REPORTS FROM THE CHURCHES
St David’s, Llanddewi
In Llanddewi we shared in the Ministry Area ‘Wave of Prayer’ day, participating in the global week of prayer. In a beautiful time of prayer, we covered our local communities and others across the world, ending with our weekly communion service.
Harvest Thanksgiving will be celebrated at Llanddewi on Sunday 11th October with a service at 4.00 pm, followed by refreshments. Do join us. Donations of fresh produce, tinned and dried food will be welcome, for Goleudy hostel where homeless young people are housed and supported.
We have much to be thankful for in Gower. However, this has been another challenging year for our farmers and society: we all need to re-think how we best act to provide for the needs of our lives, our land and future.
‘What, in our lives now do we keep, and what do we let go?’ This month’s theme challenges us to consider what we treasure most in material, mental, emotional and spiritual terms, and what really benefits us most in the long term. At times we realize that we need to get rid of clutter: it can be hard to part with things that hold us in emotional ties. If they no longer serve purpose do they actually block the space needed for things we really need? The same applies to our habits and traditions. We can become stuck, unimaginative, depressed, and lose touch with fresh ideas, contacts and possibilities that could bring a fresh lease of life for ourselves and benefit to others. We also need to judge when to hand over responsibilities which affect the lives of others, and what we need to keep going. It’s hard to let go of what is familiar and has been valued!
We have seasons, like perennial plants. In spring and summer, there is growth: new shoots, leaves and fruit and seeds are borne; in autumn, fruit and seeds are gathered in, leaves change colour, fade and fall. In winter there is rest: plants keep rooted, protected and nourished by newly-composted soil, preparing for spring, a new season and new life. I want to keep hold of faith in the God who created all there is, yet knows what it is to be human, who gave his life for everyone, and is alive and present with us, always.
Penny Henderson
St Illtyd’s, Oxwich
‘Gathering in: what we keep and what we let go.’ Most of our churches are not exactly bursting at the seams and we would love to see more worshippers in our congregations. Filling the pews ‘is not necessarily a sign of success; more important is how our congregations present themselves to visitors. We must be positive and engaging and present our faith with positivity and joy.’
The appeal of most Gower Churches is their age, the beauty of their situations and the fact that worship has taken place there for many centuries. For many of the present-day worshippers the consistency of the liturgy is of great importance. But on the other hand this perhaps needs to be updated and move with the times in order to be more appealing to today’s generations. With so many small churches in this small area it should be quite possible to provide a wide range of services, from the traditional liturgy to services for more recent converts who might prefer more recent worship songs and accessible preaching.
We must adhere strongly to our Christian ethics and not be persuaded to follow what is popular and appealing for the present. Our liturgy has stood the test of time. It might need to be translated into more accessible language but should not change for the sake of change.
The core of our beliefs must be retained strongly for that too has stood the test of time. Newcomers to our congregations may not easily understand the language but our priests will soon be able to preach the relevance at every opportunity so that our Christian community can grow from strength to strength.
Rosemary Wigley
St Andrew’s, Penrice
As part of Cadw’s Open Doors Festival St Andrew’s was open from 10am until 4pm on Saturday 5th September. It was disappointing that, despite it being a beautiful autumn day, only eight visitors appeared but all expressed delight at being able to see inside and learn the history of such an ancient church. The Wellbeing team had placed information in the church for visitors to learn more about their activities so although our visitor number was small we felt it had been a success. The church will remain open at weekends until the end of September.
The last lecture for this year was given by the Revd Peter. He spoke on ‘Gower Churchyards’ and showed some excellent slides of various graveyards in the area. He explained that Llan, often a prefix to a name, means churchyard or sacred enclosure and that the lych-gate was a covered area traditionally used as a resting place for the coffin, before being placed on a bier to be taken into the church. Interestingly there is still a bier in the porch at St. Andrew’s which is probably a remnant from late Victorian times. Several visitors enquired about the Monterey cypress in the churchyard. The huge tree was planted in the mid-19th century, probably by CRM Talbot of Penrice Castle. Apparently, the circumference of the tree is the widest in Gower. We are very grateful to the Vicar for such a successful evening and end to this summer’s lectures.
St. Andrew’s was open for the ‘Wave of Prayer’ on Wednesday September 9th. Cathy Dorran was in the church but sadly no visitors which was disappointing as the church was opened especially and Cathy was there to receive anyone.
The celebration of harvest will take place on Sunday October 4th. In previous years we decorated the church with vast amounts of fruit and vegetables but latterly the display has been more modest but the thanks and celebration is no less heartfelt. The Penrice Calendar 2027 will be available soon, further details in the next magazine.
Many thanks to Penrice Castle for cutting the grass in the churchyard throughout the summer. As many of the gravestones are close together and as the grass grows quite high it is a hard task but has to be done to maintain a level of safety and easy access for visitors to graves.
Angela Barnett
St Cattwg’s, Port Eynon
St. Cattwg’s took a step forward in preparation for sleep-overs in the church for pilgrims on the Gower Pilgrimage Trail. An experimental night was an enjoyable, spiritual experience for the participants, so it seems likely the scheme will start in earnest next spring/summer. The church remained open all night for the Ministry Area ‘Wave of Prayer’ initiative, shared across all seventeen Gower churches.
‘Gathering in: what we keep, what we let go.’ Certain priceless gifts of God, given at our conception, we will certainly hope to keep. Life itself, love, family and friends to be prayed for always, our personalities (provided they are good) to be accepted as they are, health and our own responsibility for maintaining it, an increasing faith in God, to be nurtured.
As at Harvest time, there is likely to be much chaff to be discarded, likewise we accumulate undesirable behaviours which could do with an overhaul. Seeing the modern increasing enthusiasm for recycling into new, usable products, perhaps there are traits in our lives and selves which can be repurposed: if we are over-controlling we could learn to give gentle leadership instead; if possessive, make ourselves look after what we have but share it with those in need; instead of being jealous, we could think about all the blessings we do have; some of our self-indulgent wasted time could be devoted to offering help to a charitable cause or needy person. I’m sure we can think of plenty of other ways of making God pleased with how he created us
Susan Morris
St George’s, Reynoldston
On August 28th Liam and Evie were married at St. George’s. We have got to know the couple well as they have attended many of our services in recent months. We welcomed guests including those from Australia, Norway and Birchgrove. A morning of thunderstorms which cleared just in time for the wedding and the walk to the King Arthur Hotel for the reception.
A large audience at the Village Hall in late August were entertained and informed by the latest films from Sian and Paul of GowerReels. Topics included the Port Eynon Lifeboat Tragedy, Gower Music and Poets and Gower Estates. Again, it was good to see so many familiar Gower people being interviewed. These, and the other films, will soon be available to view via the internet.
We have been in the process of saying ‘farewell’ to Valerie Beynon, moving to Chichester to be closer to family. As Valerie lived in Arundel for some sixteen years, she knows the area well and will have many local friends. Valerie came back to Gower and Reynoldston twenty- one years ago. With such deep Gower roots, she soon became involved in so many activities, including being a member of St. George’s Church, the Gower Festival Committee and a number of choirs, music and literary groups. Over many years Valerie has been the St. George’s ‘correspondent’ for this magazine, also producing each month the feature One Hundred Years Ago. In addition, Valerie has also been the Commercial Manager for the Reynoldston News, organising its advertisers and donations. We will really miss Valerie, her support for so many Gower activities, her extensive knowledge of Gower and its families and geography and her real interest in the people of the past and the present.
Thank you to Revd Peter for his thoughtful and moving ‘Wave of Prayer’ service. We were joined by friends from the Methodist Chapel. We were made very mindful of the troubled world we live in as lights, signifying our individual prayers, were placed in so many places across the map of the world, though it also gave us the opportunity to remember our families living abroad.
Eli Wiesel, in the summer of 1944, was deported from Hungary to Auschwitz by the Nazis, along with his father, mother and sisters and later to Buchenwald, where his father, mother and younger sister died. Wiesel was liberated by the Americans and later settled in New York. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize for his numerous campaigns and activities. In 1999 he gave a speech at the White House and its theme was ‘Indifference’. I re-read this speech recently and I feel it will influence our prayers and our actions. This wonderful speech highlights the perils of indifference, indifference to the fate of fellow humans, indifference to the need to be involved in the pain and despair of others. Indifference is always the friend of the enemy for it benefits the aggressor, never his victim whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten: the political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees. Not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope, is to exile them from human memory. In denying their humanity we betray our own. His other words include…’The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.’ He further expanded this thought…’The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.’
Hugh Jones
St Mary the Virgin, Rhossili
St Mary’s has seen significant numbers of people visiting the church through the summer months and we are confident that, in the fullness of time, the card reader for donations will reflect this. The ‘Wave of Prayer’ service drew a small group of people taking up the reins from Penmaen, then passing them on to the next scheduled service at St Gwynor’s at Gwernffrwd.
The art displays at the church continue to rotate, and the present one is being changed now for ‘The Creators Palette – a journey through the patterns, designs and mysteries that unite humanity and creation’. The ability to leave thoughts and prayers on the flip board and notelets is well supported. Why not pop in any day between 10am and 3pm to see for yourself?
We are looking forward to autumn and our next service with a harvest theme on Sunday 11th October at 11am.
Roger Button
