This Works!

Every Monday for six weeks, four Mission Areas joined together inviting anyone who was interested to join them as they walked, litter picked and stopped along the way to pray at pre-arranged points.  Anyone not wishing to pray continued to collect litter and then they moved on together.  Anyone not able to join the walk could meet them at any of the prayer points shown on the map for the day.  A prayer van was on hand at the end of each days walk with water and spiritual refreshment. For further information please see Shore to Shore – Diocese St. Asaph (dioceseofstsasph.org.uk)

After engaging with families during Covid through our online worship, it became apparent that they were worried about attending church with boisterous toddlers. Many were also worried about the lack of interaction their children had, as they had born either during or shortly before the lockdown. So we now hold a monthly weekday morning service for under 5s and their carers, that is attended by families and the nursery class from our local church primary school. We start with a bible story, song, and simple crafts. We share a snack and cuppa together, the parents have time to chat whilst the children can play with selection of toys.

For more information please contact RebeccaSparey-Taylor@cinw.org.uk

We became more and more aware that for children who receive free school meals during term time the school holidays mean they often don’t have access to up to two meals per day.  With tight budgets at home children were often going hungry or parents were skipping meals to make sure the children had enough.  We partnered with local Play Providers and small groups of volunteers make simple packed lunches that the Play workers could give out to children accessing Play.  This means children can easily access food themselves and there is no stigma as it is available to anyone who wants it.

This project runs in many different settings in the diocese.  For more information please email Sarah Wheat, Engagement Officer.

After discussions with the community and local groups we wanted to find ways to help people grow vegetables either at home or in raised beds in the church yard.

We applied for funding to purchase growing kits for those wanting to grow at home and organised a growing event so people could get advice, meet growers and ask questions.  We followed this up with other opportunities to meet and share and a Facebook page.

In another community it was more appropriate to have raised beds in the church yard to allow the childrens’ gardening groups and local people to come together and grow produce to share as well as the opportunity to reduce loneliness and be together.

For more information please contact Sarah Wheat, Engagement Officer sarahwheat@cinw.org.uk

Appropriate housing is an ongoing issue across the country and one way of churches making a difference in their community is to partner with Green Pastures.

Green Pastures can help a church, Mission Area or other group to purchase a house that is then rented out to people who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness allowing them to have a safe, secure tenancy.  Green Pastures have a dream that the Church will end homelessness in the UK.  Not just by providing a home but supporting residents to develop skills and provide them with the tools they need to maintain a tenancy beyond the project.

For more information please contact Sarah Wheat, Engagement Officer sarahwheat@cinw.org.uk or visit Partnering with churches to end homelessness in the UK (greenpastures.net)

From a small seed, our Food Club in St Peter’s, Holywell has grown into a thriving community who support one another and is a place for both practical and spiritual support. The small contribution means this isn’t about ‘us’ doing charity for ‘them’ but about us all working together to help each other. This has also fed into Proclamation and Persuasion, as we’ve introduced an act of worship before the Food Club and this has led to people wanting to know more about what motivates our loving service.

For more information please contact Rev’d Dominic Cawdell

DominicCawdell@churchinwales.org.uk

Our project is a response to a concern for those in our communities struggling to buy food.

We have a small team of volunteers who buy, pack and deliver a week’s shopping every month to those struggling at this time. (Click on the photo opposite to watch a short film.)

After meeting with various agencies in our community we found that many families struggle to buy even the basic foods.

Local schools emailed families on free school meals to let them know what we are providing.

We aim to ensure that no-one in our community is without basic food, and we respond to emergency situations.

We have posters in prominent community areas and for those working with vulnerable families. A WhatApp for our volunteers and FaceBook page.

For more information please contact Rev’d Juliet Fraser  julietfraser@cinw.co.uk

We are a charity based in the Mold Mission Area. We support homeless persons in the local area in a shared accommodation. When we have a vacancy and if the person then meets our criteria, they will be offered a tenancy and then they pay rent and money for utilities. We have been open for nearly 3 years and have successfully moved some who have been in a period of chaos and uncertainty into their own properties. We work with Flintshire housing for referrals. This has been challenging during the pandemic. Homelessness is increasing and our reward is working to move people on when they begin to address the issues which have affected their lives often over many years.

For more information please contact Rev Kathy Stewart – Chair. kathy12oct@sky.com

Every day the secondary school children congregate at the bus stop opposite our church. Other pupils both primary and secondary walk past on their way to more local schools. We therefore open the church on a Wednesday morning to provide them with breakfast. Initially we have provided a Grab and Go breakfast taking out individually wrapped pain au chocolat, crepes, fruit and juice cartons, and inviting them to go into the church to pick up a hot drink. By the third week the children were going into the church to collect breakfast without needing to be invited. We hope as they feel welcomed in the building that they will take the time to sit and stay a while.

For more information please contact

RebeccaSparey-Taylor@cinw.org.uk

In the same way that a school holds an open day to show off all the things that they do, we decided to hold a church open day. 90% of people who attended have since attended another event or service in the following 2 months. We had displays of wedding dresses along with info on weddings in church and the wedding registers, a baptism display with info on how to book a baptism, info on all our activities such as book club, toddler services, family services, Christmas services and events. We held it when the church was decorated for harvest and held a find the harvest mice competition.

For more information please contact RebeccaSparey-Taylor@cinw.org.uk

Held on a farm in the hills above Llansannan. Families were greeted by live reindeer and challenged to find the ‘elves on the shelf’ hiding in a Christmas forest of snowy trees! They could sit on Santa’s sleigh, have pictures taken with the nativity figures, and hear ‘Twas the Night before Christmas’. There was a Christmas buffet, carol singing and a Christmas message. Santa’s appearance was hugely anticipated, and he was nearly knocked over by excited children! Every child went home with a present. An amazing team worked hard to put on this event which was fully funded to ensure that a whole family ticket was only £5. Finances should not be a barrier to having an amazing Christmas experience and we hope families created some very special memories.

For more information please contact Esther Andrews   EstherAndrews@cinw.org.uk

This project came from a challenge from a mum in the community asking if our sign saying “Everyone is Welcome” was true for families with special needs.  We took up the challenge, I have many years of experience of working with young people with additional needs and we have a volunteer who has a wealth of experience in this area too.  One Saturday per month for an hour in the afternoon (afternoons take the pressure off being ready and out in the morning) we offer a session for anyone with special needs and their families to come and join us for craft, storytelling and music.  Its an opportunity for expression for them and we go with what works for them.

For more information please contact:  Rev Sarah Hildreth-Osborn email SarahHildreth-Osborn@churchinwales.org.uk or phone 01492 640032

With the growing prevalence of County Lines in our communities across the diocese and the impact this is having on children and young people being exploited, we wanted to be able to offer training to our churches and communities.  In partnership with the Clewer Initiative and Mosaic Creative the diocese can offer training with a community approach to raising awareness and taking practical action against County Lines.  We cover understanding and detecting County Lines, protecting children young people and vulnerable adults, building community resilience and setting up and action group.  The training intertwines prayer and biblical reflection for those with faith to deepen our understanding of the issues.

For more information please email Sarah Wheat, Engagement Officer.

Visit the Modern Slavery page for more information. 

On the 30^th November we hide blessing bags around our village for people to find on the 1^st December. They contain a small handmade gift and a double sided business card. On one side is a prayer of blessing and on the other details of all our Christmas services. We have made angels, as they brought the message of Jesus birth and sheep, to represent the shepherds who heard the good news and went to search for Jesus.  Next year we will make baby Jesus. Each bag is clearly labelled that the finder may take it home.

Another church has adapted this idea to put the gift into a tiny hamper with a scone & cream, toiletries, gospel and give them to people who they know to be in need.

For more information please contact RebeccaSparey-Taylor@cinw.org.uk

Early in advent, before people get too busy, we put on a Light Up Nativity event. Using electric tea lights and battery powered Christmas lights we illuminate a number of scenes from the nativity, with a short sentence to describe what is happening. These are at ‘child height’ on tables made of knitted nativity characters so it doesn’t matter if children touch them. The church’s nativity set invites people to come on Christmas Eve to the Crib Service to help place the characters into the stable. This year we added in a big nativity scene where people could put their head through and have their photo taken, and telling the Christmas story around the fire.

For more information please contact

RebeccaSparey-Taylor@cinw.org.uk

The project aimed to connect with families in schools and the community and with the true meaning of Christmas in a fun and accessible way. The Jesus rock is a stone painted to look like a swaddled baby Jesus with a Christmas verse attached.

Rocks were painted by people from the church and hidden around the local community or, given to every family in a participating school. Some were also left in local shops.

We advertised on the Borderlands and on  community Facebook pages, participating churches local Facebook/Instagram pages- with instructions to take one stone home if you find one.

People were encouraged to design a manger for baby Jesus and to post pictures of it (not of any children) to school or church Facebook pages.

It all started with a donkey called ‘Daisy’ and an intention to involve as many people from the village as possible in the celebration of the nativity story together with Sunday Super Stars, the village Sunday School.

It came together as a full on procession with carols around the village with the children in costume telling the story, involving the pub and its landlord and completing the journey at a cattle shed complete with straw bales and a manger.

Daisy was beautifully behaved with about 40 adults and 25 children attending and mulled wine and warm mince pies enjoyed by all.

For more information please contact AnneHooper@cinw.org.uk

Something visual, bright, colourful, can be widely circulated, that we could fit cheerful illustrations, a Bible verse, our churches’ names and a way for people to easily access information on our services and website.

We incorporated a QR Code  https://www.qr-code-generator.com – Type in your webpage address and it will generate it for you to download. You need to size it on your materials no smaller than 2cm squared or it may not be scannable.

We thought that a beermat could also be given out in pubs and restaurants.

I used my own artwork, designed the text and layout on it, generated the QR code and ordered through https://beermats4u.uk/printed-beer-mats/

We linked the QR code to a webpage of Christmas services in Alyn, also including resources such as the Diocesan Advent calendar. In all, almost 7,500 were distributed.

For more information please contact Honor Parkinson alynmissionarea3@gmail.com