The past few months have been very busy for members of St. Andrew's Church. In late October, members of the Narberth group of Churches, Robeston Wathen, Crinow and St. Andrew's joined together to celebrate with Miss Judith Francis her 25th anniversary as lay reader. A service was held on October 29, with Miss Francis preaching the sermon, and was followed by a reception in the Church Hall. A wonderful buffet had been prepared by the ladies of the three churches, with some lovely mouth-watering desserts which were enjoyed by all. During the reception, the Rector, Rev. Peter Lewis, proposed a toast to Miss Francis and thanked her for her years of service to the three churches and hoped she would have many more happy years with them. To mark the occasion, he presented her, on behalf of all the members, with a delightful print of St. Andrew's Church. Mr. Eric George (treasurer) presented her with a monetary gift and Mrs. Enid Jones (people's warden) presented her with a lovely bouquet of flowers. Miss Francis responded by thanking everyone for the gifts and good wishes received, and also providing the refreshments which helped to make this such a wonderful occasion. During November, members were busy preparing for the Christmas Fayre which was held on December 2. This was a somewhat new venture for St. Andrew's and turned out to be a great success. Members had made lovely Christmas gifts and beautiful floral arrangements for the stalls. The hall had been seasonally decorated and mulled wine and mince pies were served while festive music was played. A grand raffle was organised, the first prize being a fresh turkey, very generously donated by Mr. Andrew Rees, butcher, which was won by Mrs. F. Thomas. The second prize, a lovely Christmas cake, kindly made and given by Mr. F. Dorras, was won by Mrs. P. Phillips, together with many more prizes. A beautifully dressed doll was won by Page Howells. The word competition, based on Christmas carol titles, was won by Shirley Cookson. The Rector thanked members for all their hard work and everyone for coming to support the church and wished everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. On December 3, the Christingle service was held, with the ladies of the Mothers Union kindly preparing all the Christingles. The choir of Narberth Primary School delighted everyone with their carols, sung both in English and Welsh, and also the playing of string instruments with a very cheery 'Jingle Bells'. December 10 saw members joined by friends from Jeffreyston Parish to hold a joint sung Evensong and on December 21 a service of 'Carols by Candlelight', with members, including the Mayor, Clr. Eric Feetham MBE, reading the lessons. The church had been attractively decorated for Christmas by the lady members, with melodious carols and Christmas music played by organist Dr. Geraint Rees throughout all the services.
