November is proving to be a very special month in the life of our Ministry Area.

We began on Sunday with All Saints Day – such a joyful celebration in all our churches, but especially at All Saints Penyfai, where they held their patronal festival. In a similar, but more subdued, way it was St Illtyd’s Day today, and we kept the occasion up on Newcastle Hill. This coming Sunday, 10th November, is Remembrance, which means our service times will be a little different in some churches.

The following Sunday, 17th November at 10am, we will gather from across the Ministry Area for our joint Confirmation Sunday service, with Bishop Mary leading that service, it is sure to be a great opportunity to invite friends, neighbours, or family members.

Invitation is a key element of church growth. Not only must we engage meaningfully with those outside of the church if we hope to see them join us, but we must also invite them to take the next step of faith. The next step will often look different for different people, or at different stages of life. It might be an invitation to attend Alpha (which begins on January 13th), or it maybe an invitation to bring their children to Sunday Club; it may be an invitation to try bell ringing or joining a choir. What is crucial is that we are extending an invitation to come and join the Christian journey as part of a community.

The community of Jesus Christ, the church, is one which is worth joining. It is a place where we find welcome, and nurture. As Christmas draws near, and our churches fill with people coming to worship Jesus in the manger, we have an opportunity to offer them the welcome he should have received but didn’t – a welcome that draws others into the nurturing love of God through word and Spirit.