The Mormons in Porthmadog are always anxious to serve the community and they recently were given several opportunities to offer support with a number of service projects.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined with the Royal British Legion in the Pwllheli area for the third year running to sell poppies for the annual Poppy Appeal, and it seemed to make a difference: the amount donated by generous local residents in Pwllheli town and the surrounding villages exceeded all previous totals, largely because there were so many more collectors. Many local people commented at their front doors, as the collectors called, that it was a pleasure to see them after so long without collections. Myfanwy Hughes, RBL Appeals Coordinator in Pwllheli, said: “We are so grateful to the Mormons for helping out in this worthy cause.”
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Local Church leader, Christopher Jones, led a party of young men to the services at Porthmadog's St John's Church and then on the march to the Cenotaph where he laid a wreath on behalf of the members.
The next opportunity to help out involved redecorating the Café Cymunedol in Dyffryn Ardudwy. After years of use the café needed a good clean-down and re-painting. Newly appointed manager Denise Stone asked the Porthmadog Latter-day Saints for help. The result was a clean-and-paint assault by a team of youth with some adults, and a sparkling new café and kitchen. “Brilliant!” commented Denise.
Later, the organisers of the North Wales Refugee Support clothing aid project in Blaenau Ffestiniog needed extra hands to help in sorting and packing the mountains of clothing donated and collected in the Orthodox Church in Manod. What followed has been described by the organisers on social media sites as the “Miracle of Manod.” A good number of people turned up to place clothes into sizes and types, including over twenty Porthmadog congregation members – ranging in age from four to eighty-eight – and the clothes were then duly sorted and sent to Greece for the refugees. Organiser Caron Dukes stated: “After so many months with so few of us slogging on relentlessly, we were agog to see one after another of a long row of very welcome helpers.”
One young volunteer commented, in light of the terrorist attack in Paris: “At college everyone was talking about fear, anger and revenge, and it was kind of depressing. This felt so good, to do something just out of love, to help some people just because they are God's children and need help – and to be with so many other people who were giving of themselves. It made me feel Christlike and reminded me that fear and hate can never be more powerful than love.”
Throughout this time members continue to contribute to food bank collections, taking their donations to the main centre in Pwllheli for use by local residents in need.