Annwyl Gyfeillion,

I would normally write something in Wales for St David as we celebrate the feast day of our national saint. However, I believe that in the world at the moment we are faced with the most significant challenge to world peace that we have seen in my lifetime, including 9/11. A major world power, under the leadership of a longstanding dictator, has purposefully invaded another sovereign country in Europe with pretended justification. We have not seen this sort of aggression since World War II, and the parallels are chillingly apparent. After weeks of blatant lying, Vladimir Putin has done what we knew he would do, and we, in the West, have been slow and reluctant to respond. Sanctions are being slowly racketed up, but meanwhile the conquest of Ukraine is happening before our very eyes.

It seems to me that the West is compromised as we search for responses and sanctions: we are too heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas, and fragile global financial systems which are too delicate to disrupt without harming ourselves. We want to protest, but not in such a way that we make sacrifices for Ukraine, and the Russian elite seem to think that they can ride the storm for a few months, and then get back to business as usual.

And yet we are faced with the brave, almost foolhardy, insistence of the Ukrainians that they will defend their land, even if every success or setback for Putin’s forces brings down the growing fury of the aggressor and the ever more violent machinery of war on their head. Are the nations of the West going to allow this to happen, or are there effective ways of halting naked conquest?

We must pray: that peacemakers may be strengthened, that oppressors may be put to flight, and that the oppressed may know courage, strength and resilience. Yet our actions must also go beyond prayer. We need to back up our prayer by supporting Ukrainians through the right organizations and charities, we must keep ourselves acquainted with the truth, and we must put pressure on our leaders to take the appropriate actions to bring as swift an end as possible to this horrible and outrageous invasion.

Look up websites such as https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/ways-to-help-ukraine-conflict/ and find where and how you can play a part.

Lent Prayer 2022

This Ad Clerum is headed by our Lent Prayer, and I am inviting folk to join me once again in saying a common prayer for our diocese every night in Lent at 1800hr in the evening, or as near as possible to that time. By now the Diocesan Lent Prayer Card should have been widely circulated in the mission areas, through the mission Area Leaders, but do assist in seeing it as widely distributed as possible.. 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.

This might also be the time to add a prayer for Ukraine. This is the prayer I circulated last week at the time of the invasion:

What then shall we say? A Manifesto for the Future

As you know, we moved to our new focus for diocesan life at the beginning of the year. Articles in Teulu Asaph have supported that move, and we have produced a short booklet now which sets out in easy language the way in which the new diocesan focus impacts on our common life together. The intention is that a copy of this manifesto should be put into the hands of every regular worshipper in the diocese to ensure that they know about these guiding principles, and to win their engagement with and support for them. The booklet will be distributed in the very near future, and may be a suitable item to put on the agenda of the Annual Meetings of the Mission Area. Do please note the booklet yourselves, and encourage people to engage with it, and to pass it on to other interested parties if they want to know what the diocese is about.

Chrism Eucharist

After a two-year break due to the pandemic I am very much hoping at last to be able to welcome all of you once again to the Cathedral on Maundy Thursday, April 14th, at 1100hr for a full in-person gathering to celebrate the Chrism Eucharist with the Blessing of the Holy Oils and the renewal of our commitment to diaconal, priestly and episcopal service, as well as the re-commitment of all the baptized to mission.

Lunch will follow in accordance with the old pattern, and will be served in the South Transept. It will take the form of a hot main course followed by pudding. Over the first dozen years of my ministry, this common celebration became one of the high points of diocesan life, and it will take commitment and hard work to build up its significance and place in our common life once again. Please make it a priority for your diaries.

All licensed and commissioned lay ministers and all members of our congregations are very welcome in addition to all clergy, serving and retired, and to help to make it a genuinely diocesan service. Full details about robing etc. will be available in the April Ad Clerum. In the meantime, please would clergy and lay people intending to be present register with their Mission Area Administrators / MAL no later than March 31st so that we have an accurate idea of numbers for catering etc. There will be meat and vegetarian options for the meal, and any other dietary requirements should be notified when registering.

Communion in Both Kinds

Thank you for the thoughtful and insightful discussion of Communion in Both Kinds at the Clergy Synod. At the Bench meeting in February, the bishops decided that Easter Sunday would be the right time to move back to Communion in Both Kinds and the use of the common cup.

This will be a permissive and not a mandatory move at this stage, and Shared Ministry Teams and Church Committees will have to think carefully about what they are content to adopt as practice in the areas for which they have responsibility. You are advised to undertake an appropriate risk assessment, and act in accordance with the best practice you believe is applicable, taking reasonable measure to diminish the risk of spreading infection.

The guidance I have been given indicates that there will therefore be three options for communion, (bread only/ intinction by president/ common cup) with an increasing hierarchy of theoretical risk.

• The church council should consider which option they prefer as part of their risk assessment process.
• There should be no pressure on people to adopt the common cup – ‘in one kind’ should remain a clear and valid option for the church or for any individuals who prefer it.
• There does not appear to be any published research indicating empirical evidence that Covid has been spread via the common cup however.
• Wiping the rim between communicants is standard practice and appears to be the most effective risk reduction measure.
• The biggest risk is probably close contact in communion queues or at the communion rail.
• The perceived risk to the clergy of consuming the remainder of the cup is also an important consideration, and some clinically vulnerable clergy will wish to factor this in to any decision making. This is not unreasonable given the past two years. The option of a co-celebrant or acolyte undertaking this role is perfectly reasonable, if they are happy to do so.

Patronal Festival of St Asaph

There will be a special celebration of the Holy Eucharist to celebrate our diocesan patron Asaph on Saturday, May 7th, in the Cathedral at 11.00hr. I do encourage the Teulu Asaph to join together for this service of thanksgiving for the inheritance of faith we have received and to pray for our ongoing service and mission in Asaph’s name.

During the Eucharist there will be an opportunity for us to celebrate aspects of our common life together:

1. It will be my pleasure to award the Order of St. Asaph to three members of the diocesan family who have been nominated for particular recognition for their diocesan service. This year we will be acknowledging Helen Jones for her service as Chair and Vice Chair of the Diocesan Board of Finance; Anne Suter for her work as a Trustee of the Bishop Alwyn Rice Jones Trust; and Jennie Willson for her work as a St Asaph representative on Provincial Standing Committee and Transition Mentor, as well as representing the diocese on the Governing Body and as a member of the Joint Strategy Working Group.
2. I would also like to invite those who will be celebrating a significant Ordination anniversary during 2022 to join me for this special celebratory Eucharist– anniversaries such as 25 years and the subsequent ‘0’ or ‘5’ anniversaries thereafter. If you have a special anniversary this year that you would like to celebrate then please contact Esgobty as soon as possible and no later than April 14th.

The Order of St Asaph

Nominations for new recipients of the Order of St Asaph are now invited during March. All members of the Teulu Asaph, whether clerical or lay, are encouraged to make nominations. Nomination forms are available on the Diocesan website and should be completed with as much information as possible about a candidate’s contribution to the diocese, particularly on the completion of service in a particular way or in a particular role. Completed forms should be sent to Esgobty for referral to the Advisory Committee.

Please also remember that I am happy to issue certificates to recognise sterling service within a church / mission area context. Please email Michael at Esgobty in the first instance with appropriate details of someone’s outstanding contribution to local church life, so that an appropriate certificate can be used by the church / mission area for presentation locally.

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.

MARCH and APRIL
09,11,12 March Spring Ember Days

23 March MAL Training Day (Church Hall, Buckley)

03 April Licensing of Jane Finn in Denbigh Mission Area, 1530hr (St Mary’s, Denbigh)

14 April Chrism Eucharist and Renewal of Vows (Cathedral) 1100hr

16 April Easter Vigil and Confirmation (Cathedral) 1900hrs

Later in the Year

07 May Patronal Eucharist for the Feast of St Asaph inc. Order of St Asaph awards and the celebration of ordination anniversaries 11.00hr (Cathedral)

15 May Choral Evensong & Installation of new canons 15.30hr (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

22 Novr MAL Training Day (venue and format to be decided)

14,16,17 Decr Advent Ember Days

Notes and Queries

Annual Vestry Meetings

Guidance / Revision of Electoral Roll Guidance from the Representative Body indicates it will be possible to conduct Annual Vestry Meetings online again this year, subject to the conditions outlined. Also included is guidance for the revision of Electoral Rolls that takes place this year.

Ash Wednesday

You will already have received the guidance notes for the Imposition of Ashes and they are available on the Coronavirus section of the website for your easy reference ready for Ash Wednesday tomorrow.

Co-options to Governing Body

The Standing Committee of the Governing Body is currently seeking to make co-opted clerical / lay appointments to the Governing Body of the Church in Wales. Full details of the requirements can be found here along with the application/nomination process: https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/about-us/governing-body/nomination-to-co-opted-place-on-the-governing-body/ The deadline for the submission of names is Monday, March 7th.

Ember Days

The Spring Ember days fall this month, as noted above, and I encourage the use of the prayer resource in English and Welsh both in your personal prayers, and in the public liturgy of the Church. Vocations continue to flourish, and it is important we hold in prayer all those going through the discernment and training processes at present.

Pocket Testament League

You may remember that last year we circulated a special edition of the Gospel according to John, produced for us by the Pocket Testament League, to mark the work of the Translators and the Bible in Welsh. Those pocket Gospels were well-received in our schools, and used elsewhere in the diocese. The PTL are now producing special editions of the Gospel for distribution in connection with the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen free of charge for end users. They are also more than willing to produce bespoke editions of Gospel passages for use at Easter or for particular churches and mission initiatives. More information can be found at www.ptluk.org/jubilee and elsewhere on their site.