BRO FAMAU GROUP OF CHURCHES Parish Magazine June 2016 2 JUNE 2016 IN THIS EDITION • The Parishes Letter • The Archdeacon’s Visitation • The Prophets • Wendy Shillito accepted for Reader training • How to survive a PCC meeting! • Plus all the usual features COMING SOON th Worship to Celebrate the service of the Queen on 12 June ‘In Loving Memory’ services on 13 th and 15 th June Nannerch and Rhydymwyn MU on 21 st June Cilcain Community Café hosted by the church on 25 th June Gwernaffield Strawberry Tea and Car Boot Sale on July 2nd Cilcain Show on 29 th August Harvest Supper at Llanferres on 29 th September See individual parish entries for other …………… related events. 3 THE PARISHES LETTER …..from Canon Adrian Deciding what to write in this month’s Parishes Letter has not been easy. As always I try to pray before doing what we used to call ‘putting pen to paper’ but nowadays mainly refer to as ‘putting fingers to keyboard’. As that change of phrase illustrates many things change. My difficulty has not been that I do not want to talk enthusi- astically about the changes which are happening in the Church in Wales, but that I know that some people are finding these changes very difficult, and I do not want people to be hurt. The way my diffi- culty seems to have worked out is that, in spite of praying and look- ing for something else to write about, nothing else seems to have come along this time around. I found myself thinking that if God had wanted me to write about something else I might have found suitable inspiration. Magazine deadline time is, however, here and there is nothing else to offer but what for some will be uncomfortable, and for others will offer significant hope. Our Archdeacon, Bob, at his annual ‘Visitation’ to this Area reminded us of the words of our visiting Diocesan Missioner, Mark Yaconelli when invited recently to share his impressions after just a month with us. This is what Archdeacon Bob said. “ I can’t remember his (Mark’s) exact words but it went something like this: I have found that many of you are tired, exhausted, weary. You mourn the past and feel that what you did then is being cast aside and regarded as worthless. This is not so, what you did was of great value but that was then, this is now. It is not your fault. The world is different now, we need to move on, meet the challenges and be excited by what God is asking of us. This is not a time to mourn the past but to engage with the pre- sent and look to the future. God invites us to join the party – so let’s go and party! When Mark had finished speaking I remember thinking “Wow! He’s right!....... As we move forward giving thanks for and building on what has been, we need to be filled with great joy and thanksgiving that God has called us to be His disciples and to bring the message of Christ to the people of our communities and to meet all the challenges and opportunities that come our way, placed there by God himself ”. Archdeacon Bob then said, “ I found this quotation: “Too many Christians are staring at the place where yesterday’s sun went down. But a new day is dawning and we must turn and greet the sunrise.” 4 The Archdeacon then went on to talk about, amongst other things, changing patterns of worship, what our church buildings say about our Christian faith – he asked if they they give a positive message or if they appear more like a museum or a relic of a bygone age, and, yes, he talked about Mission Areas. Here in Mold the ten current parishes (twelve church buildings), in- cluding the Bro Famau Group were formally commissioned as a Mis- sion Area at the start of last year. By the end of this year the Diocese has said that ALL Mission Areas will be in place. In the Constitution of the Church in wales (Chapter IV B, Part IV.10) the Deanery, and so therefore the Mission Area Conference’s powers include: Promot- ing the whole mission of the Church – pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical: assessing the needs of the Deanery (Area) in re- spect of finance, personnel and buildings: strategic planning for wor- ship and pastoral care throughout the Deanery (Area): advising on any matter properly referred to the Conference: acting on any com- munication from the Diocesan Conference. In his monthly formal letter to clergy in March, Bishop Gregory wrote that Chapters IVB and IVC of the Church in Wales Constitution ‘make absolutely clear . that PCCs are subject to the direction of Dean- ery / Mission Area Conferences (and in turn to the Diocesan Confer- ence and the Province)’ This does not mean that the life of the church rooted in individual worshipping communities is not important – indeed it is vital, and the mission and ministry of the whole church in the Area can be devel- oped in a way which the Church in Wales Review of 2012 identified as impossible in the future within the old system of working. As an- other Archdeacon (in Montgomery) put it only last week “ As the Mis- sion Area Conference will be the primary forum for working together, it will essentially ‘re-assume’ the responsibilities it actually had as a Deanery Conference, including many of the functions that the PCCs currently have. This will mean that eventually there will no longer be a need for PCCs. But you know how important the very local is. So it is vital that each church has two wardens and a Church Committee to hold responsibility for the well-being, upkeep and local initiatives of your Church within the family of the Mission Area.” 5 Some details we know already – for example the diocese has said all the licensed ministers in the Mission Area will be licensed to the Mis- sion Area, but rooted in particular churches, and that they, with at least the other authorized ministers, will form the Shared Ministry Team. There is of course much work to be done as the constituent churches of the Mission Area work more together in an honest, realistic and trusting dialogue about how best to ‘deepen’ our life of faith and ‘reach out’ to others. And in the light of that discussion there will then need to be prayerful thought and decisions about specifically what, where, and how things work out across the area and in individual worshipping communities. “May we pray for discernment of God’s will, give thanks for every sunset and celebrate each new dawn” With every blessing, Adrian 6 WORSHIP in JUNE 2016 Sunday 5th June 1st Sunday after Trinity Cilcain 10.30 Capel Gad Gwernaffield 11.00 Morning Worship 12.45 Holy Baptism 18.00 Holy Communion (Healing Service) Llanferres 9.30 Morning Worship Nannerch 9.30 Holy Communion Rhydymwyn 9.30 Morning Worship Wednesday 8th June MISSION AREA WORSHIP Rhydymwyn 9.30 Morning Prayer Sunday 12th June 2nd Sunday after Trinity Cilcain 8.00 Holy Communion Gwernaffield 11.00 Morning Worship A thanksgiving for the service and witness of Queen Elizabeth 18.00 Evening Prayer Llanferres 9.30 Morning Worship Nannerch 9.30 Family Service Rhydymwyn 9.30 Holy Communion Monday 13th June IN LOVING MEMORY A service for all who are bereaved Holy Trinity , Gwernaffield, 7.00 pm Wednesday 15th June IN LOVING MEMORY A service for all who are bereaved St Mary the Virgin, Cilcain, 7.00 pm 7 Sunday 19th June 3rd SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY Cilcain 11.00 Morning Worship Gwernaffield 11.00 Holy Communion 12.45 Holy Baptism 16.00 MESSY CHURCH in the Church Hall 18.00 Evening Prayer Llanferres 9.30 Holy Communion Nannerch 9.30 Morning Worship Rhydymwyn 9.30 Morning Worship Sunday 26th June 4th Sunday after Trinity St Berres Cilcain 11.00 Holy Communion Gwernaffield 9.30 Family Praise (in Church Hall) 18.00 Evening Worship Llanferres 9.30 Morning Worship Nannerch 9.30 Morning Worship Rhydymwyn 8.00 Holy Communion Mid week Holy Communion Tuesdays at Holy Trinity, Gwernaffield 9.30 a.m. Wednesdays at St Mary the Virgin, Cilcain 10.30 a.m. LETTERS: If you wish to submit a letter for publication please use the contact details above. All letters must be accompanied by the name and address of the sender. Letters may be edited and shortened. The magazine panel welcomes the submission of relevant articles for consideration for publication. 8 CELEBRATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH'S SERVICE To mark the 90th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II the 11.00 service of Morning Worship at Holy Trinity, Gwernaffield on 12th June will celebrate the service and witness of the Queen. As there are no other services in the group at this time this will enable anyone one wishes to attend this special celebration, either in place of or instead of, their usual worship, to do so. All Welcome. Logo in honour of Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday designed by Lucas Satinger, aged 10, from Potten End C of E Primary School in Hertfordshire. 9 The Archdeacon’s Visitation The Visitation of the Bishop or Archdeacon is an annual event in which churchwardens make their vows of office for the coming year, and a roll of clergy is called; the senior clergy person gives a charge, which is what is expected of us during the coming year. Archdeacon Bob Griffith’s Visitation was at Pontblyddyn, in the re- cently refurbished church on May 12th.