A sea of blue and yellow flags and clothing adorned an estimated four hundred people who attended a vigil on Sunday 6^th March afternoon, to unite in expressing solidarity for the people of Ukraine. 

The gathering at Weston’s Italian Gardens was comprised of people from across the community with representatives of many of the local Churches and organisations.  Weston’s Town Mayor, Councillor James Clayton spoke, expressed wholehearted empathy with the calling and purpose of the vigil. 

Rev Tom Yacomeni from Locking Castle Church led the proceedings which included a time of quiet reflection and prayers, two songs from local jazz singer, Marvin Muoneke and brief messages from Rev Tom Webber - Christ Church Weston super Mare, Pastor Mike Radcliffe - Destiny Church and Deacon Gary Hoare - President of Churches Together in Weston.

A panoramic photo was taken, to be sent to a community in Ukraine as a visual expression of Weston’s solidarity and prayers.

Rev Tom Yacomeni said, ‘It was great to see so many people from Weston-super-Mare showing love and support for all the people caught up in this crisis. Our friends who are working in central Ukraine were really encouraged to know they are in our prayers and not forgotten.’

Participants tied blue and yellow ribbons to the rails around the Ukrainian flag as they prayed for the people of this war-torn nation.  They also posted messages to the people of Ukraine using their smartphones, which will be relayed through the Ukrainian Ambassador.

Penny Hynds from ROC Weston-super-Mare, the joint instigator of the event said, ‘We feel helpless in the face of the awfulness of the war in Ukraine and the images we see on our TV screens.  Coming together as people did on Sunday really does make a difference.’

Pastor Mike Radcliffe, Lead Pastor at Destiny Church and Facilitator at CLIF said, 'It was such a great opportunity to display our unity and show our solidarity as we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian friends.  Many people feel so helpless right now but praying together was and is so powerful. Thanks to all those who made it possible and to everyone who showed their support.'

Deacon Gary Hoare, President of Churches Together in Weston-super-Mare said, 'This vigil was an encouragement to many people that I spoke to, to stand in unity as we did, brought strength and hope to them.  I believe that each prayer counts.  May I express a big ‘thank you’ to Penny Hynds of ROC WsM, CLIF (Church Leaders in Fellowship), North Somerset Council, the many supporting councillors and the Avon and Somerset Police for helping to enable this vigil to take place so speedily, with 48 hours’ notice.  We are indebted to you all.'

More photos of the event are available on the Churches Together Facebook Page

Weston's Italian Gardens will be a sea of blue and yellow when the town holds a peaceful vigil for Ukraine this coming Sunday.

The event is being held as a show of support and solidarity to the people of this eastern European country, which has faced devastation during Russia's barbaric invasion.

On Sunday (March 6) at 4pm, people will gather at the vigil organised by ROC WSM and Churches Together Church Leaders, supported by faith groups and local political parties.  The vigil will be led by Rev Tom Yacomeni (Locking Castle Church) with contributions from Deacon Gary Hoare (Milton Methodist Church / President of Weston Churches Together), Pastor Mike Radcliffe (Destiny Church / CLIF) and several others.  Weston's Town Mayor, Councillor James Clayton will be attending the gathering.

Rev Tom Yacomeni said, "This is a time for everyone to gather and spend some time in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.  A time to be thinking of friends and family and saying some prayers for everyone caught up in the crisis."

Penny Hynds, chair of Redeeming our Communities, said: "People are feeling so helpless as they see what's happening in the Ukraine, and this Sunday will give everyone a chance to come together and show their support for the people of that beloved country.

"For me, it means a lot just to be able to take a stand against this injustice, in unity with others across the town who feel the same way.”

People attending are invited to wear blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, and to bring banners, flags, and blue and yellow flowers.

They will have the opportunity to leave their own messages to the people of Ukraine, which will be forwarded to the Ukrainian ambassador of the UK.

The vigil will last for about an hour and will include a few short addresses, prayers and reflective silence. It will end with some messages from Ukrainian people along with suggestions about how people can help Ukraine practically.

Gary Hoare, President of Churches Together in Weston-super-Mare, said: "This is a crisis that has made a huge impression on us all. Along with people across the community, we want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to connect as one united voice, and also to find out what they can do."

The Vigil is being held at the Italian Gardens opposite the Sovereign Centre on Weston High Street at 4pm. See the ROC WSM Facebook Page.

Some ways to support Ukraine:

We are not doing a collection, but recommending some options among many:

1. Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)

2. Christian Aid

3. Kreativity Ukraine (Locking Castle Church Contact)

4. AirBNB - Ukraine

The Blakehay Theatre, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1JZ

Fri 8th April 2022 - Sat 9th April 2022

** We regret to inform you that this event has sadly been postponed ** Please contact the Blakehay Theatre box office for ticket refunds

Weston Gospel Bayfest is a celebration of Gospel music and features bands, singers and musicians from throughout the British Isles in support of Ukraine.

The weekend will be hosted by Colin Elliott and Roy Dreaning from the band, Live Issue. Live Issue is based in Northern Ireland and was the first Country Gospel band from the UK to be invited to play on the stage of the famous Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Since then, they have toured extensively throughout the UK, Europe and the USA sharing their Christian faith through their music. In 2018 Live Issue hosted a popular television series for Revelation TV, which brought together singers and musicians from all over the British Isles and America.

This is the first year of Weston Gospel Bayfest and as well as Live Issue, each programme will include other top quality Gospel singers and groups.

These include, the band Kingdom Bound and renowned vocalist Sharon Morrison from Northern Ireland, pianist and worship leader Andrew Mantle from Cardiff, singer / songwriter Andrew Williams from Weston-Super-Mare and The Hope Country Gospel Band from Hereford.

Live Issue is also delighted to announce that top pianist and arranger, Richard Lennox will also be joining this talented line-up for the weekend! 

This is the first Gospel music weekend of its kind in Weston-Super-Mare for many years and we hope you will be able to join us for what promises to be a memorable weekend of music and praise.

The three concerts take place at the Blakehay Theatre, Wadham Street, Weston-super-Mare on:

Friday 8^th April, 7pm - 10.30pm 
Saturday 9^th April, 2.30 - 4.30pm
Saturday 9^th April, 7pm - 10.30pm 

Tickets are £10 to £15 per concert available HERE

Weekend Offer - Book for all three concerts for only £35.00

Proceeds from the weekend after costs will be sent to assist the people of Ukraine..

N.B When booking for the Weekend offer, please book your seats for all three events before checking out then your discount will then be applied at the checkout.

For more information and updates, please visit https://gospelbayfest.com/

Download Flyer A4 Download Flyer A5 Download HD Slides Download 4:3 Slide

For more info, click here

JOIN OUR VOLUNTEER TEAM

We are looking for volunteers to join our team at our Weston-Super-Mare Salvation Army Centre.

The Weston-Super-Mare Centre has an active Food Bank on Thursdays & a Lunch Club on Wednesdays and aims to serve and support those in the local and wider community irrespective of their background.

As a Salvation Army Centre Volunteer, you may:

• Assist the Community Programme Coordinator (CPM) with food sorting & distribution of food bags to the homeless & vulnerable on Thursdays
• Help unload food box deliveries to the Centre & occasionally assist with supermarket food box collections
• Assist with the Wednesday Lunch Club as required
• Other volunteer tasks as directed by the CPM

Volunteer qualities seeking:

• A passion for serving the most marginalized & vulnerable in your local WSM community
• A friendly and supportive beneficiary centred approach • A positive attitude & respectful to the Salvation Army’s core values
• A team player & organised
• Physically able (for Food Bank Day & food deliveries)
• Available to volunteer Wed &/ or Thursdays for 2-6.5 hours

Volunteer Hours:

Wednesdays 10.30 am - 2.30 pm
Lunch Club & Food Collections
(Negotiable shifts: half day or 10.30 am - 11.30 pm or 11.30 am - 2.30 pm)

&/or

Thursdays 10.00 am – 4.30 pm
Food Bank & Food Collections
(Negotiable shifts: all day or 10.00 am – 1.00 pm or 1.45 pm – 4.30 pm)

Closing Date:

21 February 2022
Interviews will be conducted on a Tuesday & suitable applicants may be interviewed prior to the closing date. However, all applications received by 21 Feb 2022 will be considered. After this date we can add your contact details to our volunteer enquiries list & inform you of any future opportunities as they arise.

Volunteer Application Procedure:

For further details and to apply please email Weston-Super-Mare’s Community Programme Coordinator requesting a volunteer application pack

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Waiting and Longing in Advent

Led by Revd Angie Hoare

Saturday 27th November
10am—3pm

Christian Retreat Centre,
Uphill Methodist Church BS23 4SD
Lunch included
Suggested donation £6
Call 633311 to book

Download PDF

Our Lady of Lourdes Church will be celebrating Climate Sunday on Sunday 3rd October, during the Season of Creation (September 1st to October 4th) and before COP26.

At 9.15 on the 3rd at Our Lady of Lourdes on Baytree Road the young people will be singing and doing the readings.

Also at the start of Mass a youngster will be narrating as a Globe, Jug of Clean Water, Bowl of Soil, Seeds and A plant with fruit, are placed in front of the altar.

They have a pledge about tree planting planned for later in the year.

The Children's Liturgy will be working on actions they can take and drawing these. At the end of Mass they will be asking adults to pledge actions for ‘Go Green’.

The Church is inviting everyone to wear green on the day. The planning team, coordinated by the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Pastoral Council gleaned many ideas from relevant websites, Climate Sunday resources, Season of Creation and Cafod as they planned the occasion.

These drawings show the rewilding of the Church Garden at Our Lady of Lourdes in the Summer. Also a 5 year old and a 10 year old's thoughts about how we can Care for Our Common Home.

OPEN LETTER TO JOHN PENROSE MP FOR PUBLICATION IN THE WESTON MERCURY / 7 September 2021

Dear Mr Penrose,

We are writing to you collectively to urge the Prime Minister not to go ahead with the planned £20 per week cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit.

Last week, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reported 23% of families in Weston-super-Mare are in receipt of Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit – a total of 9,980 families.

Even more concerning, 41% of families with children are in receipt of Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit – a total of 5,280 families.
In March 2020, faced with the pandemic, the Government did the right thing and increased Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit by £20 per week. However, this £20 per week is scheduled to be cut from October 6th affecting almost 10,000 families in your constituency, including four out of every ten families with children.

All six previous Secretaries of State for Works and Pensions since 2010, the Work and Pensions Committee, the Lords Economic Affairs Committee, the Conservative Northern Research Group and the Conservative One Nation Caucus have warned against this cut and its devastating effect.

More than a million people could be forced to turn to food banks. For many, an additional £80 a month is the difference between being able to eat and having to choose between heating and food. It has been calculated £20 a week is equivalent to six days of energy costs or three days of food costs for a low-income family.

We want a social security system that supports families to escape poverty rather than pulling them deeper into it. This cut risks causing immense, immediate, and avoidable hardship. A strong social security system is a crucial first step to building back better.
We strongly

Yours faithfully

The Salvation Army – Weston-super-Mare

JOIN OUR TEAM...

One of the UK’s most inspiring and best-known faith-based organisations are looking for an experienced Community Programme Coordinator to join our team in Weston Super mare.

Weston Super mare corps has an active food bank and lunch club and it aims to serve and support those in the local and wider community irrespective of their background.

As the Community Programme Coordinator, you will:

• Manage and be involved in Thursday Food bank
• Encourage engagement in Christian activities by acting as a role model and facilitator.
• Lead on establishing links to the community and any relevant external agencies to maximise the effective delivery of projects within the community
• Use the Corps vehicle to collect donations

To be successful in the role you will be able to demonstrate:

• Willingness to work within and be an enthusiastic advocate of our Christian ethos and values in the community (A.I)
• The ability to prioritise, organise and manage a busy workload to meet objectives
• Have a clean driving licence

SALARY:
£10.11 -11.70 per hour

WORKING HOURS:
16 hours per week (Thurs 9.30-4.30pm, other hours to mutually suit)

CONTRACT:
Fixed Term 1 year

DETAILS:
25 days annual leave + bank holidays (pro rata for part-time); a contributory pension scheme; season ticket loan; an employee assistance programme

CLOSING DATE:
16.8.21

INTERVIEW DATE:
24.8.21

Welcome to February 2021ROC Weston Opportunities Newsletter.

Important Notices

Next Action Group Zoom
Meeting 23rd Feb at 14:00 – 15:00
Meeting ID: 275 091 3491
Passcode: K1ndne55

Opportunity: Community Grocery Food Club Development Consultant Required.
Paid role to develop 3 community groceries / food clubs across Weston and Worle.

Join our growing band of community mentors.
This is a rewarding and valuable initiative helping young people and families in our community. We now need to recruit more volunteers to join the team.

Dragons Den Community Project Funding Available.
We are actively looking for applications from individuals who have a community project idea that requires some seed funding to get going.

Food Club Development Consultant Wanted

Opportunity: Community Grocery Food Club Project
We are part of a coalition of local agencies seeking a consultant /project worker with community development skills and experience to help the coalition to develop 3 food clubs in Weston and Worle. The project will specifically involve:

• Research other food club models around the country and locally • Work with each local area to build on and develop local membership
• Develop viable business plans for each club
• Research and identify possible locations
• Set up recruitment process if and where necessary
• Establish a shared and agreed set of base line protocols
• Encourage continuous co-operation and collaboration between the projects
• Be led by community priorities

This is a paid role and interested applicants should contact:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Please circulate this and all these opportunities amongst your networks.

ROC Coach Community Mentoring

ROC Community Mentoring is an initiative set up to improve the quality of life for young people and their families. We believe that stronger families produce stronger and healthier communities and that with the support of a ROC Mentor, young people and their families can reach their true potential and flourish. Our volunteer mentors are fully trained and drawn from across the local area, bringing with them a wealth of skills, knowledge and life experience and all are passionate about making a difference in their community. to be part of this team please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ROC + NS VRU “Dragons Den” project funding

North Somerset VRU have some funding available for seed funding small projects in Weston and Worle communities working with ROC Weston to help select and monitor progress in a “Dragons den” Style selection process. The aim of the funding is to seed new or support existing projects that will have an effect in the following areas:

• Reducing youth violence
• Raising awareness of knife crime
• Reducing domestic violence
• Reducing alcohol related violence
• Increasing the safety of the local area

Application forms can be found by clicking here : Application Form

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Download PDF Here