution, climate change, biodiversity losses, and covid etc, a study day is being held at St John’s on Saturday 11th June from 10a.m. until 4p.m. Rev Margot Hodson and her husband Dr Martin Hodson will be the speakers helping us understand the Christian response to these matters. Rev Margot is the House for Duty priest in the SVBB and lives in Filkins. There is no charge and refreshments will be served but please take a packed lunch.
The last weekend of the month will see the Living Churchyard and Flower Festival at the church over both Saturday and Sunday the 25th and 26th. The Flower Festival theme is ‘Special Occasions’. There will be refreshments in the church between 10a.m. and 4p.m. on both days so come along and read the stories of our departed villagers who lie in the churchyard and then feast your eyes on the flower displays inside the church. I can promise you they will be amazing. Our Evensong service will round off the weekend at 6 p.m.
Finally, a message from our ‘head gardener’ Nick Holmes: Hopefully you have enjoyed the churchyard during ‘No Mow May’ which has allowed the wild flowers to flourish and thrive. The churchyard mowing rota will be back in full swing during June and the rest of the summer. Many thanks to all the villagers on the ‘mowing teams’ who volunteer their time to keep the churchyard looking beautiful.
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