St Cadog’s Newsletter – December 2009

Parochial Church Council Officials

Fundraising. The PCC and church members continue to work hard to raise funds to keep the church viable. The Quota, paid to the Diocese of St David’s, is the equivalent of our rent payment and this is £17,000 per year which places a heavy burden on our small congregation. In addition, we have to find £8,000 to cover heating, lighting, maintenance and insurance, so in all it costs over £25,000 a year to keep Llangadog church going, which is why we hold so many fund-raising events. We couldn’t keep the church going without this additional income. We have, this year, held a Valentine’s Concert, an Auction, a Summer Fete in the Vicarage, a Christmas Fayre and the Young Church organised a sponsored walk. These and possibly additional events will be held again in 2010 and we would very much welcome your support in any shape or form.

Restoration. The past couple of years have seen a significant amount of essential restoration work in the church. Although there has been a church on this site since the 5th Century, the existing church, or the main body of it, dates from 1889. However, the tower dates from the 13th Century and this has been pointed and made weather-proof . Another welcome improvement for the congregation has been the addition of new and much more effective heating and lighting systems. Much of the funding for structural work on the building came from grants obtained from the Heritage Lottery Fund and CADW, however the new heaters and chandelier lights were sponsored by various members of the congregation and friends of the church. None of this essential work would have been achieved without the sterling work carried out by June Stait, our highly efficient Restoration Fundraiser. There is still further work planned and, eventually, we would wish to see a meeting room and toilet installed at the back of the church making it much more useful and relevant to Llangadog in the 21st Century. That said, necessity dictates that, in the immediate future, our priorities are repairing the crumbling churchyard wall adjoining Maesyllan and the very uneven aisle floor.

Young Church. There is a Young Church organised by Elizabeth Stokes which meets at Great House, thanks to the kindness of Rhiannon Scott. This encourages young children to take an interest in the church and to participate in services. They also lay on special events such as the aforementioned sponsored walk and there will be a Nativity play in the church on 20th Dec.

Services. These are as shown below

Christmas 2009 Services

Sun 20th Dec
9.30am Young Church Christingle and Nativity play
6.30pm Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Thu 24th Dec
11.30pm Midnight mass in Llanddeusant

Fri 25th Dec
11.00am Family Eucharist

Sun 27th Dec
9.30am Holy Communion

Do try and join us for one of these services and recapture the true meaning of Christmas.

Events for 2010

Valentine Concert in the church – Fri 12th Feb 2010
Annual Auction – date TBC
Vicarage Fete – date TBC
and others to be announced in due course