PASTORAL LETTER
To be read at all services in the Diocese of Monmouth on the Sunday before Lent
Sunday, 19th February, 2012
My dear brothers and sisters,
Once again I am following the ancient practice of issuing a Pastoral Letter to call you to a faithful observance of Lent. Lent traditionally lasts for 40 days and is a time of preparation for the major Christian festival of Easter when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Easter is then followed by 50 days of celebration culminating in the great feast of Pentecost when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church.
The four Lenten disciplines are prayer, bible study, fasting and almsgiving. This year, once again, I am calling upon you to go without a meal on Ash Wednesday and each Friday in Lent and to give the money you would have spent on the food to my Lent Appeal. Some may choose other forms of fasting such as giving up meat, alcohol, chocolate or some other food or activity during the whole of Lent.
Last year, the Lent Appeal raised over £20,000 and I am most grateful to all of you who contributed and I am confident that you will be generous once again. Half the amount raised will be to support projects in our own diocese, and half in our companion Diocese of the Highveld in South Africa.
Home Project
The project here at home is to support the work of the Mothers’ Union in helping to run children’s contact centres in Abergavenny and in Pontllanfraith. A contact centre is a safe place where children from separated families can go to spend time with one or both of their parents. Mothers’ Union members and others act as volunteers at these centres and provide refreshments, toys and games as well as creating an atmosphere of hospitality and safety. They also provide emotional support for the children and their parents. Contact centres rely on donations and grants to cover their costs. The children’s contact centre opened in Pontllanfraith in 2008, and the centre in Abergavenny in January of this year. Supporting these centres will be supporting children and parents and helping the Mothers’ Union in our diocese in their ministry to support families in need.
Companion Diocese Project
Bishop David Bannerman, the Bishop of the Highveld has identified a number of projects needing urgent support. He would like to put one-third of the money towards supporting their feeding scheme fund which provides food for children living on informal settlements and who are often malnourished and therefore prone to illness. He would like to use one-third to support the diocesan work with carers who nurse sick relatives, many of whom have AIDS, T.B. or chronic diseases, and one-third to assist projects pioneered by clergy who are ministering in desperately poor communities. Having visited these clergy in their parishes I know what wonderful work they are doing in circumstances which many would find hard to imagine.
I am asking parishes to enable people to give money each week or to make their contributions at the end of Lent and for parishes to make arrangements for people to Gift Aid what they are giving.
Easter, this year will mark the beginning of our Year of Pilgrimage and I am calling upon parishes to spend some time in the 50 days of Eastertide to ask themselves if they show the signs of being an authentic pilgrim Church. A young couple visited a church one Sunday and told the Vicar that they were new to the area and visiting various churches to see where they would settle. They only had one question to ask the Vicar – ‘What does your church do to care for the poor?’ Sometimes we become so concerned with keeping our buildings going and paying the Parish Share, that we can lose sight of why we are here. In this Year of Pilgrimage, I hope that each church will ask if a pilgrim would find them to be an authentic Christian community.
The questions that I want you to ask are whether your church shows four particular signs of being the Church. Are you a community of prayer, a welcoming community, a community of service and a community of sacrifice?
Firstly, a community of prayer. Churches that are vibrant, are churches where there is prayer not only during services, but also an opportunity for people to receive a personal ministry of prayer and the ministry of healing. Prayer is the basis for renewal, and growing churches will invariably have prayer and bible study groups, opportunities for quiet days, retreats and pilgrimages.
Secondly, a welcoming community. All churches think they are friendly but visitors often tell a different story. We can provide training to help people welcome newcomers, and to develop a culture of welcome and invitation where church members want to invite people to come to church with them.
Thirdly, a community of service. Some churches are active in serving their communities and in supporting mission agencies and charities. Jesus washed feet and told us to do the same. He also said that what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters we do for him. A church that lives to itself will die to itself, but a church that lives for others will grow.
And fourthly, a community of sacrifice. At the heart of our faith is the Cross and sacrificial giving is an authentic sign of discipleship. We should all give a proportion of our income to the mission and ministry of the Church. The highest level of giving in the diocese is in some of our poorest parishes where the people tithe or give a proportion of their income. In many of our churches some 10% of the people give over 80% of the income. One evangelist used to say that the last part of a person to be converted is his or her pocket!
These are the areas that I hope churches will address either as PCCs or in small groups as we celebrate Eastertide and give thanks for all that God has done for us in Christ.
Finally, (and here I shall imitate St Paul when he wrote letters to the churches) I thank God for you all and for your prayers and support. I believe that we are truly blessed in the Diocese of Monmouth with some wonderful priests, deacons and people. We face challenging times, but so often the churches grow when facing such times because it requires us to examine what it means and what it costs to be the pilgrim people of God.
I wish you all a truly holy observance of Lent and pray that it may be a time of spiritual growth and blessing – and to God be the glory.
With my love and prayers,
+ Dominic
Notes
The Pastoral Letter should be read in place of a sermon and may be read by a priest, deacon or lay person.
It may be displayed on Notice Boards and copied for parish magazines.
Cheques for the Lent Appeal should be sent to me at Bishopstow and made payable to the ‘Bishop’s Mission & General Fund’ before 1st July, 2012. Please inform your treasurer.
It is not possible to Gift Aid money to the Mission & General Fund but people may give to the PCC through Gift Aid, and parishes may wish to add the tax that can be claimed to the amount they send.