Sitting here, penning this update, it's tempting to say that there are signs of Spring, but you, better than I (the itinerant Brightonian), will know whether that's true or not! Certainly, the snowdrops in and around the churchyard have been quite lovely. Anyway, whatever the weather, it's definitely the early days of what I hope will be a good year for the church of St Mary.

Regular services are scheduled each month, and with this letter is a timetable for these services up until the end of September. I hope that mailing this list is helpful, and if you think you have a friend who isn't on my list, but would nevertheless like to be kept up-to-date, and you'd like me to mail them a copy of the schedule of services, I'd be happy to do this. Just give me a ring, or drop me a note with their name and address and I'll make sure it's in the post right away.

As some of you know, we now have a Faculty allowing us to make important repairs to small parts of the roof, the drainage around the church, and the internal plasterwork. To enable us to progress these works we've been actively sourcing funds and with generous support from English Heritage, The Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust and the Garfield Weston Foundation among others, we seem to be closing in on the substantial sum we need to complete these works.

Fundraising is always important for any church, and while this project is exceptional, the day-to-day good maintenance of St Mary's is a challenge too. With this in mind, I'd like to draw your attention to the Cake Stall in Weobley (outside Dixon newsagents) on March 17. This will be the third that Hilary Havard and Viv Leech have stage-managed and they do a fantastic job each time. At a base metal level it raises very welcome monies for the church, but it also generates terrific camaraderie and goodwill which, to my mind, is of equal value given the way it brings us together - and long may it continue. A big 'thank-you' is due and the best way of expressing this would be to add to the range of produce that is on sale - I know Hilary and Viv welcome all culinary contributions; so, if you can support them, please do.

Just a little later this year - on April 19 in fact - we have the Sarnesfield APCM and one of the agenda items is 'fundraising ideas'. At a recent PCC meeting some good ideas were aired, and I hope in time these will come to life. The common thread seems to have been having fun while raising funds and I hope we have a lot of fun in the months to come!

that said, if you've got ideas that lend themselves to the church, and its woodland setting, we'd love to hear about them. Finding ways to keep the church active as a meeting place and a place of reflection as well as a place of worship seems a challenge we should try to meet with enthusiasm. I do hope we can.

All the best,

Roger Marshall