May Services at Ansley Churches
| 4th May
Easter 3 |
St John’s
|
10.45 a.m. | Holy Communion |
| 11th May
Easter 4 |
St Laurence | 10.30 a.m. | Morning Worship |
| 18th May
Easter 5 |
St John’s | 10.30 a.m. | Morning Worship |
| 25th May
Easter 6 |
St Laurence’s | 10.30 a.m.
|
Holy Communion |
| 29th May
Ascension Day |
Corley Church | 7.00 p.m. | Holy Communion |
From the Register
Wedding
The wedding of Sophie Hudson and Alex Kendall was held at St Laurence on Friday 18th April. We wish them happiness in the years ahead.
Ascension Day
We hope you will be able to attend this joint Ley Group service in Corley Church at 7.00 p.m. on Thursday 29th May.
Prayer Meeting
The next prayer meeting will be held at 2.00 p.m. in St John’s on Tuesday 20th May. All are welcome.
Event in the Annexe from 10.00 to 12.00 noon on Saturday 10th May
We will be preparing/making items to be used at the Back in time event in August, particularly things for the children.
For example: Making cut out dolls, crowns, whirligigs, pompom circles, paper aeroplanes and helicopters.
Tasting: War time cakes: Tea loaf, ration scones, WW2 fruitcake and lardy cake.
Do come along if you can, all will be welcome.
Plant Sale at Ansley Village Church Hall
Ansley Gardening Group will be holding a plant sale in Ansley Village Church Hall on Sunday 18th May from 1.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
Lent Collection
The special collection for Water Aid has raised £235. This sum has been sent to the charity. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this figure.
Confirmation
A Confirmation Service in St Laurence Church is planned for later this year.
Do you want to know more about the Christian faith?
Would you like to consider Baptism and/or Confirmation?
The Reverend Steve’s contact information is on the front cover of this magazine. He has already been contacted by a number of people in the Ley Group and would be pleased to have a chat with you.
Report on Holy Week
The weather was kind to us on Palm Sunday. This special service started in the Annexe. We were able to process into church, having heard of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, waving our palm crosses and singing ‘Ride on, Ride on in Majesty’. Once seated in church, everyone had a part in the moving reading of the Passion, as told by St Mark.
(Our singing was accompanied in church by the recently retuned piano.)
The Maundy Thursday Service, having moved to 3.00 p.m., followed the normal format. A bowl of soup and some bread was enjoyed before the sharing of bread and wine in the Holy Communion Service. In St Matthews’s Gospel, after the Last Supper, the disciples sang a hymn before going to the Mount of Olives. Those gathered at St John’s closed the service by singing each person’s favourite hymn.
On Good Friday St Laurence was open from 2.00 to 4.00 p.m. for private reflection and prayer. We do not know who came but it felt important to offer this opportunity of a quiet space.
A good number of worshippers attended the beautifully decorated church for the Easter Sunday Service. It was great to welcome the Reverend John Langlands back to lead this service. He spoke of the emotional highs and lows experienced by the first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection, especially Mary Magdalene. Like Mary, we too celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus.
From the PCC
Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM)
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting was held in the Annexe on Thursday 10th April at 2.00 p.m.
The PCC posts are as follows for the year 2025 to 2026:
Churchwardens: Margaret Antill
Diana Kealey
Deputy Churchwardens: Margaret Oliver
Philip Rees
Deanery Synod Representatives: Anthony Truelove
Philip Rees
Treasurer: Margaret Antill
Secretary: Diana Kealey
Lay Chair: Margaret Oliver
PCC Members:
Margaret Oliver
Sue Pearson
Linda Jackson
Ex-officio Members:
- Antill
- Kealey
- Truelove
- Rees
The Reverend Steve Medley – Priest-in-Charge
Churchwardens Report for 2024
The pattern of a morning service alternating between St Laurence and St John’s continued with 5th Sundays mostly Songs of Praise. The numbers attending have been encouraging. Each church has had Holy Communion once a month.
The Harvest produce and donations were given to the Salvation Army. St John’s were able to hold a few of their social events. Our 60th and final Flower Festival in its current format was a wonderful success. The Christmas Tree Festival, despite the weather, was greatly appreciated by the estimated 1,500 who visited.
The church continues to be open for prayer on Tuesdays apart from December and January. People came into church and left prayers. This shows a need for the church to be open. It is also open on summer Sunday afternoons.
We have had two new people from Fillongley come to learn to ring the bells.
There were 6 baptisms, 3 weddings and 10 funerals plus 18 burials and interments.
The monthly prayer meetings continued.
The Ley Group steering committee continued to address how to move forward together.
Opportunities were planned for the Ley group church members to join together, for example during the Lent Course.
The Churchwardens pray that St. Laurence and St. John’s churches will continue to be welcoming places, caring for and giving support to all.
We pray for God’s guidance in reaching out to parishioners. The Parish Council’s Village News publication may help us with this.
Our Prayer for Ansley continues to be that we grow in faith, unity, mutual respect and love. We thank everyone for their prayers and support over the year.
The wardens’ report contains a full update of Health and Safety policies for our buildings and activities and for Safeguarding issues.
Finance Report
The Accounts which had been approved by the independent Examiner and accepted by the PCC were presented. Margaret Antill and Anthony Truelove were thanked for their hard work preparing these.
Fabric Report
The wardens reported on the progress made in the establishment of an Area for the Burial of Cremated Remains (ABCR) during 2024. Ground gutters around the church were improved. There was no major work on the building.
Deanery Synod Report
Our representatives reported that the meetings during 2024 had been more interesting and meaningful than the previous year. They had shown a significant improvement in their quality and were more business-like.
Churchyard
We have to let you know that the cost of mowing the churchyard has had to be increased. It will now cost £275 for each cut. We are very grateful to David of Bracken Garden Services for having kept the cost at £260 per cut since 2011.
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Prayer Requests
If you would like someone, or a particular situation, to be remembered in prayer, please make contact by email or phone one of the contacts on the front cover.