Last month we distributed three pieces of literature from the diocese, the 2017 Diary in a newspaper format and two booklets Our Vision and Called by God. These gave us quite a lot to read and reflect upon and I hope that everyone has indeed taken time to do just that. If you have not had any of these items please do ask, we still have plenty of copies.
The Diary certainly lives up to its name giving us lists of all kinds of events taking place in the diocese in the year ahead. It also gives us a prayer calendar which includes some beautiful prayers reflecting on the various founding saints of the churches in the diocese (including our own St Tudno), as well as maps showing where all the new Ministry Areas are.
The booklet Our Vision presents the vision which lies behind the changes the diocese has been undertaking and explains the new structures (Ministry Areas, Synod Areas etc) which have been set up to bring that vision to life. Our diocesan vision for the future is part of our preparation for the celebration of the centenary of the disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 2020. This booklet also has a map showing all the new Ministry Areas etc.
Called by God deals with how the diocese is exploring new forms of ministry to complement long established lay ministries such as that of Reader as well as the ancient orders of Bishop, Priest and Deacon which have come down to us from the ancient Church.
A forthcoming meeting of the PCC will look in some detail at these documents but it is important that everyone reads them because the issues they raise will begin to affect our parish more and more as time passes. Please retain them for future reference.
During this month you will be receiving two further diocesan publications. These are of a quite different nature, though they both contribute to the Diocesan Vision as presented in the booklets you already had. In many ways they are much more important than the previous booklets because they deal with our spiritual lives, our lives of prayer.
The first of these is called St. Deiniol’s Way – Worshipping Growing and Loving in the Grace of God. Bishop Andy introduces this way of prayer as a ‘framework within which we as disciples can be rooted in prayer, grow in faith, and witness to God’s love for the whole creation’. St. Deiniol’s Way will provide a simple pattern of prayer for all who wish to use it and so help to create a common form of prayer for the diocese. This booklet will be distributed on Sunday November 6th and we will have a look at it during the sermon slot on that day.
Then on Sunday 20th you will receive Advent Landscape – the diocesan Advent book for this year. We are indeed fortunate to have in our diocese the Revd. Janet Fletcher, our Spirituality officer who has produced both this and the St. Deiniol’s Way booklet. Advent Landscape will help us both individually and as a parish to prepare for the great Festival of the Christ-Mass. I hope to arrange some sessions during the Advent season so that we have an opportunity to share this together – more of this soon.
Fr. John
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