Ad Clerum - May 2020: 4 Mai 2020 May 4

Noswyl Sant Asa : Eve of St Asaph

Annwyl Gyfeillion,

I remember a saying “Man proposes, but God disposes”.  Now, I personally don’t believe that God has visited the coronavirus upon us, but I do think we have all learned how fragile human plans can be.  This last weekend there should have been a patronal Festal Eucharist in the Cathedral; this, like Easter, has been swept aside.  However, the family that Asaph founded endures, and despite the virus, we follow the same risen Lord, and proclaim the same Gospel of new life found through repentance and faith in Christ Jesus, of faith in the atonement of Christ’s sacrificial death, and God’s power made manifest through the Resurrection.  This Easter faith is the faith we are called upon to proclaim all the more urgently in current circumstances, as Asaph was faithful in his day, as Bishops Dafydd ap Bleddyn and John Trevor were during the time of the Black Death, and the long list of other bishops through other times good and bad.

The task given to all those who have ministered to the Teulu Asaph through the centuries  has been to bring the reality of Christ’s love into the midst of ordinary human lives through the faithful proclamation of the Word (as many of you are doing through electronic media), the celebration of the Sacraments (currently heavily curtailed) and loving service (for which we are finding many new channels).

The quotation attributed to St David by his biographer, Rhygyfarch, and often quoted, though not always in full, still remains true.  “Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed. Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about”.  We are to be joyful, because God’s grace sustains; we are to keep the practice of our faith, in season or out of season, and our loyalty to God’s revelation of himself as encapsulated in the Creed.  And we are to do small acts of kindness and of care, as we are able, because small things may be of big significance in the support we offer to one another.

In the Lockdown

The Bench of Bishops has approved two short rites for pastoral use.

The first takes forward the Act of Spiritual Communion that I offered to you in time for Easter, and is now published on the Provincial website.  It is available here in downloadable and printable bilingual forms.  I am aware that many of the faithful are missing Holy Communion.  I cannot support the idea of offering bread and wine in homes while a priest celebrated the Eucharist on a screen, but we can offer people this short rite, and encourage its use.  There is also a recording of a celebration of the Eucharist by me in Esgobty, which uses the Act of Spiritual Communion at the appropriate point.

For those not able to attend a funeral

The Bench are also conscious that many people feel a great sense of anguish at not being able to be at the funeral of a friend or family member.  We have therefore authorised these prayers for use on such an occasion.  This gives a short set of readings, reflections and prayers that can help people identify with a funeral taking place elsewhere.

Online Worship Resources

I am continuing to provide a short service of worship for every Sunday with the help of the Mission areas.  They may be found here:

This coming Sunday, I will be assisted by Alyn Mission Area, and my chaplain, Michael is co-ordinating with Mission Areas for future provision.

Trussell Trust

Here is an update from the Trussell Trust on their work with foodbanks – an increasingly important ministry at this time of lockdown.

VE Day 75 Plans 

As members of the Legion and  the public are no longer able to attend national and regional VE Day 75 commemorations or events due to the Covid-19 pandemic, The Royal British Legion is playing a central role in the delivery of a range of remote activity for people to participate in from home. These include a VE Day 75 livestream, national moments of remembrance and thanksgiving and a learning pack for young people.

The Legion is inviting people across the UK to join in a national moment of reflection and Remembrance at 11am on Friday 8th May and to pause for a Two Minute Silence, not only in recognition of the service and sacrifice of the Second World War generation, but also to reflect on the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on so many lives across the world.

The Royal British Legion Schedule for VE75 Day

1100-1102          – Two Minute Silence

1115-1200          – The Royal British Legion VE75 Livestream

2000-2110          – VE Day 75: The People’s Celebration, BBC One

2100                      – ‘We’ll Meet Again’ Singalong

Guidance on Two Minute Silence

Members and  the public are being encouraged to take part in a national moment of Remembrance at 11am during a Two Minute Silence to honour the service and sacrifice of the Second World War generation and reflect on the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on so many lives across the world.

There is no right or wrong way to take part in the Silence, some may wish to stand at their windows, step outside their homes while remaining distanced from others, watch the broadcast on television, or simply sit in a quiet moment of reflection.

Royal British Legion Livestream

At 1115 the Legion is hosting a VE Day 75 livestream, available at rbl.org.uk/veday75, sharing stories and memories from those who served and sacrificed during the Second World War, and recognising the difficulties people are experiencing today.

Of course, by the time the lockdown was brought into place, many people had already made preparations for a Service of Thanksgiving in their Churches. Here is one such rite, which is an adaptation of a rite first written by Dr Ruth Hansford for her Ministry Area in Bangor Diocese.  If you wish to use this as a resource in the development of your own acts of thanksgiving in the light of the lockdown, then this material has kindly been made available to us.

After the Lockdown

Bishop’s Visitors – an important ministry to our Church schools

We are blessed with fifty-one Church schools set in the rich variety of contexts that make up the diocese, from the smallest of our rural Welsh medium primary schools to our joint faith Anglican and Catholic secondary school in Wrexham.  While each school has its own unique story and vision, they all seek to underpin every aspect of school life with Christian values.

As part of the diocesan support, there is a team of Bishop’s Visitors, each assigned to a school to act as the Bishop’s representative in being a friendly presence of the diocese, offering pastoral care and support to the headteacher and all the school community, and walking alongside them in the joys  and  challenges of school life.  Bishop’s Visitors help celebrate and promote the distinctive nature of their Church schools and support the expression of Christian beliefs, vision, and values on which the school is founded. They act as an important conduit to develop relationships within the school, and between the school, the local church, wider community and the diocese.

We are currently looking to recruit more people, lay and ordained, to this important work, and who could be ready to step into this ministry once we are released from lockdown.  A background in education could be helpful but is certainly not essential.  What is essential is the desire to radiate the love and care of the Gospel in our diocesan schools to ensure they are supported and flourish.  If you, or someone you know, would like to find out more about this form of ministry, please email Roz Williams at the Diocesan Office.

Diary

Events struck out below have been cancelled due to coronavirus.  No decision has yet been made concerning the Ordinations, but they almost certainly will not happen in the form with which we’ve been familiar from previous years.  I will notify you as soon as it is possible to come to a definitive position.

31 May                       15.30 Pentecost Confirmation (Cathedral)

07 June                       15:30 Diocesan Service to Mark the Centenary of Disestablishment (Cathedral)

Ordinations

27 June                       10:00 Ordination of Priests (Cathedral)

04 July                        10:00 Ordination of Deacons (Cathedral)

OR

3 October                  10.00 Ordination of Priests (Cathedral)

4 October                  14.30 Ordination of Deacons (Cathedral)

Later in 2020

3 October                  Alternative date for Priestly Ordinations.

4 October                  Alternative date for Diaconal Ordinations

10 October                Diocesan Conference (Glyndŵr University)

09 December            18:30 Advent Confirmation (Cathedral)

Hwyl a Helo

I am sorry to record the deaths of Lyneth Goulstone, the widow of Very Revd Kerry Goulstone, former Dean of St Asaph, and of Michael J Comer, who retired to Newtown, after dedicated ministries in Bistre and Llanfyllin & Bwlch-y-Cibau.  Many people know and love these two faithful members of the Teulu Asaph, and will want to hold them and their families in their prayers, as we give thanks for their lives and service.

Technical Proficiency

My diary has not emptied in the way I expected with the lockdown.  Instead, meetings and conversations are happening via Skype or Zoom.  These are fast becoming essential means of communication for the Church, and others in society, and, as we grow more proficient, there is a sense in which these channels of meeting are likely to replace some physical meetings in the post-lockdown period.  Only yesterday, I conducted my first licensing by Zoom, following in the footsteps of the Archdeacon of Wrexham, who acted on my behalf at another licensing, which was probably the first such in the history of the Church in Wales.

I also hear of reluctance by some clergy to engage.  I am afraid that my own inclination is to say that the time has now come when clergy need to become versed and familiar in such means of communication as part of their professional requirements.  As the telephone and email have become indispensable to us, these electronic media of conferencing are probably here to stay, and they are a channel of communication in which we all need to become adept.

Thank you once again for your continued ministries, and partnership in the Gospel,

In Christ,