Monmouth Methodist Church

More Church News – Congratulations are due to Richard Clayton who has decided to embark on the “Local Preacher Training”. Our prayers of support will go with him on his spiritual journey.

Some of you will know that we had a flood of on Sunday 21st September.
David E managed to stop the flow
from the leaky kitchen water heater
with the help of two plumbers who
were miraculously working in the
street opposite. Richard C did a
sterling job in the afternoon sucking
up the water from the hall carpet
with his wet and dry vac. The
insurance man came on Tuesdaythe good news is we are covered, the bad news is the work sounds extensive. The
carpet has to be replaced and has already started smelling. So our Harvest supper on Saturday is cancelled. More details in our church 'minimag'

A letter from our new minister, Rev. Ian Griffiths.

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your wonderful welcome to Monmouth and indeed to
the Circuit. It seems a long time ago when Tabitha and I came to visit after the first
Stationing round, and finally we are here!
So, a little about me. I was in Abingdon, Oxfordshire for the last ten years, there I
had two churches both in the same town. The distance between them was very
small. It is a bit further between Chepstow and Monmouth! So I am re-learning the
need to allow time to get to places.
I’ve been a minister now for twenty years and served in a variety of places, from
deep rural Norfolk and Suffolk, to the suburban areas of Bradford. But it is Market
Towns and Villages where Tabitha and I feel most at home.
I grew up in the New Forest and have always attended a Methodist Church. In
those days, the Sunday School was large and we learnt, among other things, to
navigate the Bible by using the Good News version and the cartoon drawings. It
meant that as children, we could often find our way around the Bible faster than the
adults. Pictures always help!
Like most churches, the number of children and young people diminished over the
years, and the challenge of the church has been how to be a meaningful presence
and community in very different circumstances. So my desire has always been for
church communities to offer the best Christian presence that they can.
One of my keen interests is music. I was brought up more with classical music
discovering the delights of JS Bach, Handel and Vivaldi, and took the recorder to
university as my first instrument. So, I went a little further with it than ‘Three blind
mice’ of early primary school days. I have also attempted to learn various other
instruments some with more success than others. Yet making music, whether
singing or playing instruments has been a core part of my life and there is rarely a
day when a tune is not in my head.
Now, a new adventure begins. I am delighted to be here, and look forward to
exploring the area as well as discovering where God is going to lead us. God is so
often full of surprises and I pray we will be open to see and hear just what those are.
I look forward to getting to know you all, hearing the stories of what God has done,
and walking the next part of the journey with you.
Every blessing
Ian

Sapper Ballingham – sent in by Ian Davies
I spent my teen years in Monmouth (1971 - 1979)
and because my parents, Eric and Valerie Davies,
were very active in the church I was there every
Sunday. Some of the congregation still know me, as
Mum and Dad came back to Monmouth and Mum
was a regular until she died in 2016. As a youth
fellowship member in the days when Jennifer
Copestake ran it, I sat in the pews by the brass
plaque commemorating the death of Sapper
Frederick Ballingham in 1918 when he was serving
in the R.M.R.E.
I always wondered what happened to him and I'm
now on a road trip through France with my wife and
decided to find his grave. It's in a small cemetery
outside the tiny village of Ligny-St. Flochel not too far from Arras where there was a
clearing station for wounded troops, I believe. According to the book at the cemetery
he died of disease not wounds, but it doesn't give any details. Anyway, I thought
that if anyone else was curious about his fate they might like to see the attached
photos. The cemetery is beautifully kept and there was constant birdsong while we
were there. A lovely place, but very sad.