Although the day dawned misty and damp, the atmosphere in St. Mary's Church was warm and welcoming.

A full peal of eight tower bells rang out, rung by six Tenby ringers and two visiting ringers, calling all to worship. A large congregation had gathered for the morning Eucharist.

The service was in the care of Rev. Andrew Davies and the processional hymn was 'Praise to the Lord, the Almighty'.

Rev. Andrew warmly welcomed one and all to this special patronal service for St. Mary - the guardian Saint of the Church. He welcomed those present that had worked so hard to make the flower festival a success, the families of the late Mr. Keith Hine and Mr. Cecil Cole - erstwhile gardeners of St. Mary's and Ms. Jo Horton and Mr. Phil Thomas, representatives of the charities supported by the flower festival.

Mrs. Heidi Griffiths, Mrs. Jayne Rees and Rev. Michael John read the morning's readings.

Heidi read from the Book of Genesis, relating to the planting of the Garden of Eden with the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Jayne read from the Book of Revelations, again relating to the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruits. Rev. Michael read from the Gospel of John. Mary Magdalene stood weeping in the garden outside the tomb. She saw two angels sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying. She heard a voice and turned, supposing the gentleman to be the gardener - but it was Jesus.

Rev. Andrew delivered the sermon and took as his theme - Gardeners and Gardens. 'There are a lot of gardens mentioned in the Bible - The Garden of Paradise, the Garden of Eden, The Garden of Gethsemane and the garden where Mary Magdalene met Jesus at the tomb.

'The first gardener was Adam and the second gardener was our Lord Jesus - known as the second Adam as he tends to our needs and makes us grow in faith. Gardens are a place of tranquillity and we are here today to give thanks and to remember and honour, two hardworking, kind gentlemen - Keith and Cecil who were gardeners at this church.

'Both were of a tranquil nature and gave solace to many visiting the Garden of Remembrance. Jesus, through his death, guaranteed us eternal life - today you will be with me in paradise.'

Rev. Andrew went on to present the flower festival donations to the charities of The Paul Sartori Foundation and Ty Hafan. Each received a cheque for £1,537. Jo Horton received the cheque on behalf of Paul Sartori. Jo gave a résumé of the work of the foundation in giving support and palliative care to patients with cancer and other life limiting illnesses. Paul Sartori was a charismatic catholic priest, who unfortunately died of cancer at a comparatively young age.

Phil Thomas received the cheque on behalf of Ty Hafan. Ty Hafan is a children's hospice in Sully, near Barry. Phil said that Ty Hafan was a happy place where children go for treatment and respite care. They have 10 rooms and eight family rooms. As all these facilities are free and the hospice requires £2.5 million per annum to keep its doors open. All this money comes from charitable donations, as they do not receive any government funding. He thanked the church sincerely for the money received.

The Rector also called on Mr. Stan Caswell to come forward to receive a gift for his wonderful painting depicting various aspects of St. Mary's. This painting will now be forwarded to Captain John Miles - warden of St. Mary's for many years - who has retired to Yorkshire.

The intercessions were led by Mrs. Gina Silverman.

The offertory hymn was 'Christ triumphant, ever reigning'.

The Eucharist was celebrated at both altars with Rev. Andrew as the celebrant and all were invited to share in the body of our risen Lord.

During communion, the choir - led by Dr. John Harrison, with Andrew Cusworth on the organ - sang 'O Jesu King' by Tallis and 'Cantate Domino' by Pitoni.

The recessional hymn was 'Crown Him with many crowns'.

The crucifer - Mr. Lyn Rees and choir led the procession of clergy, churchwardens - Mrs. Valerie Paley and Mr. Clive Webb, the families of Mr. Hine and Mr. Cole and the congregation out into The Keith Hine and Cecil Cole Garden for the dedication service.

Rev. Andrew thanked those who had worked so hard to bring the Garden to fruition. The builders - Martin Hurlow and his men had made a magnificent job, Philip Brace - the new gardener who had succeeded in bringing colour and harmony to the garden in such a short time.

There followed a reception for all on the church green, with refreshments provided and served by the gentlemen of The Soupermen Team of St. Mary's, led by Mr. Terry Evans.