Last Sunday saw high-spirited celebrations at St Michael’s church in Mitchel Troy.

Members from all the churches in the Monmouth group joined together for Sunday morning’s service. Before it began, Reverend Owen Williams invited the congregation out to the lychgate in celebration of its completed restoration.

In July the Beacon reported that the Grade II-listed medieval lychgate that leads visitors into the church grounds had fallen into a fragile state which the church was raising funds to repair. It was learnt last December that the walls and roof were spreading badly and in danger of collapse.

Temporary measures were put in place to ensure the safety of pedestrians, however the impact had affected many residents close to the church.

The repair works, expected to cost around £31,000, came at a time when wider renovations were planned for the church. With the lychgate restored, the focus can shift back to fundraising to improve and modernise the interior of the church building. The project hopes to upgrade the church interior with internal toilets, an improved kitchen and flexible seating. The plans are displayed in the church for residents to take a look.

The Sunday service at St Michael’s celebrated not only the restoration of the lychgate but also the church’s harvest and patronal festivals.

During the service there were all the traditional hymns followed by a sermon by Reverend Williams about the need to care for God’s creation within the context of the increasing emergency of climate change. He challenged the congregation to reduce carbon emissions however small it may be and above all, become informed.

A collection of £200 was taken in aid of the New Life Centre in West Bengal. Early in September its founder Alindra Naskar, who has worked in partnership with Hands Around the World, gave a moving sermon to the congregation.