Governing Body – September 7-8

Bold plans for evangelism and church growth over the next decade will be discussed by Church in Wales members at a key meeting next month.

A 10-year strategy to engage more people with the Christian faith and nurture their spiritual lives will be discussed by the Church’s Governing Body during its two-day meeting on September 7-8 at the International Convention Centre in Newport.

The strategic vision will be presented by the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, while Medwin Hughes, chair of the Representative Body, will outline its financial support. Members will discuss the plans in small groups which will then report back to the meeting in a plenary session. Their views will feed into the strategy as it is finalised later this year.

The Governing Body is made up of 144 elected clergy and lay people from across Wales, representing all the Church’s six dioceses. Other items on this meeting’s agenda include:

• A keynote address by the Archbishop of Wales as President of the Governing Body.
• An update on projects set up by the Church’s Evangelism Fund, including presentations from two of them: the new churches, Hope Street Church, in Wrexham, and Citizen Church, in Cardiff.
• A report from the Bishops on the recent Anglican Communion Lambeth Conference.
• A report from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David by its Vice-Chancellor, Medwin Hughes. This year UWTSD, which has historic links with the Church, is celebrating its bicentenary and, for the first time, its vice-chancellor is also the chair of the Church’s Representative Body.
• A presentation on Biblical literacy by the Bible Society.

The meeting will also be live-streamed via a link on the Church in Wales website and YouTube channel