Diocese of St Asaph Aled Mission Area
Rector of Llysfaen and Llanddulas Application Pack September 2019
In the Diocese of St Asaph or Teulu Asaph, we’re
• Growing and encouraging the whole people of God • Enlivening and enriching worship • Engaging the world
We’re a family of more than 7,000 regular worshippers, with 80 full time clergy, over 500 lay leaders, 216 churches and 50 church schools.
We trace our history to the days of our namesake, St Asaph and his mentor, St Kentigern who it’s believed built a monastery in St Asaph in AD 560. Many of the churches across the Diocese were founded by the earliest saints in Wales who witnessed to Christian faith in Wales and have flourished through centuries of war, upheaval, reformation and reorganisation.
Today, the Diocese of St Asaph carries forward that same Mission to share God’s love to all in 21th Century north east and mid Wales. We’re honoured to be a Christian presence in every community, to walk with people on the journey of life and to offer prayers to mark together the milestones of life.
Unlocking our Potential is the focus of our response to share God’s love with people across north east and mid Wales. Unlocking our Potential is about bringing change, while remaining faithful to the life-giving message of Jesus. It’s about challenging, inspiring and equipping the whole people of God to grow in their faith.
Geographically, the Diocese follows the English/Welsh border in the east, whilst the western edge is delineated by the Conwy Valley. The northern boundary runs along the North Wales coast as far as Llandudno, but only takes in part of that town. The southern boundary runs from the lower end of Llyn Tegid (Lake Bala) across to Dolfor, just south of Newtown in Powys. Ecclesiastically it is bordered by the dioceses of Chester, Lichfield and Hereford on the northern and eastern sides. To the south we border Swansea and Brecon diocese and to the west, Bangor.
Large parts of the diocese are rural, but there are important and continually developing industrial and commercial areas around Deeside (one of the largest industrial parks in Europe) and Wrexham and significant developments along the two main arterial roads (A55 and A483). The coastal strip is home to traditional holiday resorts and tourism is an important industry in many parts of the diocese.
St Asaph offers:
• A welcome to all • Life enhancing opportunities for all • A commitment to nurture God’s gifts to everyone • A Christian education through our 51 Church Schools • A celebration and conservation of our very special places • A commitment to walk alongside those in need • A prayerful heart at the centre of every community
2 Application pack: Aled Mission Area Rector of Llanddulas and Llysfaen September 2019 Aled Mission Area
Aled Mission Area, within which the Rector of Llysfaen and Llanddulas will work, is comprised of seaside towns and rural villages in the hinterland.
Our objective is expressed as:
To learn to know each other and the needs of our communities better so that we can join together more effectively to proclaim the love of God though worship and outreach
We were formed as a Mission Area in December 2017 as one of the largest in the Diocese. We had some ups and downs to start with, but for the last year we have really started to work more effectively as a Mission Area and some exciting seeds are being sown. A change of culture is proving challenging and we need someone who relishes the new opportunities for change. We would like to take risks, and the Mission Area Conference is comfortable with trying new things and learning both from what works well and what is less successful. We would like an enthusiastic team player who can help us use our gifts together for best effect.
The position of Rector of Llanddulas and Llysfaen is a part-time opportunity. The successful applicant will receive 0.5 stipend with housing provided and will be expected to work 3 days per week plus Sunday duties.
As it is a large Mission Area there is a good clergy team to work with comprising four full time clerics and two part time (including this post) as well as two SSM curates in training. We are very fortunate in that the Diocese has given us a full time Youth Chaplain and we are hoping that the applicant for this position will work closely with him and be the clergy lead on Youth Work.
In terms of lay ministry, we also have a good number of readers and worship leaders. We had a commissioning service for 33 worship leaders last year.
We have each year set priorities and we have had some good events and sharing of resources. A Start Course is being piloted to see if that is the best one for learners and those wanting to explore faith. We hope to have two running each year in the Mission Area.
Several of the churches have Messy Churches and we have begun to work together to share ideas and think how to go forward.
We are trying to move out of our individual congregations more and share social opportunities and worship together. Several times a year we are going to have pulpit swaps. Some churches have no Welsh services, and this is an area we are exploring to do more together for those who want to worship in Welsh.
Our Buildings Committee is reviewing all our churches and other buildings and looking at how we could best use them for our mission and outreach.
The future
We would hope that, working with our new Youth Chaplain, we will be able to explore new ways of reaching out to Families and Young People. It would be ideal if the rector of the two churches piloted innovative practices to share in the Mission Area
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St Cynfran’s, Llysfaen and St Cynbryd’s, Llanddulas
The Churches of St Cynfran’s, Llysfaen (below, left) and St Cynbryd’s, Llanddulas (below, right) are passionate about sharing the good news of the Gospel in outreach and worship.
We are two churches just off the A55 in North Wales, near Colwyn Bay between the mountains and the sea. Saints Cynbryd and Cynfran were brothers, so there have been strong links between our two church families since the beginning.
Our aim is to welcome everyone warmly to the life and worship of our churches. We aim to be a people who are vibrant and enthusiastic in sharing our faith with the local community and building links of faith, friendship, hope, and love.
Worship at the 150th anniversary of the consecration of St Cynbryd’s Church Refreshments after the service
We want to grow our church and hope our new Rector will build on the strong foundations already present. Members of our congregation and Mission Area have attended the Leading your Church into Growth conferences and we are keen to develop and grow.
Our two churches have always been a strong supporter of the wider Aled Mission Area since its inception. Therefore it is vital our new Rector will be someone who enjoys, supports and encourages team work across the Mission area and is prepared to 4 Application pack: Aled Mission Area Rector of Llanddulas and Llysfaen September 2019 play an active part in the development and growth of Aled MA, especially in working with our new youth chaplain in developing new strategies to reach out to our youth across our area. Change can be difficult, so it is important our new priest has the resilience to be an encourager and to deal with people who resist change in a constructive and positive way.
In short we hope our new priest will
a} Have a passion for mission and will continue to work with us as we lead our churches into growth.
b} Will be enthusiastic about social engagement and develop new ways of being alongside of our communities as well as encouraging and developing the already existing links with our schools and young families.
c} will be a strong team player who will embrace the vision of all our churches in the Aled Mission Area supporting, Entrance to the St Cynbryd’s Community Park on a Fun Day sharing and encouraging each other in our Mission to Jesus Christ.
Our churches have been lucky in the past with having priests who have encouraged us to grow to our potential as the People of God here and thus we have strong lay leadership in place.
Each church has their own churchwardens, two Readers, with one potential Reader in training as well as Worship Leaders, Sacristans, Messy Church Altar Servers, Intercessors and Lesson Readers. Our congregations have been very involved in developing a successful messy church as well as a service of light for young people, which has enthusiastically been received. We have a committed organist who plays for both churches.
Our Current Sunday Service Pattern is:
9:30am at St Cynbryd’s
11:15am at St Cynfran’s.
We use orders of service which are seasonal for the church year and our liturgy is a mixture of morning worship, all age services and the Eucharist. Baptisms are held during an All Age service at St Cynfran’s and during a Sunday afternoon service at St Cynbryd’s. We are very open to change as we want to be a living presence to our communities.
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St Cynfran’s Church, Llysfaen
There has been a Church on this site since 777. St Cynfran’s is situated in the picturesque village of Llysfaen, three miles from the towns of Colwyn Bay in the west and Abergele in the east. It comes under the borough of the County of Conwy. On a clear summer’s day, you can see Blackpool Tower, the Cumberland Hills, the Lake District and the Isle of Man.
Llysfaen was a quarrying village and it was the quarries where most of the population worked. Some quarrying still takes place today with ships arriving to be loaded with the local limestone used in manufacturing and house building.
At the last census the population was approximately 2,250 and St Cynfran’s has a regular Sunday attendance of approximately 10 people in a congregation of mixed ages.
The building has undergone considerable refurbishment inside and out and plans are underway to refurbish the Church path and to finish the work carried out on some internal walls. A member of the congregation has responsibility for building projects and liaises with the architect.
Weddings amount to two or three per year and remarriage couples are welcomed to marry in our church. Confirmations and classes have been held and we would like to see this develop. There are approximately six funerals per year. The graveyard is now full but there is a Community Graveyard operated by the Community Council.
The Parc Peulwys estate in Llysfaen has experienced regeneration strategies in recent times and the church is keen to develop links with young families and youth in this area. We hope our Rector will make this one of their priorities.
There are strong school links. Llysfaen has a community primary school, Ysgol Cynfran (previously a Church School) which scored Green in the recent Inspection and target tables and with whom the Church has a strong affiliation. The school choir sing at St Cynfran’s Christmas Fair in the Village Hall. There is also a primary school situated on the Parc Peulwys estate which has had a good relationship with the Church in the past. The high school for the catchment area is Ysgol Bryn Elian which has an excellent record of achievement. We hope these school links can be developed.
There is a children’s playground in the village, refurbished a few years ago.
The Village Hall was previously the Church House and was built by public subscription and is in use continuously with classes in ballroom dancing, dog obedience, a Ladies Group and Indoor Bowls Club. The annual horticultural show is also held in the Village Hall.
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St Cynbryd’s Church , Llanddulas
We are a welcoming friendly church who want to serve their community.
This year we held a very successful week of special services and events to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the consecration, the Sunday service being led by Bishop Gregory, the current Bishop of St Asaph. We planned and ran several events designed to engage our community including a fun day and a special Songs of Praise as well as welcoming the school to a special service.
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Our Church has excellent links with the local primary school, Ysgol Llanddulas which is a Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School. The pupils attend regular services at St Cynbryd’s and services at the school are regularly led by our Rector or one of our Readers. The Church is represented on the School Governors Board by two Foundation Governors who are members of our congregation.
There is also a thriving Messy Church on the first Wednesday of each month with around twenty adults and children attending, who share food and enjoy the fun and being creative.
As part of our service and outreach to the community, we opened in 2016 St Cynbryd’s Community Park. This was a piece of derelict glebe land adjacent to the rear of the churchyard which was redeveloped using grants from several bodies and includes a small car park. Each year we hold at least one “Fun Day” event which have proved very successful while the park is used every day by local people.
There are exciting, wide reaching projects for re-ordering St Cynbryd’s and further developing local land as a Peace Garden for use by the community. These projects are led by a very small but keen group who are looking for a priest who will help us develop them quickly.
8 Application pack: Aled Mission Area Rector of Llanddulas and Llysfaen September 2019 The Church is surrounded by an extensive churchyard which has been tidied and creatively transformed into a public park area now known as St Cynbryd's Community Gardens. The work was made possible by a huge amount of volunteer labour and grants totalling over £130,000. The Gardens have Victorian- style lamp posts for lighting, new paths, Sensory, Herb, Healing, Butterfly and Remembrance areas as well as a graveyard of over 1,000 graves, the eldest being that of a Rice Wynne who died in May 1683. The graveyard is still open for new burials. The Gardens are maintained by a small dedicated group of volunteers and have obtained Green Flag and other awards every year since the restoration work started in 2005.
The Church building is open during the day every day and we know from the visitors’ book and chance meetings that people frequently come in to see the building, to pray or to have a period of peace and quiet. Many people comment on the beautiful stained-glass windows throughout the building. The fabric of the building is in good condition and the peal of eight tubular bells was restored in 2011.
ST Cynbryd’s church has a regular Sunday attendance of approximately twenty people in the congregation, with larger attendances at combined services with St Cynfran's and at special services such as Remembrance Sunday and Christmas. There are also regular shared services with the Llanddulas Methodist Church with whom we have an excellent and supportive relationship. Coffee is served after services and this is popular as it provides opportunities for chat and to meet visitors.
Weddings usually amount to two or three per year and remarriages are welcome in our church.
The Rectory
The Rectory is a modern four-bedroomed family house located in Llysfaen. It is well-maintained by the Diocesan Property Board and provides a comfortable and spacious home.
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