The Bishop of St Asaph’s Advent message and call to prayer for Wales

The Bishop of St Asaph is inviting people to join him along with the other Bishops of the Church in Wales in a prayer for the nation every day in Advent.

All the bishops, including Gregory Cameron, the Bishop of St Asaph, are inviting people of all faiths and traditions to pray every evening at 6pm from Advent Sunday, on November 29, to Christmas Day

The prayer asks for God’s healing and blessing on Wales during times of darkness, such as the pandemic.

In a joint letter to the nation, the six bishops say,  “Christians believe that God’s light (the light of truth, the light of justice, the light of love) shines in the world and, no matter how dark things become, whether because of COVID or other troubles and difficulties, yet there is always hope in God’s goodness and love.”

Acknowledging that not everyone in Wales shares this belief and respecting their convictions, the bishops invite people to adapt their prayer or simply join in the spirit of it.

They say, “We are sure that the healing, the strength, the compassion and the courage for which we will be praying are important to all people, whether of faith or not. Whatever our beliefs, we can all wish good cheer and well-being to everyone in Wales in this season.”

You can watch the Bishop’s Advent Prayer here:

In addition to the Advent prayer, Bishop Gregory has filmed an Advent Message which will be shown in churches and during online services on Advent Sunday. In his message, Bishop Gregory, says, “It’s almost certain this Christmas will be a Christmas like no other when all the usual plans have to be set aside.  Maybe our family won’t be joining us this year; maybe we won’t be able to do what we usually do …. We won’t be able to fill the church for the midnight mass or for the carol service or Christingle this year.”

Bishop Gregory goes on to say that the message of Christmas is one of hope.  He says, “…when the baby was born in Bethlehem God came to live amongst us and He promised that He would remain amongst us to encourage, to inspire, to build a future.  And that means that as a church, as the people of God, as those who believe and follow Jesus, that we want to be this Christmas, people of light. People who in the midst of the darkness will bring hope and love and joy and peace to those whom we encounter.”

Bishop Gregory’s Advent Message is available in five formats (video, audio and written in Welsh and English) at https://dioceseofstasaph.org.uk/bishopgregory/advent-message/

During Advent, the Diocese of St Asaph website will be hosting an online Advent Calendar featuring the Church in Wales’ Darkness into Light Campaign, stories of generosity, ideas for an Eco-Christmas and our Church Schools’ Taith Adfent / Advent Journey. You can see the Advent Calendar at https://dioceseofstasaph.org.uk/advent-and-christmas/

The Diocese of St Asaph is part of the Church in Wales, an autonomous Province within the worldwide Anglican Communion of Churches.  The diocese is a community of more than 200 churches covering the counties of Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham and parts of Gwynedd and Powys.  It looks after 51 schools, including one shared faith secondary school.

The text of the Advent Prayer for Wales is: