In the February Super Draw one lucky supporter will win a huge Year of Adventures - or of course, a £1,000 cash alternative!Take a step back in time and explore historic castles with an English Heritage membership or visit National Trust sites, from 18th-century water gardens and stunning landscapes, to intimate woodland gardens.Use your Merlin Pass on a London trip to see Madam Tussauds and the London Eye, terrify yourselves at the York or Edinburgh Dungeons, take the children to experience the wonder of LEGOLAND – or thrill seekers can have the time of their lives at Thorpe Park or Alton Towers. The prize includes a Railcard of your choice, to help you explore – or of course, as usual, as the lucky winner you can opt for the £1,000 cash alternative, and spend it your way!The Lottery Super Draw gives people flexible ways to play – instead of committing to weekly tickets, you can choose to just buy tickets for the Super Draw week, meaning more flexibility and less commitment, whilst still supporting our beautiful Church.If you already support us you don't need to buy a separate ticket - you are automatically entered into the special draw, but of course you could buy extra tickets: the more tickets you have, the more chances to WIN! As an existing supporters you can even choose to TOP-UP your tickets just for the week of the Super Draw!Remember 50p from every ticket purchased comes to us. See attached poster to scan the QR Code to go directly to the webpage to purchase tickets.
St Mary’s at FretherneBurials PolicyEffective from 1 February 2025In common with many other churchyards and cemeteries in England, St Mary’s churchyard has limits on the space available for new graves. The PCC has agreed that the following Burial Policy should be adhered to with effect from 1 February 2025.Policy StatementThere is a legal duty to bury at the parish church• Anyone resident within the parish at time of death.• Anyone staying in the parish at time of death.• Anyone on the Parish Church's electoral roll at time of death.Specific Additional Arrangement in the parish of FretherneThere has been a long-standing practice of accepting deceased residents from the other adjacent (Severnside) parishes. The PCC has agreed that this practice will continue so long as the person was resident within any of the Severnside parishes within five years of the date of their death.When a person previously resident within the parish of Fretherne or a person who was previously resident within any of the adjacent (Severnside) parishes, has been resident away from the parish of Fretherne or its adjacent parishes for more than 5 years, an interment of ashes would be offered instead of a burial plot.There are no issues with space to provide new plots for the interment of ashes for the foreseeable future.Exceptions to this policy will be considered in the light of the specific pastoral issues relating to the individual. Please contact the Vicar (Rev Liz Palin at rectorstroudwater@gmail.com, or on 01452 903720) in the first instance.
Sunday, 23rd February - As part of our Eco-Church commitment, we are pleased to welcome our guest speaker Megan Adamou to our monthly service. Megan is the Community Action Officer at the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Megan will give a short talk after our service about the importance of biodiversity at the base of the food web, and what can be done to help to increase it. She is happy to answer questions as well on actions that we can all take to help increase biodiversity in our own gardens.Please let the Churchwarden (Jane Cleaver) know on 01452-740891 if you hope to attend so that numbers for refreshments can be estimated.
The churchyards around our churches are an important part of the Church’s mission since they provide a pleasant, welcoming environment in which to remember our loved ones. All our Parochial Church Councils are very grateful for the hard work of the many volunteers who look after our churchyards year after year, Helping to care for our loved ones’ graves is an important part of making and keeping our churchyards a pleasant place to visit. It is therefore very important to ensure that they are maintained in good order as befits a final resting place for the departed and so as to preserve their historical, archaeological, architectural and ecological qualities. Throughout the country, every diocese has churchyard regulations These regulations seek to enhance and protect all that is loved within our churchyards and to protect them from harm and are binding on all parties. The day to day care of a churchyard is the legal responsibility of a PCC. Therefore it is important to contact the Team Rector – The Revd Liz Palin – to get agreement to any work to be done other than cutting the grass on and around a loved one’s grave before it takes place. Contact details Team Rector: The Revd Liz Palin rectorstroudwater@gmail.com or 01452 741147 Churchwardens: Jane Cleaver, Fretherne.church@gmail.com or 01452 740891
