The BBC Radio Wales Celebration service for Sunday 12th March (the Second Sunday in Lent) will be a studio-based service led by the Synod Chair, Rev. Dr. Stephen Wigley.

Rev. Keith Tewkesbury was inspired by the work of All We Can after visiting Uganda a few years ago. Keith says, ‘I met some inspiring people like Jonathan, a farmer in a remote location who, with assistance from All We Can, helps his neighbours by bringing them together so they can pool their resources, develop new crops, support each other in hard times and live with confidence and faith for the future. I will never forget him. He lives so joyfully and generously and continues to inspire and motivate me to raise even more money for All We Can. I have seen first hand what a big difference to someone’s life and their community a little extra help can make. All We Can truly makes a remarkable difference.’

Having Run in the Snowdonia Half Marathon in 2015 Keith feels he’s ready for another challenge – the big one this time! He will be running in the London Marathon on 23rd April and would be grateful if anyone would like to sponsor him. If you are able to help Keith and ‘All We Can’ you can donate by clicking on the link below. Thank you.

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/keithtewkesbury1

The Wales Synod is pleased to support the work of the Amelia Trust Farm, as do many individual members who act as volunteers there and local churches which offer financial support. The Farm has a new website, so if you want to find out more about what goes on there and how you can support it please click here to visit.

This year again, Rev. Irfan John, our Synod Enabler Culturally Diverse Congregations, Wales, arranged Christmas programmes in different locations with the same purpose: to introduce culturally diverse congregations to each other and to the local community.

Caldicot: On 26^th November, the famous Nativity was taken to Caldicot. The churches of the town came together in unity to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The team started out by singing carols out on the high street of Caldicot and later went inside the Caldicot Methodist Church to perform the multi-ethnic nativity play.

Swansea: On 4^th December, at Uniting Church Sketty, carols were sung in various languages by people of multi-ethnic origin. The Word of God was shared and the body of Christ enjoyed fellowship together with food and by cake cutting.

Cardiff: In Cardiff, there was another proclamation and celebration of the birth of Jesus. The Urdu Fellowship sang Christmas Carols during the Christmas Bazaar at Trinity Centre. From there, they went to the Cardiff High Street to publicly do carol singing there in various languages including, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, English and Welsh.

Newport, Merthyr, Bargoed and Haverfordwest: Along with the places above, the message of Christmas was shared in homes as groups went for Carol singing in these places also. The way the angels proclaimed Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, people of many ages and backgrounds shared in this message this Christmas.

Congratulations to TCC, the broad-based community organisation in North East Wales which has won a 2016 Guardian Charity Award particularly for its work with the Syrian Refugee resettlement project. Both Regent Street, Wrexham and St Andrew’s, Connah’s Quay are members of TCC and the article on the Guardian website (below) includes footage of Rev Richard Sharples explaining the project.

A group of over 25 people of all ages and from different churches in Buckley and Mold set off together to walk from Our Lady of the Rosary, Buckley to Mold, St David’s Catholic Church, reflecting on the suffering of migrants, and their perils as they attempt the dangerous crossing of the seas in the hope for a better future. We took it in turns to carry the simple Lampedusa cross, put together by an Italian carpenter, made out of drift wood of stranded migrant ships. For too many of the migrants the wrecked ships not only shattered their dreams of arriving in their new ‘Heimat’ but also broke up families and are stark reminder of the many lost lives. The ‘lucky’ ones who arrived safely still feel lost, hurt and not always welcome. Yet this cross is also a symbol of the immense generosity of many unsung heroes, who welcomed these strangers with open arms, sharing the little they have. Some of the participants are pictured at one of the prayer stops on the pilgrimage; Buckley Cross Methodist Church, with the Revd Rosemarie Clarke holding the Lampedusa Cross in the centre of the picture.
Katja Jewell & Rosemarie Clarke

Mission Celebrations in Swansea

Penlan Methodist Church was pleased to host a special Mission celebration last Sunday 9th October. Folk from the Swansea & Gower Circuit were joined by members of the Zimbabwean Fellowship from Newport and Bristol for an afternoon of fun, food and fellowship – and the opportunity to do some drumming. The celebrations were organised by Rev Siperire Mugadzaweta and Win Hawkins and included the opportunity to hear more about the work of the Circuit Mission project the Zimbabwe Orphans (ZRJ) charity.

Jeff Coleman receiving his long-service LP certificate with the Superintendent Howard Long and the Synod Chair.

The celebrations concluded with a service at which the Synod Chair preached on the theme of ‘Holiness and Justice’ and Mr Jeff Coleman was presented with a certificate marking 40 years as a Local Preacher.

The Advent Offering service is a connexion-wide event that raises money for the ongoing work of the Mission in Britain Fund.

This year the theme is ‘Are we there yet?’ looking at the journey Ogof Adullam, a new drop-in centre in Swansea, has recently been on.

If you represent your church or circuit you are encouraged to ‘save the date’ for an Advent Offering service between the 27 November and 24 December.

The Connexion have made it easy to hold your own service, with prepared tailorable and engaging worship materials, including leader’s notes, children’s resources and Power Point.

If you are interested in receiving these materials please register your interest by clicking on the image to the right which will take you to the Methodist Website.

For those who listen to the Daily Service st 9.45am on Radio 4 Long Wave (or on BBC iPlayer), the service this Friday (28th August) will be led by the Wales Synod Chair, Rev. Dr. Stephen Wigley.