Southam Congregational Church

On Sunday 11 February 2018, I visited Southam Congregational Church where I presided at their morning service. I received a very warm welcome and the theme of the sermon was how we recognise Jesus as being the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24). During the service I had the privilege of accepting into membership three people and presided at the table when we gathered together as a fellowship.

My grateful thanks to the Minister Revd Neil Chappell and the fellowship for an uplifting time. Also thanks to Debbie Chappell for putting up with me over lunch!

Council Meeting

The third weekend of November saw me at the Council Meeting, which is held at the Royal Foundation of St Katharine in London. This is an Anglican 'retreat' centre that offers conference rooms and excellent facilities for a stay in the east of the city (see http://rfsk.org.uk/). The Council have met here in November for many years.

As President I am responsible for the worship and prayer during our gathering. We always open with worship, there is a small act of worship every morning and a closing prayer at the end of the evening. Just before lunch on Sunday, we have a closing worship and made use of the chapel on site. There is an interesting history to St Katharine and during the Cromwellian era, the 'master' of the house was Richard Kentish. Kentish was congregational and is famous as being one of the few non conformists to have delivered a sermon to Parliament (in 1647). On the restoration of the monarchy, Kentish helped establish a congregational cause in Wapping and his son, Thomas, became the congregational minister at Southwark. So some 370 plus years after Kentish, the Congregationalists are still using St Katharine's and a non conformist act of worship still held in the chapel of a high Anglican church with the blessing of the current 'Master'. How ecumenical is that!

As President I also have responsibilities as trustee and along with council members, contribute for the greater good of the Federation by bringing the views of churches to the table. Full minutes of the meeting will be circulated in due course.

The Chapel

Trinity Congregational Church, Brixton

I was heading to London for the meeting of the council of the Congregational Federation and by arrangement visited Trinity Brixton on Thursday 16th November 2017. I was invited by the minister, Revd Alan Argent to come and talk about what I saw as the way forward for Congregationalists in this ever changing world. We enjoyed a meal together, some good discussion and fellowship.
It was good to visit and I pray that the substantial renovations of the main worship area in the church go to plan.

Alan giving a tour and explaining the ongoing work

To the foothills of the Pennines

Sunday 29th October might be a familiar date to you. It was Reformation Sunday where we commemorated the life and work of Martin Luther and his influence over the way we Congregationalists  developed.

I was delighted to have been invited to Tapton Hill Congregational Church where there was a day of commemoration involving churches of different traditions. There was worship and workshops that involved singing Reformation hymns, bible studies and craft. There was a wonderful atmosphere and it was so good to see other denominations coming to the Congregational Church to be part of the day.

And in true Congregational style, the afternoon concluded with a meal. We gathered at table and enjoyed fellowship and a German themed meal!

Grateful thanks to Revd Suzanne Nockels and congregation for inviting me. It was a marvelous occasion.

London Calling

On Sunday 22nd October I was in London, having been invited to lead worship at Anchor Church, Wandsworth in the morning and Wimbledon Congregational Church in the afternoon. I set off on a windy Saturday (storm Brian) and had a very long train journey from the coast of west Wales to Paddington.

On Sunday, I was collected from my hotel by Nigel Lindsay, the minister at Anchor Church and led their Anniversary Service. The sermon was based on Acts 20 where we are instructed to be Shepherds of the Church of God. After the service, the fellowship remained for a lunch at the church and it turned out to be a blessed time of fellowship as we shared a meal together.

It was then a trip across to Wimbledon to a 3pm service at the Congregational Church in Dundonald Road. The sermon was based on the healing of the blind man in John 9 where Jesus reminds us that He is the light of the world.

The service was followed by a time of fellowship, tea and cake and the members were remaining for the evening service, which was a talk given by some of the members on their recent mission trip to Spain.



I stayed in London for the next couple of days because on Tuesday 25th October, I was deputising for our General Secretary at a gathering of Churches Together in England, at Lambeth Palace. There was a shared meal and a time of discussion around the publication Insights into Churches Together in England and contemporary ecumenism. The results of the round table discussion will be fed into the various bodies that make up CTE and it is pleasing that a Welshman was able to contribute to English ecumenism!

A Century of Women’s Ordination

On Sunday 17th September, 2017, I attended the service to celebrate the Ordination of Constance Coltman. It was held in the American International Church in London (a former Congregational Church) and was a joint celebration organised by the Congregational Federation and the URC. It was a very uplifting service and grateful thanks to those from both the Federation and the URC who planned and led a wonderful day.

Constance's story is below.

On September 17th 1917, at the height of the First World War, Constance Todd was ordained to the congregational ministry at the then King’s Weigh House in London. She was ordained alongside her fiancé, Claud Coltman, and they were married the following day. Together, they took up the ministry of a mission in the East End of London, serving a very needy community.

She applied to study theology at Mansfield in 1913. It was an entirely male institution at the time, and there was no provision for a woman to study there, nor any expectation that a woman could be ordained and enter ministry, though the issue was under discussion in the Congregational Union.

However, then as now, the call to ministry, in congregational churches, was entirely in the hands of the local church meeting, seeking, then as now, to discern the mind of Christ in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so the principal at the time, W.B. Selbie accepted her for training, so that it would be open to a church to call her to its ministry. And four years later, on completion of her theological training, that is what happened.

Constance and Claud served a number of churches together, during a long ministry. The way was not always smooth, and Constance retained her radical edge, as a pacifist, supporter of women’s suffrage, and with a passionate care for the poorest and most disadvantaged of her church members.

Special Service in London with the President of Madagascar

On Monday 4th September, I found my way to London to a service that celebrated 200 years of Christian witness and following in Madagascar. Missionaries from the London Missionary Society went to the island and a Welshman, Revd David Griffiths joined another Welshman, Revd David Jones as a missionary in 1821.

Because of the close connection to Wales, the sermon was delivered by the Revd Dr Geraint Tudur, General Secretary of the Union of Welsh Independents and the worship leader was none other than our own Revd Barbara Bridges, who is one of the Directors for the Council for World Mission. The great and the good (and me) were present, including our General Secretary Yvonne Campbell, accompanied by Judith Mbaabu.

The guest of honour was the President of Madagascar, His Excellency, Mr Hery Rajaonarimampianina. It should be noted that I heard no one refer to him by his surname. The service concluded with prayers for God's blessing on the peoples of Madagascar with their many joys and struggles.

A selfie before we started. The back row are representatives
 of the Presbyterian Church of Wales

Yvonne and Judith with the President, His Excellency
Mr Hery Rajaonarimampianina