Church back in spotlight after renovation work

RENOVATION work on a Cardiff church which helps recovering addicts has been completed.

Work on the Bethel Presbyterian Church in Ely has recently finished after the minister’s previous churches in Philadelphia, USA, offered to fund the project.

Church minister Mark Johnston has served the church for two-and-a-half years, working with several people who struggle with addiction.

Mr Johnston, 57, who lives in Barry, said: “A lot of people saw the building from the outside and it didn’t look very appealing.

“We got a bit of funding and we decided to do some renovations on the outside and the inside.

“I was out in America for about four years, and when a high society church at the opposite end of the social spectrum heard that I was in Ely and with all of its associations.

“Two churches became involved and they gave the funding.”

The funding went towards repaving the outside of the building, and general improvements on the inside of the building which opened in 1992.

He added: “The reaction to it has been absolutely amazing.

“We have gone from being invisible, to people talking about us.

“Part of the work was we have had a new display board and people have been stopping by and taking notice of what we do.”

Another church in Carolina also provided funding for a community worker for 18 months, which will end in May.

Originally from Belfast, Mr Johnston, who has previously served in churches in Philadelphia, London and Ireland, said the area deals with a “high percentage” of addiction issues.

The church had previously tried to run a addiction programme, but Mr Johnston said it never “quite got off the ground”.

Mr Johnston added: “We have got at least three or four guys who come here who are still struggling with those things.

“But then one of our guys who was a drug and alcohol addict beat his addiction, and he started to offer one on one to people who need help and to get them on their feet.

“Sometimes we get calls out in the middle of the night to come out and help, but as a minister I’m used to it. Nothing surprises me anymore.”

Alongside Sunday church services, Mr Johnston also offers a club for teenagers on a Friday and a music class called Tiny Tunes for toddlers and mums.