Caerwent Evangelical Baptist Chapel
NEWSLETTER
January 2002
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Dear Friends - old and new! I begin on a more personal note than usual because we have almost completed our first 25 years in Caerwent - serving the local Chapel. That sounds like such a long time and yet the years seem to have gone by so quickly. Those years account for more than half our adult lives - and the greater part of my time "in the ministry". Our older children - Jonathan and Rachel were about two and a half when we moved here and Owen was born in 1978 - it is the only home base that any of them can remember. When we moved here there were still two local shops and of course the Village School. What a blessing that was ! From my study in the Chapel I could hear the children playing in the school playground and I could watch my own children play. The School was such a warm vibrant part of the community - in many ways it was the very heart of the community, because so many people met and talked on a daily basis. People walked up and down through the village, they walked back and fore past the Chapel - Mums and Dads, Grandparents and friends, all converged at and around the school, and even when people used their cars they still stood outside the school together, mixing and talking. There are obviously many worthy and active groups within the community and we should be thankful for them all, but nothing has ever replaced the Village School - it was something almost everybody had an interest in. I seem to remember some councillor mouthing some nonsense about giving the children a broader educational experience in the "larger school environment". If my two grandchildren have had a better start to their school lives than my three children, then I'll eat Mrs Thatcher's handbag! The words 'mindless cultural vandalism' growl into mind! Other things have also changed. Twenty five years ago we had between fifty and sixty children coming to Sunday School and over thirty young people meeting on a Friday night. In fact quite a large proportion of those in church membership were under twenty five and very active in the work. What is more, most of the children were living in and around the village. And all of our Deacons (Church Officers) lived locally. Eric Lovell lived in Westgate Cottage, Norman Ravenhill lived across Llanfair Road, Ivor Williams lived in Crick and Ian Garrero lived in Ebbw Road on this side of Caldicot. But there are many things to be thankful for. Caerwent Chapel is still a place of worship where the preaching of the Word of God is central and appreciated. Although we are a long way from being a perfect church, we have enjoyed many years of peace, love and harmony within the fellowship. Our Sunday morning congregation is not huge - but it is relatively young, with a number of young families with children often present. And we still have a Sunday School - not as large as it used to be, but very active and very enthusiastic. If you missed the Children's Carol service, it was a source of great blessing and encouragement to many. And because the children are always present for the first part of the morning service, before they go in to Sunday School, they are much more a part of the church than they used to be. We do have a few "characters" and everybody enjoys their contribution! Over the last few years we have lost a number of faithful men - three of the Deacons mentioned above. When they were fit and able they could always be relied upon to be present in the midweek prayer meeting - very much the "boiler house" of a non-conformist church. Since Eric died last year it has been a source of great encouragement to see other believers taking their place in the prayer meeting and growing in the life of prayer. The attendance at this meeting has been as good, if not better than in the past. What is more I believe that our missionary commitment has grown - much helped by the presence of those who are and have been very active in mission work. We continue to have a young peoples group (YPG) which meets on a Friday night - I think that they are about a dozen at the moment. Our Monday night groups - Minibytes and Megabytes - are going strong with about 30 youngsters attending at the moment. The 'Little Fishes' is going well and we have a number of very strong Ladies groups meeting for Bible Study and fellowship. But more than anything - we still believe in the same Saviour and preach the same Gospel! On behalf of everybody at the Chapel - A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! Eddie Jones Pastor |