Like many of you, I’ve been waiting with bated breath to hear the results of the ‘Conway Road’s Favourite Carol’ competition. Thank you for making it so much easier to choose for the Carol Services, as well as for the services in Advent!

Like most of the best of its kind, ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ was originally a poem. Written by Christina Rossetti, it first appeared in 1872 but wasn’t set to its now familiar tune until the early 1900s. Rossetti is officially our favourite writer of Christmas Carols as she’s got two ‘hits’ in our top 4. The simplicity of ‘Love came down at Christmas’ is what makes it special. Both carols drip with theological and biblical references, and manage to weave the singer into the Nativity story itself, and beg the question, “What can I give…?”

‘O Holy Night’ was the Nations Favourite Carol in 2024. Did you know that the original m version was banned in France for many years because it openly criticised the practice of slavery? It’s also…. not in our hymn book, so we’ll be finding creative ways to use it on a Sunday!

 ‘You might have noticed that ‘Joy to the World’ isn’t in the Advent or Christmas sections of Singing the Faith. That’s because Isaac Watts wrote it about the Second Coming. Nevertheless I for one am really pleased it made it into our top 4!

We set out to find our top 5 favourite carols and ended up with eight! Silent Night, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Once in Royal David’s City and Come and Join the Celebration all tied in 5th place. Apparently 28 different carols received votes. It only goes to show how many there are and how diverse we are in what we love to sing.

Hopefully, you’ll sing one of your favourites this Christmas – especially if you voted! Either way, I wish you a very happy Christmas and every blessing for 2026.

Love,

Laura

Dear Friends,
When the garden centres shun patio sets in favour of
Christmas decorations, and the raincoat becomes a ‘go
to’ rather than a ‘let’s see’ – that’s when we know the
cold season is rapid approaching. It might even be time,
dare I say it, to start thinking about Christmas.
If you’ve been at church in the past couple of weeks you
will know that plans are already afoot for Christmas at
Conway Road. It’s become our tradition to spend the autumn creating gifts for
our neighbours before delivering them, together with an invitation to our Advent
activities, a few days before Carols on the Steps with the Barry Brass Band. I’ve
spoken before about the friendliness and interest with which we are received,
and the pleasure taken in our simple (often very simple) gifts.
For the last two years we’ve taken stars as a theme, but this year it’s time to do
something different. The image of an angel – a messenger of God – bringing news
and comfort to Mary, clarity and instructions to Joseph and joy and delight to the
shepherds. While messengers of God come in all shapes and sizes the Christmas
Card image of an angel is a familiar one and provides a way into a deeper
discussion on what it means to celebrate the Good News of Christmas.
On Monday’s 3rd, 10th and 24th November and 1st December, between 2 and
3.30pm the New Room will be open for tea, coffee, biscuits and creating. Whether
you’re a committed crafter or just a good sport who doesn’t mind having a go it
would be brilliant to see you. All mediums are welcome – knitting, painting,
woodworking, the noble art of cutting and sticking… the list is endless. What
matters is that we produce as many angels (no bigger than 6inches tall) as we can – the more we have the more we can deliver.
And don’t forget to add your favourite Advent and Christmas Carols to the post
box, masterfully decorated by Junior Church. I wonder what we’ll be announcing
as ‘Conway Road’s Favourite Carol’ on Sunday 30th November?
Love and blessings,
Laura

I’m writing this on Monday morning, following a fabulously chaotic and fun Harvest Festival weekend. If you haven’t been around then you’ve missed out on a rare treat!

 The last few Monday afternoons have seen some of us gathering together in the New Room to make butterflies out of card and old sweet wrappers and, although fewer people got involved than I’d hoped, we still managed to create almost one hundred of these. Once transformed into invitations to our Harvest weekend events they were delivered to local houses.

It might sound scary, knocking on doors and telling people what goes on in the ‘big church on the corner,’ but we were met with curiosity, smiles and promises of Foodbank donations which were fulfilled on Saturday when, after a shaken start, a small stream of new friends popped in with bags and boxes of food. People wanted to hear about what we were doing as a church in the community – it was a privilege to have those conversations. All in all, between the Saturday and Sunday donations, we collected enough food to feed 7 families for 3 days. That’s huge. Make no mistake.

And then there was Sunday and a service that will live long in my memory at least. With the enthusiastic help of the junior church, the encouragement of the adults, and rather a lot of artistic license we managed to produce a unique but certainly recognisable Harvest Loaf! This loaf serves as a symbol of our thankfulness for all that God has given us, a reminder that we are bound together by God, and are connected to Christians past, present and future, and a challenge to share what we have with others who have less.

As to the lunch, what else is there to say but a resounding ‘thank you’ to all those who contributed to the buffet and to the company. It was an extraordinary spread made holy by the friends who gathered around the table.

All round, this weekend has certainly offered a glimpse, I think, of the Kingdom.

Please let me, or one of the Stewards, know if you would like to be involved in planning the Christmas events!

Love and blessings,

Laura

“If I were a butterfly 
I’d thank you Lord for giving me wings 
If I were a robin in a tree 
I’d thank you Lord that I could sing 
If I were a fish in the sea 
I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee 
But I just thank you Father for making me, me.”

Brian M. Howard

I’m sure those off you who were at ‘The Butterfly Day’ on 20^th August – or indeed ‘The Bird Day’ on 6^th – can attest to how much fun we had. Who would have thought there were over 2500 species of moth in the UK but only 59 types of butterfly? I wonder how many different varieties we’ll see around now that we’ve got several butterfly, bee and insect ‘hotels’ nestled among the trees in the garden? They’ve been carefully placed so that the children (and adults) who helped with their construction can see them from the road, remember the fun they had and hopefully join us again.

September is a time for new beginnings. For birds, September brings the start of migration season and a search for warmer climes. For children and young people, as well as many adults, it marks the new school year with all that brings. For us as Methodists it’s also a time of change as, in many places, new ministers and congregations get used to one another. I would ask you, please, to include them in your prayers, especially probationer ministers who have recently come out of college, the congregations they are called to serve alongside, and those who support them on the journey.

For us at Conway Road the change is much more subtle. Last month I accepted an offer from The Queen’s Foundation in Birmingham for a year of study which will hopefully lead to beginning a PhD this time next year. Naturally this is all very exciting – and mildly terrifying – but it does mean that from 1^st September I will go back to being half-time and, in time, settle into a ‘one week on, one week off’ pattern. Of course, real life is bound to get in the way occasionally!

It’s fine to continue calling and emailing me as usual, and I will continue to lead worship, turn up regularly to activities and generally be around.

Happy new year!

Love and blessings,

Laura

When I look at the sky, which you have made,
    at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places—
what are human beings, that you think of them;
    mere mortals, that you care for them?

Yet you made them inferior only to yourself;
    you crowned them with glory and honour.
You appointed them rulers over everything you made;
    you placed them over all creation:
sheep and cattle, and the wild animals too;
the birds and the fish
    and the creatures in the seas.

Psalm 8: 3-8 (The Good News Bible)

Surely I can’t be the only one who was glued to ‘Springwatch’ recently?! The knowledge I gained – back in the mists of time – as a junior member of the RSPB has all but disappeared. However, in 2014 we visited the Rutland Osprey Project and had the privilege of watching through binoculars as one of these fabulous birds returned to her British nest after a flight of thousands of miles. That year she laid four eggs which all hatched and all four chicks fledged. Since then, from about the middle of March onwards I keep an eye on the live stream* to see how that little family are getting on. This year it’s 4/4 again!

According to this version of the Bible, the Psalmist writes that God has made us ‘rulers’ over creation. It’s a strange choice of words and, throughout most of human history, has been interpreted as meaning that we can do anything we like. The natural world is there is be used and to serve us. Yet, we’ve recently begun to see the dangers of this sort of thinking. We cannot have power without responsibility, and it is not enough to say ‘It’s ours to do with as we see fit’. One hundred years ago the prevalence of egg collectors led to ospreys being declared extinct in the UK. In 1967 two breeding pairs were known to have returned to the north of Scotland, but it took careful and respectful intervention to grow the number to the 300 pairs known to be around today. That and the passing of a law banning egg collecting.

Our actions and behaviours have implications beyond ourselves, not just now but in the future. This is why the Methodist Church is so committed to reducing its carbon footprint, why the coffee in the kitchen now comes in large tubs rather than jars, and why we’re being even more careful about putting items in the correct bins.

Have you seen the wildflower patch by the Romilly Road entrance?! If you were at the General Church Meeting you will know that plans are afoot for some activity mornings in August, focussing on the theme of ‘butterflies’ and hopefully based in the garden as much as possible.

Why not come and join in? There will be activities for everyone.

Love and blessings,

Laura

When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

Acts 1: 9-11

After the trauma and confusion of the crucifixion and resurrection, the disciples have spent forty days walking with Jesus as he reaffirms his teachings and prepares them for the day when he will no long be a physical presence among them. Now, with one final promise of the coming Holy Spirit, he vanishes from their sight.

Can we really blame the disciples if their eyes followed him as he went? True, they’re no strangers to miracles, but there is something final about this one and Jesus is their friend. Of course their eyes stray to the place where Jesus was.

if you ever fancy causing some harmless chaos try standing in the middle of the pavement staring at the sky for a while. Eventually others will join you, straining to see what you’re looking at. Those who are trying to go about their business will eventually get annoyed and ask you to move. Oh, and you’ll get neck-ache.

The disciples watched Jesus ascend to heaven. Naturally they stared after him, hoping to catch another glimpse, but then they did that bravest of all things – they stopped staring at the place where Jesus was and went to where he would be next. God was already moving and if they’d remained, eyes glued to the sky, they would have missed it. More than that, they would have got in the way of those going about the business of the gospel.

We, like every generation of Christians since, are tasked with using the teachings of the past to bring about God’s Kingdom in the present. God is moving among us – of that I am absolutely certain. Our task then is to figure out what God is already doing – where God is already working – and to join in. Oh and try our best not to get in the way!

Love and blessings,

Laura

And so we approach the end of the period we call ‘Lent’.

The number 40 is of special significance in the Jewish-Christian Scriptures: Genesis tells of a 40-day flood; the Hebrews spent 40 years wandering the wilderness before reaching the Promised Land; Moses fasted for 40 days before receiving the 10 Commandments; Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness in preparation for his ministry.

Lent is a 40 day period – not counting the Sundays. For some it may present a useful opportunity to give up habits that are life-draining rather than life-giving. Others take it as a time for reflection – a sort of ‘Spiritual Spring Clean’. True, we can do this at any time – much the same way as we might enjoy pancakes for twelve months of the year – but Lent provides us with a special opportunity to pause and prepare ourselves for whatever lies ahead in our own lives.

Speaking, albeit indirectly, of pancakes – this Lent our community at Conway Road have been doing something a little different. Yes, I’m talking about the sourdough! ‘Bob’, as he is now almost universally known, has been touring the groups that use this building, bubbling away in the upstairs kitchen, and providing occasion for much fun and laughter as well as some fascinating opportunities for conversation around the importance of ‘sharing bread’ in the life of the church and what it means to call Jesus ‘The Bread of Life’. I have honestly been blown away by the openness with which people have engaged with the project.

Which brings me to a very exciting piece of news:

The Methodist Church Media Office have got wind of the Sourdough Project want to create an article about it for circulation further afield – an article that will include photos / possibly a short video.

AND YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! If you are available on the afternoon / early evening of Thursday 10^th April, and don’t mind being in the background of material that will appear on social media please can you come along to the New Room to do things like:

            Be in the background drinking tea/coffee, eating bread and looking friendly

            Knead dough

            Measure out flour and water to feed Bob

You don’t need to stay for the whole time and will not be expected to speak to the camera – although let me know if you’d be happy to do so. We’ve gone for after school in the hope that many of our junior church will be able to attend (parents will need to sign consent forms) but it would be brilliant to have the place buzzing and to show Conway Road for what it is – a warm, friendly community that is committed to spreading the Good News in ways that are relevant to those we serve.

Love and blessings this Lent, this Easter, and always,

Laura

About 5 years ago I undertook a three day walking trip in Derbyshire.

The ‘Peak Park Pilgrimage’ covers almost 40 miles of countryside; meandering from village to village and from church to church. The terrain covers everything from concrete to sheep tracks to rocky and uneven stones, and there were one or two occasions where my friend and I found ourselves in the middle of nowhere and wondered whether we were still on the path at all!

Every village reached represented a completed stage of the journey and the achievement that, even if we had been a bit lost at times, we had somehow managed to end up in the right place. The local shops were a haven for essential supplies (mainly chocolate!) but it was the churches that will always stand out in my memory.

Tiny village chapels – very often without such luxuries as toilets, kitchens and cushions – but each containing, somewhere in full view of the door, a green box. Opening the box revealed an ink stamp (to be applied to the guide books as proof you’d been there) and a quote from Scripture as a reminder of the pilgrimage that we all walk together. As we journeyed the once empty pages became filled with Scripture, and also reminders of the many communities that are continuing to show the love of God to those they serve.

That particular pilgrimage, unfortunately, remains incomplete. Not long after returning home from what we hoped would be the first of many trips, COVID hit. Each of us had our own experience, but for me life shrank drastically. Every inch of land within three miles of my manse – I lived in a rural area – was explored and re-explored. Ministry became a hybrid of digital (social media, recorded services) and analogue (letter writing). The community came together to create face-mask ‘extenders’ for the local hospital. A few of us began a lighthearted competition to see who could make the best sourdough bread – I did not win!

I’d forgotten that until a couple of weeks ago when Philippa suggested making sourdough starter as a community activity over Lent to involve the groups who use the church, as well as the Sunday congregation.

So, this Lent we will be trying something different. At the service on Sunday 9^th March (the first Sunday in Lent) we will be mixing up a sourdough starter which will be ‘fed’ by user groups throughout the following week. By Sunday 16^th March it should have ‘grown’ enough for those of us in church to take some home to feed and use (simple instructions and recipes will be available!) and/or give to friends or family. It will also be distributed among the user groups. Let’s see how far it can travel and how many people can get involved!

While not a ‘pilgrimage’ in the traditional sense, the process of making sourdough – watching and waiting without hurry, learning its rhythm, trusting in the end result – lends itself to the season of Lent.

Watch out for flyers with more information!

Love and blessings,

Laura

I am no longer my own but yours.
Your will, not mine, be done in all things,
Wherever you may place me,
In all that I do
And in all that I may endure;
When there is work for me
And when there is none;
When I am troubled
And when I am at peace.
Your will be done
When I am valued
And when I am disregarded;
When I find fulfilment
And when it is lacking;
When I have all things,
And when I have nothing.
I willingly offer all I have and am to serve you, as and where you choose.
(The Covenant Prayer: Methodist Worship Book pp288-289)

The annual Covenant Service has been key to Methodism since its beginnings in the 1700s. The Covenant Prayer – which we say together during the service – doesn’t make easy reading.

Perhaps you’re very familiar with it, or maybe you’re seeing it for the first time. Either way, try reading it through slowly several times. Which phrases jump out? Are there any that concern or delight you?

Throughout our lives we make promises. I’m writing this on New Year’s Day having made several New Years Resolutions few of which are likely to survive the fortnight. What can I say? At least I mean well. Similarly, at a first glance the Covenant Prayer looks like a list of standards we can’t possibly live up to. Aren’t we making promises we can’t keep? Setting ourselves up for failure and its associated guilt?

No. Not in the slightest. We enter into these promises knowing perfectly well that we don’t have the strength to keep them all by ourselves. They aren’t a list of things we ‘must’ do in order to earn God’s love but rather opportunities to connect with God and show God’s love in the world. In the Covenant Prayer we experience the challenge of the gospel and are reminded that, ultimately, we are not in charge. We live in God’s world, not God in ours.

Our Covenant Service will take place on Sunday 26^th January at 10.30am. All are welcome!

Happy New Year!

I wonder what is the first thing you think of when you hear the word ‘Advent’. Or ‘Christmas’ for that matter.

Maybe it evokes an image of an Advent wreath; candles waiting expectantly for their turn to be lit. Maybe there’s one church service in the season that’s particularly special to you. Perhaps it brings thoughts of decorations or preparations for visiting family. Maybe the first image that comes to mind is a memory of a previous Christmas.

Whatever it makes you think of, it seems difficult to get away from all things Christmas-related. Some of the shops seem to have been playing Christmas songs for months and the earliest recorded sighting of a Christmas tree this year was mid September!

The word that comes into my mind most frequently at the moment is this: Hope.

Okay, so that’s probably got as much to do with the ‘Forward in Hope’ initiative we’re exploring as part of the Circuit, but nevertheless it seems particularly relevant as we step into Advent. Advent is a time of watching and waiting; a time of gathering excitement, when we anticipate a celebration of the hope that was fulfilled in the coming of God incarnate into the world. As Christians we travel the Advent road alongside a billions of others worldwide and down the ages; a road that began before time itself. A road that does not end in Bethlehem. For many of us it’s a road we have walked many times and yet, as we hear again the familiar and yet hugely challenging words of The Greatest Story Ever Told, there is always something new and exciting to discover.

This Advent I hope that every person reading this, whether you are in the habit of singing ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ in September, or put up your Christmas tree up on Christmas Eve (or are somewhere in the middle) will have the time and space to step back and marvel at the glorious, surprising and varied journey we travel with one another and with God. 

I wish you a joyous Advent and a very merry Christmas!