Parish Newsletter

Parish Renewal: Group 1 Hits the Ground Running

Group 1 (Housekeeping) is off to an excellent start, with all sections out of their starting blocks.

• Church Banners (Stella and Bernie) have taken over all the books we acquired just before Lockdown on how to make Church Banners and are already planning their first forays. Anyone want to join?
• Church Cleaning (Helen and half the Parish!) met on Wednesday evening for a first go at the hoovers and mops, and you can see the results of their labours already.
• Church and House Linen (Anne and gang) are looking to make new Purificators and Lavabo Towels. I’ve bought them a number of samples of white linen, and they’re choosing which one they prefer most. Then their old Treadle Sewing Machines will start taking some punishment.
• Parish Library (Dominique and helpers) are planning a re-launch, to tell the Parish exactly what’s there, featuring one section at a time.
• Church Flowers (Marie and Consilia) are aiming for one display each week in the porch and one at the altar and would love anyone else to join them. *** Church Notice Boards (Pat and associates) are working out which Activities need a “standing section” and which can share.
• Silver and Brass (Babs, Paula and friends) had a session in the week, keeping all our church vessels and candle sticks in tip-top condition.
• Trips to the Skip & Charity Shops (Paula, Simon and Dominique) took three mighty carloads away on Monday Morning from the House and Garage.
• Gardening (Cristina, David, Ann, Matt, John and Alan Titchmarsh- thanks, Al!) have started on the front garden, and set a time for blitzing the back – Thursday 6^th July after mid-day Mass.

Do have a good look at the fabulous Posters at the back of church, showing how all the parish activities have been grouped, with one focus every month. July’s is Welcome Ministry; August is Summer Hols (geddit?); and September’s is Youth. Welcomers look out for an email this week, and your Open Meeting is Thursday 27^th July at 6.00 pm. Put it in the Diary!

 

North Wales Railways – Thursday 20^th July

Almost all the individual Booking Sheets are now back in – many thanks, everyone! – telling us where you want picking up and any dietary requirements. We’ll have a full coach of 50, and it’s split 22 Gordon’s and 28 Bombay Sapphire. Nice one!

 

Friday 30^th June: 'Music for a Summer's Evening'

Lovely concert here last night from our great friends, the Cathedral Nave Choir. Come again soon!

 

Synod Document: Instrumentum Laboris

This is the working document for the Synod in October and makes for fascinating reading. It’s on our website, home page top button (Synod) and the English version is the second one down. Do please read as much of it as you feel able to do so, and then perhaps those of us who would like to discuss it might have an Open Meeting here in church later on in July? Let me know what you think.

 

SVP Summer Lunch: Wednesday 5^th July

At Rossett Hall Hotel. If you know of anyone who’d benefit from this social event, please contact Fran on 07990-524-780 or Anne on 07960-496-386

 

National Gallery Exhibition – St Francis: 11^th July

All booked and list closed! 15 of us are going down by the 10.32 train on Tuesday 11^th July, arriving Euston at 12.35 (the first off-peak train). Our visit to the National Gallery is booked for 2.00 pm, so a nice leisurely stroll down through Bloomsbury to Trafalgar Square (with taxis for those who’d prefer). 19.02 train back, arriving Chester at 21.13. (Both trains direct, with no changes). The full fare is an eye-watering £310.80 return! Off peak it’s £103.90. If you have a Rail Card, that brings it down to £68.55. So, you can see how a Rail Card at £30 would pay for itself on just this one journey. For those who don’t have Rail Cards, I’ve negotiated a Group Ticket with Avanti, at £84 each. Looking forward to it already: it should be a lovely day out in the smoke.

 

CHS Music Night to Support SVP Holiday Home

Friday 14^th July, 7.30 pm, with the High School City Jazz Band. Tickets are £10, from Marco bububbaba05@icloud.com [I am NOT making that address up. Ed] All the money raised goes to the SVP Holiday Home at Talacre. Steve Perry writes: “Thanks to your fantastic support, we purchased the new Holiday Home at a cost of about £45,000. The new home will feature on a Photo of the Week very soon and has been in use every week this year since the start of April, giving a holiday to those who otherwise would not have one. These static caravans have a life of about ten years. We are trying to set aside £5,000 every year, so that in ten years’ time, the funds are already there. Do join us at the High School on 14^th July as we start raising this year’s five grand! Many thanks, everyone.”

 

Chester Heritage Festival June 17^th–28^th

Many thanks to Ann Marie for her talk and Guided Tour.

 

Primary School Raffle Tickets

Thanks to Mrs Baggs and team for organising this, and to everyone for their support.

 

Catenians’ President’s Mass

We welcome Brother John Lynn and his wife and many of our Catenians friends to the 10.45 Mass today for their annual President’s’ Mass.

 

Fr John’s Visit this Weekend

Delighted that my great friend Fr John is staying with us this weekend, always a very welcome wizziter here in St Werburgh’s. He’s now Canon John, and Rector of the Allen Hall, the Westminster Diocesan Seminary. (What’s Latin for “poacher turned gamekeeper”?) Good to have you with us, John!

 

Parish Diary for 2023-4

We’re getting there!! Thanks to everyone for send

ing their dates for next year to us. And a million thanks to Denise, who does the back-breaking work of plotting all these dates on an enormous spreadsheet to make sure there are no clashes, and then co-ordinating everything with my Diary. The last few Parish Groups have until mid-July to get their dates to us, so get your skates on, please.

 

Photo of the Week: St Peter’s Church Plemstall

On the edge of Chester, on the way out to Helsby and Frodsham, it’s a 15^th Century church built on the site where St Plegmund lived as a hermit. Thanks, Chief Coroner!