April Report
APRIL REPORT
A church for the future
Surprisingly few Christians include their church in their wills. This means that many committed Christians miss a tremendous opportunity to make a real impact on God’s work on earth. St. Mary’s has good reason to be thankful to the generations who have gone before. Through their good Christian stewardship and generous legacies they have provided for the mission and ministry of the Church over many centuries, the fruits of which we continue to enjoy today.
Imagine a situation where your gift could make a real and lasting difference to the work of the church. To extend a church to provide a meeting place for new church groups, to be a place where community groups could meet or perhaps to repair a church building, so that it can continue to be a place of worship and witness for centuries to come. Whether you give £200, £2000 or £20,000, your gift counts.
Interestingly, reliable research shows that people who make a will live longer than those who die intestate and further, that people who leave a gift to charity live an extra two years longer. Perhaps the act of giving provides a liberating and rewarding experience that makes such individuals happier and healthier. As Jesus said “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke.6.38)
A church for the present
The congregation has recently been asked to consider switching their monthly contribution away from direct debit (DB) to that of The Church in Wales “Gift Direct” (GD) means of giving. There are advantages in this, as it greatly reduces the workload on the treasurer in the reclaiming of Income Tax when the gift is Gift Aided. With “GD” the tax element is refunded within days of the money being released from your bank account into the church account. We are grateful for any gift given towards the running of the church, and we thank all who support us in maintaining the work and mission of God’s church here in Wenvoe and St. Lythan’s.
We are now well into the season of Lent and when you read this we shall be celebrating the Festival of Easter. This year we have continued with our appeal for donations in memory of loved ones to provide lilies to decorate the church, and we invite you all to visit the church on Holy Saturday afternoon from 2.00 – 4.00 pm to view our beautiful church made even more splendid with flowers in memory of those who have gone before us. Do please come. A warm welcome awaits you.
The Barry Food Bank has been through a critical time with increased demand for their help whilst at the same time contributions of food etc has dropped, leaving them with a short fall. An appeal for cash donations has been well responded to, which