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St Illtyd’s Church in Llantrithyd is normally a tranquil place, but at the end of March the churchyard came alive with a Family Eco Afternoon for families and communities from across the East Vale Ministry Area.The rain held off for the afternoon, and the churchyard was transformed with various activities including crafts, prayer leaves, painting bird boxes, face-painting and stomping in seeds to our newly rewilded area.The Ministry Area has been exploring new ways to reach out to local families, recognising its rural position and buildings lend themselves to different things compared with more urban areas. St Illtyd’s reached out to Glamorgan Hedgehog Rescue who have rehomed a hedgehog in the churchyard and connected with the event.The idea for the Family Eco Afternoon emerged out of a survey sent local schools along with the existing rewilding project within one of the East Vale churches. The aim was simply to allow families to come along and have fun exploring God’s creation while building relationships and trust with the church.Rachel Petley, ordinand in East Vale Ministry Area, said “It was wonderful to work with different people from across the ministry area to bring this about, as well having the support of various people from within the diocese. This included the Growth Enablers team, who were able to advise us as we planned for the event and support us on the day.”The eco focus of the day drew in people who would not normally be involved in church. Rachel said one of the highlights was seeing a school mum decide last minute to come along, then proceed to turn up with conkers, acorns, pots and compost to add another activity to the mix.Members of the congregation made the churchyard safe and kept everyone supplied with drinks and cakes. The bugs of the churchyard had never seen such luxury accommodation before the kids built and decorated their new bug hotel, and everyone can be proud of the future wildflower meadow area that was sown.Rachel said, “It was beautiful to see friendships start to spring up between different children, and to be able to chat with parents and gently plant seeds about church and faith. We’re already beginning to see the fruit of that, with some attending our existing monthly family service held in one of our local schools. "We’ve learned some positive lessons to take forward for next time and are looking excitedly to see what might be next.”St Illtyd’s, Llantrithyd will be taking part in the Churches Unlocked Festival from 3rd to 11th June. Keep an eye out for their events at www.churchesunlocked.org/events