Parishioners of St Faith’s Church in Llanfoist have pulled out all the stops in recent years to keep the historic church going.

But faced now with the loss of their organist, whose musical accompaniment lifted the voices of the congregation, they fear for the future.

Church warden Jan Benjamin explained, “Parishioners work tirelessly to keep the church going, raising money for its upkeep via activities like coffee mornings.

“This year our organist Carol Ridley has had to give up playing due to arthritis in her hands.

“She has given many years of service to St Faith’s, St Helen’s in Llanellen and Christchurch in Govilon but her painful joints mean she has been forced to give up playing in church.

“We desperately need someone who can play to help us, as services are far more joyous with music to help the singing.

“I am wondering if a story in the Chronicle might help us find someone willing to play for us?

“In the long term, I think it is fair to say, congregations are dwindling and we fear without Carol providing music in the church we may have taken another step towards seeing St Faith’s close.

“I feel strongly that a vibrant church offering a wide range of activities inside and outside of the church is a very important part of village and community life.

“If the church goes a vital cog linking up different groups within the community will be lost. I very much hope one of your readers can help.”

Her sentiments are echoed by regular churchgoer Sylvia Davenport, a relative newcomer to the village.

“St Faith’s is such a lovely little church. We really have to do something,” she said.

“We have a Eucharist service every Sunday at 9.30am where the regular congregation is around 12 people, but last Sunday there were only five of us and it’s quite a struggle to sing hymns without the accompaniment of organ music.

“The local population has grown tremendously with so many new houses being built. There must be lots of people who would like to come along but don’t know where to find us. It’s the only spiritual centre in the area.

“We were full for the Christmas Eve carol service and families still book the church for weddings, baptisms and funerals - but we never see them again.

“We also have a church hall in the centre of the village with amazing facilities - alongside the local Post Office.

“Every other Monday we hold a coffee morning there to raise funds for the upkeep of the church. We also have a bingo night once a month.

“But we need to promote the fact that the church hall is available for private hire too, for functions and events.”

She added, “It’s so important to keep the community together in a village like Llanfoist, particularly now there is no local shop.”

If you’d like to volunteer or need more information please contact Rector Chris Walters on 01873 831048.

* St Faith’s holds records for baptisms from 1736–1975, marriages from 1736–1971, banns from 1824–47 and 1890–1933 and burials from 1736-1945.

The church’s east window and two small windows in the chancel were erected by the neighbouring gentry to the memory of Nantyglo ironmaster Crawshay Bailey, who had retired to Llanfoist House in the village and is buried in the churchyard. A three-light window on the north side was given by his tenantry as a memorial to him as well.

The chancel was restored in 1877 by his son.

Novelist Alexander Cordell, most famously author of Rape of the Fair Country, is also buried there.

In January 2012 an ancient yew tree in the church grounds, which was believed to be up to 1,000 years old, was brought down by high winds.

The tree was one of two ancient yews in the churchyard, which also has a CADW-listed ancient stone cross.