Annwyl Gyfeillion,

Tomorrow is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, a saint much admired and loved in the modern age, particularly for his respect for creation, and the way in which he wove that into his discipleship and spirituality.

As I reflect on him, I am reminded of the recent Assembly of the World Council of Churches, where the unfolding Climate Catastrophe was a major theme, and a concern to which delegates returned time and time again. Even in the UK, we have noticed our summers becoming drier and hotter, and our winters becoming warmer and wetter. It is beginning to make its mark with near drought conditions for our farmers in the summer, and increasingly homes being caught up in flooding during the winter. For all this, comparatively few of us are showing any real concern for these developments, as they are not yet destroying our lives and livelihoods across society in the way that they will for our children and our children’s children. It is one of those topics on which occasionally we get agitated, and then move on with life without any real change.

At Karlsruhe, there were however Christians from parts of the world where climate change has reached a real crisis point. Deep drought creating widespread famine, flash storms creating flash flooding which wipe out villages and wide areas, widespread suffering and island homes sinking beneath the waves. The situation is already beyond critical in other parts of the world.

It behoves us to find ways of making a difference. The ways in which the seasons change seem far beyond anything we might do, but the small changes of practice and attitudes, and campaigning by each individual can create a trend, and a trend bring about a change. We need to become mindful of the planet in our everyday choices.

Only this last weekend, the diocese held its first Eco-Fest very successfully. You can read about it on diocesan media, and it is part of our Eco-Church initiative, which is led by the Dean. Do please consider making your Church part of this drive.

The WCC Assembly tackled much more than climate change. Scroll through this page: https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents and you will find some of the longer documents, including on climate change, which express the mind of the assembly. They tackled some of the big issues facing humanity today with courage, forthrightness and determination, which will shape the actions of the WCC executive in the next eight years. One document in particular express the general experience of the Assembly, the Message. With the message, the Assembly expressed this hope:

Every assembly of the World Council of Churches has released a message to convey the experience of the assembly and the inspirational nature of its work. We offer this message to be read in every congregation of our member churches, and published in all church media. We hope this message may be widely translated and used. It would be good to see it discussed and dissected, pondered over, and prayed over, because it represents the deliberations and prayers of over 4000 people who participated in the assembly, as we seek the unity Christ offers. We entrust this message now to you, asking you to hand it on to all Christians and people of goodwill, that together we might unite in discovering how Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.

I would ask you to do just this. The message is about eight minutes to read, so it can be read in the context of our worship, or even as the sermon – I’m giving you a couple of these opportunities recently! The WCC remains distant and of little impact still to many of the faithful in the Teulu Asaph. Reading the Message invites all of us to engage on a wider front with the Kingdom of God.

Residential Clergy School

I am looking forward very much to us gathering as the clergy of the diocese for our residential Clergy School in November.

The theme of the conference will be ‘Making the Journey Happen’. Our speakers will be Revd Dr Peter Walker, widely acknowledged as one of the foremost experts on the Holy Land, and Revd Graham Archer, Acting Director General of CPAS. The chaplain for the conference will be the Revd Liz Devall, a parish priest in the Manchester Diocese who has a particular interest in pilgrimage.

The Hayes Conference Centre has recently undergone renovations, and if the November weather permits, there are one hundred acres of award-winning gardens and grounds to explore. Accommodation will be in en-suite rooms with complementary towels, soap and toiletries included. As most people indicated they wished to make their own way to the conference, it is not going to be viable to run a coach, so do consider the option of car-sharing where possible.

Check-in will be from 3:30pm on Monday, 14th November, with evening worship at 5:00pm. The conference will end with lunch on Thursday, 17th November.  A more detailed programme and further information will be sent out in the coming weeks.

Hwyl a Helo

It is good to be able to welcome Canon Jeremy Dussek, Precentor at Chester Cathedral, to the diocese. Jeremy will serve in the Maelor Mission Area from early in the new year.
We also welcome Paul Emberton from England as NSM Assistant Curate in Estuary and Mountain Mission Area. Paul has moved to north Wales from Leicester where he was ordained at the start of lockdown. Paul will be licensed on 4th October, and Kathryn Evans will be his training incumbent.

I am pleased that Huw Butler has agreed to take on the role of Mission Area Leader in Alyn, and Hermione Morris has agreed to take up the portfolios of Rural Affairs Officer for the diocese. Huw brings a long track record of priestly ministry to his new role, and Hermione is committed to the wellbeing of our farming communities, being a farmer herself, and will offer support to all those who farm within our diocese.

Carole Poolman has indicated to me her intention to retire as Mission Area Leader and a priest-in-charge in Mold on New Year’s Day. We are grateful for her faithful ministry, especially in consolidating Mold Mission Area, and we wish her and John every happiness as they settle into retirement.

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.

08 Octr Diocesan Conference (online)

19-20 Octr MAL residential, Foxhill

23 Octr Confirmation at St James’s, Holywell, 1400hr

Later in the year

14-17 Novr Residential Clergy School (Swanwick Conference Centre)

14,16 & 17 Decr Advent Ember Days

2023
24 January Clergy Synod

2 Febr IME Book Study Day, Emmanuel Church Hall, Bistre

21-22 March MAL residential (Please note this date is currently provisional.)

24 June Ordination of Deacons, Cathedral, 1000hrs

1 July Ordination of Priests, Cathedral, 1000hrs

15 July Licensing of Lay Ministers, Cathedral, 1000hrs

21 Septr Clergy Synod

21 Novr MAL training day (Please note this date is currently provisional.)

Notes and Queries

Archdeacon of Wrexham vacancy

Following the support received from the Diocesan Standing Committee at its last meeting, we will be moving to the early recruitment of a new Archdeacon of Wrexham. The advertisement will appear in the Church Times on 14th and 21st October, and an application pack will be available from the first of these dates. It will be very important that we make a wise appointment to bring new vigour and insights to the diocesan leadership, and I trust that you will pray for the discernment process. I hope that you will also prayerfully consider whom God might be calling to this ministry, and invite strong candidates to consider applying.

Diocesan Conference, Saturday 8th October

The mailing for the Diocesan Conference has been sent out, and clergy should acquaint themselves with the agenda. The Conference will take place via Zoom on Saturday 8 October, and is a professional commitment for all clergy, except where I have given permission in advance. The title takes its cue from our diocesan focus, Growing Faith, Bringing Hope, Demonstrating Love, and the keynote speakers will be two of our new members of the wider Cathedral Body, Sr Gemma Simmonds, from the Congregation of Jesus, director of the Religious Life Institute and senior lecturer in pastoral theology at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge, and Canon Richard Peers, Sub-Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. Although the conference will be by Zoom, I will look forward to seeing you there.

Mental Health First Aid Training

Self-care is an important requirement of our ministries, just as much as looking out for the welfare of others. Those at Standing Committee recently will have heard Sarah Wheat speak about this, and Mental Health First Aid Training with sessions will now be taking place on Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th November by Zoom. This training and support proved to be of significant benefit in the Church Schools when we invested in it during the pandemic and early lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
Several places have been reserved for clergy. Anyone wishing to take up the opportunity of a place is invited to have a word with their archdeacon in the first instance. This training and support proved to be of significant benefit in the Church Schools when we invested in it during the pandemic and early lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 and you are encouraged to avail yourself of it if you feel this will be helpful.

Ordination Services

Please note a change in the arrangements for the Ordination next Petertide: The Ordination of Deacons will now take place on Saturday, 24th June in the Cathedral at 1000hrs, and The Ordination of Priests will now take place in the Cathedral on Saturday 1st July at 1000hrs

Prisons’ Week : 9-15th October
For nearly 50 years, Prisons Week has been encouraging Christians to pray for all those affected by crime and imprisonment. Attached are the official English and Welsh posters/flyers to publicise this year’s Prisons’ Week. More information can be found either here https://www.prisonsweek.org/ or here: https://llandaff.churchinwales.org.uk/en/outreach-social-justice/prisons-week-2022/   You and your congregations are encouraged to support this, remembering especially HMP Berwyn, and the chaplaincy team there, within our diocese.

Safeguarding Sunday, October 9

This year the Church in Wales is marking Safeguarding Sunday on October 9th and we urge you to take part in whatever way you can. It’s an important opportunity to remind people of our commitment to being a safe church and the responsibility we all have to protect vulnerable people. The Church in Wales has partnered with the Christian safeguarding organisation thirtyone:eight to produce bilingual resources that you can download and use. The resources should be available by late September on the thirtyone:eight website  You will also find information about the day on the safeguarding page on the Church in Wales website https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/safeguarding/ Please note that the date of National Safeguarding Sunday has recently been moved to November 20 and you will see this date on the thirtyone:eight website. The Church in Wales has, however, decided to keep the original date of October 9 this year as it has been published in our lectionary.

St Padarn’s CMD Autumn Training Programme

St Padarn’s is currently offering a fairly comprehensive series of half-day and full-day training courses to be delivered through Autumn 2022 and the first few months of 2023. The courses themselves are a mix of online and in-person events. The full list of courses for the Autumn programme can be found here: https://www.stpadarns.ac.uk/en/ministry/continuing-ministerial-development/

Whilst the take up for the courses has been generally good, there are a couple where some extra registrations would be welcome, especially at the in-person courses in Wrexham, Nantgaredig, Swansea, and Cardiff.

• Tuesday October 25th Managing Conflict Bridge Builders Hope St, Wrexham
• Thursday December 1st Managing Conflict Bridge Builders Nantgaredig, Carmarthen
• Thursday December 8th Effective Communication Ruth Hassall St Thomas, Swansea
• Friday November 4th Effective Communication Ruth Hassall St Padarn’s, Cardiff
• Wednesday November 9th Managing Time Effectively Kathryn Delderfield Zoom
• Thursday November 17th Managing Change Ruth Hassall Zoom

If you feel would benefit from a particular course, please sign up.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2023

The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2023 in January is Be-Longing: Praying for Unity amidst Injustice and resources are now available and can be accessed here: https://ctbi.org.uk/resources-for-week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity-2023/.

My friends, there is a lot in this Ad Clerum. Let us devote ourselves to building up the body of Christ, and witnessing to the Gospel. Grace and Peace to you from the Lord Jesus Christ,