St Mary's Notices

The last rehearsal for performing at Carols by Candlelight this Sunday 5-6pm. If you haven’t managed to attend more than 1 rehearsal yet, then this is your last chance!

Please join as we sing carols at 5 different stops around our parish! A full itinerary of the walk and a map are available. To view these, please click on the St Mary's Notices for 11th December. If you can't manage the full route, please join us when you can and invite friends and neighbours to come along too!

All Age Christingle at 10am: Please invite friends and family to join us for this interactive service hosted at church. Bring your own orange which we will be making into Christingles during the service. There will be a plate collection during this service, which will be donated to The Children’s Society.

Come and learn some Christmas songs to sing at Carols by Candlelight on the 18th December! There will be only 1 more rehearsal during advent after this, but recognising it’s a busy time of year, we are asking people to attend a minimum of 2 out of the original 4 if at all possible, so this is your last chance to join in! All are held at St Mary’s from 5pm to 6pm. The last date will be the 17th December.

The next date for Ladies Who Lunch is Wednesday December 7th at 12 noon at the Toby Carvery, Forest Road. This is an opportunity for ladies who live on their own to meet up for a meal and a chat. This will be the last time that this group will meet as a ladies only group! After Christmas, Ladies who Lunch are combining with Table Talk (a men’s only lunch group) to form one group who will meet for lunch on the 4th Wednesday of each month at the Toby Carvery.

This Sunday we will be sharing in communion at 10am and thinking about the message of John the Baptist. There will be a children’s group with activities for all ages. At 6pm please join us for a special service for Advent with the theme ‘Looking forward with hope’. Based on Evensong with additional carols and readings, there will be short reflections in place of a sermon.

Come and learn some Christmas songs to sing at Carols by Candlelight on the 18th December! There will be 2 more rehearsals during advent after this, but recognising it’s a busy time of year, we are asking people to attend a minimum of 2 out of the original 4 if at all possible. All will be held at St Mary’s from 5pm to 6pm. Other dates will be 10th Dec and 17th Dec.

Come along and join in our sheep crafts for people of all ages and with tea and cake! This will take place in the Chapter House at St Mary's from 2pm-5pm. We hope to see you all!

Please join us for our last Table Talk meeting of the year - an opportunity for gentlemen who live on their own to meet together to share lunch and chat. The meetings take place on the last Wednesday of each month at the Toby Carvery, Forest Road at 12 noon. We won’t be meeting in December so our next lunch together will be on Wednesday 25th January 2023.

Wake up! It’s the start of Advent. This week we’ll be thinking about how we prepare for Christ’s coming. At both services (10am and 6pm) there will also be an update on the Child Contact Centre (see prayer pointers below) and news from the PCC about our budget next year.

Come and learn some Christmas songs to sing at Carols by Candlelight on the 18th December! There will be 4 rehearsals during advent. Recognising it’s a busy time of year, we would ask people to attend a minimum of 2 rehearsals if possible. The first rehearsal is Saturday 26th November 5-6pm. Please see the notices for the other rehearsal dates.

Please let us know if you would like to join the team visiting the Retirement Communities this Christmas. We lead a short service and then enjoy some refreshments with the residents – it’s always a joy to meet and chat with them. Please see the notices for further details.