Ad Clerum - 2il o Dachwedd 2020 November 2nd

Dygwyl y Meirw : All Souls Day

Annwyl Gyfeillion,

Commercial Christmas has begun – and I hope that you’ll forgive me for jumping on the bandwagon and quoting from a Christmas carol this early in the year.  It is simply because the words which are playing in my mind at present, as I reflect on the message we need to communicate as a church this year during the Advent and Christmas season is the first line of the carol God rest you merry, gentlemen.

I wonder whether there are many people who believed for many years like me that the line referred to “merry gentlemen” – perhaps a little tipsy and arriving at Midnight Mass.  In truth, of course, it is a marvellous greeting (if a little sexist):  May God keep you cheerful and lively, gentle folk! Let nothing you dismay, for Jesus Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas Day.

I hope that this Advent and Christmas we in the Church can project a message of good cheer.  There is a pressing reason in Covid why we could be rather sombre and wearied, but the love of God is constant, and God still resources us to find the resilience and hope that we need to keep going.  This is not to deny the grot, nor does it mean that we should be unsympathetic to the sadness or disturbances we encounter in our ministry, but it does mean that we should always be thrown back on God, and seeking for the deep inner wells of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to resource us to go forward.  Jesus taught us that “where your treasure is, there shall be your hearts also” (Matthew 6.21).  Let us invest in our faith and in God, so that our hearts may be open and receptive to the merriness with which he wishes to cheer us.

Advent and Christmas

I hope that you are managing to reshape your plans for the celebration of Christmas, and are finding new ways to proclaim the joy of Christ’s birth to your communities.  Do please look out for, and use, two initiatives that I have developed with the Communications Officer.

As usual, I will be releasing a video recording in English, together with audio in Welsh and written English and Welsh formats, of an Advent Pastoral Letter in the normal ways with the request that this message is used and disseminated at the main act of worship (live or online) on Advent Sunday, 29^th November.   The video version is just over 6 minutes long, and can be used in place of a sermon that day.  The link for the various formats of the message will be sent out in the next week or two, but do please organise matters now so that this message can be shared widely as requested.

I very much wanted to speak to the whole community of north east and central Wales this year, in the unprecedented circumstances we face, and to share with them the Christian message surrounding Jesus’ birth.  You may remember that we prepared an Easter Card earlier this year, which had diocesan elements, but which also allowed space for local church information.  Its use had to be abandoned because of the Spring lockdown, but I have resurrected the idea, and with the help of the diocesan team we are producing a Christmas greeting card.  The card will be distributed electronically to you from Esgobty, with the hope that you will take it as a resource and use it as part of your outreach to your communities this Advent. It can be printed out and reproduced on two sides of a sheet of A4.  When folded, it will have a greeting on the cover, a message from me inside and space on the back for you to overprint or add your own details or invitations.  When folded out again, there will be a feature on the inside/back of the sheet which offers little suggestions at how to celebrate Christmas in lockdown be participating in twelve activities for the Twelve days of Christmas.  It will be produced in both English and Welsh, and the link to it distributed shortly.

DBS check service goes fully digital

People applying to work in the Church in Wales, either as employees or volunteers, will benefit from a faster and more efficient service as our Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check system becomes fully digital.  The Church in Wales is phasing out paper applications for DBS checks following the success of its online digital system. Digital applications have proved to be far quicker and more convenient, both for those applying for checks and for those processing them, particularly during the COVID pandemic. The move to a fully online system will ensure the process is future proofed. The final day for paper applications to be accepted for processing is November 30. As part of the new system, our DBS helpline will continue to be available for those who need advice about what level of DBS they need.

All information, including the application form and helpline address, can be found on the Church in Wales website.

Responses to the Coronavirus Pandemic 2020

As a diocesan family we continue to be tremendously proud of all of the family who have risen to the challenge of coronavirus pandemic and played a vital role in sustaining the life of our communities and churches.  Throughout the diocese there have been many examples of selfless dedication, compassionate care and creative practical action.

A certificate to acknowledge contributions from across the diocese which merit our particular gratitude and appreciation is still available from Esgobty upon nomination by the Mission Area Leader.

Consent for broadcasting services online via Zoom, Facebook, Youtube or Vimeo or other online platform

Now that churches are re-opening (subject to further change), some will be conducting services with congregations, which are then being live streamed or recorded for later. In such a situation it is vital that safeguarding issues are considered.   On arrival, members of the congregation should be informed that the service is being shown (either live or later) on social media and given the opportunity not to be visible on camera.  Parental consent will be required for all children and young people at the service if they are shown on camera. The following guidelines are in place:

• Church in Wales Policy – This has advice on recording children and young people.  Section 9 of the safeguarding policy as well as associated consent form (form 4) is specific to images and filming of children and contains consent from parents and from children (if age appropriate):  https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/safeguarding/
• Diocesan Guidance – there is Diocesan Guidance on our website.  This includes Children and Youth Work Guidelines, Worship Guidelines and online guidelines.  https://dioceseofstasaph.org.uk/coronavirus/resources-for-young-people/guidance-for-working-with-children-and-young-people/
• Provincial Zoom Guidelines – there is also this on the CinW Website too.  It does not have loads about Safeguarding Children its more about general practice.  https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/clergy-and-members/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance/zoom-safe-use-guide/

Please consider whether it is appropriate or necessary and ensure proper consent is in place for the live streaming or recording of your congregation (especially any children and young people) for social media.

Sacramental Ministry during Covid Restrictions

Several questions have been raised concerning the administration of the sacraments to various members of the Bench recently, and at our last (electronic) meeting, we addressed them, and now offer the following responses.

We understand that Baptisms by affusion may continue during Covid restrictions, once the current firebreak lockdown is over, although further restrictions may be put in place, and clergy are advised to consult updates posted on the Church in Wales website.  At any rate, we believe that use of the oil of the catechumens and chrism, not being essential to the rite, should not be used in the liturgy at present.  Baptisms by immersion should not take place.

Confirmations will not take place at present, and the situation will be reviewed in the Spring.

The bishops gave extensive consideration to the question of Communion in Both Kinds.  Although the default should always be communion in both kinds, we believe that it is right to withhold the cup during emergencies, and that we remain in a situation of emergency.  The matter will be kept under review.  Until permitted otherwise, clergy should only allow communion in one kind, administered in the directed manner.  In the same manner, “virtual” celebrations of the Eucharist, where participants put bread and wine in front of a television screen or computer monitor, should not take place.

Notes and Queries

Centre for Applied Theology  Conference

From the 4^th to the 5^th of December, the new Centre for Applied Theology will be hosting an online conference entitled, ‘The Once and Future Parish: the role of the parish in Christian ministry, yesterday, today, and tomorrow’. It is ecumenical in scope, including speakers from the Anglican, RC, and Orthodox traditions, and seeks to explore means of ministry that might be most effective in the contemporary world, in a non-polemical, generous, yet theologically-rigorous setting.

Featuring Tim O’Loughlin, Jane Williams, Alison Milbank, and Andreas Andreopoulos, it also boasts a complement of additional speakers who will be lending their voices to the discussion as we seek to question the assumptions on which modern ministry can often be based.  More information on the conference can be found here: https://www.appliedtheology.org.uk/parish-conference/, and a poster is attached.

Diocesan Online Directory

The Diocesan Directory is now available online to all clergy, licensed lay ministers, those with permission to officiate, Mission Area office holders and church wardens. You can access the content using the email address you have shared with the diocese. The information held in the directory is not publicly available and is accessible only to those who appear in it.  Access to the directory is via the diocesan website:  with a link at the top right of every page (please ensure you click on diocesan directory, not clergy login).

The directory is held on a separate website, so it will open in a new browser window. There is a link on the first page of the directory to enable you to register and create a secure password. The directory is updated nightly from the diocesan database so if office holders change, the directory will always be up to date.  If you need to make changes to the information held on the diocesan database or directory, please email details to Sian Charlesworth.  If you have any questions about the online directory, please email Karen Maurice.

Hwyl a Helo

The Revd Margaret Baker passed away last month. Margaret served in Denbigh as an NSM whilst teaching Geography and RE and Howells School.  Latterly she’d held PTO until a few years ago.  We give thanks to God for her faithfulness, and commend her, and all who have died in this Covid season, to God.

The Lectionary 2020-21

Details for obtaining lectionaries for the new Church year can be found here.

In addition, Martin Snellgrove provides us with a Concise Almanac for the Sundays of Year B.  We are grateful to Martin for providing this useful resource to the diocese over a number of years now, and it is attached herewith.

Vacancy: Rhostyllen and Poyser Street

Following the appointment of Sam Erlandson to Aberconwy, we are now looking to appoint a full-time stipendiary priest to the Wrexham Team, rooted in the communities of Rhostyllen and All Saints’ Poyser Street.  The details and application forms will be posted on the website, but any enquiries should be directed to the Archdeacon of Wrexham.  Applications should be sent to Diane McCarthy by noon on Monday, 16^th November.

I extend my heartfelt good wishes to you as we battle on with sustaining the life of the Church amid different waves of Covid restrictions and advice.  I am amazed at your resilience and creativity, and I pray that God will refresh you so that your great work may not flag.

In Christ,