Prestigious Award for Henllan Church

A church in north Wales has been announced as the Wales winner in this year’s National Church Awards – the “BAFTAs for churches”.

St Sadwrn’s Church in Henllan in the Denbigh Mission Area was awarded the Church and Community Volunteer Award for Wales at a ceremony in the V&A Museum in London on 21 October.

It was one of four UK winners shortlisted from 58 nominations celebrating the dedication, care and impact of the people who care for the UK’s church buildings and who share them with others.

St Sadwrn’s was nominated because of the Weekly Warm Hub which has been running every Thursday for the last two years.

A two-course meal is cooked and served for up to 60 people, using produce saved from landfill. A team of volunteers, led by Gaynor Kumria, collects food going out of date from local supermarkets. This is turned into beautiful meals or shared with the local community to ensure everyone can eat well despite rising bills and an increase in the cost of living.

The judges praised St Sadwrn’s for the extraordinary commitment of its small team of volunteers and the huge difference they make within their rural community. They said: “Despite being a tiny congregation – often fewer than ten people – they are running an impressive range of activities that bring people together and provide real, practical support.

“The church has also created a community fridge, a bee garden, and donation points to encourage visitors and support those in need. Their commitment to sustainability is outstanding – St Sadwrn’s has achieved the rare Gold Eco Church Award, only the second church in Wales to achieve the award back in 2024, and one of only six in all of Wales to reach that standard so far.”

The judges felt that it is a shining example of what a small rural church can achieve when volunteers work with vision, compassion, and deep love for their community.

The award was presented to representatives from Henllan – Gaynor Kumria, Mandy Williams-Jones, Charlotte Jones and the Revd Rebecca Sparey – by Revd Canon Ann Easter, former Chaplain to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, alongside Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, and Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of the Benefact Group.

St Sadwrn’s Church is the fourth church in the Denbigh Mission Area to receive an award in the church baftas and one of seven across the Diocese of St Asaph in the last four years. In 2024, St Mary and St Nefydd in Llannefydd won the Open for Visitors Award for Wales, while Corpus Christi in Tremeirchion, won the Wales award for Volunteer and Community Engagement.

Denbigh Mission Area is a group of 12 churches who work together to serve communities around the town of Denbigh. It is one of 20 Mission Areas making up the Diocese of St Asaph, one of the six dioceses in the Church in Wales, an autonomous province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.