The first Sunday in September, we celebrate as out Patronal Festival. There are a number of Festivals in the Church Year relating to St Mary our Lady, but we have chosen to celebrate the Nativity of Our Lady as our Patronal Festival.The date of the Nativity is September the 8th but we took the opportunity of our Family Service to honour St Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
The Service  was a Family Eucharist, celebrated by Father Roger, who kindly stood in for Father Stephen. In his sermon, Father Roger told us many interesting facts about Our Lady Mary, the Church itself, and had us imagine the consecration of our church in the 12 century, and the amazing history of the church in this place. Of course the church is the people not the walls, and we were happy to see with us this morning people of all ages from the very youngest to the octogenarians and nonagenarians!
The Choir sang 'Ave Maria' in the setting by Edward Elgar as the Anthem and we sang familiar and much loved hymns about Mary.
There was coffee after the service.