Category: News and Events

Do come to our Hour of Remembrance on Sunday, 12th November at 3pm. Hymns, candles, poetry and thoughts… Tea and coffee afterwards.

Harvest at Lavernock was a splendid service. The old church was packed and beautifully decorated with fruit, vegetables, flowers, jars of this and that and herbs. We sang lustily and Anne accompanied us with great enthusiasm on the harmonium. We read from scripture and poetry and I said a few words about Christians being like ripe peaches (!). And the Revds Mark Jones and Rose Hill joined in (it was good to have them with us). Produce was handed out to members of the congregation and their donations, added to the collection, amounted to some £220; thank you everyone! Tea, coffee and cold drinks were served and some of us snapped away with our cameras:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Sorry, folks, it’s the 12th November for Remembrance.

The next service is the popular Harvest Thanksgiving on Sunday, 24th September. Then we have the reflective Remembrance Sunday on 13th November and the candlelit Christmas Lessons and Carols on 3rd December – all at 3 p.m. Come early to secure your seat! See you there.

We had a vibrant service on Sunday when we remembered our patron saint, St Lawrence. There were blood red flowers, of course, as befitted a martyr and we sang with gusto some well-known hymns about saints and martyrs to Anne’s fine accompaniment. Bible readings and poetry were followed by the Revd Mark Jones’s inspiring sermon which was notable especially for his emphasising St Lawrence’s sense of humour and for his telling us that the recent meteor shower was called by the Catholics ‘the tears of St Lawrence’ because it always falls on or about the 10th August, the date of the saints’s death in 258 AD. The former church was almost full with old and new friends who afterwards enjoyed chatting over tea and coffee. Here are a few photos:

For pictures of the meteor shower see the following link:

https://twitter.com/davelder/status/896664899417513984/photo/1

 

Hi, everyone. Don’t forget to join us at St Lawrence Church today at 3 pm!

Our preacher will be the Revd Mark Jones from the Parish of Penarth and Llandough

Our next service is on Sunday, 13th August at 3 pm. We shall be observing St Lawrence’s Day and Revd Mark Jones from the Parish of Penarth and Llandough will be preaching. Please make a note in your diary! 

July 10th

Yesterday was Sea Sunday which we celebrated with great enthusiasm down at St Lawrence. Some of us read poems – three people, Dave, Derek and Wendy, ‘volunteered’ at the last moment and read so well, as did the usual suspects, Carole, Helen, Jane and Michael. Anne was at her best at the harmonium, which seemed very happy in the warm conditions, and accompanied loud and tuneful renderings of favourite hymns. I muttered about monks and ‘thin places’ and prayed for everyone and everything as I usually do. Four adorable little dogs waited patiently in the porch during the service. Calls for a ‘Pets’ service, one day? The hot and cold drinks were much appreciated, as were the Welsh cakes provided by Maureen and the lemon drizzle cake from Carole, and lots of us stood around and enjoyed social interaction (fellowship).

Pete, Michael and I had cleaned and prepared the church the day before and Pat did some serious polishing on the day. The beautiful flower arrangements were supplied by Julian from ‘The Florist’ and shells, driftwood and a buoy borrowed from Toni of ‘Lilypad’. Thank you, everyone, for a lovely afternoon!

For photos, see our Gallery page.

Wow! What a day we had at St Lawrence yesterday (May 20th). Visitors poured into the former church for our Open Day on Marconi and the Development of Communication. They turned up in a steady stream, especially in the morning when there was a great deal of rain to deter them. Phil, Ken, Gordon, Bernie and other Barry Amateur Radio Society guys set up an aerial outside so that they could broadcast on short wave from their spot inside the church building; Mervyn from the Vintage Radio Society brought several old transmitters dating back to WW2 and Bletchley Park days. They all answered questions and chatted all day, as did some of us from the SALt working party. We had set up a Timeline along the north wall to illustrate, with dates and other information and artefacts, what had gone on since Marconi’s first wireless message over open water from Flat Holm to Lavernock beach on 13th May, 1897. The developments we pin-pointed related to radio, of course, but also telephone, tv, computer and cinema. We even had on display a huge pre-electronic megaphone and a 1940s Remington Remette typewriter. Courtesy of three big Thermos Jugs which we replenished twice, we dispensed tea and coffee to many, plus cold drinks and biscuits. The St Lawrence at Lavernock Trust (SALt) are very grateful to everyone who participated, including those who took photographs of the event (see Gallery page). For more information about Guglielmo Marconi click on our Marconi page.