REPORTS FROM THE CHURCHES
Farewell and Thank You to Canon Roger
All six churches in the South West Gower Cluster join in sending a sincere and fond farewell to Canon Roger. We want to express our great appreciation for his service among us, with deep faith, sense of humour, humility, generosity, understanding and love, encouraging us to be faithful and to trust in the Lord. He will be much missed here but we pray God’s peace and happiness will be with him and his family in their home in Penclawdd.
St David’s, Llanddewi
The theme ‘Walking with God’ brings to my mind the words of the old hymn ‘When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word…trust and obey’. Walking with anyone means keeping alongside, not running ahead, not lagging behind nor straying aside: intentionally keeping company and so being able to listen, talk and share thoughts, while at the same time being on the move. Walking with God implies being open to spiritual encounter with the intention of some outcome for good: better understanding of who God is, what he has done and is doing with us and for us, insight into where we are in our relationship with him and his purposes for us and the world he created and loves. We walk with God in prayer, in studying his word and in seeking to act in obedience to his law based on love: with humility, mercy and upholding justice. We come to recognise our dependence on God for achieving goodness in the world.
I am challenged by our current church Bible study of the prophet Habbakuk, who lived in a period of faithlessness, corruption and injustice. He sought God’s intervention and heard God’s message: that God’s plan for putting things right would follow a period of war and terror for Israel. We can see ourselves in a similar situation of war, general danger and confusion. I quote Canon Tom Wright: “The prophets offer God’s message of great promises with great warnings… Dare we take the prophets seriously as a model of the church and its mission?”
Penny Henderson
St Andrew’s, Penrice
The summer seems to be passing by very quickly as already this is for the July magazine. The exam season is well under way and to all the young people sitting exams we send good wishes and hope the results are what they hoped to achieve. Many will be leaving school and hopefully going on to further education or to employment, but for those who fail to achieve their goals and find themselves unemployed it must be a sad and depressing experience. Opportunities are fewer these days as technology takes over, robots and AI are being increasingly used and reliance on humans is becoming less essential: maybe the strain of this is the cause of an increase in mental health problems in young people.
The theme this month is ‘Walking with God’ which I understand is a personal journey of understanding and attempting to lead one ‘s life in a Christian way. Fellowship, faith and prayer are practical ways to achieve this, but it is surely a lifelong journey with many challenges along the way.
The Mother Superior, representing the Sisters of Mercy, sent a letter of thanks to all the churches for the money that was sent to them after the Plant and Cake sale. It is gratifying to know how grateful they are and how useful the donation will be to their work.
Barry Stewart of Celtic Wild Flowers gave the third Penrice lecture this summer speaking on Gower Wild Flowers. The church was full to see his slides of so many plants, flowers, birds, moths and butterflies that are found in Gower and many unique to this area. The evening was a great success, and we look forward to him visiting us again. The final lecture this summer will be on Sept 2nd when the Revd Peter Lewis will speak on Churchyards in Gower
Angela Barnett
St Cattwg’s, Port Eynon
The Vestry Meeting for the whole Ministry Area took place on May 31st in St. Cattwg’s and there was a good attendance to hear the current financial position of the MA and to choose essential personnel to fill various posts.
The church swallows finally raised a brood of four, which look ready to fledge. Maybe they will try for still another family.
‘Walking with God’: God alwayshopes that his people will walk closely with him, paying attention to his word and also looking about them to appreciate the manifold wonders of his creation; maybe what Micah had in mind, exhorting us to walk humbly with God. A well-known poem by Dorothy Gurney describes being ‘nearer to God in a garden‘. Was it inspired by a beautiful line in Genesis about God walking in the garden in the cool of the evening? There are plenty of other glorious settings in which to feel near to God, such as in a wood, high in the mountains or by the sea. The last place gave rise to another familiar allegorical tale, in which a man challenges God about the footsteps both have left while crossing a sandy area; he challenges God for having said he would be with him always, while the two sets of footprints have given way to only one set just at a time when the man was feeling low. God tells his ‘precious child’ that it was at that point he picked him up and carried him. The word ‘walking’ could stand for our whole life of getting to know God well, by being obedient and always listening and talking to him at home, by day and night, in church, at work or at play, in times of triumph and elation or of suffering and fear. We can rely on him for support and comfort, even in the Valley of Death.
Susan Morris
St George’s, Reynoldston
There was a good congregation of members, plus some visitors, at Revd Roger’s last service in Reynoldston, showing our appreciation for his ministry and friendship among us. He will be recalled for his warmth, sense of humour and interest in everyone as well as his spiritual leadership. He has played a valuable role in our worshipping community – assisting Revd Justin, then essential during the interregnum and now support for Revd Peter in the large Ministry Area. He had chosen the hymns for the service and ‘Cwm Rhondda’ was sung with great ‘hwyl’. We wish him and his family well in his retirement and are pleased that he will not be too far away in Penclawdd!
We were very pleased to welcome Sian and Ian to recent Services, in preparation for their wedding on June 22nd and we wish them good health and much happiness in their married life.
Many thanks to Olivia Craddock for her contribution to our music in St George’s. In addition to playing the organ, she prepares the monthly rota for church duties. This is not an easy task as she has to share out duties among a declining number of people. We would be pleased to welcome more volunteers.
We have installed a card reader at the church. This means that financial donations to the church can be made via credit /debit cards. The system also enables the donor to cover the 5% transaction fee. Gift Aid can be claimed on these donations. This innovation will be of particular relevance in an increasingly “cashless” society for:
– Visitors to the church, especially those on the Pilgrimage Trail.
– Members of the congregation who currently contribute in cash via the collection plate who may now like to consider this method of donation.
– Those of us who would like to make an additional donation, at a special service, an anniversary or windfall!
Valerie Beynon
St Mary the Virgin, Rhossili
The church was well attended for the memorial service on Monday 15 June for the life of Allan Harrison of Higher Pitton Farm who passed away earlier this year. His widow Elaine, together with family and friends from the village and from the Swansea area where Allan was born, came together to remember Allan’s life, growing up, school at Dynevor, career with BP and the many happy times at home and abroad. In addition to the congregational singing of Psalm 23 The Lord’s My Shepherd, an accompanied four-voice choir gave a beautiful rendition of Bruckner’s Locus Iste and Nunc Dimittis to round off a very contemplative reflection.
The wedding of Laura and Michael Johnson took place at St Mary’s on Friday 12th June, with a packed church and the ringing of bells. Revd Peter warmly welcomed everyone to the service and drew them in to the love and joy of the occasion. Despite the snappy wind outside that ripped away all the fascinators with glee, there was no rain, and the happy couple skipped through dried flower confetti on their way to a beachside reception at Oxwich, enjoyed by all.
The launch of the latest art show at St Mary’s on May 23rd drew in some 40 people where they were able to meet the artists. Rachelle gave an informal introduction to the individual pieces. ‘New Beginnings’ is an art exhibition celebrating the creative voices of local artists from Gower and Swansea and the show has grown from a place of care, connection, and deep belief in the power of creativity to bring people together with each piece reflecting a personal journey, moments of change, healing, hope and renewal.
Many congratulations to Colin Everett on his MBE award and also to Major Rebecca Pogson-Hughes-Emanuel MBE on her promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and her Chief of General Staff Commendation.
Caroline Johnson and Roger Button
Gower Ministry Area 