Gorgeous, knitted figures shared Bible stories to 500+ people at Shiloh Church, Tregarth.
Shiloh Methodist Church, Tregarth, aimed to share the good news of the gospel through the Knitted Bible Exhibition. Over 500 people came, many staying for a cuppa and bara brith. There were certainly people who came in because of the knitted Bible who would otherwise be strangers. Above all, the little knitted figures brought such delight.
The four objectives of: making the Bible enjoyable; inviting people into a welcoming space; increasing cooperation between other chapels and denominations and making the church more accessible were all met. Even though Tregarth is a small village people came from far and wide. More bara brith was needed (but they got a good deal from a local baker!).
The members of other Gwynedd & Môn churches and other denominations helped very generously, supporting with volunteers to help with the welcome and to keep the exhibition safe. The exhibition and a call out for volunteers for such an enjoyable event was also a way to reconnect with some chapel members who had lapsed. It was also a lovely, although sadly too rare, opportunity to contact folk at Bangor Methodist Church who were the next to host the exhibition
A small mission grant from Synod enabled the leaflets and posters to be professionally designed and printed. Attractive publicity material set the project on a good footing, letting people know that the Bible and the gospel deserve the best. The lesson learnt was to print more! Free publicity through Radio Cymru also helped a great deal.
Fewer schoolchildren came than hoped, and the lesson learnt was to contact schools long in advance to enable the teachers to plan a visit.
Now the folk at Tregarth are looking to consolidate on the community contacts made. A Cymanfa Ganu event has been arranged for later this year.