The text of the latest Wrockwardine and Withington Newsletters is set out below.

Heroes (Various)
We'll be celebrating quite a few heroes (of various kinds) in October and November, and I hope you'll join us.

The most obvious kind of heroes are members of the armed forces, and we shall be remembering them, as well as praying for all affected by war and for the peace of the world at our services on Remembrance Sunday (8^th November). There will be services in our churches that day, and we shall be keeping the traditional 2 minutes silence. Everyone is welcome to join us for this special occasion. We hope to see you in church. Even if you can't get to church, do remember those affected by warfare around the world, and contribute to your favourite ex-service charity, such as "Help for Heroes".

Although I was brought up in the period immediately after the Second World War, and my father had been in the forces throughout that conflict (and my grandfather had been in the Great War), I suppose my own personal heroes as a youngster were those closest to me in my own family - my dad and granddad, of course, but also my mum and my grandmothers, aunts, uncles and cousins. Most of them are dead now, but I still look back on their lives and their influence on me with love and gratitude. Each November, the Church keeps a time to remember those we have loved who have died. All Souls' Day is at the start of the month, but this year we are holding a special All Soul's-tide service at Wrockwardine Church on Sunday 15^th November at 6.30 pm. We shall be remembering all those we know about who have died in the last year or so, and we invite everyone who has been bereaved to come to that service. If you would like us to remember someone who was close to you and has died and mention them in that service, please let me know by phoning 01952-251857, emailing david@wdtm.org.uk, or writing to me at the Rectory, Wrockwardine, TF6 5DD. Again, we hope to see you at the service.

Yet another kind of hero is our new Bishop of Shrewsbury! Bishop Mark Rylands will be welcomed into this Diocese of Lichfield on 1^st November, and into this area of the diocese on 2^nd November. We hope to see him here very soon. Please do think of him and his family as they move to Shropshire.

And our final hero is Nicole Pua. She has come here from Malaysia as a St. Chad's Volunteer, and will be working with us in this Deanery for the next year on a voluntary basis. Nicole will work mainly in our worship and with young people, and you will see her around the area. Nicole is an intelligent young person with skills in music, IT and administration. She is also blind. We know we have a lot to learn from her and a lot to gain from our time working with her. If you have a visual impairment, or anyone you know is blind or partially sighted, you might like to talk to Nicole about the issues you face in your daily life. We would love to hear from you (contact details above). And do say hello to Nicole when you meet her!

I'm sure you have your own personal heroes, but those are some of mine. I am so grateful that I have known the heroes that have played a part in my life. Perhaps you are, too? Please pray that each of us may be a hero to someone in our life who will remember us with gratitude later in their journey through life.

David Chantrey (Team Rector and Rural Dean)

The Old Wrockwardiners
At Wrockwardine Village Hall on 28^th November 2009
Everyone who has had connections with the village of Wrockwardine, either lived in or near the village and/or attended the village school, and who was born before 1955, is warmly invited to attend a grand get-together on 28^th November from 4 pm for a social afternoon/evening of chit chat of days gone by. Further details can be obtained from Rhoda Harper (nee Wyatt) 01952 252560, Mabel Arrowsmith (nee Lovett) 01952 223635 and Paul/Jenny Bevis 01952 243345

We hope to be able to reminisce about our lives and have a lot of laughs together. Please bring photographs showing the now and then. We are also inviting you to bring along a plate of food so that we can all share a supper together with drink of some kind. But please do remember that most of us will be driving.

Please come along and bring your friends and make this a truly memorable evening.

Flower Festival Thanks
We have had some wonderful Flower Festivals recently. Special thanks for all those involved with the Flower Festival at Wrockwardine and the Flower Festival at Upton Magna. A huge amount of hard work went into the planning, organizing and running of these events. The flowers were superb. The refreshments were excellent. We have had so many good comments about the Flower Festivals. Hank you so much to everyone!

Harvest Festivals
Although we have already held some of our Harvest Festivals, there are still some to come! You are welcome to attend any of them, of course. Please note especially:

Wrockwardine Harvest Festival on Friday 2^nd October at 6.30 pm in Church
Followed by the Harvest Supper in Wrockwardine Village Hall.

We hope to see you there.

Condolences
The following funerals have taken place recently:

Terry Davies from Rodington; June Jordan from Bratton; Andrew Bayley from Walcot; and Leona Whittles from Upton Magna.

We have also heard of the following deaths of people whose funerals took place elsewhere, but who might have been known to some in this area: David Dowling; Andrew Miles; and Brie Summerhayes.

Our condolences go to the families and friends of all these people, and to all who are bereaved.

Wedding Bells
We congratulate all those married in the last few months, especially:

Roy and Jennifer (née Childs) Williams who were married at Wrockwardine church on Saturday 8^th August;
Andrew and Alex (née Owen) Millichamp who were married at Upton Magna church on Saturday 8^th August;
Dominic and Rashae (née Joseph) Bagnall who were married at Wrockwardine church on Saturday 29^th August;
Richard and Nikki (née Elkington) Matheson who were married at Wrockwardine church on Saturday 12^th September; and
Michael and Kyra (née Wakelam) Foden who were married at Wrockwardine church on Saturday 19^th September.

We pray that their marriages may be life-giving and life long.

Baptisms
Congratulations to the following children who were baptized in August and September at Wrockwardine church: Grace Evie Anderson; Thomas Johnson; George Arthur Johnson; Cleo Hermione Robinson; Libby May Whitby; Ryan James Wyatt. We pray for them that with the support of their parents and godparents they may grow up to know and love the Lord Jesus.