Mission Area Administrator Blog
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Monday 2nd October - ‘Open Day’ for the new Mission Area Office (or just another day in a busy week ….)
The idea was to give members of our congregations in the mission area the chance to come along to the new office, find out where it is and, if you haven’t already met me, find out about my role as Mission Area Administrator.
It was also a good chance to see the office which has been created to help support the work of the thirteen churches that make up our mission area in Dyffryn Clwyd. The office base - or, to put it more accurately, Eglwys Hwb - and the role of the administrator has the potential to develop into a central point for sharing information amongst ourselves and out into our wider communities, as well as providing office space for meetings, etc. For example, the Pastoral Network team meets monthly in this office space; this initiative seeks to co-ordinate our pastoral visits to those, both among our congregations and outside of the Church too, needing support at difficult times in their lives, such as after a bereavement. It is overseen by the Rev. Richard Carter, and the network also provides support and mentoring to those who undertake this work. Developing our pastoral work was identified as a priority for mission and outreach in our Covenant.
Why Eglwys Hwb? Well, the Welsh word hwb can mean the hub at the centre of the wheel with spokes reaching out from it; a good image of our thirteen churches, all dispersed across upper Dyffryn Clwyd yet connected to the centre - which is the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; which we seek to live and share with others. But it means more than that, it also has a sense of central point or push, a place of dispersion, as well as joining together.
The conversion of the office, formerly a little-used room in the old cloisters at St Peter’s, was converted using money from the Diocesan Transformational Fund, for which we are very grateful. This fund of money was set aside to provide additional support to mission areas as they undertake the work necessary to establish the new structures. Our mission area identified the need to improve communication, with an administrator to support the task and the necessary office space from which to work. I was keen to ensure that all the internal decorating was complete - and the paint dry! - before hosting the Open Day.
At the Open Day I had a number of people calling in to have a chat and a cup of coffee. But if you didn’t manage to get there, you would be welcome at any time when the office is open. So if you are in Ruthin and want to just pop in, please do; I look forward to seeing you soon.
Saturday 7th October 2017
This was not ‘another day in the office’, but the opportunity to attend my first Diocesan Conference, this year at St Joseph’s High School, Wrexham.
The conference takes place once a year and brings the clergy and lay representatives from the 220 churches across the Diocese together, with the staff from the Diocesan office and Bishop Gregory; it provides the space to reflect upon our work in the last 12 months and our achievements in a constantly challenging environment, spiritually, socially and financially; …..’time to pause, to pray, reflect, listen, discern, consolidate, encourage, take bearings on our Parish life and be open to where God is calling us’.
Bishop Gregory acknowledged that a lot of energy in the last few years has been directed towards setting up new structures, necessary for the evolution and development of the mission areas. But the words of encouragement I heard were that the 20:20 vision for our diocese is not an abstract structural change, but a change in the life and culture of the church, it requires vision and passion. “Mission areas must liberate our churches, ministers, people to be do things differently, by ‘doing the little things’. In our mission areas churches are on the move, breathing new life into our ancient structures and connecting people into the mission of God, sharing God’s gift of abundant life – building bridges of fellowship over which Jesus can cross”.
We heard about a number of signs of growth and optimism, such as the increase in the number of lay people going forward for training in ministry, and that we have no interregna in the Diocese at the present time. There was also time for ‘networking’, as it would be termed in the business world, or simply opportunity to meet new people, talking together, sharing our stories, and hearing about the various and sometimes striking ways in which God has been at work quietly and unexpectedly in people’s lives.
The theme of the conference was a saying attributed to our provincial and national patron, Dewi Sant, in his farewell exhortation to his monks: ‘Gwnewch y pethau bychain’ - ‘Do the little things’. And we had a stirring and inspiring address on “Evangelism” from our guest speaker for the day, Bishop Stephen Cotterell of Chelmsford, who gave us some humbling and thought-provoking examples of how evangelism can indeed be carried out simply by ‘doing little things’, which, despite their littleness, can sometimes have life- changing consequences. Bishop Stephen’s own words to us in his conference address probably best convey his point:
“I want to say to the people of St Asaph, ‘There’s no need to be scared’. Evangelism is something done by the whole people of God together, according to their gifts. All the little things we do, be it offering a kind word or welcoming a visitor, makes a difference”.
Sunday 8th October – Harvest Eucharist at St Foddhyd, Clocaenog.
I think I have turned into a bit of a ‘harvest junky’ as I have tried to attend a number of harvest services across the mission area. On Sunday morning, with the music of the final worship from the conference still ringing in my ears, I joined the parish church of Clocaenog for their harvest celebration. It was a pleasure to be welcomed by the church wardens and parishioners to their Sunday Eucharist. I loved the contrast between the large school hall of the day before, with many voices raising the rafters, to the quiet and intimate setting of one of our beautiful rural churches. There were a goodly number of both children and adults there, giving a real sense of place and of community. With so many children present, the worship was inclusive and interactive, with the children participating fully in the Liturgy, assisting Rev Richard as servers and in taking the collection.
Afterwards we all enjoyed a hearty bowl of soup and home-made bread at the back of the church, reminding me that even though we may think of our many rural church buildings as ancient places of sacred worship, they are also the meeting places for living and breathing church communities, here and now in the 21st century: a local hwb, with life as we seek to live it as people of God, flowing in and out of the doors in many different guises, not least in the hospitality of sharing bread and a bowl of soup !
The idea was to give members of our congregations in the mission area the chance to come along to the new office, find out where it is and, if you haven’t already met me, find out about my role as Mission Area Administrator.
It was also a good chance to see the office which has been created to help support the work of the thirteen churches that make up our mission area in Dyffryn Clwyd. The office base - or, to put it more accurately, Eglwys Hwb - and the role of the administrator has the potential to develop into a central point for sharing information amongst ourselves and out into our wider communities, as well as providing office space for meetings, etc. For example, the Pastoral Network team meets monthly in this office space; this initiative seeks to co-ordinate our pastoral visits to those, both among our congregations and outside of the Church too, needing support at difficult times in their lives, such as after a bereavement. It is overseen by the Rev. Richard Carter, and the network also provides support and mentoring to those who undertake this work. Developing our pastoral work was identified as a priority for mission and outreach in our Covenant.
Why Eglwys Hwb? Well, the Welsh word hwb can mean the hub at the centre of the wheel with spokes reaching out from it; a good image of our thirteen churches, all dispersed across upper Dyffryn Clwyd yet connected to the centre - which is the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; which we seek to live and share with others. But it means more than that, it also has a sense of central point or push, a place of dispersion, as well as joining together.
The conversion of the office, formerly a little-used room in the old cloisters at St Peter’s, was converted using money from the Diocesan Transformational Fund, for which we are very grateful. This fund of money was set aside to provide additional support to mission areas as they undertake the work necessary to establish the new structures. Our mission area identified the need to improve communication, with an administrator to support the task and the necessary office space from which to work. I was keen to ensure that all the internal decorating was complete - and the paint dry! - before hosting the Open Day.
At the Open Day I had a number of people calling in to have a chat and a cup of coffee. But if you didn’t manage to get there, you would be welcome at any time when the office is open. So if you are in Ruthin and want to just pop in, please do; I look forward to seeing you soon.
Saturday 7th October 2017
This was not ‘another day in the office’, but the opportunity to attend my first Diocesan Conference, this year at St Joseph’s High School, Wrexham.
The conference takes place once a year and brings the clergy and lay representatives from the 220 churches across the Diocese together, with the staff from the Diocesan office and Bishop Gregory; it provides the space to reflect upon our work in the last 12 months and our achievements in a constantly challenging environment, spiritually, socially and financially; …..’time to pause, to pray, reflect, listen, discern, consolidate, encourage, take bearings on our Parish life and be open to where God is calling us’.
Bishop Gregory acknowledged that a lot of energy in the last few years has been directed towards setting up new structures, necessary for the evolution and development of the mission areas. But the words of encouragement I heard were that the 20:20 vision for our diocese is not an abstract structural change, but a change in the life and culture of the church, it requires vision and passion. “Mission areas must liberate our churches, ministers, people to be do things differently, by ‘doing the little things’. In our mission areas churches are on the move, breathing new life into our ancient structures and connecting people into the mission of God, sharing God’s gift of abundant life – building bridges of fellowship over which Jesus can cross”.
We heard about a number of signs of growth and optimism, such as the increase in the number of lay people going forward for training in ministry, and that we have no interregna in the Diocese at the present time. There was also time for ‘networking’, as it would be termed in the business world, or simply opportunity to meet new people, talking together, sharing our stories, and hearing about the various and sometimes striking ways in which God has been at work quietly and unexpectedly in people’s lives.
The theme of the conference was a saying attributed to our provincial and national patron, Dewi Sant, in his farewell exhortation to his monks: ‘Gwnewch y pethau bychain’ - ‘Do the little things’. And we had a stirring and inspiring address on “Evangelism” from our guest speaker for the day, Bishop Stephen Cotterell of Chelmsford, who gave us some humbling and thought-provoking examples of how evangelism can indeed be carried out simply by ‘doing little things’, which, despite their littleness, can sometimes have life- changing consequences. Bishop Stephen’s own words to us in his conference address probably best convey his point:
“I want to say to the people of St Asaph, ‘There’s no need to be scared’. Evangelism is something done by the whole people of God together, according to their gifts. All the little things we do, be it offering a kind word or welcoming a visitor, makes a difference”.
Sunday 8th October – Harvest Eucharist at St Foddhyd, Clocaenog.
I think I have turned into a bit of a ‘harvest junky’ as I have tried to attend a number of harvest services across the mission area. On Sunday morning, with the music of the final worship from the conference still ringing in my ears, I joined the parish church of Clocaenog for their harvest celebration. It was a pleasure to be welcomed by the church wardens and parishioners to their Sunday Eucharist. I loved the contrast between the large school hall of the day before, with many voices raising the rafters, to the quiet and intimate setting of one of our beautiful rural churches. There were a goodly number of both children and adults there, giving a real sense of place and of community. With so many children present, the worship was inclusive and interactive, with the children participating fully in the Liturgy, assisting Rev Richard as servers and in taking the collection.
Afterwards we all enjoyed a hearty bowl of soup and home-made bread at the back of the church, reminding me that even though we may think of our many rural church buildings as ancient places of sacred worship, they are also the meeting places for living and breathing church communities, here and now in the 21st century: a local hwb, with life as we seek to live it as people of God, flowing in and out of the doors in many different guises, not least in the hospitality of sharing bread and a bowl of soup !