A
Christian Centre in Mid Wales
In
the year 2000 Marcia Gibson-Watt
and Penelope Bourdillon published a beautiful book entitled “The Four
Graces”. The
text was mainly prayers and poems, Marcia had illustrated
it with paintings of all sixty three Anglican Churches in Radnorshire.
Their
intent had been to raise money for the Royal Welsh Showground in the year that
Marcia’s husband, Robin, was President of the Show.
They were able to give £28,000 towards the new sheep pens but a further
£12,000 was reserved for an Ecumenical Christian Centre to be built on the
site.
A model is currently on display at the Showground. £750,000 is needed overall to build and secure running costs of the Centre. . It will be used all year round as an office for the appointed rural stress officer, and there will be a central meeting room for 150 people, a consulting/prayer room, a kitchen and a WC.
The
Centre will be a Christian, spiritual, pastoral presence in an expanding village
on the Showground near Builth Wells where increasing numbers of organisational
bodies are using the grounds to meet during the whole year; e.g. it is now the
permanent headquarters of the NFU, Cymru/Wales.
We therefore feel an urgency to build the Centre here uniting all
Christians. We are under
attack for building a new church when so many churches are having to close, but
the Centre must be in the heart of the community and therefore we feel strongly
it is God’s calling and vision.
To
get the fund-raising started Marcia and Penelope [both ARM (Wales) members] are
producing a new companion prayer
book., called “A.C.T.S. (1)” This
time the illustrations will be of churches from all denominations and from all
over Wales.
The
book will be hardback with a black cover and the same size as "The Four
Graces". 5000 are to be
printed by the end of September, the cost will be
approximately
£20.
Please support and pray for this project.
Marcia Gibson-Watt and Penelope Bourdillon
Elim Church, Llandrindod Wells.
This was first a Quaker Meeting House in 1897 and is now Pentecostal.