Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

“I had to take a moment,” said Father Darren Lynch, curate of St Tyfaelog church, recalling the emotion he has felt over the last few days. 

“Christmas is a time of giving,” he said, and from what he’s seen in the Taff Ministry Area, the spirit of giving seems to be alive and well.

The Parish of Pontlottyn with Fochriw is running a gift-giving programme and donations have been received from the congregation and the community. “It’s truly touching to see how easily people can open their hearts,” said Fr Lynch. 

The concept is a simple one. People can get in touch with the Parish and request that an adult in Pontlottyn, Fochriw or Butetown receives a gift. 

The present could be for someone who has “simply had a bad time of it recently’, or someone who is ill or alone. 

According to Age UK, loneliness is heightened at Christmas, with 1.5 million older people saying that feel lonelier during the festive season compared to other times of the year. 

For the gift-giving initiative, however, adults of any age can be referred. “[If there’s] a need, we’re there,” said Fr Lynch.

The programme is not new. It was started by Father Rob Lindsay as a ‘natural response’ to isolation and difficulties during the pandemic and came with its own complications back then due to social distancing, according to Fr Lynch.  

“Volunteers [were] walking up, putting [a] gift on [the] door and running away like naughty teens,” he joked. 

Regulations may have eased but the need for connection and kindness at Christmas remains unchanged. “People still need that connection,” said Fr Lynch. “To know that they’re not forgotten.”

The plan is for Fr Lynch and a group of five or six volunteers to collect resources and prepare matters before wrapping the gifts, adding a tag and taking to the streets next week to deliver the presents – something Fr Lynch is looking forward to. 

“For me, it’s just about getting out there,” he said, adding that ‘walking with people’ is, after all, part of his ordination vows. 

Christianity may be integral to Fr Lynch’s life but it has waned in the area with Caerphilly county borough reporting one of the highest percentages of people in the UK who had “no religion” in the last census, and the highest number in Wales at 56.7%, according to the 2021 census conducted by the Office for National Statistics. 

Yet, what Fr Lynch has seen has given him hope. “Christianity is now a minor religion,” he said. “And then you get a community response like we’ve had.

“It’s astounding.”

And that’s not all. Nestled between the pulpit and the pews of St Tyfaelog’s, the Christmas tree stands bright with white lights and green and gold baubles with gift bags and wrapped presents underneath.

This is thanks to more gift-giving from the Parish, with the congregation of St Tyfaelog’s also contributing to the ‘Toy Sunday’ appeal, which works with churches within the Caerphilly county borough. 

The “sheer number and quality” of toys has taken Fr Lynch aback as gifts such as a paw patrol command centre and WWE wrestling figures have been received. 

They will be donated to the upper Rhymney Valley Food Bank and to children and families in need this Christmas. Figures show that more than a third of people will spend less on presents this Christmas due to a combination of the cost-of-living crisis, energy prices, worries about debt and attempts to be thriftier, according to research from the charity, Oxfam.

That’s why it’s almost extra special this year, according to Fr Lynch. “Those that donate are so generous,” he said. 

After all, the meaning of Christmas runs deeper than what’s under the tree. ”It’s about showing people that the spirit of Christmas is still alive – as hard as it gets.”