ST MARY THE VIRGIN
WELSH NEWTON
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OUTDOOR AND ECO CHURCH
We are in a beautiful part of the world and love getting outside to worship God and celebrate his creation. Read on for more about both our Outdoor Church and our eco initiatives.
Outdoor church every fortnight
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first and third Sunday of the month
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all ages very welcome
On the first and third Sunday of every month (all year round) we have Outdoor Church, which begins at 9.30am after our Christian meditation (which is at 9am in the church). We meet in all weathers, and have a fire pit in the chillier months, but if it's raining we'll head indoors. You're welcome to come for all or any of it, and there's no need to let anyone know in advance if you're coming (though it's useful to know if you have any dietary requirements).
It's very informal, and children are extremely welcome.
Our rough timings are as follows:
9.30 - 10am we start with breakfast (free, no need to book or bring anything), with coffee, tea, pastries and hot chocolate and marshmallows. If you have any dietary requirements, it's a good idea to let us know in advance at stmaryswelshnewton@gmail.com so we can be sure to provide what you need. You can join us at any point - no need to rush if you're running late!
10am: when we've finished breakfast there's a short time of worship.
10.15am: after that we all gather around the firepit for a brief introduction to a passage from the Bible. Sometimes we act bits of it out!
10.30am: you can choose to get active with activities around the churchyard exploring a Bible passage or theme, or you can stay around the firepit for a discussion about a Bible passage.
11am: at the end we all meet again for a quick chat about what we learned and some prayers. We end around 11.15am.
Have a look below at some photos which show what it's like.
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Outdoor Church goes WILD
Once every three months we hold hold a special family adventure afternoon of bushcraft, Bible stories, food and fun, at nearby Buckholt Bryngaer Woodland, a beautiful hilltop with views of the Black Mountains, a base camp with shelter, toilet and parking nearby. It's for all ages and children are especially welcome. The next one is on Sunday 30th November (Advent Sunday, 11am-1pm). We'll be doing fun seasonal things that may include making Christmas decorations!
What happens?
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Building and creating things with natural materials
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Exploring woodland trails and mini-challenges
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Hearing Bible stories and bringing them to life
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Singing, praying and discovering God in creation
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Crafts, games and fun by the campfire
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Snacks and drinks
Have a look at the photos below to see what the last one was like!
Eco Church
We believe we have a responsibility to look after the environment, as part of God's creation. We are looking at ways of making our church greener, from using reusable cups and plates for our refreshments to making our churchyard plastic-free and more eco-friendly.
Each year we participate in the Churches Count on Nature survey, spending an enjoyable hour or so after the service logging wildlife in the churchyard. Last year we identified 145 species, including 33 invertebrates, 15 types of bird, two species of mammal, nine tree species and 86 other plant species. This January we joined the RSPB Garden Bird Watch on a chilly morning and enjoyed watching birds on feeders that the children had made in outdoor church.
For our policy on churchyard maintenance, please scroll down to our section on this.
Churchyard management
We try to get the balance right between keeping the churchyard tidy, safe and well-maintained, allowing visitors to access graves and ensuring that we respect the environment and encourage wildlife and biodiversity. With that in mind we mow specific areas of the churchyard and leave others to grow wild.
If you would like a specific grave to be mown or made more accessible than it currently is, please do let us know by emailing stmaryswelshnewton@gmail.com.
If you are tending a grave, please try your best to use biodegradable products rather than plastic ones (including oases), take all plastic wrappings away with you and only put biodegradable materials in the compost bins provided.
You may recall that last year we had a couple of sheep grazing in the churchyard as an experiment in natural churchyard maintenance. As they were something of a nuisance to neighbours (they were expert escapologists!) we have no plans to repeat the experiment in future years.
