Making friends

The last weekend in April was an exciting one for Llanstadwell church, as the charity The Friends of St. Tudwal, Llanstadwell, was launched. Dorothy Cox reports.

It was decided a year ago that a Friends’ charity would be the way forward, to help maintain the fabric of the ancient building for future generations and to make it available to the community for more than just regular weekly worship.

Bishop John Saxbee attended a meeting of some 40 interested churchgoers and non-churchgoers where he shared his experiences of setting up a similar charity some years ago for St Martin’s in Haverfordwest. Two small groups were then formed to get the process under way. One was responsible for formally setting up the charity with the Charities Commission and writing the constitution, while the second set about producing the all-important explanatory leaflet, setting up the website and dealing with publicity. A letter of invitation outlining the charity and all the details of the launch events was delivered to the around 2000 households in the parish.

Talented local artist Audrey John was asked to paint a picture of the church, which she generously donated to the charity. Prints have been made and cards printed and many of these were sold during the launch weekend.

During the weekend, some of the old church registers were made available and many people took advantage of this. On the Saturday evening the launch event took place, comprising a short recital by Esyllt Megan Thomas accompanied by Sarah Jane Absolom, a talk by Simon Hancock MBE about the church’s history, the unveiling of the painting and an explanation of the need for the charity, followed by refreshments and an opportunity to sign up.

On the Sunday a large congregation attended a service of Thanksgiving and Dedication with a truly inspirational sermon from Bishop Dorrien, a fitting end to a very successful weekend.

Facebook: Friends of St Tudwal’s, Llanstadwell

Website: https://www.tudwals.org.uk