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St Mary's Church
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News Round-Up for 2013 |
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Music at St Mary'sGloucester Cathedral Choir
On Sunday October 13th St Mary's resonated to the sound of the Gloucester Cathedral Choir. The choir stems from that established by Henry VIII in 1539 and consists of 20 boys (choristers) and 12 men (lay clerks and choral scholars). The choir sings six services each week in term time and major Carol Services at Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Twice a year they sing live on BBC Radio 3 and regularly take part in concerts with other prestigious choirs and orchestras, most recently with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, In addition, the choir have recorded commercial CD’s of sacred music. The Retiring Collection was in aid of Choir Outreach work. Christmas Crackers:
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The Visit of Sister Frances Dominica Thursday 21st March. Sister Frances Dominica is from Helen & Douglas House Hospice, Oxford, where they provide end of life care for children and young adults, together with support for their families. Sr Frances is an inspiring speaker and what she said lead us ever deeper into Holy Week and Easter. Special ServicesCoronation ServiceOn 2nd June, we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In church special prayers were said to mark this occasion and to honour the achievements of her reign. Throughout the last sixty years the Queen has embodied Christian beliefs and principles in a unique way and served the nation and Commonwealth with conspicuous dedication. The Pentecost Service
For our Pentecost service Brian asked members of the congregation to wear something red, the colour of Pentecost, and told them there would be prizes (entirely at the vicar's whim or fancy). Click here for the photographs. Help Madina
Dr Veronica Sawicki and Dr Rohit Sethi – founders and Trustees of Help Madina – came to the morning service on Sunday, 16 June, to speak about the help provided through their charity to the people living in the Madina area of Sierra Leone in West Africa. At the coffee morning following the service donations from those present and payment for items from the Bring & Buy table totalled £1,031.30, which was added to the money placed in the Charity of the Month wallbox in the church, and other PCC amounts. Patronal ServiceOur Patronal Festival on Sunday 8 September, celebrated the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The 10am service was led by The Rt. Rev’d Michael Perham, Bishop of Gloucester, and the other clergy and congregations of the South Cotswold Team were invited to attend. It was a splendid occasion, especially as one third of the churches in the Team are dedicated to St Mary! Special EventsPancake Party12th February Family Harvest SupperOctober 4th followed by a short musical: FROM PHAROAH TO FREEDOM Parish RetreatThis year the Parish retreat was on the 1st - 3rd November 2013. The Retreat was held again at the Marist Centre in Nympsfield, a place of peace and tranquillity. See photo below. It was led by The Rev’d Dr. Mike Tucker, a priest and former nuclear physicist. After retirement from Berkeley Power Station he became vicar of Amberley and also Gloucester Diocesan Officer for Ordinands. 
Electoral RollA new Electoral Roll is prepared every six years - and 2013 was one of those years. The old Roll was scrapped and everyone had to complete a form in order to be included on the new one. The new Roll was presented at the APCM.
News December 2013 |
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