New PodCaths

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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.