Salad days

Ambling along Mostyn Street this morning was extremely pleasant.  The sun was doing its best to crack the flags not already broken, the town was moderately busy, the shops starting to sport their Christmas allure and Trinity was open.  In fact, it opened last week, because one of the parishioners had asked if her late husband's funeral could take place there.

Trinity's had a bad time of it over the summer;  prolonged roof works, poor weather and rain seeping in through the covers fixed during the work have meant that the normally proud edifice has stood somewhat forlorn over what ought to have been a busy season. But there's light at the end of a dismal tunnel, now.

Churches are interesting things. They're places where the majority visit only at Christmas or Easter, Weddings or funerals and for the remainder of the year they bear mute testimony to the avarice of man.  But money has become a major issue in recent times, with churches generally having to devise more and cunning ways to raise money. simply to pay for the ongoing and not insubstantial costs of running themselves.  Many are now turning to pay car parks, covenanting, coffee mornings, bring and buy sales, Christmas fayres and anything else they can think of to bring in the money. Of course, the question that is then asked is whether we need huge buildings such as Trinity's at all. But Trinity has visitors throughout the day and all through the year - some who walk around, some who sit quietly and some who simply admire the construction of a fine building. But whatever their motives, there's little doubt that the sheer size, design and feel of a building like Trinity is an asset to Llandudno - or any town.  And if folk feel a little better for sitting quietly inside then perhaps the 21st Century church is still going strong.