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Coming up at St Weonard's Church ... February 2019

Sunday 10 February - 9.30am
All Age service

Everyone is welcome to attend our All Age Worship service this Sunday at St Weonard's Church.  We'll be exploring the experience of the early Christians as recorded by Luke in the Book of Acts, which quite often included times of persecution.  We'll be thinking too about those persecuted for their faith in many parts of the world today.
We hope you'll be able to stay for a chat over coffee after the service.

Thursday 21 February - 10.30am
Coffee, Cake & Community in church


Our regular mid-week service in St Weonard's Church.  If you need a lift, please contact Frances Phillips on 01981 240032.  We start with refreshments and a chance for a chat, followed by a short act of worship.  All welcome!

Sunday 24 February - 11.00am
Family Communion

All welcome at our monthly parish communion service.  Do get in touch beforehand if you would like a lift to the service.  (Don't forget we have a wheelchair, ramp and accessible toilet available in the church.)

In other news ...

We're very excited to announce that St Weonards PCC is going to start work towards securing an Eco Church award from A Rocha UK, a Christian charity working for the protection and restoration of the natural world. The scheme is designed to enable lots of people to get involved right across the parish, whether you're young or not-quite-so-young!

The basic concept is that we complete the unique online Eco Survey to assess how we are caring for God’s earth in different areas of our life and work. The answers we provide as a church will collect points towards an Eco Church Award – the more we do, the more points we get.

The survey takes us through five key areas of church life:
  • Worship and teaching
  • Management of church buildings
  • Management of church land
  • Community and global engagement
  • Lifestyle
When we think we've progressed far enough, we can apply for an Eco Church Award and, if successful, we will be offered a small wooden plaque to put up in the church.

You will have seen many people around the world becoming increasingly vocal about the environmental damage that countries, organisations and we as individual people are doing to our planet (recent examples include protesting school children), and we want St Weonards Church to take a lead in environmental matters as it cares for its historic Grade I listed building and the churchyard.

If you would like to help with this Eco Church initiative in small practical ways, please get in touch with Stephen Herbert.  I look forward to hearing from you.
2019 Vacancy in See
Following the announcement of the retirement of the Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Revd Richard Frith, the Diocese is in the process of appointing a new diocesan bishop. This process is known as the Vacancy in See.  There is an opportunity for you to have your views heard either by completing an online survey, or by attending the next public meeting on 6 March 2019.   
And finally ...
2019 is the year we renew our church Electoral Roll

Once in every six years, your local parish church is required to prepare a new church electoral roll.  That means everyone has to come off the existing roll, and re-apply.  In St Weonards, we need to complete this exercise by 18 March, ahead of our Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 2 April 2019.

The Electoral Roll is your parish church’s register of electors. In the same way that being on the civic Electoral Roll allows you to vote in parliamentary and local elections and referenda, joining the Church Electoral Roll means that you can vote on Church matters, attend the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) and stand for election to the PCC.

O course, you don't suddenly become a formal member of the Church by signing up to the church's Electoral Roll; instead, you already 'belong' if you consider St Weonards Church as your spiritual home.

Why join the church Electoral Roll?

Joining the electoral roll is an important way of confirming your commitment to the St Weonards community and to the vision of the church. It also opens up the way for greater involvement in the life of the Church of England at deanery, diocesan and national levels. By joining, you become entitled to participate in the government of the church and to vote at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, where the elections take place for:

1. the Parochial Church Council
2. the parish’s representatives on the Deanery Synod.

Any person entitled to attend the APCM may raise any question of parochial or general church interest.

In addition, those who live outside the Parish of St Weonards but are on the Electoral Roll here enjoy all the rights and privileges that go with being resident in the Parish (for example, baptisms and weddings). However, if you live outside the Parish and want to come onto the Electoral Roll, you have to have been worshipping at St Weonard's Church for a minimum period of 6 months.

It's very helpful for the Church of England to have an idea of the commitment of its people in a parish, and the Electoral Roll is a simple way of recording this. We don't over-inflate the significance of the Electoral Roll, but it would be a missed opportunity for people to ignore it.

What does the church Electoral Roll affect?

1.  The maximum number of PCC lay members
2. Representation on the governing bodies of the Church (Ross & Archenfield Deanery Synod, Hereford Diocesan Synod, and General Synod).

The Church of England is governed by a synodical system which joins with the Bishops to make decisions. Being on the Electoral Roll is the entry point and Christians share an individual responsibility to be part of the “Body of Christ” and to participate fully in our part of His Church. This system is intended to enable church people at every level to be in touch with the Church as a whole and to play their part in decision making. Also, the system is intended to ensure that the laity has their place in every aspect of church life, including doctrine and services.

The Electoral Roll does NOT have a direct bearing on the way the Parish Offer (formerly Parish Share) is assessed. The old accusation that the Parish Share was a sort of tax on the size of the Electoral Roll is no longer relevant!

How do I join the Electoral Roll?
Please look out for the Electoral Roll forms on the tables at the back of St Weonard's Church. Alternatively, you can download an Electoral Roll form from our web site.  You can also find our Electoral Roll Data Privacy Notice there.  Please remember we need your completed Electoral Roll form back by 18 March at the latest.

Thank you for your continued support and fellowship and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Clergy contacts


Vicar: Revd Elizabeth Cathie
The Vicarage
Mount Way
St Weonards
HEREFORD HR2 8NN
T: 01981 580137
E: ejcathie@btinternet.com

Associate Minister: Revd Frances Phillips
New House
Garway Hill
HEREFORD HR2 8EZ
T: 01981 240032
E: franjphillips@gmail.com
 
Do stay in touch via Facebook, or check the benefice website.
We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Copyright © 2019 St Weonards PCC, All rights reserved.


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