Annwyl Gyfeillion,

It was very good to be able to meet with you all via Zoom at our archdeaconry synods last week.  The topic of mental health was a good reminder to us all, not only of the nature of mental health, and how to be vigilant for signs of diminished mental well-being, but also of the need to care for ourselves in these times.  I hope that as we approach Lent, we will not think of the season simply in terms of abstinence and self-denial, but as a springtime for the soul, when we may resolve to seek out the things which will help us to grow both spiritually and as human beings, be they a renewed commitment to walking and exercise, or the re-identification of a creative activity or hobby, the practice of which will feed the inner being.

If Lent is a time to invest in spiritual growth, it must involve not only a turning away from those things which draw us away from God, but a commitment to feed our souls and to grow, not just in closeness to Our Lord, but also in becoming the fullness of the unique and talented individual that God calls us to be.  Christianity was not intended by God to be a miserable religion, but one in which we could discover and rejoice in the goodness of God, and in the vocation that he gives us to make our own unique and creative contribution to the fullness of life which is our corner of God’s Kingdom.  After all, we are called “to bear abundant fruit” (John 15.5). A good question to begin Lent would be: “What are the seeds of  fruitfulness and creativity that has God sown in my life, and how may I tend them?”

I am grateful to Archdeacon John for writing our Lent Prayer this year, and copies are being made available across the diocese.  From Ash Wednesday, 17 February on, I hope that you will join with me in praying this prayer on behalf of the whole diocesan family at 6.00pm every evening, or the nearest convenient time.

Ash Wednesday

On Ash Wednesday, 17 February, I will be leading a live-streamed celebration of the Holy Eucharist, together with the Ash Wednesday ceremonies, from the Cathedral.  This is intended as a diocesan Celebration for those not able to participate in other provision, and I should be grateful if you could make it widely known.  The service will begin at 1900hr, and will be available through the Cathedral website and Facebook page.

Worship in the coming weeks

Whilst places of worship can, by law, remain open for worship, funerals and weddings, Welsh Government is strongly advising that: ‘those who are responsible for places of worship should consider whether there are alternative ways of holding worship services’.  The Bench of Bishops does not, at this time, require the suspension of in person worship but alternatives to in person worship should be pursued where possible.

Further details of the guidance and updates will be found in the Coronavirus section of the website and on the Church in Wales website. There you will also find Guidance for Lent and Easter Worship.

A query has been raised with this office concerning the way in which vaccination will impact on decisions about return to in person worship.  I can understand, and I appreciate, the impatience of many of our people who want to get back to Church, and that is admirable.  However, I have to point out that, in my understanding, the vaccination neither prevents infection nor transmission of the virus, it only mitigates its effect and acts as a prophylactic against the more serious results of infection.  A person who has been vaccinated can therefore nevertheless contract and transmit the virus, and it is not simply a case of vaccination permitting a return to pre-virus behaviours.

The Church in Wales has correctly, in my opinion, taken its cue in all these matters from government advice, and we will be working closely with the Welsh government to update our guidance as soon as we are able.  In the meantime, please advise anxious or enthusiastic members of our congregation that vaccination is not itself a passport to attend Church.

Holy Week and the Easter Triduum

As I mentioned at the clergy synods last week, as access to physical worship for Holy Week and Easter looks likely to remain problematic this year, plans are taking shape to provide a range of diocesan services online during Holy Week and the Triduum.  These are being made available to complement or provide worship provision in mission areas, as each congregation feels appropriate.

These services will be led by clergy and laypeople from across the Teulu Asaph and include:

• The Palm Sunday Liturgy and Blessing of Palms
• Devotions for the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week
• The Commemoration of the Last Supper
• A Good Friday Liturgy
• The Stations of the Cross
• Prayer and Meditation for Holy Saturday
• Ceremony of Light and Easter Vigil
• An Easter Day Eucharist

There will be more information about these services next month.

In addition, there will of course be the Chrism Eucharist which I look forward to sharing with all the clergy and licensed ministers.  This will take place on Zoom on April 1^st at 11.00 and please make sure this is in your diary so that we can gather together to renew our commitment to Christian ministry and service.

Annual Vestry Meetings 2021

Due to the ongoing situation, it is likely that exceptional circumstances will apply and I am likely to give my approval for Annual Vestry Meetings to be held online providing that the following conditions are met.

1. The MAC is satisfied that a majority of those entitled to attend such a meeting have the technological means to do so;
2. The MAC is satisfied that reasonable provision has been made to distinguish between those persons entitled to vote at the meeting and those persons entitled to attend the meeting but not vote;
3. In addition to the constitutional requirements for notices on the principal door of the churches, the date and time of the meeting is published on the church website (if there is one) and any church newsletters/emails, giving at least two weeks’ prior notice. All notices shall include instructions for how to access the online meeting.

Detailed guidance is expected during the next few weeks from the legal team at the Representative Body and will be forwarded to all Mission Area Leaders and Administrators on receipt.

Life Events

The Church in Wales has been working in partnership with the Life Events Team in the Church of England to prepare a wealth of bilingual bespoke written and online resources to help and support churches with all aspects of baptism, funeral, and wedding ministry.  All the preparatory work has been undertaken to enable this, and as many of you will know the initial roll out was planned for Autumn 2020. However, with the restrictions brought about by Covid 19, it was decided to postpone the rollout until Spring 2021 in the hope that circumstances would have eased sufficiently to allow people to gather and hear Dr Sandra Millar share her expertise in these key areas of ministry, as well as helping familiarise people with all the bespoke printed resources now available to us.

However, it is now clear that the current restrictions will continue for some considerable time yet, and therefore the Bench of Bishops has taken the decision to further postpone the roll out until Autumn 2021. Rev Chris Burr and his team at St Padarn’s will be in touch shortly with more details, and will be working alongside dioceses to reorganise dates to undertake the roll out of this key initiative later this year. If you have any queries at all with regard to this matter, please email Chris at who will be glad to help.

Naturally, it is disappointing to have to have to further postpone this, but the Bench felt that it was preferable to do so to ensure that the initiative is able to make as positive an impact as possible when it is launched.

Safeguarding Training – ‘If it isn’t safe, it isn’t church’

The Church in Wales is fully committed to ensuring the highest standards of behaviour in its work with both children and adults at risk. We have a duty to protect all such individuals who are members of the Church, and others who, for whatever reason, come to us.  Our churches must be safe places where they are never exploited or harmed in any way whatsoever. We have to exercise vigilance so as to ensure that our work with them provides the level of care and protection which they have a right to expect.

This work is underpinned by the Church in Wales safeguarding policy, a living document which will be regularly refreshed and updated as needs arise.  It sets out a framework and guidance for all who exercise a ministry with the young and the vulnerable.  A healthy Christian community is one which ensures and nurtures the wellbeing of all. Safeguarding needs to be embedded in all aspects of the life and ministry of the Church, and safeguarding training is delivered in this context.

As you will be aware, St Padarns is responsible for delivering safeguarding training for the Church in Wales and is working currently to ensure everyone’s safeguarding training is up to date.  During February and March courses are being offered to all those whose training has not been refreshed in the past three years, or because they have not attended training previously in the Church in Wales.

If you fall into this category, St Padarn’s will contact you to invite you to participate in its two-part training course.  If you receive an invitation, please respond promptly to secure your training place.

Hwyl a Helo

I am pleased to announce that Rebecca Sparey-Taylor will take on duties as Mission Area Leader of Denbigh, following the retirement of Canon Pauline Walker next month.  Rebecca will be licensed via a Zoom Service on 9^th March.

I am also pleased to announce that Sandra Roberts will be moving in the Summer to serve in the Caereinion Mission Area, rooted in the communities of Garthbeibio, Llanerfyl, Llangadfan, Pontrobert and Dolanog.

John Foxlee will be well known to many of you through his ministry as a Reader, and his work with the College of Spiritual Direction in the diocese.  I am sure we offer our prayers for John as he faces significant health challenges, but I am delighted to welcome him as a member of the Order of St Asaph, in recognition of his long and outstanding service to the diocese.

It is a pleasure to welcome Hannah Daniels to the diocese as our new Diocesan Administration and HR Officer. Hannah replaces Karen Williams who took (very early!) retirement last May after 15 years of sterling service to the diocese and cathedral.  Hannah joins the team from The Queen’s School in Chester where she was Head of Religious Studies and Head of Key Stage 3. She is a member of the congregation at St Peter’s Church, Holywell.  You are likely to hear from Hannah in the very near future in the roll out of a new initiative to support your ministry trailed below.

2021 Diary and Events

This diary below gives dates for events in which all clergy are encouraged to attend, or required to attend as part of their professional commitment.  Please ensure that they are in your diary, even where the exact format is open to change.

You will have the Clergy Residential School at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire in your diaries for 20-23 September.  In the light of the ongoing pandemic and its repercussions for activities in 2021, the Bishop’s Staff felt it best to postpone the Clergy School  this year.  Instead, we hope that we will be able to gather together for a residential gathering in 2022 and we will let you have dates for your diary as soon as they become available.

Do not, however, delete the dates for this September from your diary entirely!  We will gather in our Archdeaconry Clergy Synods on the dates listed in the calendar below.  We are hoping these will be able to be ‘in person’ gatherings, and will be in touch with precise details of venues nearer the time.   However, if Covid-19 means this is not possible, we will keep the synods online.

1 April                         Chrism Eucharist & Renewal of Vows (Cathedral) – online

3 April                         Easter Vigil and Ceremony of Light (Cathedral) – online

23 May                       Pentecost Confirmation (Cathedral)* – t.b.c.

26 June                       Petertide Priestly Ordinations (Cathedral)

3 July                          Petertide Diaconal Ordinations (Cathedral)

20-23 September     Clergy Residential School      POSTPONED

22 September           Wrexham Clergy Synod         14.00hr

23 September           Montgomery Clergy Synod  09.30hr

St Asaph Clergy Synod           14.00hr

• October Diocesan Conference (venue and format to be decided)

Notes and Queries

MultiplyX 2021 Conference

Last year many of you were able to attend ‘Multiply 2020’ – a church planting conference hosted by Bishop Ric who spoke at our Diocesan Conference in 2020.

The Conference this year ‘multiplyX 2021: Together’ is taking place on Thursday 24^th June and is being held via Zoom. The conference will be looking at creative ways to envision, encourage and support each other when thinking about church growth. Covid-19 may have physically distanced congregations, but churches have responded more creatively than ever to the challenge.  The conference will build on that creativity providing an opportunity to be inspired and energised and to focus intentionally on the future.  As Bishop Gregory said in his January pastoral letter, “He calls us to set out on a journey, away from the familiar, to become larger than we are, greater in spirit, holier in life, loving in service.”

The Diocese is able to fund a number of places so if you would like to be part of the team for this event please email siancharlesworth by 26th May. The Diocesan team will send out registration details nearer the time.  The website for the event is currently being updated but you can find out some information here: Conference 2021 – CCX

‘Seven Days to Freedom’ – Bishop John Dudley Davies

At the end of February,  Darton Longman and Todd are due to release a book by Bishop John  Dudley Davies, one of our honorary assistant bishops.   Entitled Seven Days to Freedom it is well worth considering as a suitable read for Easter-tide.  Drawing on the Creation doctrine as an expression of the purpose of God for God’s world, Bishop John not only draws on Genesis, but integrates  the Six Days message with the  Sabbath  mandates in the Torah,  and the re-claiming of the Sabbath by Jesus and his disciple-community, reaching its conclusion with a celebration of Our Lord’s resurrection.  Drawing on personal stories too, the book seeks to explore the Doctrine of Creation’s connection with  contemporary  claims on our discipleship in the world,  in such matters as slavery and employment,  land-tenure and housing,  law and education.

Seven Days to Freedom will be priced at £14.99.  Please visit www.dltbooks.com for more information.

Weekly StAR mailing from the Diocesan Office

Every Thursday, the Diocesan Office sends out an email with news, links, information and guidance for you and your congregations. We believe there are some members of the clergy who don’t routinely receive this email and will therefore be missing out on information.  If you don’t receive the StAR mailing each week directly to your inbox, please sign up by following this link https://churchinwales.us17.listmanage.com/subscribe?u=5a3a2c764828ee7da19e76e5f&id=cbb8373c8f  It’s also available via our website.  If you have any questions, please email Karen Maurice.

£10 million further support for Welsh Charities from the Moondance Foundation

The Moondance Foundation, set up in 2010 by former Admiral CEO and his wife, Henry and Diane Engelhardt, has earmarked an additional £10 million in 2021 to distribute to Welsh charities and organisations who are supporting those struggling as a direct result of Covid.   Charities or not-for-profit organisations, including churches, that are making a genuine and valuable contribution to those most affected by the pandemic are invited to contact the Moondance Foundation to find out more about its Covid-19 Relief Fund: moondancefoundation.org.uk/c19fund

Thank you again for your continued partnership in the ministry and service we offer the people of God in response to vocation from Christ.  May the Lord equip you with wisdom and well-being,

In Christ,