News

	*The Parish Festival 2010* The Flower Festival will again launch our Benefice festival for 2010, and this year will begin on Friday 11th June. The Flower Festival will be at St Agnes’ on the theme of Favourite Novels, and there will be an opening Buffet on Friday 11th June at 7pm. Tickets will be £5. Entry will be free for the Flower Festival on the Saturday and Sunday.
If you want to take part and arrange flowers please contact Val James on 885053. There is going to be a five day exhibition of stained and architectural glass by Swansea University, probably beginning on 21st June. Sunday 4th July will see our Songs of Praise at St Agnes’ at 4pm followed by tea and cakes. On Saturday 10th July the Festival will end with a Centenary Concert to celebrate St Agnes’ 100 years, given by the Pontarddulais Male Voice Choir, who are themselves celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. Once again this year we have been looking for sponsorship for the Festival. If anyone would like to help pay for the cost of publicity we would be immensely grateful. No amount is too small if you area ble to support please e-mail: The Reverend Canon Nigel Cahill

“Hello,” from Fr Matthew

"Fr Matthew Trick and his dog Maisy,
enjoy a walk on Aberavon Beach"

Having met so many members of our congregations, I can now say thank you for the warmth of your welcome and your support in my first few weeks with you. It does feel that I'm coming ‘home’ having been born and brought up down the road in Swansea.

I remember as a child taking the bus on a Saturday morning from the Mumbles to the Kingsway where my father worked for Lloyds Bank.

The family then moved up to Llantwit Major where we lived for some 12 years. Now a confession, I haven’t always gone to Church.

My only memory of Church whilst growing up was the
once a year jaunt to the Christingle service and here
comes, my second confession: my love of the Christingle service probably had more to do with the Jelly Tot’s
on sticks than any spiritual reason.

Seriously though, I did find the feel of Church, the candles and the music captivating and those early experiences of Church planted a seed to be harvested many years later.It was just as I was starting my A Levels that the thought of
going to Church in a committed way entered my head.

I started to attend St Illtyd’s in Llantwit Major in 1997 and again encountered the warmth of a Christian community.
It’s a great blessing to be able to serve alongside priests in this diocese who nurtured my faith during my time in Llantwit Major.

From Llantwit I went to university in Aberystwyth to study economics. It was here that I went on an Alpha course and Church became something more than a caring community,
it became a place where I encountered and worshipped God.
It was whilst worshipping at St Michael’s Church in Aberystwyth that I developed a passion for youth work and after completing my degree I became a Youth Worker in the Oxford Diocese.

I worked for Lloyds TSB Bank in my university holidays and went into banking as a career after completing my work in the Oxford Diocese. I started as a Cashier working in Bridgend and ended up a Business Banking Manager based on the Kingsway in Swansea.

Third confession! From the time I left university in Aberystwyth, all the way through working for the Oxford Diocese and into my time inbanking, I had this nagging sense that I should explore going forward for ordained ministry in the Church. I resisted for many years but I knew that God was behind this calling and wouldn’t give up despite my best attempts at ignoring him. So it was inSeptember 2005 I entered St Michael’s College in Llandaff.

Then followed a roller coaster period in my life. During this period I met my wife Sarah and after a short engagement we got married in July 2007 in Llandaff Cathedral!

The following year I was back in the Cathedral to be ordained
Deacon in 2008 and, after another year, Priest in 2009.
My first parish was actually a group of 10 parishes based around Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan. There were many highlights and a learning curve as steep as I had ever
known.

On the personal front it was whilst in Cowbridge that my wife and I started a private zoo (not really but we acquired a two cats and a dog). So Sarah and I are delighted to be with you here in Aberavon and looking forward to getting to know everyone in our Benefice.