6th September, 2026: Hodnet Deanery Confirmation service at St Mary's

What a wonderful and blessed service of confirmation was held on 6th September at St Mary's. Five of the candidates were from St Mary's and one each from AMICA and the United Benefice.

We welcomed Bishop Sarah who led our service and confirmed each of the seven candidates into the Christian faith with the following words 'God has called you by name and made you his own. Confirm, O Lord, your servant with your Holy Spirit'.

The candidates were very well supported by friends, family and members of their church congregations. Many of us recalled our own confirmations as Bishop Sarah preached about confirmation being a start in the walk with the Holy Spirit. As a special touch, one of the candidates sang the opening verse of 'Make me a channel of Your peace' as a solo.

After the service, everyone shared in refreshments, including home made cakes.

Defend, O Lord, these your servants with your heavenly grace, that they may continue yours for ever, and daily increase in your Holy Spirit more and more until they come to your everlasting kingdom. Amen

Games Cafe Opens

St Mary's launches Games Cafe to run during the second and fourth Tuesday afternoons during October to February.

Join us for afternoon filled with board games, card games, fun and laughter. Bring your own games or join others with theirs.

Refreshments provided.

Mothers Union Celebration

St Mary’s MOTHERS UNION held a special party in The Parish Rooms, Market Drayton on Monday 14th July to celebrate 3 of their ladies having been members of this wonderful worldwide organisation for 62, 60 and 60 years.

Molly Lucas, Beryl Hinton and Mary Leonard-Johnson were presented with certificates to mark the occasion by Vicar Catherine McBride and fellow members and friends enjoyed a social afternoon of tea, cake and quizzes.

Arson at St Mary's

St Mary’s would like to thank everyone in town for their concern and kind words of support following the recent fire at the church.

A door to the rear of the church was badly damaged and will need to be replaced, but thankfully the fire didn’t spread to the inside of the church. The main issue inside will be dealing with the smell of smoke, meaning carpets and upholstery will need to be cleaned.

It’s quite clear that the fire was deliberately started, so if anyone does have any information which may help the police with their enquiries, we would encourage them to contact West Mercia Police quoting incident number 68i of June 9, 2025.

Thank you again

Organ Fund Appeal off to a great start - nearly £1,700 raised in one night!

On Saturday 3rd May, we held a social in the Parish Rooms in aid of the church organ fund.

Our members came together to provide entertainment and a lovely sociable meal.

Our scratch choir opened the evening with a hymn 'As the Deer Pants'.

We were entertained by music: various duets, a string trio, and the Tern Valley Tinkers.

David, our MC, mused about his love of Handel and we laughed out loud at Stephanie's Black Country jokes.

We thanks Gill's Puddings and Field Floristry for their donations of desserts and flowers.

We are truly blessed with talented members. Everyone has said how very much they enjoyed themselves and that we must do it again.

An excellent start to our organ fund. Nearly £1,700 was raised. Thank you everyone who contributed and all who attended.

26th February, 2025: Confirmation in Hodnet Deanery

Four members of St Mary's were recently among others from across our Deanery to be confirmed by Bishop Michael.

The service, which took place last Sunday, 23rd February at Christ Church Little Drayton, was a lovely time of celebration for those being baptised and confirmed. Members of churches throught Hodnet Deanery met together to support the confirmation candidates and the service was followed by a wonderful meal of fellowship.

We thank God for all those confirmed and their commitment to Him, and pray that their knowledge and love of Him will grow as they continue their Christian lives.

Children's Choice

St Mary's was delighted to take part in this year's Ginger & Spice Festival on Saturday 28th September. The church was part of the Heritage Trail covering nearly 50 Gingerbread Characters and we welcomed over 150 visitors. We were surprised but happy to discover that the children on the trail had chosen our Alfie Hewitt gingerbreadman as their favourite. The Ginger & Spice report follows:

BEST DRESSED GINGERBREAD CHARACTER CONTEST - RESULTS

Children's Prize Winner: St Mary's Church

Congratulations to St Mary's Church!

We are delighted to announce that St Mary's Church is the Winner of the Children's Prize in the Best Dressed Gingerbread Character Contest at this year’s Original Biscuit Bakers Heritage Trail during the Ginger & Spice Festival!

The most children picked this entry as their favourite during the trail on Saturday 28th September 2024.

Character Name: Alfie Hewitt
Name of Olympic Sport 2024: Wheelchair Tennis

St Mary's wonderful contribution made a significant impact on our young participants.

Many congratulations to everyone!

A huge thanks to headline sponsors Original Biscuit Bakers and all of the supporting sponsors of the trail.

Newsletters

As a worshipping community we feel as a church that it is important to ensure that all those who are part of that community can keep up to date with what's happening within the community.

We therefore have a weekly newsletter!

Each newsletter is emailed, where we hold an email address for you, and available in church and below.

If you wish to receive the newsletter by email or see copies of earlier Newsletters, please contact the Church Office.