October 2018 Saint Mary’s News
The Church noticeboard outside the ‘welcome area for children’ is a good indicator of the ‘temperature’ of the year – not in terms of heat, but activity!
The start of September saw the whole board filled with the posters for forthcoming events … and as the month has progressed, these have gradually been removed (only to be replaced by the October set!).
So what did September hold …the season opened with the Table Top Sale and Tower Opening – once again intrepid folks climbed the Tower to enjoy the unique views of the city, while others took the opportunity to refresh their autumn wardrobe. Thank you to all who were involved – the morning raised just under £200. This was followed the next day by the Parish Bar B Q lunch – which, despite the weather, enabled us to catch up with each other after the summer and enjoy the food prepared by Vida, Sonya and Eve and served by them with Shirley. As the lunch finished, so a small group headed off on the Sponsored Bike Ride – the Fratton Five (Frs Bob, Darcy, Marcus, Giles and Catherine) covered 16 places of worship in just over an hour – including a Mosque, a Synagogue, a Convent and 2 Cathedrals …. Thank you to all who sponsored them – they raised £200 for the Parish and Historic Churches Trust.
September also saw the return of the Charity Lunch after its Summer Break and the Fellowship programme started again – including a ‘my life’ from Father Marcus and an intro to Macramé from the Eco Urban Ranger. It was also good to welcome back the Royal Marines School of Music and we look forward to their series of training concerts over the next few months.
The 16th September saw the Church represented at the Fratton Family Festival with a ‘sacred space’ set up in the midst of the music and entertainment. Thanks to Rose and Ian, a number of people paused and engaged in an activity, had a conversation and left prayer requests. Once again, the church was very much an integral part of the community and its life.
The next Sunday was the Annual Meeting of the Friends of Saint Mary’s and once again it was good to see and hear about the support given to all 3 Churches by the Friends to support our Baptism and Wedding ministry as well as our work with and support of our young people and their families. If you would like to support this work (a £5 sub per year), then please contact Ruth or Paul Morgan.
Likewise, if you would like to be part of the monthly ‘100 Club’ draw to support the Music Foundation, David Black will be happy to explain how it works and collect £1 a month from you! That afternoon enabled us to enjoy the product of that fundraising and the work of the Music Foundation. The income supports free music lessons for choristers. The Annual Concert is always a wonderful way to hear and see their progress.
The confidence and determination of the young people is to be admired. This year was no exception – congratulations to all who played and performed.
There was a brief pause on the last Sunday of the month as we quickly drew breath before we start to cover the next wave of posters on the board and the events they publicise ….