Two Golden Wedding Couples in Resolven

With all the doom and gloom of the coronavirus disrupting our normal lives we must remember not to forget important celebrations. Saturday 28th March was the Golden Wedding of two couples living in the village and even with isolation issues and distancing there was still room for family and friends to congratulate and celebrate the milestone event.

 

Gareth and Carol Williams of Wellfield Avenue Melincourt who were married in St. David’s Church 50 years ago by Vicar Lewis and held their wedding reception in the Miners Welfare Hall.

 

 

 

Gareth and Carol and their 3 children Matthew, Nia, and Emily and their 3 grandchildren  Molly, Evie and Lillia all live locally and even   though they couldn’t be all together yesterday in person due to the isolation situation the family joined together in a virtual party online to celebrate and had a fantastic time and were in fine cheer .

 

The second couple to our story are John and Maureen Fryer of Rheola Avenue. John and Maureen met on holidays in Spain over 50 years ago and Maureen moved from Pontefract in Yorkshire to Resolven to be with John. They got married in Pontefract at Maureen’s family church before moving to settle in Resolven where they still live with John’s sister Anne.

 

 

 

 

They have 2 children Christopher and Michelle, and grandchildren Brad, Taya, Jake and Maisie

Isolation didn’t stop the congratulations  as all it took was a  bit of imagination to congratulate and celebrate the event with their family and neighbours cheering  them from a safe distance when they came into the garden singing happy anniversary, with some even putting flags out,  and making them smile .

Congratulations to both couples from all their friends in Resolven

Report by Diane Sims

Police Advice Notice

NPT Safe and Well Service

 

Resolven Park Closed

24 March 2020 Update on Minimising Social Contact to Tackle COVID-19 and Protect The NHS

Information Provided by Neath Port Talbot CBC

The PM has announced an expansion in social distancing measures.  The arrangements are set out in the following:

Minimising social contact is the most important way that collectively we can tackle COVID-19 and protect the NHS. When we reduce our day-to-day contact with other people, we will reduce the spread of the infection. That is why the government is now introducing three new measures.

 

1.    Requiring people to stay at home, except for essential activities

2.    Closing non-essential shops and community spaces

3.    Stopping public gatherings of more than two people

 

The Government expects every citizen to comply with these new measures. They are vital to saving lives and preventing the spread of the infection.

 These measures will come into effect on Tuesday 24 March 2020. They will initially last for three weeks, until after the Easter weekend, when the Government will update.

 

1. STAYING AT HOME

 You should only leave the house for one of four reasons:

 

●     shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible.

 

●     exercise, such as a run, walk, or cycle. Making sure you exercise is particularly important at this time, but must be alone, or with your immediate household, and not more than once a day.

 

●     any medical need, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.

 

●     travelling to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home. Your employer should take all reasonable steps to support you to work from home wherever possible.

There are some issues which we need to resolve including children travelling to school to collect free school meals.  These four reasons are exceptions – even when doing these activities, you should be minimising time spent outside of the home.

 

 These measures must be followed by everyone.  Shielding arrangements which are already under development will continue.

 

2. CLOSING SHOPS AND PUBLIC SPACES

Last week, the Government asked certain businesses – including pubs, cinemas and theatres – to close.  In Wales Caravan parks, campsites, tourist hotspots and popular beauty spots have been closed to visitors. The Government is now extending this requirement to a further set of business and other venues, including:

  • all non-essential retail stores – this will include clothing and electronics stores; hair, beauty and nail salons; and outdoor and indoor markets, excluding grocery markets.
  • libraries, community centres, and youth centres.
  • indoor and outdoor leisure facilities such as bowling alleys, arcades, and soft play facilities.
  • communal places within parks, such as playgrounds, sports courts and outdoor gyms.
  • places of worship, except for funerals attended by immediate families.
  • hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, campsites, caravan parks, and boarding houses for commercial/leisure use (excludes permanent residents).

 

3. STOPPING PUBLIC GATHERINGS

To make sure people are social distancing, the Government is also stopping all public gatherings of more than two people.

 

 There are only two exceptions to this rule:

 

●     where the gathering is of a group of people who live together – this means that a parent can, for example, take their children to the shops if there is no option to leave them at home; or

 

●     where the gathering is essential for work purposes – but workers should be trying to minimise all meetings and other gatherings in the workplace.

 

In addition, the Government is stopping social events, including weddings, baptisms and other religious ceremonies. This will exclude funerals attended by immediate family.

DELIVERING THESE NEW MEASURES

These measures will reduce our day to day contact with other people. They are a vital part of our efforts to  reduce the rate of transmission of COVID-19.

 

The Government expects every citizen to comply with these new measures.

 

If people do not follow these new measures, we will not reduce the spread of the infection. The Government will therefore be putting in place measures to enforce them, including through fines where people do not comply.

 

The Government understands that these measures will severely restrict citizens’ quality of life and economic activity. But they are considered an essential temporary response to bring down the spread of COVID-19.

 

They will initially last for the next three weeks, until the end of the Easter weekend, at which point the Government will them.

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For more information re Public Services etc. in NPTCBC, then Copy and Paste the following link into your Browser.

http://www.npt.gov.uk/coronavirus

Information from Cllr Dean Lewis

Update from Resolven Food Bank

Following the closure of Resolven Building Blocks today we have made some changes to the way that the food bank operates. The Resolven food bank will remain OPEN to support as many people in this difficult time as possible. From now on all parcel requests need to be made between Monday and Thursday either through inboxing our facebook page or calling 07756763664. When you get in touch you will be asked to give details of how many people your parcel is for and any dietary requirements you have. We will then give you a time slot to collect your parcel on a Friday ONLY between the hours of 10am and 1pm. Our delivery service will still be running during this time but this again will only be running on a Friday. All social distancing safety measures will be in full effect during these times. We appreciate your patience with these changes and thank you all for working with us in this time.

Christina James

Sitting Pretty !

 

LOVELY IMAGE by MIKE DAVIES RDN PHOTOGRAPHER

Important Local Information from Resolven CC

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Message from Rev’d Andrew J Davies

St David’s Church – Resolven

St. David’s Church will be open between 11.00am and 12.00 noon each Sunday for prayer, please feel free to drop in and offer prayer for whatever is on your heart. I will be there, however, if you just wish to drop your prayer off at the rear of the Church then I shall ensure that your need will be prayed for. if you wish to stay, please don’t feel the need to be there for the full hour. Stay for as long or as short a time as you wish.

HOWEVER, PLEASE ENSURE YOU HAVE FOLLOWED ALL NECESSARY GUIDELINES, WASHING OF HANDS AND/OR THE USE OF HAND GEL. ALSO THAT YOU ARE IN GOOD HEALTH. SOCIAL DISTANCING SHOULD BE MAINTAINED FOR EVERYBODY’S PROTECTION

Rev’d Andrew J Davies

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Religious Services in Resolven

Due to the present circumstances regarding social gatherings, the following Churches and Chapels in Resolven will NOT be holding Services until further notice.

JERUSALEM CHAPEL

TABERNACLE CHAPEL

SARDIS CHAPEL

St DAVID’S CHURCH

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Message for Sardis Members from Pastor Fortunato Santos

Hello there!!

As you are aware, we are facing some very challenging days ahead of us. At the present moment we are not allowed to get together for worship in our building. So, in order to keep in touch with everyone, I will be sending you some notes of our Sunday Evening worship and also of our Tuesday Prayer meetings.

The Lord is certainly doing a new thing.

May the Lord truly bless you.

 

 

NOTES FOR THIS WEEK BELOW

 

“FEAR NOT” Message 22/03/20

Read this message on Sunday at 6pm and pray. Sing the hymns ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus and Blessed Assurance Jesus is Mine’, If you do not know them, sing two hymns you know.

As you are aware, at the present moment we are not able of meeting together in our building because of the circumstances we are living in. However, we must remind ourselves that we are the church of God and not the building itself. It is great to have a building where we can meet together and worship the Lord and hold many different activities that benefit the local community and beyond and at the same time serve as a base where people can learn more about the bible.At the moment in time many people are really distressed and frightened of what is happening, but the word of God to us His children is ‘Fear Not’. The bible has a lot to say about ‘fear’. The first time we read the word ‘fear’ in the bible is in Genesis 9:2; it was about God speaking to Noah; ‘The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth…’. This verse is speaking about the creatures of the earth being subdued by mankind and this is not the ‘fear’ I am talking about. The ‘Fear’ I am talking about is when we face a new situation in our lives and we do not know how to handle it. Something we do not have the human power to control. In this aspect the first time we see the word ‘Fear’ in the bible it is in Genesis 15:2 ‘After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision; “Do not fear Abram. Abram, I am your shield and, your very great reward’. ‘The after this’ the bible is talking about it is some fierce battles Abram fought to set his nephew Lot free. Abram had other many challenges ahead of him and he stepping into the ‘unknown’, it was ‘unknown to Abram but for God, because our God knows everything’.

There are many other verses in the bible about fear, such as ‘Isaiah 41;10 -13; Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:13,30 Luke 2:10; Luke 12:7 and many others. Going back to Genesis 15:2 we find another very important promise God gave to Abram; ‘I am your shield, your very reward’.  So, people of God, the Lord is our shield.

Fear it is to have faith in the enemy. The verses above I gave you, the Lord spoke to the people when they were facing a new situation. They were going to walk on unchartered territory and this is the very expression the politicians, doctors, professors are using at the moment ‘unchartered territory’, it is uncharted for them but not for our God. He is our shield, so, fear not.

Fear will cause you anxiety, sleepless nights, sadness, depression etc. Only bad things come with fear, that’s why He tells us ‘Fear not’. You can choose to be a prisoner of your own fear or be free of fear in your own mind and heart.  Of course we need to be wise and cooperate with the authorities as much as we can. We must be an example in our communities. We must be wise but not be frightened, because the Lord is our shield.

We listen to the news or watch the TV to get fresh information, but TV does not build our faith, it is the word of God that teaches us to trust in Him. We believers, we believe and put our faith in God and not in the TV. The TV gives us information but not power, but we know there is power in the word of God.

Do not allow fear to paralyze you or take your inner peace away. It that is happening pray against it. Ask God to fill you with His peace, tell Him you are afraid and ask Him to help you. Let the Lord quieten your emotions and speak tenderly into your soul. When fear grips your heart and mind say it ‘The Lord is my shield and in Him I put my trust’. Pray God’s protection upon you and your family. We are believers we belong to God, no need to live in fear.

God bless – Pastor Fortunato Santos

 

BIBLE STUDY – 24/03/20

Sing hymns ‘Majesty Worship His Majesty / Here is Love vast as the ocean’. Please read John 15:1-17

Every week we are going to have a memory verse ‘This is my command; “Love each other”. John 15:17

Read this Bible Study at 7 pm on  Tuesday and after that pray through the prayer points.

In our Bible Study and Prayer Meeting on Tuesdays, we have been looking at the passage in John 15: 1 -17. Today we come to our last part of this study. Today we are going to be looking at verse 17, which says; ‘This is my command: Love each other’.

This is a very short verse and how timely it is for these uncertain days we are living in at the present moment. It is very easy to love people when things are easy and when we get on with them. However, it is a real test for ‘true love’, when life proves to be a bit more difficult than what we are used to.

When the Lord Jesus spoke these words it was during the Last Passover Meal. He knew the cross was just a matter of hours but the disciples did not know it. The disciples were in a festive mood as they were celebrating the Passover meal together. Jesus knew it was their last Passover meal together but the disciples did not know that. The disciples were going to have a very difficult time ahead of them and the Lord commanded them ‘Love each other’. Love is not a sentimental feeling, love is a moral decision. Love is to do the best for God and my neighbour. Love is not based on feelings, love is to be practical in doing the best for God and those around us.

Someone asked me, ‘Where is your faith that you are closing down the church?’ I think it is a very valid question. We are not closing the church we are closing our building and not because of the fear of the Coronavirus, we are closing the doors in obedience to what the government of our land has requested of us. We are the church of God. If the government had not requested of us to close the doors, we had a ‘plan that was going to be implemented in order for us to keep our doors open’. The government is not asking of us to do something unbiblical, because this we would not have done. The government is under a lot of pressure and they are making some extremely difficult decisions. By cooperating with the government we are showing we are good citizens and at the same time that we care for each other, it is a practical way of showing love.

We have seen through the TV and newspapers how selfish people have been in buying much more than what they need. People are afraid. In 1 John 4:18 we learn ‘Perfect love cast out all fears’. We as believers have a wonderful opportunity of showing perfect love to those are living under fear. Think about this verse (John 15:17) and reflect on it again and again throughout the week. Love for the believer is not an option, it is a commandment from the Lord. Let people around us see that we love them and we care for them.

Prayer points:

People who are unwell: John Jervis, Terry Brock, June Harris, Heather James, Heather Miller, Julie Morgan, Terry Brettle,

Government, NHS staff, Shop Keepers, The Elderly, The Lonely. A vaccine and medication to be found against Coronavirus

Missionaries: Helen Matara, Barbara Knoyle and family, Andy Hutton and family, Silva Family

God bless – Pastor Fortunato Santos

 

 

More Snow on the Beacons

IMAGE by MIKE DAVIES RDN PHOTOGRAPHER

Food Bank Needs Our Help Urgently

I work at Resolven Building Blocks and volunteer at the Food Bank and we are absolutely desperate at the moment for donations.

We are now seeing more of a demand for our food bank than ever so we are pleading with our lovely community to please spare what they can. We are desperate for the following items:
Soup, Vegetables, Tinned Meat, Fish, Fruit, Rice Pudding/Custard, Sponge Pudding, Biscuits, Sugar, Instant Mash, Long Life Juice, Jam
 Cat and Dog food, Washing powder, Soap or shower gel, deodorant, shampoo, shaving foam

Please don’t forget if you or someone you know needs a food parcel you can access our food bank Monday-Friday 9-3pm through calling 01639 710076 or message our Facebook page. We are also continuing to offer home deliveries for those who are unable to leave their homes.

Caitlin Gnojek (Assistant Family Development Officer)

 

 

 

Isolation Posters ~ NPT Council

Information received from Cllr. Dean Lewis

The following are copies of two isolation posters that have been issued by Neath Port Talbot Council.

 


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