SUNDAY SERVICES - Knighton Baptist Church, 11am led by Rev Maggie Rich.

Knighton Methodist Church, 11am. Knighton Catholic Church, 11am. St Edward’s, Knighton, 9.30am Holy Communion led by Rev Melia Cope. St David’s, Whitton, morning worship led by Rev Petra Beresford-Webb. St Andrew’s, Norton, 11am morning worship led by Rev Gordon Mansfield.

VOLUNTEERING ON PRESCRIPTION - Knighton Community Support is celebrating good news on the funding front. The project Volunteering on Prescription, which works with people suffering mental health problems, has run for three years on a National Lottery grant in four locations in Powys, but faced the axe when funding ran out last August. The project has received 105 referrals from health care professionals in this time and successfully placed 94 into volunteering placements. Because of its considerable success and with the support of the participants and mental health professionals, staff at Knighton Community Support set out to keep their part of the project afloat.

Trustees agreed to allocate funds raised from the organisation’s furniture recycling project to keep VOP on part-time tick-over while project manager Lesley Wootton sought more long-term funding. VOP co-ordinator Catherine Plant said: “This project offers people who have experienced mental health distress of any sort a chance to begin rebuilding their lives through volunteering.

Following a successful five-year trial in the Welshpool area the project opened its doors in Knighton in August 2009. The beauty of the project is its simplicity and effectiveness.

Not only benefiting the individuals on the scheme but also the volunteer’s immediate family and friends. The mental health of these individuals improves very noticeably over a period of time, because they are not only able to bring their own valuable skills and experience to an activity but they also gain new friendships and skills learned from the organisation offering the volunteering opportunity.”

News came in late December that an application to the Henry Smith Charity had been