A large congregation had gathered for the morning Eucharist and a special service at St. Mary's Church, with the Ven. John Holdsworth, Archdeacon of St. David's, being the celebrant and preacher. The processional hymn was 'Who is this so weak and helpless.'

Rev. Holdsworth stated that he was delighted to be at St. Mary's and he announced that the new Rector of the Rectorial Benefice of Tenby is Rev. Andrew Davies - a former curate of the benefice. The announcement was greeted with much joy. The first reading of the morning was from the Book of Malachi and read by Mrs. Ruth Webb. The second reading was from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Thessalonians and was read by Mr. Tom Peake. St. Paul exhorts all to work hard for a living and not to be idle.

The third reading was from the Apostle Luke and read by Rev. Dennis Baxter. Rev. Holdsworth delivered the sermon. He stated that if he was ever asked to participate in 'Desert Island Discs', the luxury item he would choose would be the complete scripts of 'Yes Minister.' In one episode there is a perfect hospital, St. Edward's. The beds are perfectly made and in line, there is no MRSA, wages are paid on time and there are no patients.

"Sometimes this can be my perspective on the Church, too many committees, talk of clerical resources and ministry share, we have lost sight of what we are about. In this season, it is useful to focus our minds on what it is all about. The readings of 'Kingdom' are the most difficult readings to get our minds around. In The Old Testament, our forefathers relate the story as they saw it. The puzzlement is, if God intended perfection, why are we so flawed?

"In a transformed world, there would be no death, pain, or hostility. All these are with us now and were also in our forefathers. What is needed is someone to usher in a new society. This someone came two-thousand years ago - Christos-Messiah. Nothing much changed to begin with, but faith has operated and change has begun, a vision and inspiration to the world. These readings are about hope, which we must not lose and motivate us to prayer and love. With our predecessors of two- thousand years ago, let us focus on the birth of a very special child."

The sermon was followed by prayers, which were led by Mr. David Gleed.

The processional hymn was 'Thou whose almighty word.' The Eucharist was celebrated at both altars, during which the choir sang the introit, 'Jesus is this dark world's light' by Bach.

The final hymn was 'Jesus shall reign where 'er the sun'.

Tomorrow (Saturday), there will be a coffee morning for St. Mary's Choir at Church House and on Saturday evening, there will be a concert of Handel's Messiah at St. Johns Church at 7.30 pm.