FREE AM DDIM TEULU ASAPH Esgobaeth Llanelwy Diocese of St Asaph Rhagfyr/Ionawr December/January 2017 Trailblazing – 20 Years on Arloesi – 20 Mlynedd yn Ddiweddarach Inside An Equal Church? Knitting Christmas Igniting Wales Tu mewn Eglwys Gydradd Gwau’r Nadolig Tanio Cymru Note from the Editor Welcome to the December/ Plus, Bishop Gregory writes on how January edition of Teulu Asaph. the Church in Wales is blazing a trail by permitting communion for As you’ll notice it’s a bumper issue everyone – young or old – if they’ve with 20 pages full of your news, ideas been baptised. for Advent and information to help you with the move into Mission Areas. There are trailblazers too in work across the diocese to become The theme for this edition is Dementia Friends, to share the story I hope you enjoy this edition and trailblazing ministry and this is of Christmas through knitting and to I wish you a blessed Advent and evident in all sorts of places, through ignite the ambitions of young people joyful Christmas. the decades, across the diocese and in their faith. as we move ahead with 2020 Vision. January 2017 will mark 20 years of Thank you to all Teulu Asaph’s women priests – trailblazers in their contributors. It’s great to receive day - and will see the consecration so many offers of articles, photos karenmaurice@churchinwales. of the Church in Wales’ first female and ideas from across the diocese - org.uk / 07918 133420 Bishop on 21 January. please keep them coming! In this Issue 3 Communion of all the Baptised / Cymun i bawb a Fedyddiwyd 4 4 Trailblazing - 20 Years of Women Priests 5 An Equal Church? 10 6 News / Newyddion 7 Dementia Friendly Churches 8 Advent Landscape / Tirwedd yr Adfent 9 Political Correctness – a Personal View 10 Taking a Bearing on our Journey to 2020 12 I want to be a….Pastoral Assistant! 13 Your Mission Area Questions Answered 14 500 years of Martin Luther 16 15 Schools / Ysgolion 16 Knitting Christmas 17 Your News / Eich Newyddion Chi 20 19 Resources / Adnoddau 20 Ignite Wales Cover images: (top) The ordination of the first women priests in St Asaph Cathedral in January 1997 with Archbishop Alwyn Rice Jones. (bottom) St Asaph delegates to the MAE Cymru AGM with the new Bishop-elect of St David’s Canon Joanna Penberthy (centre, back). © Diocese of St Asaph 2016. Teulu Asaph is edited by Karen Maurice, designed by Jeff Lewis (Space on White Ltd) and printed by PWS Print Limited. The deadline for the February/March edition is 4 January. Please send copy and high quality images to Karenmaurice@ churchinwales.org.uk for inclusion. While we welcome all contributions, unfortunately we are not able to print everything we are sent. 2 | Teulu Asaph Bishop’s Word / Gair gan yr Esgob Communion of Cymun i bawb a all the Baptised Fedyddiwyd There are a few words which are at the heart Mae rhai geiriau sydd wrth wraidd y ffydd of Christian faith, and one such is “GRACE”. Gristnogol, ac un o’r geiriau hynny yw “GRAS”. Grace is God’s attitude towards us, the way Gras yw agwedd Duw tuag atom, y ffordd y in which God acts with us, and his gift of mae Duw yn gweithredu gyda ni, a’i rodd o transforming love. To be a Christian is to open gariad trawsnewidiol. Mae bod yn Gristion yn oneself to God’s grace: to seek it in prayer, to golygu agor eich hunan i ras Duw: ei geisio open the heart to scripture, mewn gweddi, agor y galon to act in love. All such i’r ysgrythur, a gweithredu actions are graceful. mewn cariad. Mae pob gweithred o’r fath yn rasol. One of the chief channels of grace in the Church is the celebration Un o brif sianeli gras yn yr Eglwys of the Sacraments. Baptism and yw dathlu’r Sacramentau. Cred Holy Eucharist are believed by Anglicaniaid fod Bedydd a’r Anglicans to carry God’s grace: Cymun Bendigaid yn gyfryngau i The official definition says that ras Duw: mae’r diffiniad swyddogol they are ‘outward and visible yn dweud fod y ddau sacrament symbols of an inward and invisible yn symbolau allanol a gweladwy o grace’. For years, however, the ras mewnol ac anweledig. Church has kept them apart, Am flynyddoedd, fodd bynnag, inserting all sorts of qualifications mae’r Eglwys wedi eu cadw nhw and ceremonies between them. ar wahân, gan fewnosod pob math Now, the Church in Wales has o gymwysterau a seremonïau made a pioneering decision, to join rhyngddyn nhw. Yn awr, mae’r the small group of Anglican Provinces bringing Baptism Eglwys yng Nghymru wedi gwneud penderfyniad arloesol i and Holy Communion back together again. ymuno â’r grŵp bach o Daleithiau Anglicanaidd sydd wedi dod â’r Bedydd a’r Cymun Bendigaid yn ôl at ei gilydd Over the next year, our mission areas will be moving to a unwaith eto. policy of ‘the Communion of all the Baptised’. Yes, even a baptised baby can receive Communion. We’re doing this Dros y flwyddyn nesaf, bydd ein hardaloedd cenhadaeth because we believe the sacraments belong together, and yn symud at bolisi o ‘Gymun i bawb a fedyddiwyd’. Gall that every Christian should have the chance to be open to baban a fedyddiwyd dderbyn y Cymun, hyd yn oed. God’s grace in every way.Of course, we respect parents’ Rydym yn gwneud hyn oherwydd ein bod ni’n credu bod y rights to choose, and also the legal requirement not to sacramentau yn perthyn i’w gilydd, ac y dylai pob Cristion give alcohol to under 5s. But the Eucharistic bread can be gael y cyfle i fod yn agored i ras Duw ym mhob ffordd. received, and we can be families together, receiving the Wrth gwrs, rydym yn parchu hawliau rhieni i ddewis, a Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s table. hefyd y gofyniad cyfreithiol i beidio â rhoi alcohol i blant dan 5 oed. Ond gellir derbyn y bara Ewcharistaidd, a Speak to your priest to find out more, or visit: http://www. gallwn fod yn deuluoedd gyda’n gilydd, yn derbyn Swper churchinwales.org.uk/faith/believe/admission-to-holy- yr Arglwydd wrth fwrdd yr Arglwydd. communion-pastoral-letter/ Siaradwch â’ch offeiriad am ragor o wybodaeth, neu ewch i: http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/faith/believe/admission- to-holy-communion-pastoral-letter/ www.stasaph.churchinwales.org.uk Teulu Asaph | 3 Trailblazing - 20 Years of Women Priests Margaret Harvey (second from right) with other women ordained priest in St Asaph Cathedral in January 1997 by Archbishop Alwyn Rice Jones. January 2017 will be historic. As well as seeing the consecration of the Church in Wales’ first woman bishop, it also marks 20 years since the first women were ordained to the priesthood. Among the trailblazers was The Revd Margaret Harvey, the first deaconess in North Wales and among the first women to be made a priest in 1997. She offers some personal reflections. January 1997 is the third in three service we were admitted as up to the final positive vote in GB, significant dates for me. My first women to ‘holy orders’. Richard Gillard’s hymn had become is 13 October 1968 when I was something of a theme song. made Deaconess at a service in In 1986 I moved to Corwen. As Bagillt Parish Church. Bishop David well as being involved in ministerial ‘Brother, sister, let me serve you; Bartlett adapted very slightly the education in various roles Bishop let me be as Christ to you; 1662 ‘Ordering of Deacons’. Alwyn asked me to be ‘Deacon-in- pray that I may have the grace to Charge’ of the parish of Bryneglwys let you be my servant too.’ In 1968 ordination to the priesthood just six miles away. was not really on the agenda. For 2020 vision is challenging us to the women who had trained with me The years as deacon in charge of a develop this priestly serving church. and had become Parish Workers parish were very rich as well as being in England the question was sometimes frustrating. The years of whether they would be allowed to debate and discussion, letters to the preach. That was never a problem Church press and votes at Governing Trailblazing Bishop and I began work in the parish Body (GB), were times of hurt and of Flint, straight in at the deep bewilderment. But they also brought Wales’ first end by leading and preaching at positive gifts. I think we all had to woman the Harvest Service in one of the ponder long and hard the meaning bishop churches in the parish that same of priesthood and the Eucharist and I elect, Canon evening! My family were ‘of Flint’. It am very grateful for that. We need to Joanna was a great privilege to minister to continue to develop, as priests, the Penberthy these people I knew and loved. creative thinking and action that went (left) will be on during those years. For me the consecrated My second date is 28 June 1980 most exciting part of that weekend as a bishop at Llandaff when Bishop Harold Charles in January 1997 was what happened Cathedral on 21 January ordained three of us to the the morning after ordination at the and enthroned in St David’s diaconate in St Asaph Cathedral. end of my first Sunday morning Cathedral on 11 February. Having been a Deaconess for Eucharist as a priest. As usual She spent four years in twelve years it was difficult to people gathered around the font to the Diocese of St Asaph explain to other people (and chat about the service.