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Monthly Review: March 2024

Submitted by Bethany on Sun, 03/31/2024 - 10:00

I have to admit, I put off writing this blog post for a few weeks because it is going to be a long one! This month was absolutely packed with fun and big changes at work and Easter came really early for good measure. I’m going to do my best to summarize it all here. 

March kicked off with the World Day of Prayer which is always held on March 1st. We hosted an ecumenical service at Caldicot Methodist Church, with many women in the area taking part. The service this year felt especially poignant as it was written by Christian women in Palestine, long before the current events happening there started. There were some new prayers sent the day before the service to speak to the current conflict. 

 

Then a fairly normal week went by filled with online superintendent training, tap class, several funerals, and two weekends filled with worship at multiple churches. Nothing too exciting so I’ll save the space for the rest of the month!

On the 11th, Isaac and Jacob flew into London and they came to stay with us for a week. It was their spring break and we had so much fun when they came last summer with their mom for just a couple days that we were delighted when they asked if they could spend spring break with us. I still had to work this week (their trip was planned less than a month in advance) but we still packed in a whole lot of fun! 

On Tuesday, Joel and Isaac decided to tackle the “three castles walk” Joel has been wanting to do for a long time - even though it was raining. I was happy to stay home and play Dominion all day with Jacob instead. 

On Wednesday, in between work obligations I had, Joel and the boys explored Trellech and we took them to Raglan Castle. 

On Thursday, between a hospital visit and a funeral, we also managed to have afternoon tea at the Belle Vue tea room in Newport. Joel and I had been there before but this time we got to be in the actual fancy part (it was rented out for a wedding last time) and the service was impeccable. They even brought us Welsh cakes when Isaac mentioned he wanted to try them and they weren’t going to charge us any extra. (We made sure to tip well!)

Then we went to Castell Coch (means “red castle” in Welsh) which has long been on our list of places to visit. It was fun to explore with the boys and the dreary, wet weather on a weekday meant we mostly had the place to ourselves. 

Friday was my day off so we managed to pack in even more - we took a day trip to Bath! We started with a hike - I say “we” but I stayed in the car reading on my Kindle while the boys walked around in the, you guessed it, rain. Then we went into the city proper and let Isaac be our tour guide as he looked up things he wanted to do. That turned out to be an excellent choice! We went to Sally Lunn’s Eating House - a place established in 1680 that is famous for their buns - the secret recipe gets passed down with ownership of the property! The food was great and the boys were very grateful for hot tea as they dried off. 

Then Isaac and I went in to explore the Abbey Church (which is really a cathedral) in the center of the city. It was gorgeous inside and they had a museum in the basement that shares all about the history of the monastery that used to be here. The architecture of the church is really cool - my favorite bit was the front entrance which has ladders on each side with angels climbing up and down them. 

While Isaac paid to go in and see the baths which made this place famous, Joel, Jacob and I wandered around the shops and listened to some live musicians playing in the square. 

On Saturday I needed to catch up work so Joel and Isaac went into Cardiff for the day and Jacob stayed home to entertain himself while I locked myself in my office. There was a rugby game in the city so it was very crowded until it wasn’t when everyone disappeared into the stadium! If you squint at this photo you'll see Isaac pretending to be scared by the dragon at Cardiff Castle.

On Sunday I had to work and the boys all went to Caerphilly Castle for the day. It wasn’t as great as the last time Joel and I went there (in 2018) because parts of it are now under restoration and therefore closed to the public. 

While doing so many touristy things was great, perhaps my favorite part of the visit was playing and finally finishing the Dominion Tournament Joel put together for my birthday! We played a game or two each evening and finally got through all 10 games Joel had especially created. It was awesome. 

Monday the 18th was an early morning as Joel dropped me off in Monmouth for the day and returned the boys to London for their flight home. I spent Monday and Tuesday in Monmouth reprising my role in the Easter Experience - an annual event put on for the schools in the Monmouth area. 

On Wednesday the 20th, I spent the day in Abergavenny for Presbyteral Synod and had a YCWI board meeting that night. Then I spent the next couple of days doing communion visits so people could have communion before Easter. On the Monday of Holy Week, Penycaemawr Chapel hosted an Easter event at the Glade Tearooms. We again had an incredible turnout of about 100 kids - even though the weather was a bit grim. We had crafts and activities and gave out chocolate Easter eggs while teaching about agape love and the meaning of Easter. 

During each night of Holy Week, the Churches Together group holds worship in a different church. On Monday we went to the Baptists, Tuesday the Pentecostals, Wednesday I hosted at the Methodists, and on Thursday we went to the Church in Wales. I especially appreciated this service filled with foot washing, communion, and closing with a garden prayer space set up in their back chapel. 

On Good Friday morning we hosted a walk of witness carrying the cross from St. Mary’s down to the Methodist Church and then holding an open air worship service. It was well attended by both church members and various passers-by. We were very lucky that the weather held off - it started to rain just as we cleaned up the last of the sound equipment! 

On Saturday the weather was gorgeous so Joel and I popped over to Bristol to play a mini-golf course I’ve been wanting to do since last year. It was the “Around the World” course at Caddy Gilmore’s and it was so much fun! I think it might be one of the best themed courses I have ever done - the holes were challenging and each one fit the theme so well, including different music at each one. It’s hard to pick a favorite theme - I especially loved the Egyptian pyramid you had to walk into to find the hole and the Fire Island that required a ferry to get to and leave - it was an actual island!

The last day of the month was Easter Sunday and I attended the Easter Breakfast at Caldicot and led worship at Rogiet and Trellech. I was hoping to attend the afternoon service at Earlswood Valley but I was not feeling very well (Joel got sick right after the boys left and I started to go down on Palm Sunday - not good timing for a minister!) Even so it was a lovely day filled with wonderful worship with my congregations. I’ll leave you with this beautiful display of the open tomb that Marion creates every year at Rogiet. 

So that is a brief summary of our absolutely jam-packed March! 

Oh except, I almost forgot! On the 19th we held our spring Circuit Meeting at which they took a vote on whether or not I would become the new superintendent. The vote was 21 to 3 in favour. So on April 21st I will become “acting superintendent” and then on September 1st I will Superintendent for one year. What happens beyond August 31, 2025 is still to be decided as we enter my re-invitation process which will take place over the summer and be finalized in September of this year. I’m still getting used to all these British Methodist systems and processes but I’m about to have a crash course as superintendent! Wish me luck!

XOXO, Bethany 
 

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