St Mary the Virgin church is set in the Parish of Edstaston and Coton and is part of the PEW group of churches in North Shropshire - working together with St Chad's Prees and St Mary the Virgin Edstaston.  We are delighted to say that our new Vicar, Revd Mark Amey, is now in post and can be emailed on [email protected] and called on 07905 122090. He is holding meet and greet sessions in all three churches - St Mary’s Whixall on Saturday 28th February; St Chad’s Prees on Saturday 7th March; St Mary the Virgin Edstaston on 14th March. Introduce yourself: come and chat about hopes for the future: questions and thoughts…

...................

We occasionally live stream some of our services on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pewchurches), uploading them afterwards on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZh4Q1jD0dFPNwMTJ86UtmA) but services are now 'in-person'.

THE COMING WEEKS IN PEW:

All the following are joint services for the whole benefice and all are welcome!

Sunday 1 March 11.00am: Holy Communion St Chad’s, Prees

Monday 2 March 10.00 am: St Chad's Day service St Chad's, Prees, followed by Coffee and Cake at the Vicarage.

Sunday 8 March 11.00am: Holy Communion St Mary the Virgin, Edstaston

Sunday 15 March: Mothering Sunday

9.30am Family Worship with Communion St Chad’s, Prees

11.00am Morning Worship St Mary the Virgin, Edstaston

11.00am Holy Communion St Mary’s, Whixall

Sunday 22 March 11.00am Holy Communion St Mary’s Whixall

Sunday 29 March: Palm Sunday 11.00am Holy Communion St Chad’s, Prees

Thursday 2 April: Maundy Thursday 7.00pm The Last Supper St Mary the Virgin, Edstaston

Friday 3 April: Good Friday 10.30am Stations of the Cross for the whole family St Chad’s, Prees.

Saturday 4 April: Easter Eve Vigil 7.30pm St Mary’s, Whixall.

Sunday 5 April: Easter Day 10.15am Easter Eucharist for all the Family St Chad’s, Prees

If you wish to book a wedding or baptism, please email enquiries to [email protected] and we will get right back to you!

+++++++++++++

The church is Grade 1 Listed. It dates back to 1150 and is one of the most complete Romanesque buildings in Shropshire. The building has medieval wall paintings and Victorian stained glass windows.  The churchyard is award winning and there is a new Church burial ground donated for community use. There are toilet facilities available at the church.

There is a small but dedicated congregation with members of the wider community attending special/ festival services such as Harvest, Christmas, Easter etc.  There is a two-manual organ built by JJ Binns played by a dedicated organist. Joint and combined services with other PEW congregations offer opportunities to worship as part of a larger group. 

The PCC work extremely hard to fund raise in a variety of creative ways and parishioners work together to maintain the building and grounds. There is a monthly coffee morning during which the 100 Club draw takes place. In 'normal times' this provides an opportunity for informal meetings for the wider community.  The church has a very close relationship with the village hall, often sharing very successful and lively fundraising events, such as their Beer Festival, concerts, comedy nights etc; these events have enabled the hall committee to plan substantial re-development.

The Parish of Edstaston and Coton is long and narrow, extending north from the outskirts of Wem, to the southern edge of Tilstock. There are approximately 720 inhabitants in this rural area, one public house, and the village hall. The village of Edstaston is non-nucleated but the hall is the centre of much of village cultural life. There are many small businesses but primarily the area is agricultural. Young people in the parish usually attend Whixall CE Primary School and Thomas Adams Secondary.

The parish of Edstaston: St Mary the Virgin is committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults. We follow the House of Bishops' guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer: B.Hodges: 01948 840644.

The Diocese of Lichfield’s safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) who advise our PSOs. If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the DSA: 01543 221105 or 01543 306147 during office hours or 030 3003 1111 opt2 for weekend and out of hours.

If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police Protecting Vulnerable People (West Mercia Police): 0300 333 3000

and your local authority Children or Adults Services: 0345 678 9021: out of hours: 0345 678 9040