St Mary’s is very fortunate to have a wide range of people who do all sorts of things within both the church and local community. Some of the groups are:
Lunch Club for the elderly. Meets on Wednesdays at Parish Centre at 12 noon for lunch at 12.30, A two course hot lunch, plus a cup of tea, is
provided for £3. The food is freshly prepared each week by a team of volunteers.
Bell Ringing. St Mary’s Tower has 8 bells and an enthusiastic band of ringers.
Choir. The choir sings at the 10.30am Communion service on Sunday morning, at Choral Evensong at 6.30pm on the 4th Sunday of the month. The choir is available to sing at weddings and funerals.
Servers Team. Our teams of servers assist the
Clergy during services with the preparation of the bread and wine for the
Eucharist.
Flower Arrangers. We have 5 teams of flower arrangers
who are, in their own words, enthusiastic amateurs. They decorate the church
with floral arrangements throughout the year, each team looking after the
arrangements for one month, twice a year, on a rota basis.
Meditation Group. ‘When God seems distant’. This
ecumenical group meets on the 4th Tuesday each month in people’s
homes, from 8pm to 9.30pm.
Julian Meetings. This is another ecumenical group, a
part of the international network of Julian Meetings. We meet on the 1st
Monday of each month in different member’s homes. We support the practice of
contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition: a time of quiet reflection and
calm in the presence of God.
For our younger members we also have:
St Mary’s Baby and Toddler Group. We’re a friendly, informal group for
all children up to school age, together with their parent or carer. We meet on
Fridays, in term time, from 10am to 11.30am in the church hall. Each week we
run a craft activity and there’s a range of games, toys and books, plus a
singalong. We run a number of annual events including a Teddy Bear’s picnic,
Easter Egg hunt, Christmas party with a visit from Santa and a summer party.
Rainbows is for girls aged 5 to 7. We enjoy a
range of fun activities, including craft projects, singing, dancing and games
Brownies is for girls aged 7 to 10. We meet on
Wednesdays from 6pm to 7.30pm to enjoy a wide range of activities, including
arts and crafts, trying out recipes, playing energetic games and taking part in
community action projects.
Guides is for girls aged 10 to 14. Our activities include everything from taking part in adventure sports to playing fun games, to taking part in community action projects, to the performing arts. Guides work together in small groups or ‘Patrols’ and, with the support of an adult leader, choose and run some of the activities themselves using ‘Go For It’ resource packs.
Beavers, Cubs and Scouts of the 18th Chester (St
Mary’s) Scout Group meet regularly in their purpose built HQ in Westminster
Park. The Beaver colony is for 6 to 8 year olds, there are two Cub Packs for 8 to
10 year olds and two Scout troops for 10 to 14 year olds.
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There are many other groups not directly linked with St Mary’s, but part of the local community, who meet regularly in the Parish Centre. Amongst others these are Music and Dance classes for Children of all ages, Sensory classes for Babies, Weight Loss Counselling, Exercise classes, Pilates, Yoga, Community Choirs, Social Groups for the elderly, Art class, Women's Institute, and an NHS information session.
If you would like contact details for any of the above, please ring the Doris Keen in the Parish Office on 01244 671202 or look in the Parish Magazine.
