Church News Blog
Please also see our upcoming events, weekly activities and Sunday services pages for regular church activities.
Bereavement Journey Course: A Place to Talk
Working with grief and the loss of a loved one takes a long time. The Bereavement Journey® is a 7- session programme which assists bereaved people, or those who have experienced similar, to process their loss. Each session begins with light refreshments and the opportunity to get to know other participants. Two informative videos are then used interspersed with discussion in small groups facilitated by trained volunteers………….
Monthly Message from our Rector - May 2026
Five a Day?
10 years ago the Church of England revived an ancient season of prayer, from Ascension Day to Pentecost, calling the initiative “thy Kingdom Come” from the Lord’s Prayer. 10 years later, well over a hundred countries and almost every type of church are participating in what has become a global wave of prayer………..
Update on Church Bells - Ringing and Practices
While most in our community welcome the sound of the church bells we realise the need to limit ringing times, so no one living nearby starts to think they are getting too much of a good thing!
We’ve taken a couple of steps recently to help with this……..
St.Mary’s Prayer Group - we have started again
St.Mary’s Prayer Group - Starting again on April 15th
Prayer group is reconvening weekly from 7.30 to 8.30 every Wednesday evening in term time starting on Wed 15th April.
The format each week will be coffee or tea, followed by a short Bible passage, then 20-30 minutes of prayer and closing promptly by 8.30 with Lectio 365’s night prayers for that day…..
Mission Update - Tanzania
Diocese of Gloucester Visit to Theological College in Western Tanzania
In February, a small team from the Diocese visited the theological college in Tanzania where our two sponsored ordinands Obadiah and Redemta are studying……….
Save the dates - social events in St. Mary’s in 2026
Please save these dates for our programme of social events taking place in and around St. Mary’s Woodchester in 2026
Give a gift!
Can you help give a Bible to College students in Tanzania?
The Gloucester Diocese link team with the Diocese of Western Tanganyika in Tanzania (DWT) have recently heard that the Bible College students in DWT are short of Bibles. It would be great to fund new Bibles for them, particularly needed by those who are studying in English. The Bibles can be purchased locally in Tanzania.
We invite you, if you would like, to contribute towards this cause………
A series on: Living Out our Faith
Outside church, members of our congregation try to live out their faith in all sorts of ways depending on their individual gifts, strengths and interests. We have invited some church members to summarise their particular ministries: how they witness to others in their every day lives………
No 1. Elizabeth Cole - Science and Faith for Children