St Catherine's News

Good news so far...

2012-01-28T08:58:00.001-08:00

A New way of fundraising

2012-01-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

Please do have a look at the link below, and help us raise more money for the work of St Catherine's.

Many thanks!

Looking forward.... 2012

2011-12-30T09:20:00.000-08:00

As 2011 passes, a new year dawns..

Taking a couple of seconds to look back over the past year, we can thank God for many, many blessings. It is often as we look to the past, we can see how much we have developed as people.. Yes, we may have failed in some things, we may have accomplished much; but it is important to thank God for being with us every moment.

It may not have felt like it at the time, but you only have to remember that famous poem, "Footprints" to realise that God is indeed our "Emmanuel" (God with us).

As we look forward to 2012, (no, not the movie, the year!) we can expect the Lord to bless us as we seek to serve Him in our community in Pontypridd.

* We can celebrate the start of our Building Project in the next few weeks ahead. It is a superb opportunity for us to meet more of the needs of our community.

* We are celebrating the arrival of our new Vicar (new to us you understand..). Rev Peter Lewis is coming to us in mid-February with his wife, Martine, and children, Tyler, Josh & Dan.

* We are looking forward to hosting many Weddings, Baptisms & Blessings

* We are going to have fun with many of our usual activities, Craft Mornings, Lunches, Keep Fit Sessions, Holiday Clubs, Bible studies, Prayer & Pudding events, Alpha Courses, Youth & Children's Clubs.

WOW!.. 2012 is going to be a grrreat year! (spot the Ad!)

To quote Rev Peter Lewis, "A quick message to say hello and introduce us a bit.

Martine and I (and the boys) are looking forward to coming down to St Catherine's.

By way of introduction, I'll just mention a few things about us (apart from the children! - Ed)..

Smithy is a one year old greyhound, who is a complete scavenger and has just succeeded in turning on the gas cooker whilst sneaking for food.

Bryn is a 10 year old ex-racer greyhound who is gently growling at the TV whilst stretching on a sofa that he has claimed as dog property.

Martine went down to a Christian bookshop today and came back feeling very positive about the move, full of confidence that God is leading us. We were taken aback by the sad emotions from people when we announced the news at the end of our carol service. Particularly the youth have been texting us much since. But we are confident that only God could have put together the way that the interview all came about.

That leaves me. I am usually very busy but I seemed to have managed time brilliantly at present and I don't have much to do other than Christmas home communion visiting. So today I've finished sending Christmas cards (as Area Dean, I've tried to make contacts with lots of folk so its good to send a Christmas message) and fitted in going a gym class. It's a very odd feeling visiting folk and bumping into parishoners. And it is lovely just to reflect on how much faith has grown amongst the parishoners, connections to the community have flourished and people have been drawn into the church fellowship. As you can tell I am in a postive mode!"

We thank the Lord for Peter, Martine & their family's arrival very soon as we work together to spread the message of Jesus in Pontypridd. (Worship, Evangelism & Compassion are our key-words).

And finally.. just to inspire you..

St Cats Hall Project

Christmas at St Catherine's

2011-11-26T06:58:00.000-08:00

It's going to be a very busy time at St Catherines in the next few weeks..!

Some dates for your diary so far..

10th December - 10.00-11.30am Children's Christmas Craft Morning, and at 3pm, it's the St Cath's Plus Christmas Production *

11th December - 11.00am Puppet Christmas Nativity & Christingle Service
18th December 6.00pm Pontypridd Town Council Civic Carol Service

* Entry to the Production: Adults £5, 12 and under £1
Afternoon Tea provided

Vicar Marcus Green announces departure from St Catherine's at Annual Congregation Meeting

2011-04-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

Revd Marcus Green tonight announced the end of his eleven year time as vicar of St Catherine's at the church's annual congregational meeting with the words, "This is my eleventh Annual Congregation Meeting, and my last".

The wardens and staff knew in advance, but the news came as a surprise to the members of the church.

Marcus will be taking up a post working at Leeds University in August, and stressed that until then he will still remain focussed on the parish and the very many challenges that face everyone. He spoke of the community projects, which he reported are in "rude health", and of the church's finances which are less robust, and of the main thrust of the church - worship, evangelism and compassion, which he drew from an exposition of John 3:16.

He also pointed out that although losing a vicar can feel a very negative thing for a church community, these are exciting days for the people of St Catherine's, and that he has every confidence that the Lord will bring somebody wonderful to lead the church in its next phase of life. Easter is "a wonderful time of hope re-born and new beginnings, which is just where we all suddenly find ourselves" he commented; "these are exciting days ahead for all of us, in different ways, and ones we must cover in prayer."

He closed by thanking the congregation for allowing him eleven very happy years, saying "I would not have swapped them for anything".

Easter at St Catherine's

2011-04-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

Our Easter programme is now available! Click here for the poster. (Or here if that link doesn't seem to work.)

We begin on Maundy Thursday, April 21st, with a Supper & Quiz for all the family at 7pm in the Hall. Following our very successful Harvest Quiz, this will be hosted by Trish & David Tazzini-Lloyd, with Hot-pot style food provided by Lesley Wilson & Anne Swann.

Good Friday will see many of us participate in the town walk of witness which begins at the Museum at midday, finishing with the service in front of Alfred's. Marcus will be leading this. We will then continue to church for our quiet afternoon reflection service, which again Marcus will lead, from 1pm till 3pm.

On Holy Saturday, we have three events. In the morning running concurrently we will have a coffee morning in church and a children's craft event in the hall. These both start at 10am, and will come together at some point when our Puppet Theatre will perform an Easter piece in church for everyone.

In the evening, we will hear St Mark's Gospel read to us in full, starting at 7pm.

On Easter Sunday, our three services will be at their usual times, and we look forwards to celebrating the Lord's resurrection together - 8am for a quiet traditional communion, 11am for our main Easter celebration, and 6pm for an informal end to the day.

Everyone is welcome to all these events (though the Thursday supper will be ticketed - email vicar@st-caths.org if you need details) and we would especially welcome any wider friends or family of the church to come along at Easter time. If you haven't been before, or are thinking about faith perhaps for the first time, or perhaps as something you are returning to, Easter is a great opportunity to come along and remember what really lies at the heart of what we believe, and why. Please join us!

Lottery News

2011-04-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Big Lottery said No.

They turned down our application for a grant towards our church hall renovation & link, saying we had not shown sufficient need for the application to be successful.

Obviously, we are all very disappointed. We were hoping it would be the final piece in our funding jigsaw & it would allow us to begin our amazing renovation project soon after Easter. But this is a time to see what we do have - and what we don't - and to work out where we go from here.

Five years ago when we began to get a vision for what we needed to do with our church hall, our community projects were tiny. We had one part time worker and a handful of toddlers. That was it. Now, with all our toddler groups, children, parents, grandparents & carers, not to mention all the older people who come to the St Caths Plus events, we have some 200 people a week come through our projects, and two full time workers marshalling a team of volunteers. In five years! For a small church like us, this is frankly amazing. Our aim has always been to serve our community with the love of God, making people's lives better - and we are doing it.

For sure, our building is seriously sub-standard. And yet the work is happening.

So: though we have lost this grant we haven't lost everything. And yes, we haven't just lost this grant. The CFAP (Welsh Assembly) money we gained last year, all £300,000 of it, has gone too - it was time bound, which means that we had to find all of our funding by the end of March or we lost it. They were also surprised we were turned down by Big Lottery. But the people at CFAP are being wonderfully supportive, and are helping us as we re-apply for that grant in the next financial year. Though it has gone, we can ask again. We still have a lot of good will, and far more community support now than we had eighteen months ago when we last asked. We turned in 80 letters of support then - this time we have in one morning produced 75!

We are also approaching the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. They do not yet know if they will have a budget for grants in the next financial year, but are accepting applications, and so we have sent in an application there. We do still have the Aggregates Levy Fund money - but we need to spend that in the next 12 months, so we are again in a race against time.

Knocked down, but not out - in St Paul's words - would be a fair description of how we feel. But God is good. And we love doing the work we are committed to, and helping the community we are proud to belong to, and so we will continue to seek help in renewing our buildings that everyone may be blessed.

If you would like to help, please either get one of the letter forms from church between now and April 10th, write in or just email vicar@st-caths.org adding your support for our Hall Renovation & Link Project in aid of our community projects and our re-application to CFAP following the withdrawal of their February 2010 offer of £300,000. (That wording is helpful in identifying everything.) Please date your letter, give your address and name. The more community support we can show the better!

And pray. We always pray. Thank you.

what a drama

2011-03-07T02:29:00.000-08:00

On Saturday March 5th the St Caths Plus Drama Group held their first public performance - an afternoon matinee, with wonderful tea thrown in for good measure.

There were monologues, dramatic readings, a little Joyce Grenfall, wonderful compering by Ron Eveleigh, and the whole group gave a terrific afternoon's entertainment to the good crowd that had gathered. Everything was capped off with a rendition of "I Will Follow Him" from Sister Act...

Credit must go to Anne Swann for all her hard work and vision in getting this wonderful group off the ground, and in organising what was clearly a gargantuan effort.

St Caths Plus is part of our community work, aimed at providing all kinds of activities and groups mainly for older people - but by no means exclusively so! Anyone can join in! It was lovely to see one or two youngsters alongside the "more mature", and in fact the age range was very varied in the gathered audience, which just goes to show how popular the folk who come to the St Caths Plus events are.

Cakes & sandwiches consumed, tea drunk, people entertained & the budding thespians of St Caths Plus were exhausted - but we all hope ready to begin planning their next show. This was a definite success!

Cafe Church

2011-02-21T05:31:00.000-08:00

Every month, once a month, usually about two thirds of the way through the month, we turn the evening service into something a little different. Instead of all facing the speaker at the front, we find ourselves arranged around tables, with candles and flowers and cakes spread out before us & coffee & juices & chocolate served up for us to drink - Cafe Church.

This month, we had the extra pleasure of a return visit from Matt Truelove, a former member of our youth group, and occasional worship leader with us. Playing alongside Marcus for the worship songs, he then sang three songs by himself, and it was a real pleasure for everyone to enjoy the way Matt shapes a song and invites us on a journey of praise with him.

Fortunately, someone was carrying an iPhone, so the moment was not lost! Click on the picture below and you can enjoy Matt singing a song called Beautiful by Phil Wickham. We were delighted Matt was with us at the Christmas Carol Service & hope very much to have Mr Truelove back with us again at the Cafe Church before long.

If you've not experienced the Cafe Church before, or it's been a while, perhaps you should come along to our next one on March 20th?

Pontypridd Carol Service Postponed till Dec 22nd

2010-12-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

Due to the amazing amount of snow we have experienced over the last two days, and following a weather forecast of more snow to be expected over the weekend, the Pontypridd Carol Service has been postponed from this Sunday evening, 19th December, to Wednesday December 22nd at 7pm.

This is the first time the Carol Service has been affected by weather for some considerable time, but due to the large number of both participants (choirs & full military band) and congregation expected (usually in the hundreds) we have had to make the most sensible decision.

So - come along on Wednesday evening and enjoy what promises to be a wonderful occasion! With some amazing surprises and fantastic quality music. The Pontypridd Carol Service is always a Christmas highlight - and though we will be a little late this year, we will be better than ever. See you Wednesday!

Christmas Programme

2010-12-04T06:31:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Programme at St Catherine's is now available for everyone!

We begin on December 12th with our Christingle Service - a wonderful reminder of all God's love, wrapped up with oranges and sweets and the first inklings of Christmas music... plus we'll have the tree in place!

On December 19th a bonus feature is our Puppet Nativity which will take place during the 11am service, but the big highlight of the day is the annual Pontypridd Carol Service at 6pm. As last year, this is the RCT Civic Carol Service, we are expecting all kinds of wonderful features including readers from many loal organisations, the RCT Youth Choir and the children of Ysgol Evan James. Do come early - we tend to be quite full!

Over the 24th and 25th we have a midnight service on Christmas Eve starting at 11.30pm, and a lovely service for all the family on Christmas morning at 9.30am. Carols, candles, and a chance to worship Jesus. Come & join us for a classic Christmas in 2010!

Success!

2010-10-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Aggregates Levy Fund Wales have awarded our Church Hall project £300,000!

We are completely amazed and totally grateful to them. The application was made in August, and since then we have been in conversation about our eligibility for the fund, as well as how the nature of our project affects people in Pontypridd and what we hope to achieve when we complete the building work.

At the end of September we were able to demonstrate the site to some members of the fund, and to explain to them our vision for helping make lives better here in our community. This resulted in the award, which includes £50,000 which must be spent on environmentally sustainable parts of the building project. We are investigating the option of integrating a new biomass boiler to heat the whole site.

Obviously we are all very excited! This project has been a part of our lives for four years now, and it feels like we are coming to the sharp edge of things. We need one more grant to come through and we can start the building phase. The possibility of actually opening the completed works at New Year 2012 is something of a dream for us, and one we are beginning to allow ourselves to dream.

God is good. We are trying to be faithful to our calling as his church in this place to serve as many people as we can in transforming lives and building community, loving our neighbours as ourselves, caring for young and old, and it is truly humbling when organisations from our national government recognise our work and our vision and decide to help us in such a wonderful way. Thank you!

There is still work to be done. One grant remains outstanding, and if we do not achieve it by February 10th 2011 we lose half of what we have gained so far. Pray for those working on; and pray that we might make this final grant so that we can renovate the hall and build better lives for all sorts of people in our community.

PodCaths is Back!

2010-10-14T05:18:00.001-07:00

PodCaths is Back!

Our very own podcast has taken a break for the last few months, but the Wednesday lunchtime Bible study group that meets in the Vicarage has started up again in the last few weeks and has already recorded two brand new editions of PodCaths.

Each episode follows a group discussion through one of our Sunday Bible readings, and lasts around half an hour. You can find it by clicking onto the PodCaths page on our website, or by searching on iTunes for PodCaths Marcus Green which should take you to the right place! (Our emblem on iTunes is a little picture of the St Catherine's Spire!)

PodCaths October 6th 2010 is already "live", and the recording from October 13th 2010 should be available any second!

Mission Statement (again!)

2010-09-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

We've added some extra links to the website. If you'd like to read the Mission Statement for yourself and missed picking one up in church, click here! Or go to the About Us page and click on the words "Worship, Evangelism, Compassion" there for the same link.

Or you can still just watch Marcus tell you all about it...

Mission Statement & Mission Action Plan

2010-08-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

Starting at this year's Annual Congregation meeting after Easter, we have been working hard at preparing a Mission Statement for St Catherine's, to go with the Mission Action Plan that all churches in the Llandaff Diocese have.

Marcus has been praying this through along with the staff, wardens and PCC, and after several discussions we have now arrived at something we are happy with. It shouldn't come as any surprise to anybody who attends St Catherine's, or anyone who has see any of our materials in the last ten years, as it is based entirely around our standard three word catchphrase - "Worship, Evangelism, Compassion".

Here's Marcus explaining the Mission Statement.

If you want to see that sentence written out so you can get a chance to take it in with a bit more time - it's this:
We at St Catherine's are called to love God and our neighbour in Worship, through Evangelism, and with Compassion.

The Mission Action Plan seeks to put some flesh on the theorectical bones of the Mission Statement, and provide some more practical aims for us as a church as we live this out. It's not a "five year plan" or complete programme of everything we will do from now on - but it does set out the things that are important to us. So if someone comes up with a new idea for us to follow as a church - we look at the MAP and see how it fits in order to work out whether we run with it, or to what extent we make something important. Mind you, the MAP isn't the Ten Commandments! We will seek to review it yearly, and from time to time we will make alterations as we grow and develop as God's church in this place.

Here again is Marcus talking us through the Mission Action Plan.

Paper copies of both these documents will be available in church, and we may try and get them up here somehow as well for anyone to download.

Thank You Esther!

2010-08-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

Twenty-two members of the St Caths Plus crew gathered at Alfred's Bistro in Pontypridd to celebrate the end of the first year of the St Caths Plus project, and to thank Esther Sowerby for her wonderful leadership through the year.

Others popped in to add their best wishes and thanks, and a great celebration was enjoyed by all.

It seems hard to imagine now that the St Caths Plus project is only just a year old, with the regular lunches, afternoon teas, Welsh classes, book club, keep fit sessions, concerts and so much more all going on regularly - and this on top of all the friendships, the Mothers Union, and the work of the visiting & pastoral team guided by Gill Tuck. Our aim to make life better for older people in Pontypridd has taken a huge step forwards this year.

And of course Esther has been key to this - her enthusiasm and energy, and her willingness to be there for everyone has been infectious. We could not have done it without her!

Stewart Franklin, former Vicar's warden (and Book Club aficianado) spoke warmly and personally, and presentations of Welsh slate plaques were made both to Esther as a token of heartfelt thanks from everyone at St Catherine's, and also to Gill for all her service and kindness in the parish. Others added their cards and gifts, and all added applause & acclaim.

Champagne was also flowing - Jane & Teg Lewis had a 45th wedding anniversary to mark, so everyone raised a glass and joined in their celebration as well!

It's just days now till Anne Swann joins the team to take the work on from where Esther has left it; for sure, God has blessed us richly, and we look back with great gratitude and forwards with eager anticipation as we continue our desire to serve our whole community with the love of Jesus, and to make people's lives better.

Bon Voyage

2010-08-01T06:26:00.000-07:00

Dan & Kirsty Jones joined us here at St Catherine's over seven years ago, and have become an integral part of our lives: leading our worship with their amazingly beautiful music, and advancing the children's work beyond all recognition, as well as bringing world-class concert guests and being the spark behind such creative endeavours as "Romans and Bach", they have blessed us time and time again.

Flo is now five, and Sam came along this year and was baptised just weeks ago. This morning Dan spoke movingly of how their time here has changed them and brought their faith in Jesus alive.

But now they are leaving us, moving to the Dordogne where they hope to set up a family tourist business and where Dan will engage in some guitar tutoring. We prayed for them during this morning's service, their last service with us, and presented them with a Welsh Love Spoon in the shape of a treble clef to remind them of all our love. Afterwards we shared cake and champagne and couldn't quite believe it!

Eight years ago, we had no idea of the blessing that we were about to receive the weekend they first joined us. There is some little church in the Dordogne in that position today. And though we will feel their loss personally, and of course in our music ministry, we send them with our love and blessing, praying that God will bless them as a family now more than they have the faith to ask (and others through them) and that we too may be blessed in ways we cannot imagine with gifts beyond our imagining!

Latest Grant Application For Church Hall Renovations

2010-07-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

The work on the church hall, where all our community work with children and older people is focussed, continues apace!

It seems like we have been preparing for this for ever, but a scheme like this is so large and so important for us and for our town that we have to get every detail right: plus it takes a while to draw all the finance into place.

The next step on that front is our latest application, back to the Big Lottery, and if we are successful, this will take us all the way to our grand total. The picture is of what the application pack looks like on the kitchen table!

Big thanks to Esther for putting in so much work, to Marcus for all his contributions, to David Harvey our architect for so much detail, to Thomas Pinhorn for advice along the way, and to countless others without whom an application like this would simply be impossible.

BUT NOW - we need everyone to join in. It's time to pray! The turn around on an application is six months, and we need to own this now, to make it our regular prayer, to bless the folk at Lottery and seek the Lord's face that he would look with favour upon us and grant us favour in the eyes of those whose job it is to examine all the claims that come across their desks. If we have missed things out or just made mistakes, we need opportunity to put that right; and if there are questions we need to make clearer, then we need chance to do so.

Most of all, we really desire to be successful with our bid because we long to make this building project a reality so we can serve more and more people in Pontypridd, and make life better for them. Let's pray!

Applications Closed

2010-07-07T06:16:00.001-07:00

Thanks to the very many people who applied for our post as Community Worker at St Caths Plus. The closing date for applications was Friday July 2nd, and we have now shortlisted for interview and will be interviewing the successful candidates on Monday July 12th.

St Caths Plus Community Worker Post - Re-advertisement

2010-06-17T03:28:00.000-07:00

St Caths Plus Community Worker Post

St Catherine’s Pontypridd are seeking to employ a Community Worker to head up their St Caths Plus project, reaching out to serve older people in the community of Pontypridd.

The St Caths Plus Community Worker will be responsible for developing our work with the range of older people in Pontypridd, from those who retire young to centenarians. This will include meeting their physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs. Working with older people throughout the wider community, the post holder will aim to enhance people’s older years by developing a range of social activities from lunches to tea dances, concerts and trips away, as well as putting on a variety of daytime clubs offering everything from Welsh lessons to keep fit, and ensuring a strong pastoral care network. Much of this work will be based in the Community Hall we own in the centre of Pontypridd.

St Catherine’s is a growing church with a simple desire to see people’s lives made better. The St Caths Plus Community Worker is a key leadership post at St Catherine’s and needs someone with creativity, initiative and a real desire to serve older people.

The post is a three year appointment, with a salary of up to £20,800 depending upon experience and qualifications. For details of the job description please click here, and for an application form please click here.

Please apply to Revd Marcus Green, the Vicarage, Gelliwastad Grove, Pontypridd, CF37 2BS, vicar@st-caths.org

Swydd Gweithiwr Cymunedol St Caths Plus

Mae eglwys St Catherine Pontypridd am benodi Gweithiwr Cymunedol a fydd yn arwain ein prosiect St Caths Plus gan estyn allan i wasanaethu pobl hŷn yng nghymuned Pontypridd.

Bydd Gweithiwr Cymunedol St Caths Plus yn gyfrifol am ddatblygu ein gwaith ymhlith yr ystod o bobl hŷn ym Mhontypridd o’r rhai sydd yn ymddeol yn ifanc i’r bobl ganmlwydd oed. Bydd hyn yn cynnwys diwallu eu hanghenion corfforol, cymdeithasol, emosiynol ac ysbrydol. Gan weithio â phobl hŷn ledled y gymuned ehangach, bydd deilydd y swydd yn anelu at ehangu blynyddoedd pobl hŷn trwy ddatblygu ystod o weithgareddau cymdeithasol o giniawau i ddawnsiau te, cyngherddau a theithiau yn ogystal â chynnal amrywiaeth o glybiau dydd yn cynnig popeth o wersi Cymraeg i gadw’n heini a sicrhau rhwydwaith gofalaeth fugeiliol cryf. Bydd mwyafrif y gwaith hwn wedi’i leoli yn y Neuadd Gymunedol rydym yn berchen arni yng nghanol Pontypridd.

Mae eglwys St Catherine yn eglwys sydd yn tyfu ac y mae gennym awydd syml i wella bywydau pobl. Mae’r swydd Gweithiwr Cymunedol St Caths Plus yn un arwain allweddol o fewn eglwys St Catherine ac y mae gofyn am rywun creadigol, dyfeisgar sydd â gwir awydd i wasanaethu pobl hŷn.

Penodir i’r swydd am gyfnod o dair blynedd a chynigir cyflog hyd at £20,800 yn dibynnu ar brofiad a chymwysterau.

Cliciwch yma am fanylion y disgrifiad swydd. Cliciwch yma am y ffurflen gais.

Dychwelwch geisiadau at: Y Parch. Marcus Green, The Vicarage, Gelliwastad Grove, Pontypridd, CF37 2BS, vicar@st-caths.org

APPLICATIONS TO BE RECEIVED BY: JULY 2^nd 2010

New St Caths Plus Community Worker Post

2010-04-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

We are now seeking to employ a full time Community Worker to head up our St Caths Plus project, taking over from Esther who has been working two days a week since the summer, reaching out to serve older people in the community of Pontypridd.

The new full-time St Caths Plus Community Worker will be responsible for developing our work with the range of older people in Pontypridd, from those who retire young to centenarians. This will include meeting their physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs. Working with older people throughout the wider community, the post holder will aim to enhance people’s older years by developing a range of social activities from lunches to tea dances, concerts and trips away, as well as putting on a variety of daytime clubs offering everything from Welsh lessons to keep fit, and ensuring a strong pastoral care network. Much of this work will be based in the Community Hall we own in the centre of Pontypridd.

The post is funded by the Lottery, and in our first round of advertising, we omitted to advertise in Welsh which we had promised to do. We apologise for this, and have agreed to re-advertise in order to keep the terms of the grant which the Lottery have very generously given us for this work. The new application date is July 2nd, and interviews will be on the weekend of July 17th and 18th, though if this is a problem candidates should simply let us know and we will find a way around it! The new links to more details, and to the Welsh version, will be here soon. For now, if you are interested, contact Marcus at vicar@st-caths.org. We hope the new holder of the post will begin with us on September 1st.

Happy Easter

2010-04-05T05:58:00.000-07:00

A very happy Easter from St Catherine's! From our Maundy Thursday meal, with David Tazzini-Lloyd providing excellent entertainment with his superb magic show, and Lesley & Esther arranging a wonderful evening for all of us, through to Good Friday's profound and moving afternoon service led by Aled Edwards, not forgetting our prayer breakfast on Saturday morning and our read through of St Mark on Saturday evening, before all our Sunday services, we had a terrific Easter!

Easter Sunday was truly wonderful. The usual warm and caring 8am congregation heard a lovely Resurrection sermon from Gill Tuck, and were treated to breakfast afterwards by Val.

The 11am service had a little of everything - Trish spoke movingly of the power of Resurrection, and finished her talk with her daughter Gemma singing to us from John 3:16. Beautiful. The music, led by Dan, was excellent throughout - it's good to have the full band back!

At 6pm Marcus wove themes from across St John's Gospel into his Resurrection talk, with Gill and Andy leading us gently on closer into Jesus' presence. We also prayed for Karsten, back with us for the weekend and now hoping to be selected to train for ordination, and it was good to have Emma show us her sash and crown as Miss University GB before the service started too! Her work for the Joshua Foundation, serving children suffering from terminal cancer, is something her watching grandfather (and vicar's warden!) is rightly proud of.

Thanks too to all who worked so hard preparing the church for the weekend - providing flowers, cleaning the place, and setting out the amazing Easter bonnets from the children of Maes-y-Coed Primary School. Thank you all!

Above all, we were reminded again and again of the powerful love of God. Love that goes to any and every length that we might not be trapped in the brokenness of this world, but lifted up with the Rising Jesus to know God, the author of all love; love that is big enough to fill a universe, and personal enough to be just for you and just for me.

Funding Success!

2010-02-16T05:26:00.000-08:00

Crack open the champagne because CFAP have awarded St Catherine's Church £300,000 towards the Church Hall renovations and link project. The money comes after many months of waiting and praying. Our application was successful on the second attempt; the difference being the fantastic support from the local community. So to all of you who signed the petition and wrote letters about the work we're doing, thank you!

We celebrated on Sunday by having a glass of Bucks Fizz and the children made this banner to praise God for his wonderful provision.

This money is only the beginning for us. The total target is £750,000. Wonderfully, we already have £50,000 left to us as a bequest from Miss Heather McGreggor who was a member of the church. We are in the process of applying to other funds for the remaining £400,000 - with nearly half the money secured, we are in a good position to get this.

But please keep praying! God has given us the vision to do something great for the community. We want to be a church who engages with our community and provides for people. Having a the right building to work from is essential and will enable the work to grow.

Have you seen the video mock-up of the architect's plans?

Click here to go to the youtube video and get a good idea of what it'll look like.

Carol Service 2009

2009-12-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

What an amazing Carol Service we enjoyed this year at St Catherine's!

The church looked resplendent, with candles and trees on every window, and with the main Christmas Tree dominating from its now customary place in the pulpit. Nearly 400 people crammed into the building to join with us in the annual Pontypridd Carol Service - this year joined by Cllr Rob Smith, mayor of RCT, who made it his Civic Carol Service too.

The choir sang two pieces composed by Marcus, one especially for this service - a lovely, elegaic piece about Mary's feelings on being the mother of Jesus.Julie Davies and Esther Sowerby took solo parts in the other. Our usual musicians were joined by Evan and Chris, two members of MGQ, to add a little jazz feel to a couple of the congregational carols, and everyone sang with great enjoyment.

All the readers represented different strands of Pontypridd life, from the Rugby Club to health care, from the Market Company to the High School, as well as prayers from Revd Simon Walkling of St David's Uniting Church, and of course we had the choir from Ysgol Evan James add their own songs as well - including Stori'r Preseb, fast becoming a modern Welsh classic.

Marcus rounded the evening off with a moving reminder of the love of God "for all and for always" at the heart of Christmas, and then we adjourned to the Church Hall for mince pies and sherry as guests of the mayor of RCT.

On Christmas Eve we will be back for Midnight Communion at 11.30pm, with a wonderful Family Christmas Celebration at 9.30am on Christmas Day: come and join us!

Christmas Present!

2009-12-09T04:19:00.001-08:00

Our application to the Big Lottery Fund has been successful!

We asked for £104,066 to complete our fund for salaries for the children's worker (St Catz Kidz) and senior worker (St Caths Plus) and the Big Lottery have granted us £109,106 - because they say we made an error in our National Insurance calculations, and so we need slightly more than we thought.

How amazing! More than we asked for!

The Big Lottery Fund has been more than helpful throughout the whole process, and though the application process is not easy, they have been fair and several times asked us again to check details - right up to the last minute as they were making decisions. We found them excellent.

And of course we are really grateful - to them, to everyone who helped us in the course of the application, to all who wrote in support of us, to political voices across the spectrum, and to our God who answers prayer. This is the most wonderful Christmas present.

It means that both workers are now secured for three years - full time. And as we have only just begun the St Caths Plus project, this is especially exciting there. We shall take time to make sure we are making all the right decisions and hope to have further news on that front soon. Our aim as a church with these projects is to make people's lives better in every way we can, and we are thrilled that this grant makes the work we are doing secure for the foreseeable future.

Jane Davidson, our Assembly Member, is also delighted with this award. She says:
“I am delighted that the team at St Catherine’s has received this much needed funding, and look forward to seeing the great benefits the money will bring. I would like to offer my congratulations to all those involved, and would encourage anybody interested in the facilities on offer to pay a visit to St Catherine’s.”

Esther Sowerby, who headed up the fundraising, is pictured here with Revd Marcus Green, holding the cheque from the Big Lottery Fund. She also runs the St Caths Plus pilot project at the moment, and today, as the news is announced, is taking 30 of the members of that project on a trip to see the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff Bay.

Revd Marcus Green says: "Over the first term of St Caths Plus project, up to seventy older people have benefitted from the work Esther and her volunteers have done - and that's from a project that has been running just two days a week. As we now consider how to make it full time, alongside Trish Tazzini-Lloyd and the very successful St Catz Kidz programme, we face an enormously exciting time. Jesus tells us to love God and to love our neighbour. We believe in caring for all in our community and hope these projects go some way to making life in Ponty better for many, many folk."

Christmas Programme Revealed

2009-12-03T13:05:00.000-08:00

The 2009 St Catherine's Christmas Programme is now published! The annual postcard, with times of all the special services over the festive period, is available from the church free of charge.

The Christingle Service, our yearly children's Christmas preparation, is at 11am on December 13th. A joyful collection of songs and carols, with a reminder of the reason for the season - and this year a visit from Monty the Duck from the Meningitis Society which is the subject of our special Advent Collection. Badges will be given to all the children by Monty, as well as oranges & sweets for all!

The Pontypridd Carol Service is at 6pm on December 20th. This has become the essential Christmas service, with candles, carols, readings by members of our community, choirs, children, tradtional organ and a little jazz as well. Unmissable - but come early, as we will be packed to the rafters. There will be an offering for the Mayor's Charities, as Rob Smith, Mayor of RCT, has nominated this his Civic Service this Christmas.

Midnight Communion and Carols at 11.30pm on Christmas Eve is another favourite. The perfect way to usher in Christmas Day, with carols and in a party mood. This year we welcome back Revd Aled Edwards OBE, our very good friend, member of the All Wales Convention and the Wales Committee for the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, and most importantly Man United fan, as our preacher.

Christmas Family Celebration is at 9.30am on Christmas Day itself. This is a time for all the family - the youngest to the oldest - to come together and take an hour off from presents and cooking, and thank God for so many good things. Children are invited to bring a present with them and tell us about it, and then we focus on God's greatest gift - Jesus.

Around these, all our usual services take place as normal, but at St Catherine's we are always delighted to welcome in many guests and friends over the Christmas period. If you haven't been for a while - come and join us this Christmas, and remind yourself that Love is a gift from God that comes for everyone of us - no-one is left out.

Grant News

2009-11-28T00:57:00.001-08:00

Last week, our AM, Jane Davidson, came to visit us in order to see the work we plan to do at the church hall, and to meet some of the crowd from St Caths Plus enjoying lunch there.

Jane was her usual self - engaging, thorough, wanting to know all the details and understand exactly what our project was about. Dr Thomas Pinhorn, who has been essential in previous conservation projects we have done on site, and who advised with our CFAP application, explained that angle, and vicar Marcus Green spoke about the community side of the project - what the renewed buildings will enable to happen in the community.

The folk from the lunch club joined in, and very much spoke of their support and asked Jane to help out.

Subsequently, Jane has written a tremendous letter to the deputy minister for regeneration at the Assembly, and we are very grateful to her both for coming to see us and for writing in support of what we are trying to achieve.

The waiting continues... Keep praying everyone!

Brand new PodCaths

2009-10-30T16:58:00.001-07:00

The Wednesday crew have recorded a new edition of PodCaths - and it's a super edition, based on the healing of Bartimaeus at the end of Mark 10. To access it, go to the PodCaths page in the Media section of the St Catherine's website, or search "Podcaths Marcus Green" at iTunes if you haven't yet subscribed!

It really is a lovely episode, and thanks to all the regulars, and to Geraint for all the technical know-how that enables us to listen in.

Chiari Petition

2009-10-26T11:29:00.001-07:00

A member of our church is soon to have neurosurgery to help with a Chiari Malformation from which he suffers. You may at this point be wondering what this is - and that's a reasonable question. Chiari Malformations (CMs) are structural defects in the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance. And so the surgery will be serious, and we are praying for him, and look forwards to his treatment and recovery.

But he has asked that I sign a petition that asks the government to make information about the condition more readily available. The NHS websites contain little information about the condition, and sufferers not only have to face the illness but also the problems of communicating what it entails to families, friends - and of course employers, and that is once they have had the medical profession spot their symptoms and diagnose them accurately. It is not especially rare, but it does seem to lack focus, and the petition is asking that the oversight on the NHS websites is put right in order to help sufferers. I have gladly signed the online petition at the Prime Minister's Office. Here is the link - you fill the form in, then they send an email which you click onto and your name appears at the bottom of the petition.

If we can do some good for people who need help, we should. I encourage you to take two minutes now and make a difference.

Confirmed

2009-10-25T08:51:00.001-07:00

So here are Joyce, James, Mary and Stephen after this morning's Confirmation service. It was a super occasion, with lots of St Catherine's folk joining the congregations of Llantrisant parish and St David's Hopkinstown for the Deanery Confirmation. There were also five candidates from St David's, and Archbishop Barry welcomed all of them reminding them that they are known to God by name and are each special in his sight.

In his sermon, he spoke of how our Gospel is good news of a God who loves all people irrespective of age, gender, background or place in society. He also told of a sermon he had heard in Washington which related an old Cherokee legend of a person containing two wolves that fought each other - one representing the greed and selfishness present in every person, the other representing love and generosity and care and compassion. Which wolf wins? "The one you feed". "But Christianity goes a step further," continued the Archbishop, reminding us that our spiritual life was not simply left to us to get right, but that God gifts us with his wonderful Holy Spirit to bring us the strength we need when we are in danger of feeding the wrong wolf.

The parish of St David's provided a lovely lunch afterwards, and it was a real pleasure to join with other folk from our area in worship, and to celebrate Jesus together!

If any member of St Catherine's wants to know more about confirmation, or is keen to develop their own faith further, we hope to be starting a new Alpha course in the New Year, so watch out for news of this here on the News Blog and in the notice sheet.

Confirmation Reminder

2009-10-24T06:04:00.001-07:00

Just a quick reminder that this Sunday (October 25th) in addition to us all having an extra hour in bed (hooray!) because of the clocks, there is NO 11am service at St Catherine's: instead we will all be going to St David's Hopkinstown for the Confirmation Service, where Archbishop Barry will be confirming James & Joyce from the 11am service, and Stephen & Mary from the 6pm service.

Let's all be there to cheer them on and to pray for them! And also to hear what Barry has to say to us. It's good to listen to him and to come together as the wider Anglican church in the area for these services.

At 6pm we'll be holding a special informal communion, with Esther speaking, and perhaps we can encourage a few more than usual to come along and gather back at St Catherine's for this?

PodCaths fame spreads

2009-10-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today we received an email from Bible Study Magazine, a magazine in the US that encourages people to engage in Bible Reading, telling us that they are running a short news item about PodCaths in their next issue. Here's what they wrote:

Hi, my name is Adam Navarrete from Bible Study Magazine, a bi-monthly publication based in Bellingham, WA, U.S.A, that has regular circulation of nearly, 15,000.

In our forthcoming November/December 2009 issue, which will have an expanded audience of nearly 65,000 readers, we have in place a story on St. Catherine’s “PodCaths” for our In the News section.

The headline reads, “Podcast Bible Study Fields Questions from around the Globe,” with the following story:

At St. Catherine’s in Pontypridd (north of Cardiff, Wales), people from as far as Orlando, Florida are participating in biblical discussions by listening to an audio podcast and submitting questions via email. Anglican vicar Marcus Green leads Bible reading and informal, unscripted discussions that are often filled with laughter. The podcasts, or “PodCaths,” as the group refers to them, are available on the church web site under News at St-Caths.org.

It's good to know that there are folk all over the place who share our love for Bible Study and enjoy our informal approach and fellowship! I've had a look at the magazine's website and read a few articles - & I think they look really excellent. Adam - thanks for contacting us, we're grateful for the interest & wish you well.

November 1st Guitar Concert with John Mills

2009-10-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the year we hosted a superb concert with acclaimed classical guitarists John Mills and Cobie Smit. We are delighted to announce that John has asked to come and play here again! So clear your diaries for the afternoon of Sunday November 1st at 3pm and come and join us.

John Mills studied under John Williams as well as taking classes with Andres Segovia and Juliam Bream, and has a professorship at the Royal Academy of Music as well as his amazing work at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. Both John and his wife Cobie have recorded for Radio and CD, and played for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Those who came last time will need no encouragement to return - it was a music making of the highest order; to everyone else, we simply say - come!

CFAP

2009-10-15T07:53:00.001-07:00

So today Marcus & Esther delivered our second application to CFAP for a grant to help fund the project to renovate the Hall. 1276 names on a petition, 82 letters from members of the community, a conservation report from Thomas Pinhorn and all our hard work...

We are SO grateful to everyone in Pontypridd who uses the hall and to all who don't but appreciate the work we do there and who have got behind us for this. We think it will be a couple of months before we hear if we've been successful. We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything at all!

New PodCaths

2009-10-14T14:51:00.001-07:00

We have some new PodCaths episodes now available online at the St Catherine's website, and at iTunes (where you should search for "Podcaths Marcus Green")! They were recorded at the end of September and beginning of October, and feature the regular bunch working their way through readings from St Mark's Gospel. If you use the St Catherine's link, do give QuickTime chance to download - it may take a minute or so - and if you use iTunes, why not subscibe? Hopefully there will be more in November!

Almost there!

2009-10-13T02:15:00.000-07:00

Esther and Marcus are this week handing in the application to CFAP (Community Facilities and Activities Programme from the Welsh Assembly)for the first £300,000 of the money we need for our programme to restore the Hall so we can do far, far more for our community here in Pontypridd.

Thanks to all who have helped. The petition has 1,276 names on it - which we collected in a little over four weeks. In addition, we have received around 80 letters of support from local people and businesses stressing how important the work we do there is. Many of them use the hall themselves, or have family members who do. Then there's the Facebook page with over 200 members - that's ten times the number of people who've joined the church's Facebook page! - and we are so grateful to the whole community for getting on board with this project.

Ponty often comes across as a town filled with despair - an air if "you'll never do that here". It is fantastic to see that we can be part of something where people want to help change things for good - in this case, a hall, so that many, many people will have a place of community and life.

I'll finish for now with 2 anecdotes: one of the mums in one of our toddler groups said yesterday that she is not a religious person, but she found a better welcome at our toddler group than at any of the other ones she went to, and a better atmosphere and her daughter loves it. That'll do me. And secondly, we've had a Wednesday afternoon craft group for a while - parents whose toddlers are now at school. We've also started a group for retired people as part of the St Caths Plus programme on Thursday mornings. The Wedensday people have said - let's all meet on Thursdays, we'll learn from each other, and we think we can bring more people in. That's what we are about - that intangible thing called building community. That makes people's lives better. Young and old, finding a home here.

So now we take our application to CFAP and ask your prayers that this time we'll be successful!

Ignite Hope

2009-10-11T15:31:00.001-07:00

Ignite Hope is a fantastic youth event aimed at both drawing young people together to worship & then demonstrating the power of their faith as they go and serve communities in South Wales with practical acts of love and care. Click on their website here for loads of details.

On Thursday this week - October 15th - they are holding one of the launch events for their 2010 event which will happen on the May Bank Holiday. There is a gathering for youth leaders at 11am in St Catherine's, and then an evening celebration open to anyone who wants to come along at 7.30pm. Why not come and find out what's happening and why?

New Website!

2009-10-08T02:49:00.000-07:00

It's here! Not complete, so don't worry if you press buttons and nothing happens - we'll get it all working over the next few weeks - but our new website is up and running! Have a look at www.st-caths.org to see the brand new look. Tell us what you think!

Harvest

2009-10-08T02:41:00.000-07:00

Harvest weekend at St Catherine's. Always time to stop and work out what there is to give thanks for - and there's always lots.

We had a lovely family gathering for Harvest, a super meal, with loads of people and great food, and again MGQ providing the music. Chris, Dan, George & Evan joined Marcus this week - Tom was moonlighting in another band, and this was the first time Evan has played with MGQ, though of course he's been with the big band that's played in church before. It was great fun. So good to enjoy the music as the family of the church came together. Lesley and her team (Rhian, Julie, Esther & Andy) made sure we were well fed & watered and the Harvest Casserole and Crumble were superb.

And on Sunday, we brought our harvest offerings for Support for Romania, as they prepare to go to help orphanages, hospitals, doctors, prisons and schools next month. In the midst of all the stuff that fills our daily lives, it's good to give thanks and just to give. To give to those who need. To share. Freely we have received, freely we give.

We had a lovely family in for a blessing of their baby in the service, and again, it's a joy to share with such a family the love of Jesus and to tell them of his great love for them. We thought of Jesus blessing the little children and remembered how he blesses all people, no-one excluded.

A great time of thanksgiving. A great Harvest.

St Catherine's at the Diocesan Festival

2009-09-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

On the last Saturday of September, hundreds of people from across the diocese converged on the Merthyr leisure centre for our Diocesan Festival. St Catherine's was well represented: Esther and Trish face painted all day in the cafe, and Marcus had the jazz quartet playing for an hour in the morning.

It was a great success, with everyone able to see all kinds of activities happening from all kinds of churches. The jazz band was hugely enjoyed by many people, and will be appearing again soon at our Harvest Supper!

St Caths Plus

2009-09-29T09:07:00.001-07:00

St Caths Plus is a new pilot project we have started this autumn to begin daytime groups for retired people in Pontypridd. There are free craft groups and keep fit groups so far, on Thursday and Friday mornings, and this is a photo of our first lunch, which is an initiative we hope to run at very low costs fortnightly through this term. As you can see, the first lunch was an extraordinary success - as well it might be, with our very own Lesley Wilson heading up the catering team!

St Caths Plus is for anyone who is retired and wants to do something extra - to spend time with friends, to meet new people, to try something new. We will have book clubs, afternoon concerts and much more coming over the weeks ahead. We believe that somethings get better with age - people being one of those things. And that God loves everyone, so we will try to do something for everyone.

When we say they church is a family, we don't mean "it's for families" - we mean it is a family, a place where everyone has a place because everyone is loved. And if you want to try that out, but aren't sure about all the faith stuff that comes with a Sunday, or just want to come along to something that's going on & sounds interesting - St Caths Plus might well be the place for you. We are here to make life better: and hope that as we get these groups and activities going, many older folk in our community will discover something extra, a little added something - a Plus in life - that makes all the difference.

Esther Sowerby is heading up the project, and she can be reached by email on plus@st-caths.org.

PodCaths on the BBC

2009-09-02T08:48:00.001-07:00

As we revealed last week, Kate Scott-Williams from BBC Radio Wales came back to us & spent Wednesday afternoon recording a piece for "Good Morning Wales" about our PodCaths podcast.

Well, you can now click here for the BBC webpage about it, and on that page you can listen to Kate's story and hear what she found out.

As well as meeting the group, and listening to us as we recorded our second podcast (now on iTunes - though as of today it's the only one there as we seem to have lost the first one, so don't get too confused!) she interviewed Stewart and Joyce, and then she & Gill Tuck took a recording to John Murphy in his home to get his reaction. He sounds lovely.

A further dimension was added as Chris Berryman spoke with Kate via Skype to give his view; Chris lives in Orlando, and heard us on the web. It's amazing how far a podcast can go...

So: if you've had a listen, let us know how you think it's going. We are enjoying doing it - when we record we are still a bit "well behaved", but I think soon we'll get the hang of it and then... Goodness only knows what will happen.

And maybe Matt will even emerge from under the table!

St Catherine's Video

2009-08-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

Matthew Truelove shot some video footage after a morning service a few weeks back; he's still working on his grand opus, but Marcus has put some of these clips together with a few photos so that when the new website is up and running we'll have a good taster about the church for anyone having a look.

Click on the link above and have a look for yourself now! And hopefully the revamped website will be coming soon!

PodCaths 2

2009-08-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

PodCaths 2 is now "live" on iTunes. If you'd like to listen to the second edition of our Podcast then please go to iTunes and search for "PodCaths" (we are beginning to be recognised by the search engine, and not just seem to be a spelling mistake - though to be sure, type in "PodCaths Marcus Green" and there we are!).

Of course, if you press the subscribe button, I think you should get every episode... Let us know if there's a problem: PodCaths@st-caths.org is the email.

PodCaths on Radio Wales

2009-08-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Kate Scott-Williams from BBC Radio Wales came back to St Catherine's today to spend time with the PodCaths crew and to record a piece for Good Morning Wales about our podcast!

Here she is, interviewing Stewart and Joyce after we had recorded today's PodCaths.

Chicken and Parsnip soup, and a special chocolate cake for Joyce's birthday were on the lunch menu, then we worked our way through the ending to John 6 with all its references to eating and drinking. Strangely, nobody pointed this link out at the time.

At last Julie Davies got her wish and we did think about Judas. The vicar continues to wonder why one of his wardens is so preoccupied with this particular disciple...

The second edition of PodCaths is all edited and ready to go - with a bit of luck, it might be up on iTunes by the middle of next week!

Clocking On

2009-08-11T03:45:00.000-07:00

The BBC website is now running the story about our church clock!

And today (Tuesday August 11th) between 4 and 6.30pm Marcus will be on Radio Wales with the bells sounding our clearly for all to hear, as he has been interviewed for the evening news programme.

Premier Christian Radio have also rung up to feature the story - so St Catherine's is clocking on to the news media near you.

And here is Matt from BBC Wales TV interviewing Marcus this afternoon. Tuesday August 11th 6.30 BBC 1 Wales - watch it and see! (Please note: the sunny weather is entirely typical of this summer in Pontypridd; we hope the Lord has also been blessing you!)

(Later)

The BBC Website is now carrying Matt's TV story, which is excellent. But we also loved Liz's GTFM piece, and Kate's BBC Radio Wales piece. We've added pictures to Kate's piece and uploaded it (with permission) to YouTube: here it is, if you missed it on Tuesday.

St Catz Kidz News

2009-08-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

Trish Tazzini-Lloyd is our new children's worker at St Catherine's!

The PCC sub-committee met with Trish on Thursday, and after prayer & over lunch we were all convinced that Trish was God's person for us as a church at this time. She has masses of experience and enthusiasm, and until recently has been running the Salvation Army church in Woodbridge, Suffolk.

Marcus says: "Trish first contacted me just after Easter, when she knew that they as a family would be moving to Ponty, but we didn't then know Kirsty would decide to hand over the reigns this summer; she had seen the website and wanted to ask about the church here, and what opportunities there might be to serve. When this post later opened up, it seemed like the Lord preparing the way for everyone!"

Trish's husband David is originally from Maesycoed, so this is a return to old stamping ground for him - though as a boy he went to various other local churches, from Elim to St John the Graig, and this is his first time at St Catherine's! So far, he is enjoying it! Gemma, their daughter, will be attending Maesycoed Primary School from September.

Kirsty took over from Naomi, and had enormous shoes to fill; but she was the right person, and through her, the Lord has blessed us beyond telling. Now Trish finds herself in the same place, and we trust we will see the same process again. Do pray for them as a family: that we as a church will become a new family for them, and that their house (which has needed a fair amount of work) will soon become a real home. Pray that their time here in Pontypridd will be a blessing - to them, to us, and to many people we don't even know yet - a blessing beyond our imagining as the Lord continues to use this post to pour his love upon children and families in our community.

Podcaths

2009-08-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

PodCaths, our brand new Podcast, is now 'live'! Just click and listen. We think it's the first regular podcast from a Church in Wales church, and this is its very first edition.

PodCaths is a mixture of Bible study and conversation about God, taking place around the Vicarage kitchen table during our Wednesday lunchtime homegroup. Regular members Joyce Stephens, Stewart Franklin, Yvonne Eveleigh, Julie Morgan, and Bert Davies were joined by Esther Sowerby, and Marcus Green hosted as usual. Matt the dog listened in! We don't have all the answers, but we enjoy looking at the Scriptures together, and we thought that maybe our musings might encourage others in our church, and perhaps elsewhere too.

This was a kind of trial run, just to see if we could do it...

We'll be hoping to record a new edition each month, or maybe more often if we have special guests visiting. So - watch this space. And if you have a comment or a question when you've listened, you can email us on podcaths@st-caths.org as well!

Welsh Baroque Orchestra

2009-07-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

Just a snippet from their concert with us last January. We did record the whole evening, but I'm afraid that we don't have the staff to put it all on YouTube! For now - enjoy again the finale to the Double Cello Concerto. And let's hope we can persuade them to visit again before long. Weren't they wonderful?

Seeing a Vision

2009-07-25T05:41:00.000-07:00

Derek is always quick to tell us this is a "vision" not a "project" - and here you can see the vision! David Harvey, our architect has provided us with a video walk through of the plans to join the hall and church together. Have a look. I hope this blesses you & helps you understand better what we are trying to do.

Do keep praying. None of this happens without massive answers to prayer & massive financial provision.

But when it happens, we can do better things for kids & families, and really get to grips with doing things for the elderly in the community too. So watch, be inspired, and pray!

Happy Birthday Stewart!

2009-07-24T01:54:00.000-07:00

The Wednesday lunchtime homegroup celebrated the end of this term's meetings by wishing Vicar's Warden Stewart Franklin a very happy birthday with his own special cake. Don't bother counting the candles - they were entirely representative!

The Wednesday lunchtime Bible group has been going for some time now, and with its steady eight or ten members has a great time every week delving deeper into the previous Sunday's readings. We enjoy it so much that soon we are going to begin what we believe will be the Church in Wales' first regular Podcast! Then everyone will be able to listen in & learn with us, and be inspired as we have a lot of fun together in each other's company and as we understand more of God's word together.

Unfortunately, cake can only be enjoyed by those actually at the vicarage...

Summer Celebration 2009

2009-07-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

On July 12th, not ten miles away at Sophia Gardens, there were many England (And Silent Wales) cricket fans praying for rain in order to save the draw at the first Test against Australia (like the Australians are a sporting nation? Come on - we are better at the Olympics, rugby, football & tennis; how good at sport can the Ozzies be?) but here in Ponty we were praying for sunshine because it was our Summer Celebration Weekend, and as you can see from this lunchtime photo - the Lord blessed our prayers.

We had a great day. And the team that organised everything worked really hard and did a fantastic job! Rhian and Julie & everyone - this would be an enormous post if I named everybody who contributed yesterday. The toddlers ballet class danced in church (quite spectacular) and we said our thank yous to Kirsty & prayed for her as she comes to the end of her time as Children's Worker. Kirsty is amazing; her work is wonderful; I am only glad that this was "thank you" and not "goodbye" - whoever comes to take on the role will still have her around to plunder as a font of knowledge and endless resource, though families will have to allow the new person to be the new Kirsty, as they had to allow Kirsty to be the new Naomi two years ago!

Nicky Hopwood came and spent the day with us; she will be designing & making the new stained glass window that will be part of the joining of church & hall, and her workshop was really great value - though I was mistaken about it. Marcus told people it would not design the window; well, we didn't draw anything, but the ideas that came from the time we spent will certainly be used. So - those who didn't come missed a chance to be a part of the creative process in a way I wasn't expecting!

And Nicky said something, a throwaway comment, which many found surprisingly and deeply moving. She noted that one of our windows had been repaired at some point, and that clearer glass had been used for the repair than for the rest of the window. The sun had shone through it during my sermon, and at that point she had seen that it was "through broken-ness that the light shines most clearly". What a beautiful thought.

Anyway - a great day. And of course, having granted us sunshine, the Lord also granted us the miracle of Monty Panesar facing 35 balls and not getting out. Apparently Ricky Ponting whinged all night; those Ozzies really aren't terribly good at sport - or sportsmanship, are they?

Memories of 24

2009-07-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

Anyone remember this? As part of the 2006 24 Hour Worship, we finished with a Confirmation Service... This video will be part of the new website as soon as Geraint & Marcus and TL get it up and running. This is just a taster of what we are preparing!