Annwyl Gyfeillion,

Today is the Feast with three names. You can take your choice: either The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, or the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Candlemas.

The first makes the feast part of the cycle of festivals for Christ, the culmination of the stories associated with the Nativity; the second makes it part of the cycle of festivals of the Mother of God, as Mary completes the Levitical rites associated with the birth of a child. Then again, because Simon speaks of Christ as the light of the world on greeting the holy family at the Temple, the blessing of candles has become a significant feature of the observance of the feast.

What intrigues me is the way in which Christians have made their own a feast which is firmly grounded in Jewish law. The holy family is a good Jewish family, and they are committed to fulfilling all the demands of God’s law in their lives, even travelling to Jerusalem to complete their obligations – whether they are to do with Mary’s purification or with Jesus’ presentation. We tend, of course, to prefer the latter these days; all this language about purifying the feminine seems uncomfortable to modern anthropology, and quite right too!

The relationship between Judaism and Christianity is not an easy one. This struck me in particular when, as it does every year, Holocaust Memorial Day, which is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, coincided with the feast day of St John Chrysostom. John is one of the great teachers of the Church, hailed as a Father of the Church in the East, and a defender of the truth of the Gospel. Sadly, he was also vehemently anti-Semitic at times, and although his true target may have been Christians who insisted on keeping Jewish law, the Nazis and their ilk were not slow to capitalize on his words in their own campaigns. So we have the discomfort of celebrating the good in a saint, who also assisted in the demonization of Jews and Jewishness on a day when the ultimate fruit of that poisoned tree is also remembered.

We cannot allow anti-Semitism to gain a toehold in our society ever again. Only last week, two Jewish men were violently attacked outside their shop in north London, and the desecration of Jewish cemeteries is an all too common occurrence and a blight upon the inclusiveness of our society.

So, as we keep the feast of Candlemas, let us take the opportunity to thank God for the Jewishness of our origins, and of the Holy Family, and for the way in which God chose the Jewish people to be bearers of the light and recipients of the Covenant. Let us also reach out and make friends with our Jewish neighbours, and be committed to working so that they are affirmed and secure within our communities, and that may we learn from their faith and their faithfulness, our progenitors in faith.

Hwyl a Helo

We congratulate our former cleric, Mary Stallard, on her appointment as Assistant Bishop in Bangor. Mary has had the privilege of serving in four of the six dioceses of the Church in Wales, and brings considerable talent and intellect to her ministry. She will make a huge contribution to the life of Bangor diocese, and to the councils of the Church in Wales in this new role. We wish her and her husband, Andrew Sully, well. Mary will be consecrated bishop on Saturday, 26th February, at the same service that will see John Lomas’ consecration to the See of Swansea and Brecon.

I have received the resignations of Richard and Sarah Burton. Sarah came to us a couple of years ago offering schools and youth ministry in the Vyrnwy Mission Area, while Richard stepped up to the plate to become Mission Area Leader on the formation of the Tanat Vyrnwy Mission Area. Both have served with us with distinction, but family needs call them south, and Richard and Sarah will finish at Easter. We wish them well with their move.

I have also received notice from Alexis Smith that she will take retirement in May this year. Alexis joined us from ministry in the States, together with Scott her husband and Roger, her father, to become truly Welsh and make their home among us. Alexis has brought a degree of spiritual depth and candour to her ministry, and I am glad to say that the Smiths will be retiring in the diocese, and we shall continue to see them playing an active part in diocesan life.

I am very sorry to record here the death of the Revd Bob Friedrich. Bob also joined us from the States a few years back, when he was undertaking research on Dementia through Bangor University. This led to him becoming our first Dementia Chaplain, and he led a campaign to enable us to become a Dementia friendly diocese, assisting us to become sensitive to this dimension of pastoral care. We remember Bob, and pray for Sandra, his wife, at this time.

Diary and Events

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

2022

01 February Diocesan Clergy Synod (via Zoom)

15 February Curates’ Study Day

26 February Consecration of John Lomas and Mary Stallard as bishops in the Church of God, Bangor Cathedral (invitation only).

27 February Licensing of Richard Hainsworth to Estuary and Mountain Mission Area, SS Mary and David, Flint, 1530hr

Later in the Year
09, 11, 12 March Spring Ember Days

23 March MAL training day (venue to be decided)

03 April Licensing of Jane Finn in Denbigh Mission Area, details to be confirmed

14 April Chrism Eucharist and Renewal of Vows (Cathedral)

16 April Easter Vigil and Confirmation (Cathedral)

05 June Pentecost Confirmation, 1530hr (Cathedral)

22 & 25 June Petertide Ember Days

25 June Ordination of Priests, Cathedral, 1000hr

02 July Ordination of Deacons, Cathedral, 1000hr

23 & 24 Septr Michaelmas Ember Days

4-17 Novr Residential Clergy School (Swanwick Conference Centre)

22 Novr MAL training day (venue and format to be decided)

14, 16,17 Decr Advent Ember Days

Notes and Queries

Clergy Synod

Thank you everyone for participating in the Synod yesterday. I felt it was a good day, which moved on at a cracking pace. It was also rewarding to bring in A list speakers in a way which would not have been possible had we been meeting in person – even if we started with a couple of connection problems. I wonder therefore how much that should be a template for future meetings. There is a trade off between zoom and face to face meetings, and perhaps we should retain a mixed mode of delivery. I would be glad to hear your views on this. A feedback form is enclosed with this Ad Clerum, and Heather Fenton will produce notes of the Synod for us in due course. I will carry the question of Communion in both kinds to the bench and report back in due course, although I was interested in the arguments made – with some passion and conviction – on both sides, and the fact that we are fairly evenly split.

Ember Days

The Spring Ember days fall next month in March (dates in the diary above), and we will circulate a revised leaflet with the March Ad Clerum. Please make provision now to share the leaflet widely, and to include prayers for vocations and those in training in your mission area prayer agendas and services. The Ember days which occur later in the year are also noted in the diary by way of advance notice. Vocations continue to flourish, and please hold in your prayer all those going through the discernment process at present.

Lent Prayer Card 2022

The Diocesan Lent Prayer Card is now available for circulation in the mission areas. The prayer this year has been composed by Sally Harper, our Director of Spirituality, and focuses on the key words that frame our diocesan strategy going forward: Faith, Hope, and Love. I will be inviting all members of the Teulu Asaph to be joining me in saying the prayer once again, every evening in Lent at 1800hr. It is not too late for mission areas to apply to Esgobty for further cards, but stocks are running low.

USPG Lent Study Course

Amongst the many Lent study courses you may wish to consider using in the coming weeks is USPG’s Living Stones, Living Hope course that explores faith in Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, from the perspective of five churches of the Anglican Communion. More details can be found at: United Society Partners in the Gospel | Lent (uspg.org.uk)

As we celebrate Christ, the Light of the World, may he illumine your lives and your relationships, and give you grace, and may God’s blessing be upon you, your ministry, and those whom you love and those whom you serve.