ODDI WRTH YR ESGOB...
FROM THE BISHOP...
Bishop John writes his Ad Clerum to the clergy of the Diocese every month. You can read the text on this page.
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March 2008
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APRIL 2008
Dear Friends,
I have been asked by several clergy for copies of my sermon given at the Holy Week Chrism Eucharist in the cathedral. I offer a digest as follows:-
Father, You anointed your only Son
high priest of the new covenant
and have given your priests a share
in his consecration:
make them faithful witnesses
to his saving work….
(Church of S. Africa Prayer Book 1989)
A staff visit to Danger Point in Talacre, an organisation used by schools across north Wales to alert children to the risk of accident across the spectrum of children’s experiences (including chat lines, mobile phones, fire, road safety etc) was a morning well spent. But it had the additional benefit of triggering questions about the danger points in Christian ministry.
The composers of our collect seem to address at least one of them. And that is the danger of ministries becoming isolated. Taken from the Prayer Book of South Africa, the collect reminds us of the ministry we share, and of which our con-celebration tonight is a sign. I chose it because the Lambeth conference will soon be upon us (indeed preparations are well in hand for our pre-Lambeth hospitality initiative here in the diocese. Our visitors are likely to be fewer than expected, because of the ructions in the Anglican communion. Nevertheless, our invitation remains open).
Lambeth reminds us that what Christ shares with us, we share with millions across the globe in an infinite variety of contexts. To be aware of how other provinces of the Anglican communion express their priesthood enriches our life.
And this particular collect reminds me that the South African liturgy has been painfully born of the violent history of the apartheid years, and honed by the experiences of figures such as Desmond Tutu and Trevor Huddleston, Njongonkulu Ndungane (who recently retired as Archbishop of Capetown, and who spent three years as a political prisoner on Robben Island), and indeed by the experiences of those who’ve recently served in this diocese, who witnessed courageously for the sake of racial justice in South Africa, including the late Graham Chadwick, formerly bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman, and Bishop John Dudley Davies, both of whom were expelled from S. Africa for taking a stand against an oppressive regime.
The collect is not a prayer composed in the shade of the Jacaranda with sundowners, but part of a liturgy forged in the heat of political conflict by the community of faith.
But is our situation less challenging for all of that? I don’t think so. The details change, and the political environment and social conditions are different. But the church’s ministry here in our part of Wales is also worked out in the soil of our communities – and done so with faithfulness and courage, often uncomfortably, frequently with great sacrifice.
So I want at this point to thank you for your ministry - for every baptism you administer, every marriage you solemnise, every funeral you conduct, every eucharist at which you preside, for every sacramental administration, every visit you make, every sermon you preach, every time you witness to Christ and every pastoral situation you’re required to enter. In the words of Karl Barth, “to raise our hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world”.
And at the Eucharist, what someone has called “the body language of God”, has come into our midst. It’s this that sets the pattern of God’s self-giving love – a life taken and offered to God, a life lived thankfully, a life broken and shared in the service of others. That’s the “glimpsed alternative” offered to our world through the lives of all Christians, and which ought to be exemplified in the lives of its public representatives, ordained ministers of the Gospel.
And I thank you as ordained ministers of the Gospel not just because you do these things in my name as bishop, but because you do them in Christ’s name. First and foremost it is Christ’s ministry we share – it’s his consecration as High Priest in which we participate. Every priestly and diaconal act you do builds the kingdom, expresses solidarity with your fellow clergy and cements the family of the church we’re called to nurture.
One of the prime ways God shows his love to us is through one another, in the fellowship of Christian brothers and sisters within the embrace of the church. It therefore becomes a matter of some concern when a parish betrays signs of unhealthy congregationalism which can turn into a pernicious isolationism – when a parish sets itself apart from its neighbour, loses a sense of belonging to the diocese, even to its own deanery, and ceases to feel a responsibility for the church’s ministry beyond its own parish boundaries. And in financial matters some are prepared even to sacrifice the church’s ministry for the sake of their church building (we have, of late, experienced one or two examples of this).
When such isolation happens, I fear for the spiritual health of a parish. In such situations our task as clergy is to witness to the love of God who “gives us a share” in the consecration of Jesus, the high priest of the new covenant.
For myself, within the college of clergy in this diocese, I receive untold support and encouragement. The best times are when we are together, and I want to thank you for the way you respond to the clergy schools and CME days, and indeed to this event. Our fellowship as a college of clergy is a rich prize we have to share with other churches, other dioceses even.
Of course we have testing times ahead. Next month, with a bill before the Governing Body to enable women to be ordained bishops, our unity will once more be tested. Yet even today at this Chrism Eucharist we are sadly incomplete. But this is God’s church. And God has seen us through all manner of crises in the past. And God will see us through again! So keep the faith and be living signs of hope.
And I want to close by referring to two sets of circumstance - one recent tragic event and one particular sadness within our province.
Last week was the anniversary of the death of Father Paul Bennett from the diocese of Llandaff, murdered on his Vicarage doorstep by a neighbour. The other is the circumstances surrounding reported events in the diocese of St Davids. I make no comment on either except to say that both are exceptional and that both, in their particular ways, also highlight the risks of public ministry.
As clergy our lives are sharply exposed – perhaps more so than they have ever been - but where the medium is so necessarily the message, and because priesthood is so much about presence, we have in so many situations ‘to live a life of unprotected love’. That’s an expression of Julian of Norwich which she used as a description of the life of Jesus. It’s a description haltingly reflected in our lives, but supremely reflected in the life of Jesus.
But I do appeal to you; take care of yourselves and your families. Take sensible precautions for your well-being, keep healthy through diet and exercise, drive safely and live sober lifestyles. I say this because I believe it is God’s will for you. Sober doesn’t mean dull, but it does mean an absence of recklessness!
Ministerial priesthood is still the most varied, interesting and exciting job anyone can do, and I thank God that I do it in your company and with the support of your prayers.
*****************************
Congratulations to Richard Hainsworth and Laura on their marriage at the end of last month.
We say farewell to Brian Taylor as he retires from stipendiary ministry. Brian spent the greater part of his 28 years of ordained ministry in the parish of Bagillt and is one of the few current examples of priests who have given over 20 years (24 in Brian’s case) to a particular parish. He will be much missed by his people who have valued his pastoral care, especially in latter years when he suffered ill health and underwent major surgery.
We also mark the departure, at the end of March, of Mair Jones as she retires from stipendiary ministry after 15 years in the deaneries of Rhos and Edeyrnion. Originally from the parish of Treuddyn in Flintshire and a former school teacher, Mair has blessed this diocese with the particular gifts of loyalty and pastoral courage and she will be greatly missed. In addition to her parish work Mair was diocesan correspondent for Y Llan and officer for bi-lingualism.
Hazel Stibbe also retires from licensed non-stipendiary ministry this month having served in the Pool Deanery since arriving in the Diocese in 2003. We thank Hazel for her many gifts and her sacrificial ministry.
+ John