Competitions planned to celebrate mothers and mark Good Friday in Cerrigydrudion

A Mother’s Day card competition will be the focus of an informal Mothering Sunday service in Cerrigydrudion (22 March).

Caffi Mair is a monthly café church which meets in the Parish Room of St Mary Magdalene in the village on the fourth Sunday of the month.

In March this falls on Mothering Sunday and the café church leader, Cass Meurig promises an interactive and family-friendly informal service. The mum of three from Bala said: “I’m asking people to bring along their homemade Mother’s Day cards for our competition.  There’ll be prizes for children and adults but no downloading please!

“Caffi Mair meets every month and starts with tea, coffee, cake and a chat followed by craft activities or a quiz. We then have an informal service which includes discussions, videos, a short talk, songs and prayers.

“Local families come along and it’s a welcoming and friendly place, open to everyone.”

The Church of St Mary Magdalene is part of the Penedeyrn Mission Area in the Diocese of St Asaph. It is believed to have been founded as early as AD 440 and was mentioned in the Norwich Taxation of 1254. The church was repaired and enlarged in 1503, and, as with many Welsh churches, restored in the nineteenth century by the Victorians.

Today it holds a variety of different services each Sunday and is taking part in the Diocese of St Asaph’s consultation on rural churches. People are being encouraged to have their say on how churches can better support their rural communities.  Events are taking place throughout March, including in Christ Church, Bala on Sunday 29 March at 2pm.

St Mary Magdalene Church is planning for Holy Week and Easter.  On Good Friday, 10 April, there will be a family event which has become popular in recent years. Cass said: “The Good Friday event starts in the church where together we act out the events of Holy Week, from Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem riding on the donkey to the Last Supper.

“Then we go out into the graveyard where Jesus prays and is taken by the soldiers in the garden of Gethsemane, then is sentenced by Pilate and finally is taken to the Cross.

“There’s singing along the way and hot cross buns afterwards. This year, we’re having an Easter cake competition for the children with prizes.

“This service takes place in Welsh with translation available and everyone is welcome.”

You can find out more about Café Church at Cerrigydrudion and other churches nearby at https://www.penedeyrnmissionarea.co.uk/home.htm

The Diocese of St Asaph is one of the six dioceses of the Church in Wales, an independent Province of the Anglican Communion.  Regular services and activities take place in 214 churches and the diocese looks after 50 Church in Wales Schools.