17th Sunday after Trinity/Paul Feast
Bible readings: Genesis 28:11-18;
Matthew 25:31-40
All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE to become 106th Archbishop of Canterbury
His Majesty The King has approved the nomination of the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, Downing Street has announced. The 106th Archbishop of Canterbury since Saint Augustine arrived in Kent from Rome in 597, Bishop Sarah will be the first woman to hold the office. She will be installed in a service at Canterbury Cathedral in March 2026. Sarah Mullally has been the Bishop of London since 2018, the first woman appointed to that role, and before that was Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter.
The Rt Revd David Williams, Bishop of Truro, and the Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, Bishop of St Germans and Bishop to the Armed Forces said: ‘We are delighted at the news of the appointment of The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE as Archbishop of Canterbury. We are grateful for her faithful response to being called into this role and she can be assured of our prayers not just today but every day of her ministry.’ – Churches Together in Cornwall
Open Review of Deanery Plan at Paul Church Hall
Saturday 15th November
The meeting will be from 10.00am – 4.00pm,with refreshments from 9.30am at Paul Church Hall. There will also be refreshments
in the morning and afternoon break, as well as lunch. The meeting is for anyone from all Deanery churches who wish to attend. Do please consider coming to this important event. There is parking at Paul Church available. The no. 5 bus from Penzance goes to Paul, via Newlyn, for those who may wish to attend but don’t have access to car transport. The meeting will honestly review the current Deanery Plan – the latest version will be circulated before the meeting.
Weekly Newsletter/blog and website
Please send all information for the Sunday newsletter/blog by Wednesday evening to Josie at penleeclusternewsletter@gmail.com. For anything else specifically website-related, please contact Chris at communications@penleecluster.org.uk.
Celtic Morning Prayer
Each weekday morning on zoom from 8.00am – 8.30am. If you would like to attend, please email Keno admin@penleecluster.org.uk for zoom details.
Julian Prayer Group
The Julian Group will meet on zoom at 6.00pm this Sunday, 12th October. If you would like to attend, please email Mel at
mlevesconte@hotmail.co.uk for zoom details.
Prayer Requests
If you are concerned about someone and would like their name included in the Prayer Request Group’s weekly prayer list, please do email Mel at mlevesconte@hotmail.co.uk by 7.00pm on Tuesday evenings.
CLUSTER INFORMATION & EVENTS
Sustainable Sunday
We welcomed many families into St John’s Church for Sustainable Sunday on Sunday 5th October, some for the first time. They enjoyed the free soft play session and almost everyone left with a new book and/or item of clothing! Very positive feedback and we plan more Sustainable Sunday events on 9th November and 7th December, from 3.30pm – 5.30pm, ending with a meal at 5.30pm. More details to follow – save the dates! Many thanks to those who donated such lovely books and clothes. We have encouraged people to come back and swap their books at the next event to keep it sustainable but donations will be welcome. – Jenny, Family Worker
St. John’s Anniversary
St John’s Church in Penzance is 144 years old! Many of us would like to add ‘Many Happy Returns’ to that! The church’s anniversary of consecration was on 4th October and we celebrated at the St John’s Friday Morning service of Holy Communion two days before. As well as the Mothers’ Union prayers we included this prayer: ‘Almighty God whose Glory we celebrate the consecration of this house of prayer, we give you thanks for the fellowship of those who worship, and those who have worshipped, in this place for 144 years. We pray that all who seek you here may find you, and be filled with joy and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.’ After our service we continued to celebrate in style with teas or coffees and delicious cake! – Rev. Derath
Seychelle Night Pastors
Vicky is back from her mission in the Seychelles. She went with foreboding, anticipating that Seychelles Night Pastors would be wound up. Far from it! We had a blessing in the Roman Catholic Cathedral for our 10 year anniversary and 15 volunteers turned up. We have a new Chair, Rev Christine Benoit, to replace the former one, Archdeacon Danny Elizabeth, who is the new Bishop and the second Seychellois Bishop in the history of the Anglican Church in Seychelles. A vice chair will be sought from amongst the RC priests – there are four new ones, all young, all Seychellois. We had a good board meeting. Future dates were set. A new coordinator is to be appointed. Offers of laptops and a new base have been made. Recruitment forms for new volunteers are being given out. So everything is very encouraging. Some of us visited a brand new drug rehabilitation centre called La Ferme de l’Espoir, part of an international network. Seychelles has the highest use of heroin in the world so it is very much welcomed. Your prayers are requested for a second, run-off presidential election next weekend. – Vicky, St. Mary’s
Music Mondays at St. John’s
Family workers Molly & Jenny welcomed families to St John’s church this week for the first Music Monday – children from 0-3 years enjoyed some songs and music with Jenny as well as free entry to Sea Life Soft Play. Open every Monday in term time with free drop-in sessions with Molly for family support.
St. Peter’s Annual Fundraiser
On a blustery Saturday afternoon (it was blowing a hoolie), St Peter’s held its fourth annual cream tea for Macmillan Cancer Care. There was a good attendance considering the weather, including four lads from Bristol, who were in Newlyn for the weekend and just happened to see the poster on Newlyn bridge. The afternoon was enjoyed by all and approximately £243 has been raised for Macmillan. – Lynda, St. Peter’s
Play and Pray at St Mary’s
A big thank you to all who have donated resources for this project – please let others know that there is a warm welcome for children in the church. Anybody is welcome to write a thought or prayer related to the environment on the ‘leaves’ on the display – it is for all, not just children! – Jenny, Family Worker
West Cornwall Legal Aid Centre (WCLAC)
18th September saw the opening celebration of the West Cornwall Legal Aid Centre (WCLAC) by Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho, at Trelya in Penzance. This much-needed venture offers free legal advice for those who need it. WCLAC is the vision of John Gallagher (barrister) – known to many of us here in the Cluster as he worships at St Mary’s Church. He has recruited many volunteer lawyers across many legal disciplines to join him. John has worked tirelessly to see this happen in our area; this new venture is supported by LawWorks, a charity which connects volunteer lawyers with people in need of legal advice, who are not eligible for legal aid and cannot afford to pay. WCLAC opened its doors on Thursday 25th September for its first session, running from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. It was expected that there might be a slow uptake…however, this was not to be, as the centre was inundated! Which of course demonstrates the need! Weekly sessions will run every Thursday between these times, offering free legal advice to anyone who needs it. The sessions can be accessed at Trelya Community Hub, based at the Lescudjack Centre, on the Treneere Estate. – Rev. Derath
October Holiday Club
We are running holiday club for four days in half term. To keep costs down as much as possible, we have sourced some free activities for the children: these will be visits to Godolphin House, Helston Museum and Flicka Donkey Sanctuary, care home visits with Generations United as well as cooking and crafts in St Mary’s Church supported by Sally Crabtree, artist. Could you sponsor a place for a child for a day at holiday club? A donation of £5 would cover this. Many of you will donate to food banks – for the holiday club week (27th – 31st October) might you be able to donate food to Holiday Club instead? We are looking for the following items for picnic lunches on two days (food to be in date for 31st October): bread rolls (packs of 12 rolls) 6 packs; butter – 2 tubs; ham – 2 packs of 30 slices; cheese – 2 packs of grated cheese; crisps – 2 packs of 30 packets; fruit – apples, oranges, bananas; yogurts – Frubes 8 packs; cakes – enough for 25 people per day! If you are able to help with any of these items, please let Molly or Jenny know at molly.blewett@penleecluster.org.uk or jenny.orpwood@penleecluster.org.uk. Many thanks for your continued support to local children and thank you so much to everyone who has already donated. – Molly & Jenny, Family Workers
OTHER INFORMATION & EVENTS
Churches Together in the Penzance Area (CTiPA) Forum Meeting
Tuesday 14th October
The CTiPA Forum meeting will be held on Tuesday 14th October at 7.00pm, at the Salvation Army on Queen’s Street.
