Caldicot Methodist Church: Mothers and Toddlers

Mothers and Toddlers meet every Thursday morning from 9.30 to 11.00. The group seeks to serve the community by encouraging parents to bring along their infants from 0 – 2+ to develop their social skills as they interact with their peers.

For many children who live in cramped conditions, the ‘School Room’ is a wonder as they run around.

It is always good to have different toys other than your own and the group has acquired some really large pieces. The group is self-funding, subscribing to the church three times a year.

Thursday is also a time for parents, grandparents and child-minders to socialise over a cup of tea or coffee whilst the children have their juice and a biscuit. Birthdays are observed and presents and treats mark the high days and holidays.

Church Membership

The Methodist Church welcomes into membership all who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and are seeking to work out what that means in their daily lives. Members are committed to worship, Holy Communion, fellowship and service, prayer and Bible study, and responsible giving. Members are also committed to the offering of personal service in the community, the Christian use of their resources and the support of the Church in its total world mission. At Caldicot Methodist church we will hold membership services during the year, when new members are welcomed into the Methodist Church and confirmed into the body of Christ. If you have queries about membership, the minister will be delighted to discuss this with you. Membership of another denomination or church can also be transferred and recognised in a service.

Baptisms and Missions

At Caldicot Methodist Church, we also welcome all those who want to explore more issues concerning your children. We also recognise that for some people today that issues of faith are areas that need to be explored more so we offer the three services below for families and individuals who need help in knowing what is the most helpful way to encourage your child in areas of faith. THE TYPE OF SERVICE – BAPTISM, DEDICATION OR THANKSGIVING?
BAPTISM is for those who believe in the Christian Faith. It provides a way of promising to raise the child in a Christian home, acknowledging the promises that the parents make before God and the Church. It is to welcome the child into God’s family now, but also looks forward to welcoming them as a candidate for Confirmation / Membership into the Church.
DEDICATION provides Christian parents with a way of offering thanks to God for the gift of a child, and whilst it acknowledges them as part of the Church family, it looks forward to their own profession of faith and subsequent Baptism as a believer.
THANKSGIVING provides an open opportunity to say thank you to God for the child without the requirement of a profession of faith on their behalf. Such a service is for those parents who may not attend Church regularly, and have not as yet made a firm commitment to the Christian Faith. But it is for parents who sincerely desire a Church service acknowledging the gift of a child given to them.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CALDICOT METHODIST CHURCH

On Wednesday 21st October 1741, Charles Wesley ‘came to Caldecot (sic), and preached to a small attentive company of people (at the Cross) on “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.”’ The first Wesleyan Chapel in Caldicot was opened in 1807, when Caldicot was a small agricultural community with a population of about 450. It was a detached building on the north side of Newport Road, where Morgan Travel and Wyedean Wholefoods are now situated. The South Wales Railway opened in 1850 and the improved communications attracted industry. The opening of the Severn Tunnel in 1886 brought many railway workers to the area and the population had more than doubled in 40 years. By the time the chapel was 70 years old it was becoming too small and on 9th May 1895 the foundation stone was laid for the present building. It was completed by October 1895 with seating for 280 and a further 250 in the Schoolroom. The old chapel was sold and became a reading room which closed after the First World War when the building was taken over by Cyril Washbourne for use as a cycle shop and, later, a garage. It was demolished to make way for the present shopping centre. The new church was certified as a place for conducting marriages in 1898 and funerals were held at the Church from 1906. In 1932 the Wesleyan Methodists united with the Primitive Methodists and the United Methodists to form the Methodist Church. In Caldicot the United Methodists met at Jubilee Chapel in Chepstow Road, near the Cross, now the site of an Indian takeaway. Despite the Union, the congregations continued to meet separately until Jubilee Chapel closed in the 1960’s. The Church was extended in the 1970’s to give a new kitchen, toilets and a hall, replacing a corrugated iron lean-to which had served these purposes for many years. The inside of the Church was literally turned around during the 1980’s: the organ was dismantled and rebuilt in the opposite corner; the pulpit was altered to just a small one in the corner; the back windows became the front windows; the back wall knocked down and replaced by a removable partition which could be opened for special services; the porch was enlarged and a new doorway made, and chairs replaced the pews for flexibility. The most recent improvement, the two-storey annexe, was opened in 1996. Extracted from the Centenary booklet written by Peter Strong of Caldicot Local History Society.