Newsletter 10th January 2025
Pontesbury & Stiperstones
Family of Churches
Newsletter
10th January 2025
Dear friends,
It’s dark and cold and grey and miserable and I am struggling to get going in the morning! I enjoy winter, at least until Christmas but now I am longing for warm days and light nights, and although I am sure they will be on us before we know it, Spring seems very far away indeed!
However, I shouldn’t be complaining, I have a warm house and a nice wood burner, there are many who have no such things; and it is good to remember them at this time, whether in our own communities or whether they have had their homes ravaged by war in other parts of the world. It’s good to be thankful for the mercies we have and to contribute or help out at events like the Rea Valley foodbank or messy church events and so on.
Cheer up! Spring is coming.
Rev. Rich Lonsdale
Christmas
A belated thanks to all those who made this Christmas so special. We recognize the extra workload that is placed on choirs/organists/churchwardens/sidespeople and the like during this period.
Group Services
Please find below our programme of Group Services for 2025. Why not make a New Year’s
resolution to visit a sister church you’ve never attended before?
Wednesday= March 5th Minsterley
Sunday; March 23rd Pontesbury
Thursday* April 17th Pontesbury
Sunday+ June 1st Snailbeach
Sunday June 29th Worthen
Sunday Aug 31st Shelve (outdoors)
Sunday ++ Sept 14th Habberley
Sunday Sept 28th Hope
Sunday Nov 30th Pontesbury
Sunday** Dec 14th Pontesbury
Sunday Dec 28th Minsterley
= Ash Wednesday; In place of 5th Sunday of March which is Mother’s Day
*Maundy Thursday
+Additional service because of Deanery service at end of the month
++Afternoon Pet Service at Habberley Village Hall
**Evening Carol Service
Meditation
Our monthly service of meditation takes place this Sunday at St George’s at 7 p.m. All welcome.
Evening Prayer
A reminder that there is a short service of Evening Prayer at Holy Trinity Minsterley every Monday at 5 p.m.
Bible Study Groups
We offer two opportunities to study the bible together to which all are welcome. On alternate Monday evenings, a group meets at 4 Parry Drive on Young’s Way in Pontesbury at 7 p.m. with the next taking place on 20th January. And on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday afternoons of the month at 2.30 pm. alternating between The Blessing in Snailbeach on 2nd Tuesdays and Waterwheel in Wagbeach on 4th Tuesdays.
Games Evening
St George’s will be hosting a Games Evening at 7 p.m. on Saturday January 25th , tickets £5. For further details, please speak to Marianne McCall.
Richard
We are now able to officially confirm that from 1st Feb, Richard’s curacy will be extended to cover the parish of Chirbury, where he will be supporting the congregation through the early stages of their vacancy. He will remain curate of Pontesbury and Stiperstones but will only have half the time to devote to this as before. Please be understanding of this.
Community Meal
A second community meal is to be offered at Minsterley Parish Hall on Thurs Feb 6th at 4.45 p.m. We need 10/12 people to buy tickets for a three-course meal prepared by a professional chef at a donation cost of £10 per person. We also need 2 or 3 volunteers to help serve the meal and wash up afterwards. If you would like to do either, please contact Greg.
Lay Worship Training
The Deanery is offering a five week course on alternate Tuesday evenings, commencing 11th Feb for anyone who is currently helping to lead worship or would like to do so in the future. If you would like to know more, please speak to Greg or Fran Brealey.
Survey
A reminder to all those who attend St George’s (regularly or irregularly) that we would very much value your completing the survey that was sent out a couple of weeks ago. Please either return to Greg or the address shown on the survey. If you can’t locate a copy, contact Emma at officepontstip@gmail.com
Mary Webb Governor
After three years as a governor at Mary Webb School, Greg is standing down. However, the school would still appreciate a church representative. This doesn’t have to be a member of St George’s Church, but anyone with an interest in secondary education from any of our churches. If interested, please contact Greg.
The Gathering
The monthly gathering of Christians from across the Deanery for praise and prayer which is hosted at 7.p.m. Marton Village Hall. as follows:
21 January 2025
17 February 2025
18 March 2025
WW2 80th Anniversary
To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War next year, we’d like to feature your recollections throughout the 2025 Minsterley Parish Magazines. These can be a memory of the war years as a whole, of VE/VJ Day, family history etc. They don’t need to be specifically Minsterley or even Shropshire centred – we’re excited to hear about wherever you were.
Pieces can be from 50 to 500 words. We can include an image though it will appear in black and white. Any image should be your own (rather than taken from the internet).
Please send your pieces to Sarah Edwards (sarahedwards90@hotmail.com) or David Young (minsterleyparishmagazine@gmail.com) and watch out for what we hope will be a really interesting feature for 2025.
Little Dragons/Trinity Tots
Little Dragons will be continuing in the new year. Thanks to Aimee for stepping forward. We will still need more volunteers, as we do for Trinity Tots which meets on Thursdays at Holy Trinity. Please speak to Greg or Sarah Young if you would like to know more.
Minsterley Youth Café
Continues to be a great success, attracting as many as 14 young people for pizza, games and craft activities, overseen by Joe Barnes. There is a small band of dedicated volunteers who would love some additional help even if it is once a month. Please contact Joe or Greg if you want to know more.
Minsterley Coffee Morning
A coffee morning is to be held at Holy Trinity on Saturday 25th Jan. For further details, please contact Sarah Edwards.
Year of Engagement
We have now entered the Year of Engagement as branded by the Diocese of Hereford, as it seeks to encourage us to take up this most important value. A series of events will take place during the course of the year to help people think more deeply about what it means to engage more effectively with our communities, including one at St George’s later in the year.
Calendar for the Week
January 2025
Fri 10th
Coffee Stop at St George’s 10-12
Sun 12th
Holy Communion at Hope at 9 a.m.
Holy Communion at Minsterley at 10.30 a.m.
Morning Worship at Pontesbury at 10.30 a.m.
Evensong at Habberley at 5 p.m.
Meditation at Pontesbury at 7 p.m.
Mon 13th
Youth Café at Minsterley at 3.30
Minsterley Youth Team meeting at 5 p.m.
Minsterley Standing Ctte at 7 p.m.
Tues 14th
Foodbank at HTM 10-12
Little Dragons at St George’s 10-11.30 a.m.
Rea Valley Foodbank General Meeting at 2 p.m.
Praise Evening at 7 p.m. at HTM
Weds 15th
Pontesbury Development Ctte at 10 a.m. in WER
Coffee Hub at HTM 10-12 noon
Pontesbury Youth Café at 3.30 p.m.
Deanery Finance Ctte at Yockleton at 7 p.m.
Thurs 16th
Benefice Council at Snailbeach VH 10-3 p.m.
Messy Church at St George’s at 3.30 p.m.
Sun 19th
Morning Prayer at Shelve at 9 a.m.
Minsterley Praise at Minsterley Methodist Church at 10 a.m.
Holy Communion at Pontesbury at 10.30 a.m.
