Parish of Llandudno

FRIENDS OF ST. TUDNO'S CHURCH
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CYFEILLION EGLWYS SANT TUDNO


Friends of St. Tudno's Church Archive 2008 - 2015

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Sponsor-a-Slate
In 1855 St. Tudno’s Church was re-roofed and restored thanks to the generosity of one benefactor, Mr. William Henry Reece.  Time and the exposed position of the church took their toll and the church once again needed to be re-roofed.  This provided an exciting opportunity for anyone to be a benefactor by sponsoring a slate as part of the Sponsor-a-Slate scheme, which was launched at the Friends' Fair on 5 September 2009. 

Each sponsored slate has a permanent label with the sponsor's name engraved on it and the labels have been fixed under the slates, and so protected from the weather, but whenever a future generation repairs the roof the names will be clear to see.  All sponsors were invited to enter their names, and any messages, on the application form and these were bound into four Books of Sponsors, which have become part of the parish archive and are thus a more accessible record of contributors. 

In June 2010 the appeal passed the half-way point, when the Bishop of Bangor, the Rt Revd Andrew John, sponsored the 500th slate.  In September 2010 the three quarters point was reached when Mr Guto Bebb, MP for Aberconwy, sponsored the 750th slate.  In April the appeal reached its target when Archbishop Barry of Wales sponsored the 1000th slate.  

The re-roofing work began at the end of February 2012 and the restoration was completed in early June 2012.    Many thanks to everyone who supported Sponsor-a-Slate, which raised more than £15,000.

On Sunday 1 July 2012 there was a special Service of Thanksgiving and Rededication to celebrate completion of the renovation.  Please see the St. Tudno's page for 2012 for more information.  There are more details of the scheme on the Sponsor-a-Slate archive page. 







Friends in action

2015

Carols by Candlelight
The Friends prepared the church for the three services, beginning with the annual challenge of assembling the Christmas trees on Saturday 19 December and continuing with setting out the path lights before the services on Sunday 20 December.  Friends then took part in the services and clearded up after the last service.  There are more photographs on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2015

Preparation for Carols by Candlelight   Preparation for Carols by Candlelight


Autumn Working Party

The Friends of St. Tudno's were busy during the autumn Working Party on Saturday 17 October.  The church was cleaned, litter cleared from the churchyard and cut grass raked as part of the wildlife conservation policy.  We were delighted that some of our Friends from further afield were able to take part in the day. There are more photographs on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2015.

Working party
Working party


Working party
Working party



School visit
On 14 October the Friends welcomed a class from Ysgol San  Sior to St. Tudno's.  The children were given a short talk on St. Tudno and his church and were then divided into groups to explore the church and churchyard.

School visit


Open Churches Day
The Friends manned St. Tudno's for the Diocesan Open Churches Day on Saturday 1 August, which had the theme "Saints and Sinners" and there is more information on the St. Tudno's page for 2015.  A new banner to advertise the Friends was hung outside the churchyard for its first use.

Friends of St. Tudno's Church banner



Concert by Cantamus Chamber Choir
There was good attendance for this concert on Saturday 25 July and the concert included some recorder music in addition to the choral pieces and there are some photographs on the St. Tudno's page for 2015.  The home made cakes served by the Friends in the interval were much appreciated. 
 

Great Orme Walk
This took place on the evening of Tuesday 21 July, which was rather cold and windy and inclined to be damp.  The walk from the Summit to Happy Valley was led by Assistant Country Park Warden Chris Woodall (right in the photo), who gave a fascinating account of management of the Country Park.

Great Orme walk



Great Orme Exploration Society (GOES) visit
Members of GOES visited the churchyard on the evening of Thursday 17 July.  Inscriptions on tombstones were examined and the evening finished with cakes and hot drinks.  Thanks to Nick Challinor of GOES for the photo. 

Visit by Great Orme Exploration Society


Friends' outing
About 30 people took part in the outing to Blaenau Ffestiniog on 16 June and had a fascinating day learning about the history of the town and visiting churches, chapels and the Old Mill.  The day ended with Compline in the parish church, St. David's, followed by tea and cakes. 

St. David's Church, Blaenau Ffestiniog



Display on St. Tudno's
As part of Holy Trinity's 150th anniversary celebrations on 30 - 31 May, the Friends put on a display on St. Tudno's Church past and present. 

Display on St. Tudno's Church


Spring working party
This was on Saturday 16 May and the benches were set out, the churchyard tidied and cut grass raked away and the church was cleaned. 

Spring working party



Friends' Fair
This was held at Holy Trinity Church on Saturday 9 May. 

Friends of St. Tudno's Fair



Easter Vigil

Friends prepared for and took part in the Easter Vigil service at 5.30 am on Sunday 5 April and cooked breakfast afterwards.


Easter Breakfast




2014

Carols by Candlelight

The Friends prepared for Carols by Candlelight on Sunday 20 December by decorating the church on the Saturday and setting out the candles.  On the Sunday morning we set up the path lights then had lunch together before the services. 

Preparation for Carols by Candlelight               Preparation for Carols by Candlelight Preparation for Carols by Candlelight




Autumn working party.
In addition to the regular jobs, cut grass was raked up and piled in a corner of the churchyard.  This was in accordance with the new policy to magange the churchyard for wildlife: removing grass cuttings encourages wild flowers to grow. 

Working party    Working party


Friends' AGM
This began with a Eucharist service at St. Tudno's at 2.00 pm, at which the preacher was Archdeacon Paul of Bangor, shown below with the Rector.  The AGM was held in the Queen's Hotel in Llandudno and was followed by Afternoon Tea and the annual slide show. 

Rector and Archdeacon

Church open day
This took place in September but the planned churchyard tours were not held, due to bad weather.  However, refreshments and a "mini-fair" raised some funds for the Friends. 



Wedding Day
Saturday 9 August was a very special day when two Friends of St. Tudno's, Sara and Mark, married at St. Tudno's by Special Licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury (the church is not licenced for weddings, so special permission had to be be sought from the Archbishop).

Sara & Mark's wedding


Great Orme Walk
This was a history walk on 30 July with local historian Tom Parry. In the photograph Tom is showing the group the ancient Cromlech.

  Walk to the Cromlech



Friends' outing
As a change from local trips, this year's outing on 10 June was to Lichfield, where we visited the cathedral, St. Chad's Well (below) and Samuel Johnson's birthplace. 

St. Chad's Well, Lichfield


Spring Working Party
This took place on Saturday 17 May and the chuch and churchyard were prepared for the summer season of services, including setting out the benches used at the open air services. 


Friends of St. Tudno's Church Fair
This was on Satursay 10 May and was held in Holy Trinity church hall.  The Friends are currently raising money for replacement of the screen doors and window coverings.

Friends of St. Tudno's fair
 

Easter
The Easter Vigil service was held at St. Tudno's at 5.30 am on Easter day.  The service included lighting of the new Paschal candle from a new fire, renewal of Baptismal vows and the first Eucharist of Easter.  The service was followed by a cooked breakfast, provided by the Friends. 

Easter breakfast




2013

Carols by Candlelight
The Friends prepared the church for the services of Carols by Candlelight on Sunday 22 December, setting out the crib scene, Christmas trees and candles in the church and path lights outside.  Friends also took part in the services.  There  are more photographs on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2013.


Carols by Candlelight preparation
Carols by Candlelight

Preparation for Carols by Candlelight. 



Classical Guitar and Poetry Evening
On Friday 9 August we were delighted to welcome classical guitarist Jonathan Richards and poet Deborah Barker for a concert at St. Tudno’s organised by the Friends.  Jonathan played four sets, including sarabandes and blues, and Deborah recited two sets of her poems.  The Friends served refreshments in the churchyard during the interval and with the wonderful acoustics and atmosphere of the ancient church, this was a very enjoyable evening.  There is a photograph on the St. Tudno's page for 2013. 


Friends' outing
The outing, on Saturday 13 September was to some of the little churches of the Conwy Valley at: Llangelynnin, Caerhun, Llanbedr-y-Cennin and Llanrhychwyn.  At each church we were met by the wardens, who told us about the history of their churches. 

Friends of St. Tudno's Church outing

Great Orme Walk
This year's walk, on the evening of Monday 24 June was a wildflower walk, led by local expert Wendy McCarthy, who showed us some of the many uncommon and rare species on the Great Orme.  

Great Orme walk


Spring working party
A small but hardworking group met in rainy weather on Saturday 11 May to set out the benches, tidy the churchyard and clean the church.

Working party


Spring Fair
The Spring Fair was held at Holy Trinity Church on Saturday 6 April.  The day was bright but very cold and the refreshments team, in particular were kept busy.  The Friends are currently raising money to replace the outer screen doors at the church.

Friends' spring fair


Easter
At 6.30 am on Sunday 31 March the Easter Liturgy was held at St. Tudno's and included lighting of the new Pascal Candle from a new fire, renewal of Baptismal Vows and the first Eucharist of Easter.  Friends took part in many aspects of the service and the service was followed by a cooked breakfast, provided by the Friends.

Easter breakfast




2012


Carols by Candlelight

Carols by Candlelight at St. Tudno's Church

Carols by Candlelight at St. Tudno's Church

The services were held on Sunday 23 December, and were attended by about 120 people at 3.00 pm, including the Holy Trinity Choir, and about 60 at 5.00 pm.  These photographs show the church between the services and the second service.  The Friends prepared the church, lit the paths and took part inthe services.  There are some more photographs on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2012.




Autumn Working Party
There was a good turnout of Friends for the working party on Saturday 13 October and some of them are shown below.  It was a lovely day and we were able to clean the church, tidy the sheds and churchyard, put away the benches and check the tombstones.  There is another photo on the St. Tudno's page for 2012. 

Working party


Harvest Festival
Members of Friends decorated St Tudno's for the Harvest Festival on Sunday 30 October and served refreshments after the service.  A collection of tins and packets of food was made for Conwy Food Share.  Those given before the service were used as part of the decoration, with some themed displays, but the other gifts were presented at the altar during the service.  There are some more photographs on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2012.

Harvest festival


The harvest of the sea.
Harvest festival






Fruits and sugars.
Harvest festival

The sower. 





Rector and BishopFriends' AGM
The Friends' AGM began with a Eucharist service at St. Tudno's at 11.00 am, at which the celebrant and preacher was our Patron, Bishop Andew of Bangor.  The service was follwed by lunch and the business meeting at the Queen's Hotel in Llandudno and the day ended with a slideshow of Friends' events and events at St. Tudno's and on the Great Orme during the past year.

The photograph shows the Rector and Bishop Andrew (right).



























Church open day
On Saturday 15 September the Friends "manned" the church for an open day.  This included refreshments, stalls, a slideshow of old pictures of St. Tudno's and tours of the church and churchyard.  There are more more photographs on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2012.

Churchyard tour




Great Orme Walk
The annual guided walk on the Great Orme was held on 4 August when, despite heavy showers, local historian Tom Parry led us around the "Gunsite".

Friends' walk 2012



Friends' Outing
On 14 July we visited three churches on the Lleyn Peninsular: St. Beuno's, Clynnog Fawr; St. Beuno's, Pistyll; and St. Gwynhoedl's, Llangwnnadl. 

Friends at Pistyll Church

In Pistyll Church.



Service of Thanksgiving and Rededication
Friends took part in the Service of Thanksgiving and Rededication on 1 July, to celebrate restoration of the church.  The Friends provided: the priest (the Rector), the preacher (The Very Revd Alun Hawkins, Dean Emeritus of Bangor and Patron Emeritus of the Friends), organist, crucifer and readers.  During the service the Books of Sponsors were presented by two of the Friends, while another rang the bell.  The Friends also provided refreshments after the service.  There are more photographs on the St. Tudno's 2012 and Sponsor-a-Slate archive pages.

Service of Thanksgiving and Rededication




Working parties
Working parties were held on 25 May (first photograph) to set out the benches for the open air services and on 23 June (second photograph) to return everything which had been in storage during the recent restoration work. 

Working party May 2012  Working party June 2012



































Spring Fair
The Friends' Fair was held at Holy Trinity on Saturday 14 April, in aid of the current restoration work at St. Tudno's.  After the usual fun of assembling the parish gazebo, some of the stalls were set up outside and entertainment was provided by Beulah Brass.  Unfortunately, gusty winds prevented the soft toy bungee jump from taking place.  There are more photographs on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2012.


Preparation for church fair

Friends of St Tudno's fair

Friends of St Tudno's fair
Friends of St Tudno's fair



Preparation for Restoration

The Friends turned out on Saturday 18 February to clear the church in preparation for the re-roofing work.  As this will include internal work, everything movable had to be removed from the church. 

Clearing the church      Clearing the church



2011

Carols by Candlelight
The Friends were busy preparing for the services and started by cleaning the church and setting out the candles on Saturday 17 December.  The Christmas tree was decorated on the Sunday, before the 3.00 pm service, and the new Nativity set placed before the altar.  The set has been made by Friends specially for St. Tudno's, with beautiful knitted figures and an illuminated stable.  Squally weather meant that the path lights could not be set out, so before and after the 5.00 pm service Friends with torches stood at strategic places on the paths.  During the services, Friends did the readings and the organist was also a Friend.  There are some more photographs on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2011.
Preparation for Carols by Candlelight

St Tudno's Nativity scene



Autumn Working Party
Friends joined parishioners for the working party on Saturday 15 October, to put away the benches and tidy the church and churchyard on a beautiful, sunny day.  There are some photographs on the St. Tudno's page. 




Revds Nice & BarrettFriends' AGM
The AGM was held on Saturday 24 September and the day began with a Eucharist service at St. Tudno's.  We were delighted to welcome as preacher Fr. Philip Barrett, who has written a booklet on St. Tudno.  The service was followed by lunch at the Queen's Hotel in Llandudno, where the business meeting was held.  The day finished with a slide show of Friends' events and events at St. Tudno's during the past year.  The photo shows Fr. John and Fr. Philip (right) outside St. Tudno's. 

















Open Church Day
On Saturday 17 September St. Tudno's took part in the national Open Church Day.  The church was "manned" by the Friends of St. Tudno's Church, who welcomed visitors, provided refreshments, gave talks on the church and showed slides of old pictures of the church.


Summer Fair
This was held at Holy Trinity Church on Saturday 27 August, to raise funds for re-roofing St. Tudno's Church.  We were glad to use the parish gazebo as the day turned very wet and windy!  There are more photographs on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2011.

Summer fair



Open Air Songs of Praise
This was on Sunday 28 August and was in addition to the regular open air service in the morning.  The hymns were chosen and introduced by members of the Friends of St. Tudno's Church.  The invitation choose a hymn was open to everyone in the parish but it was the Friends who took up the challenge. 



Great Orme Walk
This was on Saturday 6 July and was a natural history walk led by the Country Park Warden, Sally Pidcock.  Starting from the Summit Visitor Centre, Sally took us for a walk on the upper area of the Orme, telling us about the plants and animals as we went along.  Sally also explained how the limestone pavement formed and we compared the plants growing within the pavement with those in the surrounding grassland. 

Great Orme walk


Friends' outing
On Saturday 16 July the Friends wisited the beautiful Wybrant and Penmachno valleys.  At Ty Mawr Wybrant we saw the birthplace of Bishop William Morgan, who first translated the Bible into Welsh, and learnt about life in this area in the 16th century.  We enjoyed lunch at the Conwy Falls Hotel, as shown in the photos, and most of us took the walk through the woods to view the falls.  We then visited St. Tudclud's Church in Penmachno, at the invitation of the Vicar and congregation, and finished the day at the Penmachno School fair.  St. Tudclud and St. Tudno are said to have been brothers and we were very interested to learn the history of St. Tudclud's Church. 

Friends' outing lunch
Friends' outing lunch



St. Tudno's Day
A number of  Friends took part in the Pilgrimage walk from Holy Trinity Church to St. Tudno's on St. Tudno's Eve, Saturday 4 June.  On St. Tudno's Day, Sunday 5 June, Friends prepared the church, took part in the service and served refreshments afterwards.  There are more photographs of the Pilgrimage and the service on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2011. 
Pilgrims at St. Tudno's Church
The end of the Pilgrimage, at St. Tudno's Church.


Spring working party
 
The working party on Saturday 14 May was well supported and the benches were set out for the open air services and the church and churchyard cleaned and tidied.  There was even time to relax with a hot dring and a piece of cake!  There are more photographs on the St. Tudno's and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2011. Spring working party
Spring working party


Easter breakfast
A number of Friends took part in the Easter Vigil service at St. Tudno's at 5.30 am on Easter Day and the Friends cooked a breakfast of barbecued "bacon butties" for everyone after the service.  There are some photographs on the St. Tudno's page for 2011. 



Soft toy bungee jump
Friends of St. Tudno's Church spring fair

This was held at Holy Trinity Church on Saturday 16 April.  The fair opened with a performance from Llandudno Town Band and in addition to refreshments there were various stalls including plants, books and handicraft materials.  Good weather allowed some stalls to be held in the church grounds, where the soft toy bungee jump was in operation.  The fair was in aid of re-roofing St. Tudno’s Church.  There are additional photographs on the Holy Trinity Events and St. Tudno's pages  for 2011. 












Archbishop of Wales sponsors 1000th slate

In April 2011 The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Reverend Barry Morgan, sponsored the 1000th slate for the roof of St. Tudno’s Church. 

Dr. Morgan’s message for the book of sponsors is: “I have very fond memories of preaching at St. Tudno’s when Elwyn Roberts was the incumbent and I was university chaplain.  I have loved the place since those days.” 

The Archbishop is seen receiving a special Sponsor-a-Slate certificate from the Rector of Llandudno, Canon John Nice, following a service at Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno, when the Archbishop had been presenting the Archbishop of Wales’ Awards for Church Music (see Holy Trinity Events 2011). 


Sponsor-a-Slate raised more than £15,000 towards the roof appeal and the Friends of St. Tudno’s Church are continuing to help the parish raise funds for maintenance of St. Tudno's. 


Archbishop of Wales sponsors slate


Add-venture in Learning at St. Tudno’s
On March 17th St. Tudno’s was visited by a group of blind and partially sighted people, accompanied by sighted guides and a number of guide dogs.  The party comprised about 30 people who were taking part in an “Add-venture in Learning” week based in Llandudno.  The party arrived in minibuses, cars and on foot, a number having walked up from Llandudno.  After a welcome from the Friends of St. Tudno’s and a short introduction to St. Tudno and his church, the party was split into four groups to be shown some tactile objects in the church and churchyard, under the direction of some of the Friends of St. Tudno's Church. 





2010

Carols by Candlelight
The Carols by Candlelight services on Sunday 19 December went ahead thanks to the efforts of five of the Friends of St. Tudno's, who walked through the snow to St. Tudno's on the Saturday to prepare the church and walked back on the Sunday to lead the two services.  The Friends were delighted to be joined by another 25 people at the 3.00 pm service and five at the 5.00 pm service.  As the roads on the Great Orme were virtually impassable, the congregation had all walked, too.  There are some photographs of the services on the St. Tudno's page for 2010. 

Preparation for Carols by Candlelight

Preparation for Carols by Candlelight
Preparation for Carols by Candlelight
Preparation for Carols by Candlelight


Christmas cards
The 2011 Friends of St. Tudno's Christmas cards show St. Tudno's by moonlight, while the 2010 cards show the church prepared for Carols by Candlelight

   Christmas card 2011      Christmas card 2010


Autumn working party
The benches used for the open air services were put away on Saturday 16 October.  Other jobs will included clearing the churchyard of rubbish and some small maintenance matters. 



Friend' AGM

Guto Bebb MP sponsors 750th slate at St Tudno's Church
The Friends' AGM was held on 25 September 2010 and followed a similar format the previous year, with a Eucharist at St. Tudno's followed by lunch and the business meeting at the Queen's Hotel, Llandudno.  The afternoon ended with a slide show of Friends' events during the past year. 

Mr Guto Bebb, MP for Aberconwy, joned the Friends' service and sponsored the 750th slate for St. Tudno's roof.  Mr Bebb (right) was presented with a special Sponsor-a-Slate certificate by Friends' Chaiman, Chris Fosbury. 


Friends of St Tudno's Church lunch 2010


Friends' Fair
The Friends of St. Tudno's Church Fair was held on Saturday 4 September at Holy Trinity, in aid of re-roofing St. Tudno's Church.  Entertainment was provided by Beulah Brass and the popular soft toy bungee jump.  As the weather was good some of the stalls were held outside, while the refreshments team was kept busy inside. 

Soft toy bungee jump
Soft toy bungee jump
Soft toy bungee jump
Soft toy bungee jump


Beulah Brass at Holy Trinity Church
Friends of St. Tudno's fair September 2010


Friends of St. Tudno's fair September 2010
Friends of St. Tudno's fair September 2010



Great Orme Walk
The Friends' Great Orme guided walk on Saturday 21 August was led by local historian Tom Parry.  We walked from St. Tudno's Church to the Iron Age hillfort at Pen Dinas and on the was Tom told us about the local history and legends  of places that we passed.  At Pen Dinas we learnt about the hillfort, the Maen Sigl (Rocking Stone) and the rock cannon. 

Friends of St. Tudno's Church guided walk
The Friends listen to Tom's introduction at the beginning of the guided walk. 



Friends' outing
On Saturday 10 July the Friends had an outing to some of the Celtic Circle churches of SW Anglesey.   The first stop was Llangadwaladr Church, where we enjoyed the flower festival and a tour of the herb garden.  We had lunch at Aberffraw and visited the church and Llys Llewelyn centre, before walking out across the tidal causeway to St. Cwyfan's Church ("The Church in the Sea") for a short service (pictured below).  We finished our tour at Llanfaelog, where the parishioners kindly provided refreshments at the church. 

Crossing to St Cwyfan's Church  At St Cwfan's Church


Spring working party
The annual working party was held on Saturday 15 May.  This included setting out the benches for the open air services, checking stability of the headstones and cleaning and tidying the church and churchyard.  Tea and cakes were provided and there were jobs to suit everyone!  The photograph shows the sound system being checked ready for the open air services, while one of the benches receives a coat of preservative.
Working party at St. Tudno's Church


Spring Fair
The Friends of St. Tudno's Church Spring Fair was held at Holy Trinity Church on Saturday 17 April and was well attended.  As the weather was so good, some stalls were placed in the church grounds.   Unfortunately the soft toy bungee jump could not be offered this time as the operator was ill.  The Friends are raising money towards re-roofing St. Tudno's and as part of this are offering the opportunity for anyone to Sponsor-a-Slate.

Church fair  Church fair




2009

Carols by Candlelight

Some of the Friends of St. Tudno's Church started preparations for Carols by Candlelight by cleaning the church on Saturday 19 December.  The candles and path lights were set out on Sunday 20 December, ready for the services at 3.00 pm and at 5.00 pm.  Despite "severe weather" warnings for the area, both services were well attended and more photographs from the services can be seen on the St. Tudno's Church and Holy Trinity Events pages for 2009. 
Candles at St. Tudno's Church
Carols by Candlelight at St. Tudno's Church
St. Tudno's Church


Friends' AGM September

The AGM on 26 September began with a Eucharist service at St. Tudno's.   Friends had lunch together at the Queen's Hotel, Llandudno and this was followed by the business meeting.  The afternoon ended with a slide show of Friends' events and events at St. Tudno's in the past year. 

AGM lunch
AGM lunch
AGM lunch



Open Churches Day September

Friends manned the church for the Open Churches Day on 19 September.  Friends offered visitors refreshments, talked about the history of the church and sold Friends' souvenirs. 


Friends' Fair September

The Friends' Fair was held at Holy Trinity Church on 5 September.  The fair saw the launch of Sponsor-a-Slate and sponsors were queueing to sign up, after good coverage in the local press. 

The stalls and refreshments were busy and entertainment was provided by Llandudno Town Band. 

The soft toy bungee jump was as popular with adults as with children!
Friends of St. Tudno's Church fair 2009
soft toy bungee jump      soft toy bungee jump      soft toy bungee jump      soft toy bungee jump      Friends of St. Tudno's Church fair 2009

Llandudno Town Band at Friends of St. Tudno's Church fair 2009
Friends of St. Tudno's Church fair 2009


Friends' Walk August

A dozen Friends took part in the walk on the Great Orme, led by the Country Park Warden.  Starting at the summit, the route passed the Bishop's Quarry (pictured below), copper mines, Pink Farm and St. Tudno's Church before returning to the summit.  On the way we learnt something about the varied vegetation of the Orme and its management, the fossils and history of the Orme and how to tell the age of one of the Great Orme goats!

Great Orme walk



Friends' Outing July

Friends' outing
Friends on Beaumaris Pier, ready to embark for a cruise around Ynys Seiriol (Puffin Island).  Some of the group landed on the Island, with kind permission of the landowner, while the others returned to Beaumaris where they joined some more of the Friends for a visit to Penmon Priory.


St. Tudnotide celebrations
A number of Friends joined the Pilgrimage walks of St. Tudno's Day, Friday 5 June, participated in the services on 5 and 6 June or help with refreshments after the service on 6 June.  There are photographs of these events on the St. Tudno's 2009 page. 


Working Party, 16 May
Many thanks to everyone who took part in the working party on 16 May, it was definitely a case of  “many hands make light work”.  Friends of St. Tudno’s Church were joined by some parishioners and we were able to: move the benches from the shed to the churchyard for the open air services, clean out the sheds, remove litter, put surplus cushions into storage and so release more storage space, clean the silver, brasses and vases, enjoy refreshments and offer them to visitors and protect some of the plants in the churchyard.  The last job may need a bit of explanation.  During the spring there were a lot of cowslips in flower in the churchyard and quite a few native bluebells, so to enable them to set seed they needed protection during the grass cutting time.  The main clumps were therefore marked with canes and tape and Tim, who cuts the grass, very kindly left these areas uncut (and a few more patches which he spotted).  In the late summer, Tim will also be leaving the ragwort plants, to allow the cinnabar moth caterpillars to feed on them.  In addition to protecting these specific plants, the grass is cut in sections and this seems to be quite a good compromise between safety, tidiness and conservation.  (Update: June 2009 - some pyramidal orchids were spotted in the churchyard and these were given similar protection.)

Working party



Working party



Working party   

Working party     
Working party



Working party



Tombstone inspection


Several of the Friends helped in the survey of tombstones in January 2009.
All headstones in the churchyard were inspected and loose stones were marked with warning tape. 



Marking a wobbly headstone
Inspecting the headstones

Recording a loose headstone





2008

Carols by Candlelight

A number of Friends attended, took part in or prepared the church for the two Carols by Candlelight services on 21 December.  The church was lit with candles inside and path and flood lights outside and there are some more photographs on the St. Tudno's 2008 page and on the 2008 Events page.



Carols by Candlelight 2008
Carols by Candlelight 2008
Carols by Candlelight 2008



Carols by Candlelight 2008



First AGM

A meeting of the Friends of St. Tudno's Church was held on Saturday 20 September, at 3.00 pm in the church.  The meeting  included the first Annual General Meeting, during which the Constitution was agreed and a committee elected.  Refreshments were served after the meeting and some of the gentlemen fitted a new rope to the flagpole.  We hope that maintaining the flagpole will not become a feature of all Friends' meetings! 

A new rope being fitted to the flagpole         Church in Wales' flag at St. Tudno's
Some of the Friends fitting a new rope to the flagpole (left) and the Church in Wales' flag flying from the flagpole (right). 




Inauguration of the Friends of St. Tudno's Church, 7 June 2008

The Friends group was inaugurated at a Eucharist service at the church on Saturday 7 June, at which the preacher was the
Dean of Bangor, the Very Reverend Alun Hawkins.  The Rector and St. Tudno’s wardens spoke about some of the aims of the Friends: to enable members to be part of the church family at St. Tudno’s, whether they live in the parish, in other parts of the UK or overseas; to keep members in touch with St. Tudno’s through newsletters and special events; to invite members to participate in the life of St. Tudno’s, e.g. by helping at services or with odd jobs; to pray for the work and witness of St. Tudno’s and for those who ask their prayers there and who may have no one else to pray for them; and to contribute to the restoration and maintenance of the building, so that St. Tudno’s mission can continue to future generations.  Those present were invited to become founder members.   

Dean Alun then inaugurated the Friends with the following prayer.

Heavenly Father, we give thanks for this ancient church, for the beauty of its setting and its great heritage of faith beginning with the coming of St. Tudno.  We remember that we are the living stones of the church in this generation, entrusted both with the care of this building and the maintenance of its mission in worship and in the welcome of visitors and pilgrims.

We ask your blessing on us today as we inaugurate “The Friends of St. Tudno’s Church”.  Prosper this new group as it seeks to support the work of the Parish of Llandudno here at St. Tudno’s.  We ask all this in the name of Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Tea and cakes (baked by Friends) were served after the service, while the Secretary was busy gathering in membership forms and some of the gentlemen started with a rather heavyweight odd job – lowering the flagpole to retrieve a rope which was stuck at the top.  Other Friends helped to clear up after the service and tea and Elly, from the Netherlands, was helping again at the Sunday service. 

Dean Alun has kindly agreed to be Patron of the Friends of St. Tudno's Church and more than half of the founder members come from outside the parish – from Gwynedd, England and the Netherlands.  This follows a tradition of support for St. Tudno’s from people who may live many miles from the church, of whom we remember in particular Mr. William Henry Reece of Birmingham.  In 2005 we celebrated 150 years since he generously paid for restoration of the church, which had been abandoned 16 years previously after losing its roof in a storm, but the roof now needs to be replaced again, to maintain the church for the generations to come.  The Friends' subscription will support restoration of the church and membership forms are available in the church or can be downloaded from this page. 

The atmosphere at St. Tudno’s was summed up by Dorothy, a Friend who visits from England and who had been on both pilgrimage walks on St. Tudno’s Day (more details on the Holy Trinity and St. Tudno archive pages for 2008).  “Normally I have the church to myself, and that’s wonderful, but these two days the church has been full of people who feel as I do – and that’s wonderful too!”

Dean and Friends of St Tudno's          Friends at work
The Dean of Bangor (4th from left) and some Friends after the service, while other Friends repair the flagpole. 



An invitation from the Rector

We all need friends - it’s impossible to imagine life without them. They care for us, put up with our failings, stick with us through thick and thin and are always there for us. Almost two hundred years before the birth of Christ a Jewish scribe called Ben Sira wrote ‘A loyal friend is something beyond price, there is no measuring his worth’ (Ecclesiasticus 6:14). I’m sure we would all agree with that! 

But it isn’t only human beings who need friends. Ancient churches need friends too, they need folk who will care for them, cherish them and protect them.  We are inviting you to become a friend of one of these ancient churches – our own St Tudno's.

On Saturday June 7th at a special Eucharist we are setting up a new group to be called ‘The Friends of St Tudno's’ and we hope that people from near and far will want to join and become official friends of St Tudno’s Church.

For many years now cathedrals and other large churches have had groups of Friends to help in the care of their buildings and their work. More recently smaller churches all over the country have begun to follow suit and we have now decided that it is time that St Tudno's had its own group of friends.

But why do we need such a group? Surely St Tudno's is already well cared for by our parish and is supported in all kinds of ways by large numbers of people from far and wide. Certainly St Tudno’s is a well loved place. I am always being asked if we conduct marriages there, or if someone, often from miles away, can be buried in the churchyard. The comments written in the visitors’ book are evidence of how much this little church means to so many people. What would having a ‘Friends of St Tudno's’ add to all this?

I suppose that what we are really trying to do is to tap in to all this love and goodwill and to harness them more effectively by gathering together those who care for St Tudno's from near and far. It will be a way for people to keep in touch and feel that they are involved in what is going on.

Of course there is a financial aspect to this. The subscriptions paid by those who want to be members of the ‘Friends of St Tudno's’ will help us to look after our ancient church. And the Friends may also be able to help with money raising activities.

But finances are only one aspect of what we hope a Friends organization will be able to contribute. They  will also surely have a part to play in what goes on up at St Tudno's: our worship, our mission to provide a space for solitude, quietness and prayer in a busy and distracted world, and above all our concern that visitors may encounter Christ in that place of holiness founded by St Tudno's back in the sixth century, and which has been a place of worship ever since.

Although 'The Friends of St Tudno's’ will be inaugurated on 7th June and membership application forms are already available much of the work in setting up the group has yet to be done. We will probably have the first meeting in the early autumn to elect officers and a committee, a simple constitution will have to be drawn up, and the exact relationship between the parish and the Friends sorted out. Regular newsletters will have to be produced and events planned.

Meanwhile I invite you to share in this exciting project – come along on June 7th be in at the start! Naturally we would like all our own parish family to be members, but we also hope that members of other local churches and indeed those of no religious commitment who value St Tudno's would also want to join. And then there is the vast army of visitors to Llandudno who have grown to love the place –I'm sure you would agree that there is no shortage of potential members!

The new season of St Tudno’s Sunday services began on 25th May and we are looking forward to St Tudno’s Day on Thursday June 5th when we will celebrate a Eucharist to commemorate our founder and patron St Tudno. Before this service I will lead a pilgrimage walk from Holy Trinity to St Tudno's beginning with Mid-day Prayers at the parish church at 12.15 pm. Do join me if you are able to do this walk. After the Eucharist a small group will then visit St Tudno’s Well, perhaps the place where the saint baptized converts to the faith of Christ.  Then two days later, on Saturday June 7th, the Dean of Bangor will preach at the Eucharist I referred to earlier in this letter when we shall inaugurate ‘The Friends of St Tudno's’. I look forward to sharing these events with you.

(Extracted from the Parish Magazine for June 2008.)

Fr John.

 Last updated: January 2016