The Shining - Two

Trinity might not have packed them in last night, but the hour spent listening to the choir as they bravely attempted some tricky a cappella items and fought their distance from the organ pipes to achieve a passable rendition of most accompanied items, in addition to hearing Christmas readings of varying genres was pleasingly complemented by the understated illumination of the stained glass nativity windows at the rear of the church.

Churches in the 21st Century are fighting something of a rearguard action against apathy, materialism, confusion, apologist preaching - in general, a whole host of things which seek to challenge the relevance of the church - particularly the Church of England (Wales, as it is, here) - but frequently overlooked are the pastoral and social aspects of what the Church provides.  Llandudno is well provided for by our Victorian forbears, inasmuch as there are several churches littered about the place, and being a retirement venue, older folk seem to turn to the church for all the above reasons, which can skew the membership profiles of churches, augmenting that irrelevancy many feel applies. But there's something about old church buildings - something serene and timeless - and that can be an interesting salve to the stressed soul. Whatever your feelings about Christmas, things like carol services in churches like Trinity tend to evoke the most benign childhood memories - and that has to be a plus. And the bell ringing is excellent :-)