Following the launch of the “Five Personal Things” in the pastoral area at the beginning of the year, our congregations focused mainly on food, the environment, and our role as churches and individuals to be faithful stewards of creation.
As part of the campaign, our weekly newsletter included a recipe each week, encouraging us not to waste food and to create meals from ingredients that were already available in the kitchen.
According to the Welsh Government website, we waste around 400,000 tonnes of food every year in Wales (2025). This reminds us that each of us has a responsibility to develop a healthy relationship with food, and not to be consumed by our age’s culture of over-buying.
Five Things Picnic
In the middle of the season of Lent, although the weather was not perfect for a picnic, we went to Bryngarw Park on the outskirts of Bridgend. The aim of the picnic was to get outdoors, to walk, and to take time to notice nature and the beauty of God’s creation. There was an opportunity to recognise and listen to the sound of the birds and to marvel at the diversity. There were a few readings among the trees, and a prayer by the lake, before coming together around the table for a “Five Things” picnic, where everyone had brought their own packed lunch. This was a valuable opportunity to socialise and talk about food, but also an opportunity to reflect on our responsibility as Christians to care for creation.
