Called to be more - Archbishop's Presidential Address to Governing Body
The Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, calls for a "more professional, grounded, compassionate, connected and creative Church" in his Presidential Address to members of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales.
Drawing on stories from Welsh history, recent initiatives like the Welsh Rivers Summit, and global concerns such as artificial intelligence and ethical leadership, the address is both a reflection on who we are and a call to who we are becoming.
What follows is the full text of the Archbishop’s address:
Presidential Address to the Governing Body of the Church in Wales – 30 April 2025
Come with me on a journey in your mind’s eye. We’re travelling through one of the most beautiful and storied parts of God’s own country: Ceredigion!! Heading south from Aberystwyth, through Rhydyfelin, Llanfarian, and Blaenplwyf, we make our way toward Llanrhystud. And just as the road bends near the village, we pass a ruined cottage. Upon its stones, a defiant blaze of red proclaims a now-iconic phrase: ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn – Remember Tryweryn’.
It is more than graffiti. It’s a memory, a wound and a call to attention. It recalls the drowning of a Welsh-speaking village in 1965 to create a reservoir to supply Liverpool and the Wirral, without the consent of Welsh authorities – but it has since become something much larger. A symbol. A story. A protest from a shared consciousness that says: “Do not forget who you are.”
However we regard that slogan, we recognize that a nation’s identity, is never static. It shifts and grows, forged in triumphs and tragedies alike – in the coal dust of the valleys, the scars of the quarry, in the defiance of Owain Glyndŵr, in the memory of Aberfan, in the poetry of two languages, and the magic of Gareth Edwards – though perhaps, for now, we speak quietly of rugby. The point is that a shared identity, if alive, is also always in transition engaging with its culture and surroundings.
What is true for a nation is also true for the church shaped by revivals, a rich hymnody, the stories of saints and pioneers who founded communities of faith across the nation. Scripture offers us theological mirrors for this dynamic of change: the Exile, which forced the nation to revisit and redefine what it meant to belong to God while far from the promised land; or the radical inclusion of the Gentiles, redefining who was included in the family of God. These are stories of disruption and re-formation – but also of grace, resilience, and hope.
In the last year, I have felt deeply that we are a Church being invited – perhaps even compelled – to adapt and develop ever more courageously as we respond to new challenges.
And so, I want to frame this address with an invitation: to become a more professional, grounded, compassionate, connected and creative Church.
A More Professional Church
Let me begin with safeguarding.
At the heart of our calling is the care of others, especially the vulnerable. If we fail here, we fail everywhere. And so, our aim is to create a safe Church where good safeguarding practice is embedded in the very DNA of our life together — where it becomes instinctive, reflexive, woven into our ministry at every level; in a way that makes it harder to hide abuse and in which positive behaviours become normative.
There are three things I want to emphasise:
- First, reporting. We must get this right, and we must be rigorous. There have been times when we have failed to report concerns as we should. It is always better to seek advice and allow professional safeguarding teams to discern next steps, even if the result is “No Further Action,” than to say nothing. Silence can never be our policy.
- Second, training. This is key. We grow in wisdom through learning. The Provincial Safeguarding Team has developed workshops and modules that are not tick-box exercises, but formative practices. They help develop what is increasingly referred to as “professional curiosity” – a sharpened awareness, a sensitivity to what doesn’t sit right, a readiness to act.
- Third, developing a College of MASOs in every diocese. Each Ministry Area must appoint a Ministry Area Safeguarding Officer, and we need to create a College of MASOs in every diocese to strengthen their work, share expertise, and build a local culture of safeguarding excellence. This approach would also be beneficial to ensure that locally, we always implement safer recruitment principles for people that work with vulnerable people; and undertake activity risk assessments to understand and manage safeguarding risk.
But professionalism goes beyond safeguarding.
As Governing Body will know, the bishops have begun consultations on the liturgical provision for people in same-sex unions. These sessions are not debates – they are ‘listening exercises’, not only for the bishops but for each other. We listen to one another, and we listen for the Spirit. We do this not because agreement is easy or guaranteed, but because respectful listening is itself a transformative act. Early feedback has indicated that this has been appreciated and helped us to understand better and relate to those with different convictions from our own. If we are to walk together through complex matters, it must begin with the humility to listen well. Developing this mindset is to recognize we need to do discernment better. We will need to bring this same attitude with us to our engagement here in Governing Body next year.
A More Grounded Church
Back in September, I shared that we were preparing a Church in Wales sponsored Summit, on the issue ‘Restoring Welsh Rivers’. That summit took place, and the experience has been extremely positive.
More than ninety delegates from across different sectors – environmentalists, farmers, scientists, policymakers, and community leaders – gathered to share a common concern: the state of Welsh rivers. Polluted by ageing infrastructure, industrial runoff, intensive agricultural practices, and a regulatory framework which cannot cope, our waterways are under grave threat.
What the summit revealed is that the Church has a significant role to play in the life of the nation. Not as experts in water management, but as conveners. We can bring people together. We can help align values and efforts. We can encourage collaboration where there might otherwise be fragmentation.
Welsh Government First Minister Eluned Morgan spoke at the event and invited us to submit five key issues for Government consideration. The response, from the Deputy First Minister, is attached to the copy of this Address.
The summit was not a one-off. It was a statement: that the Church in Wales will be present in the public square, attentive to the cry of the earth as much as the cry of the people of Wales. And in 2026, we will build on this with new summit, exploring how the Church can speak and act wisely in the face of pressing societal challenges.
Last September, I had the privilege of attending the European Peace Conference in Paris to speak on one of the most complex and fast-moving issues of our time: Artificial Intelligence.
We’ve all seen the headlines: AI-generated models, Vanity Fair Spy Cartoons, fake celebrity images, conversations powered by language models like ChatGPT. It is astonishing how quickly the technology is evolving. But speed is not the only concern. Ethics is. I will respond to a question about AI later in this Governing Body in more detail.
AI holds enormous promise – for healthcare, education, even climate action. But without a shared ethical framework and regulatory oversight, it could deepen inequalities and accelerate harm, including the development of destructive weaponry.
We lack what the late Pope Francis has called for: an internationally agreed ethical framework with the power to hold developers and nations accountable and an oversight arrangement with power to compel compliance. I commend to you his recent reflection Antiqua Et Nova[1], a deeply thoughtful treatment of how artificial and human intelligence must be held in creative tension across spheres – war, health, truth, and our spiritual life.
We need to see the world, and one another, through the eyes of faith. Psalm 24 reminds us: “The earth is the Lord’s.” That must inform our approach to technology, power, and policy.
[1] “Antiqua et nova" on the relationship between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence, 28.01.2025
A More Compassionate Church
Compassion must not be a side project – it is our calling card.
I am especially moved to welcome Dr Monica Attias to the Governing Body. Monica leads the Sant’ Egidio Humanitarian Corridors programme and has made it possible for countless lives to be changed for good. Families bereft of hope, purpose and economy have been fed, housed, educated and given an opportunity to live well. Her work flows from a faith that is deeply rooted in Christ and radically expressed in action.
If you’ve ever joined the St Egidio Community in worship in the Vatican, you’ll know that it is possible to pair devotion and action, prayer and protest, stillness and solidarity. Monica embodies that balance, and I am grateful she is here to speak with us.
Her work is a living reminder that we must learn the radical ways of gentleness and peace. Whether through warm banks, food banks, social enterprises, or the quiet care of neighbours – we have always been called to exist for others, to embody the love of Christ in word and deed. And we must urge our governments to prioritise the plight and needs of those who are most vulnerable whether in these lands or abroad.
As Mark Carney has wisely said, our task is not simply to plan for the future, but to plan the future[1]. And that planning must begin with compassion.
[1] Carney, M. (2021). Value(s) Building a Better World for All. William Collins. P.371
A More Connected Church
We are not alone in our witness; and we are discovering and developing, I believe, a new kind of ecumenism in Wales – one built on friendship, humility and shared mission.
I have been deeply blessed by the ministry of Archbishop Mark O’Toole, who preached most powerfully to us this morning. I believe this may be the first time a Roman Catholic Archbishop has preached at Governing Body. It is a significant occasion and one to celebrate.
Mark’s warmth, openness, and commitment to working with churches across traditions has allowed us to reset relationships and forge new paths. Retreating together – Annibynwyr, Presbyterians, Charismatic Evangelical, Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists and Roman Catholics – was something I could scarcely have imagined five years ago. But we did it. And we are learning to love one another as Christ loves us, listening well, seeking to bless wherever possible, honouring our traditions and finding new space for ministry and conversation.
We also have a new General Secretary of Cytûn, Dr Cynan Llwyd, whose leadership is building on previous work to connect our shared witness across Wales, and it has been an enormously positive move to work closely with Cynan these last ten months.
A More Creative Church
Mission and ministry lie at the heart of our vocation, and I am deeply encouraged by the creative energy I am seeing across the province. I believe this is a sign we are learning to develop the patterns of ministry by extending the boundaries of our engagement.
The Church Growth Fund has surfaced new ideas and bold ventures: a church plant in the Diocese of St Asaph from an existing recent Church plant, the School Pioneers project in the Diocese of Monmouth, efforts to renew rural ministry in the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. These are not outliers. They are signs that we are finding new ways to be Church – faithful to tradition, yet unafraid of innovation.
It would be a mistake to pit parochial ministry against pioneering ministry. The truth is - much of our ministry today, is both. It is local and imaginative. Grounded and experimental. Ministry Area ministry is often profoundly pioneering and pioneering draws on our inherited faith. And that is exactly as it should be.
I began with Ceredigion – most blessed of counties!! Had we continued our journey further south and inland, we might have arrived at Llanddewi Brefi, site of the famous synod where St David and others confronted the challenge of Pelagianism.
Within that church lies the Idnert Stone, inscribed with the words: “Here lies Idnert son of Iacobus who was slain on account of the plundering of David.” It is the earliest physical evidence of St David’s missionary work – a marker not only of conflict, but of commitment.
What made that era significant was not ease, but attentiveness. The Church was alert – to danger, to drift, to opportunity. They did not retreat. They responded with the deepest commitment; and because they did, their legacy is ours.
New challenges face us today, but the hope remains the same; and the power of God to guide and sustain us has not waned.
Brothers and sisters, Alleluia! Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!