Good evening all,

I am delighted with the start we have had to the Pray in May initiative. You’re an awesome lot. Thank you so much to those of you who have come along and prayed with me – you’ve made it such a community effort and praying with others is a rich and hopeful experience. More to come, week by week, and I can tell you that after just four mornings, our churches have had nearly 40 people join their prayers in the Morning Office, and they are now soaked into the stones of those buildings, and heard by God of course. Doesn’t that feel wonderful?

Three things to alert you to – the first two are new services – Hannah is really pleased to be adding two new regular acts of worship to the rota – a monthly Evening Prayer which will be on the second Sunday of each month, 6pm, in St. Peter’s Church Goetre. Everyone is very welcome, and the first one is this Sunday – 10th May. She is also beginning a weekly service midweek in St. Peter’s Goetre, this will begin on Tuesday 16^th June and be at 12.30pm. Please pop those dates in your diary if you’ve been looking for a different service, or these ones suit your diary. I know you will be made very welcome.

The final thing of the three is an open invitation to you and anyone else who knows me – we are opening the vicarage garden on Saturday 24^th May from 2pm until 4pm. Please don’t come expecting beautiful shrubs and annuals in the flower beds, but you will be greeted with a glass of bubbly and a slice of cake to celebrate a couple of family birthdays that we would like to share with you. It’s just a drop in, and I’m really keen for people to come, so spread the word. (Do not buy presents – it’s not actually my birthday!!) We really do. Want to share the cake with you, and anyone else who knows us, I’ll look forward to seeing you!

And now – time for a cuppa and an unwind. It’s been a busy few days!

With my love and prayers, as always, 

Sally xx

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Please note that emails are not monitored after 6pm and Friday is usually my rest day.

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Good evening friends, 

Do you think we can safely say spring is here? We’ve had a pair of mistle thrushes make their home in the vicarage garden, and the cat is having so much fun with the baby field mice and shrews. I must confess I get more delight from the thrushes than the constant arrival of the cat’s latest plaything!

You’ll see attached is a plea for some help with the Usk Show. Please can you have a think and a chat with friends to see what might be possible? It’s a once-a-year thing and on the day there are plenty of people willing to pitch in. What needs to be done to get ready for the show is all pretty straightforward, again, it’s been happening for so long it’s a well-oiled machine, thanks to Clare Bradly’s previous care and direction. But it does need someone to oversee and co-ordinate the preparation and the day. Thank you for Clare for her years of organising. Is it your turn to try now do you think?

My second thing to remember to tell you is that our Ascension day service this yar will be in Usk on Thursday 14^th May and 11am. It will be led by Rev’d Dr. Stephen James. Do come along if this a high day that is significant to your tradition, or if you would like to learn more about it.

What else do I need to tell you about? I’m not sure there is anything! I’m looking forward to catching up with all my personal jobs and urgent stuff tomorrow before a very busy weekend and then the Bank Holiday. I’ve just checked the weather for Monday and guess what? Yep – drizzle is forecast! And who am I kidding about tomorrow? I don’t want to do all my jobs; I want to sit and read a book and drink coffee! Hey ho! 

Please let me know if I can pray for you. Otherwise, be assured of my prayers for all that is happening and for all our communities. 

With my love,

Sally xxxx

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Please note that emails are not monitored after 6pm and Friday is usually my rest day.

Thank you for your understanding.

Good evening everyone,

It’s a proper spring day – I’ve caught the sun, the windows are open, and the heating is off! You watch, it’ll pour hard tomorrow and I’ll have to dig out my vest again!

I hope your week is unfolding in good ways? Alongside the usual work I’ve been doing a little bit of “mind and thinking” spring-cleaning. I’ve been pondering how to do a little bit of exercise and how to have a healthier balance in my life with the various things that need juggling. I suspect that the thinking is about as far as it will go, does that count? Hahaha!

Things are taking shape for our special Annual Vestry Service on Sunday 31^st May. The actual service begins at 11am, in the hall of Usk School, but we will be serving breakfast beforehand – good coffee and tea, Bacon Rolls, pastries, and fruit. How does that sound? Wouldn’t this be an awesome occasion to bring a friend to, someone who doesn’t often come to church? If you are veggie or vegan, have any food intolerances or allergies, it would be very helpful to know beforehand please. It’s really important to me that we are generous to everyone and it’s absolutely no problem to cater for any special needs or preferences, but knowing beforehand would really help. Thank you 🙂

Another thing to remind you about is our Ministry Area retreat day, planned for Saturday 18^th July. This promises to be one of those occasions when we can hope to encounter God, in a holy place, with friends. The food will be good, the plan for the day is varied, and you can adapt it to suit your needs in terms of quietness and activity; it really is worth booking a place and coming along! I’ve attached the poster with all the information for you, just to help.

Finally, another attachment, is the dates and places for my Pray in May plans. Come and join me if you like, as I pray my way around the Ministry Area ready for our Annual Vestry Meeting. You might like to come along to a church that is new to you, or enjoy your usual Sunday place of worship being used for a different service midweek. Either way, I will be pleased to see you.

And now I must finish. Will is cooking tonight, there is wine in the fridge, and I am looking forward to a lie in tomorrow!

Please don’t hesitate to reply with your prayer requests. As I always say – it is a privilege to pray with you and for you. 

With my love,

Sally xxxx

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Please note that emails are not monitored after 6pm and Friday is usually my rest day.

Thank you for your understanding.

Good evening friends,

Gosh, what a week – huge highs and some really tough moments. It often goes like that doesn’t it?

As well as a hefty amount of pastoral work (what I would really much prefer to spend all my time doing), I have also been working on a project for the summer, our Annual Vestry Service, and our Annual Report. The service on 31^st May 11am will be in Usk Primary School, with breakfast served beforehand, and promises to be a lively and joy-filled occasion. Please pop it in your diaries. The Annual Report will be published that day, and there will be some goodie bags for all the churches to take back. We will also share details about the project, which involves every church without anyone actually doing anything! How wonderful to have something new to look forward to that won’t require any more work or effort!! I’m very much looking forward to the whole event, and sharing all the news with you then. 

Before then, we do have Archbishop Cherry coming to the ministry area, and you might like to come along too. Over the last few years, St. Bartholomew’s Church in Llanover, with a very small team of intrepid helpers, has managed to pull off a really rather impressive hall refurbishment. I am in awe of them. The hall is open on Saturday 20^th April between noon and 4pm for people to come and have a look round, and Archbishop Cherry will be formally opening the hall at 3pm. She will be doing this with cake. Of course! It would be wonderful to see some of you there, to say well done to those who have worked so hard and of course, to welcome our bishop. Everyone is welcome from all and any church. I suggest you park at the church and then walk round the corner, on the little lane, as parking at the hall is limited. Postcode is NP7 8BU.

And with that I am going to close. I still have a visit to a funeral family this evening, and then a day of rest (who am I kidding?!) tomorrow. The house is a tip so there will be some tidying to do I think!

You know where I am if you need me.

With my love and prayers for you all,

Sally xxxx

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Please note that emails are not monitored after 6pm and Friday is usually my rest day.

Thank you for your understanding.

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Any views or opinions presented within this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Church in Wales unless otherwise specifically stated.
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Barn yr awdur ei hun yw unrhyw farn a fynegir yn yr e-bost hwn, ac nid yw, o angenrheidrwydd, yn cynrychioli barn yr Eglwys yng Nghymru, oni ddynodir hynny’n bendant.

Good afternoon friends,

An early letter this week as I am off to church in a little while to get ready for one of our Maundy Thursday services- Goetre, Bryngwyn, and Usk at 7pm. Tonight marks the beginning of the Triduum – three holy days from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday. Although we view the days as separate, not least because we sleep every night, the Triduum is one long liturgy – a continuous story that takes a pause and then picks up again, from The Last Supper to the Crucifixion, to the Resurrection. I wonder how your thinking around Easter changes if you consider the next few days as one long story, rather than a series of services or events? 

Hopefully you will be able to take part in one of the many services we have on Good Friday and then something on Easter Sunday. I’m really looking forward to the Easter Morning Sunrise service in Trostrey. We will be lighting paschal candles for all our churches, renewing our baptism vows, and celebrating the good news of Christ’s resurrection with Holy Communion, followed by refreshments. It all starts at 6am, so please come along if you are able. I’ve attached a list of all the services coming up so you can choose where to go 🙂

Next week Hannah and I are both taking a couple of days off, so if you can’t get hold of one of us, please try the other or of course contact Will who is taking his post Easter leave in a few weeks’ time. (There will be no LIFT or Just Five Minutes next week).

My final little thing to tell you is to encourage you to keep an eye out for a couple of emails that will come your way next week detailing some exciting things that are coming up. Look out for them and I hope you will want to take part and join in, in some way. This tease may have left you intrigued, wary, or some other emotion! I’m sorry – there’s nothing worse than an announcement that there’s going to be an announcement. I could become a politician!

And with that, it’s time for a dose of caffeine, the gathering of everything for the service tonight, and a ten-minute quiet sit down. 

If I don’t see you personally on Sunday, may I take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy and Blessed Easter when it arrives. 

With my love and prayers,

Sally xx

Ooo, Did you know it is The Big Breakfast on Saturday 11^th April? Come along and and bring a friend – you know the drill! Memorial Hall, Usk, 8-11am. 

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Please note that emails are not monitored after 6pm and Friday is usually my rest day.

Thank you for your understanding.

Good evening!

Where has today gone? Well it’s been a wonderful day, starting with the Usk School Easter service in church. 250 children sang and retold the story of Holy Week and Easter. They read and prayed beautifully and their singing gave me goosebumps – they really do bring the building alive and give me such hope. After some service preparation I then met with the Anglican chaplain from Usk prison. Meeting local colleagues and looking at how we can support each other is incredibly important and I’m very grateful for these opportunities. My final appointment for the day was meeting with a couple who are getting married soon. I love marriage conversations, and this one had the bonus of being on a local farm so I had a rather lovely time chatting as we admired the numerous new lambs, including several triplets and some very large singles. I was reminded how gruelling farming is, such long working hours and a way of life, a vocation, that never ceases. 

Then it was home to see what my email inbox had to offer, and try to clear my desk before the end of the day. I’ve failed on that last point! Whoops!

This Sunday sees our Palm Sunday services and then we are into Holy Week. It’s come so quickly. Please don’t forget the Compline services in Llandenny, Llangybi, and Monkswood, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7.30pm. Hopefully you have had a chance to look at the programme of services I sent earlier in the week? I have attached it again for ease. Also, I hope you’ve recalled that we will not be going to the Blorenge for Easter Sunrise. This year we are going to have the service at St. David’s Church in Trostrey at 6am. There will be all the things you might expect, plus a fire, paschal candles for all our churches, and refreshments. Please do come along.

With next week in mind, I do hope I will see as many of you as possible at the various special services that are happening. Be assured of my prayers for you during this season, and let me know if there is anything I can pray for specifically.

With my love,

Sally xx  

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Please note that emails are not monitored after 6pm and Friday is usually my rest day.

Thank you for your understanding.