Monmouth Llythyr Newyddion Diocesan Esgobaeth Newsletter Mynwy Number/Rhif 215 Easter / Pasg 2015 “Lay Ministry—a going concern” says the Bishop Having completed a training course last year, on Wednesday 25th February at St David’s, Fleur de Lis, five people from the Parish of Blackwood with Fleur de Lis and one from the Benefice of Mynddislwyn were licensed by Bishop Richard as Lay Eucharistic Ministers. They are now permitted to assist in the administration of the Holy Eucharist, either in church or to the sick and housebound people in the parish. They were Carys Wynne and Janie Hughes (St Margaret’s), Jan Berry and Kevin Cegielski (St Thomas’s), Janet Cumpstone (St David’s) and Justin Edwards (St Augustine’s). With the planned new Ministry Area being formed later this year when St Margaret's, St Thomas' and St David's join together with the Benefice of Mynyddislwyn making a group of eight churches, the designated Ministry Area Leader, Fr Mark Owen, has initiated links across the churches. Recently, joint training has taken place to form a Lay Pastoral Visiting team to work across all the churches to form another layer of the Ministry Team. These churches have already begun to work together and plans are now being made for a Ministry Area Vision conference to be held later this year to include all eight churches to enable all to look forward to unity in building the Kingdom. Bishop Richard says: It was a great pleasure to commission six Lay Eucharistic Ministers at St David's Fleur de Lis. I am always delighted when lay people decide to shape their commitment to Christ in a particular service and it reminds me not only of the priesthood of all believers but the discipleship of all believers. In this diocese, at face value, it seems that we have a bountiful array of lay ministries and that is something to celebrate. For instance there are around two hundred Lay Eucharistic Minsters. Their working context will vary, but it has become clear that many of them would welcome further training and development. I shall look into this matter within the broader strategy of enhancing and developing lay ministry within the diocese. The Diocese of Monmouth, The Church in Wales : Esgobaeth Mynwy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru New Year bells at Shirenewton Worship Central at Llandogo It would be quite wrong to say that the bells shattered the silence - there was no silence to shatter because of the noise of New Year's Eve revellers, and the bells were half muffled (unlike the listeners, who were fully muffled) - but they certainly caught the attention of everyone gathered inside and outside Shirenewton Church shortly before midnight. Full of good cheer, good food, and good wine, courtesy of Kevin and Glynis's generous hospitality, the crowd was good-natured, well-behaved and hopping from foot to foot with anticipation, followed by pleasure and satisfaction as they On 1st February, the 10.45 service in heard the peal of half-muffled bells ringing the old year out. Llandogo hosted a worship evening as part of the #100gatherings, a global As Mike Penny explained, it is a toll for the passing of the old year - only dead ten day event organised by the monarchs are honoured with a peal of fully muffled bells - and the leather sock Worship Central team in London. For on one side of the clapper allows the bell to clang on one side and thud on the ten days, worship events were held all other. over the world from Australia and the Philippines to Slovakia and South The bell-ringers finished their peal just before midnight and the crowds left the Africa..... and Wales! church to hear James play the trumpet in his own inimitable style whilst the bell- ringers removed the muffles, and then the bell-ringers were back to work to It was an amazing evening with people welcome in the New Year in traditional fashion. coming from many other churches to join us for an evening of music, prayer Meanwhile, Kevin had been busy getting the firework display under control, so and worship. by the time the bell-ringers had joined the rest of the revellers he was ready to set them off - and what a display! There were oohs and aahs as the fireworks lit The event poster made by the up the sky, not to mention the squeals and squeaks from those discovering the Worship Central team after the events joy of waving a simple sparkler around in the dark. And then the level of noise included our church! We are on the reduced to its previous rumble as people made their way back indoors for more bottom row, second from the right! good cheer, or down the road to home and a welcoming bed. Marianne Piper Bill Clark Eye-witness stories from the West Bank Ann Davison came to Holy Trinity, Christchurch, in January to deliver an eye-witness account of her experiences in the West Bank. Ann is a Quaker who, in 2014, spent three months in the West Bank as a member of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. This international group was established in 2002 and is co-ordinated by the World Council of Churches. The British section is supported by several Christian charities and churches, including the Church in Wales. She gave a brief history of the current situation, in particular the occupation by the Israelis of the West Bank of the River Jordan in 1967. She emphasised from the outset that EAPPI recognizes the Ann Davison with Revd Michael Jarman, Vicar of Holy Trinity, existence of Israel within internationally-recognized borders Christchurch and that their work is based on principled impartiality. Wearing distinctive jackets, EAs monitor human rights abuses which, because of the situation, tend to be largely against Palestinian civilians. They work with both Israeli and Palestinian peace groups. She described the starkly contrasting lifestyles of the Palestinians, mainly shepherds, and the Israelis who live in the settlements which are illegal under international law. For example, the Palestinians have no mains water or electricity or tarmac roads. She gave several examples of the destruction and intimidation experienced by local Palestinians. There are, however, glimmers of hope. Wind and solar panels, funded by the EU, are being installed in a growing number of Palestinian villages, encouraging families to remain. There are active Israeli peace groups and a number of Israeli soldiers are speaking out about mistreatment of the Palestinians in a movement called ‘Breaking the Silence’. The final part of Ann’s talk was devoted to the challenge: What can we do? There were several practical suggestions, including contacting our MP and/or MEP; calling for an end to trade with illegal Israeli settlements – read labels! Tell supermarkets you don’t want goods from this source; support EAPPI with donations and prayers. It was a most insightful evening, and a challenge to us as Christians to act against injustice. Paulette Powell Walking with Mary Our Year Walking with Mary has got us off to the most interesting start. In November, Bishop Richard introduced us to the importance of the Holy Mother of Christ as a companion on our own Christian journey. Fr David McGladdery, the vicar of Monmouth, shared with us some examples of her companionship and inspiration in his life and ministry. It was a great start to taking us on this journey. In January, we were warmly welcomed by the Rectorial Benefice of Cyncoed for the second of our Walking with Mary evenings. Revd David Parfitt reflected on how we can enhance our lives by Mary’s example. He focused on two aspects of Our Lady’s story. Firstly, her treasuring the many words and encounters that shaped her choosing and revealing of Christ to the world. David called us to have our own treasures that reveal Christ’s glory to us that we can turn back to time and time again to remember his goodness and mercy to us. And the second aspect of Mary’s life for us to reflect upon was her faithfulness. Mary’s resounding YES to the Angel’s greeting and question is something only to be admired and to inspire our own response to God’s call on our lives as disciples to be as resounding as hers. As soon as your greeting sounded in We have four more evening Eucharist celebrations with a variety of different speakers as well as my ear, the unborn life Bishop Richard giving us some teaching. The dates, which all start at 7pm are: within me leapt for joy. Wednesday 22nd April St Mary’s, Chepstow Statue at the Church Wednesday 13th May The Cathedral of the Visitation in Ein Wednesday 10th June St Michael’s, Abertillery Karem, Israel Wednesday 1st July St Mary’s, Abergavenny All these events are leading us toward the end of this year with Mary as we make pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. We still have places available. To join us, contact the Pilgrimage Co-ordinator on 029 20 734910 or email [email protected] Emily is St Mellons School Bard On Friday 27th March 2015, the pupils of St Mellons Church in Wales Primary School celebrated their Eisteddfod with friends and family. Emily Davies, Year 6, was chaired as Bard of the Eisteddfod. The poem that she wrote impressed the judges because of its depth of understanding, as well as the mature use of language and phrasing. Emily wrote her poem after studying photographs taken during World War 2.