At this week’s Annual Vestry Meeting, Rev. Kevin shared the below reflections. If you hadn’t been able to take a copy last week, they are here for you to read and reflect on now.
Reflections from the Vicar
I want to begin by saying thank you for your welcome to Bro Celynnin and also to thank the myriads of people who kept the MA going during the time in-between David becoming Archdeacon and my arrival.
In future years, I will give a review of the year at the Vestry and then offer some thoughts on the way forward. What follows are simple observations that as the new person I have seen. I offer them to you as a gift, and perhaps as a challenge.
Each of our individual churches has a particular identity, which they are proud of – and rightly so. This means at times the identity of the Ministry Area or united parish is less strong. Interdependence within the MA can be cultivated further. Of course this happens on certain levels, but could grow deeper and bolder. This is not necessarily to the detriment of individual churches. It happens through Bags of Love, Neuadd Ni, Celtic Praise, Christian Aid, Cantorion Celynnin, Agor y Llythr, Life groups and zoom prayers, as well as the unseen acts of friendship and kindness that take place each day.
Another strength of our church communities is the genuine welcome people seem to receive when they walk through our doors. This is evident from Choral Evensong to Celtic Praise. We must not forget the courage it takes for someone who to enter a church for an act of worship for the first time or sometimes for the hundredth. The fact that our church buildings are open is wonderful, and I am grateful to all those who open up and particularly the welcome team in Conwy ensure visitors are greeted throughout the week.
Our worship is well-ordered and thought out. There are teams of people involved including wardens, readers, intercessors, musicians (including choristers) and welcomers. There is a sense though that our worship is for the most part traditional – in part because that is what we like. Worship in the Wild and Celtic Praise are attractive for a number of reasons, not least because they offer something different. The challenge for us is to understand what we need to learn from this, and how our worship might at times need to be broadened. There is joy too in having members of the Deaf community join us in worship, and we are grateful to Nicky who joins us to ensure our worship is inclusive. The establishment of a bible study arising from this is very much to be welcomed.
I talk a lot about being bilingual. In our context of north Wales this has a particular meaning. However, in addition to celebrating the fact that we have two languages, we need to acknowledge that those outside the church family speak a different faith language and we need to learn those languages so we can offer the deep and profound gift of the good news to those around us. In Conwy, there is a desire to have a Family Service: there are several challenges to this: where will the families come from? Who will invite them. We have the tremendous gift of two church schools. How much are they part of our family as Bro Celynnin? If we invite them how will we make sure they are at home? If the service is something different to what you expect, will you still come?
There are certain parts of our life that are fragile. The situation at Llanbedr y Cennin at the moment is one that gives me particular cause for concern. There are no wardens, no treasurer, nor members of the MAC from Llanbedr. A number of people have left for good and valid reasons. St Mary’s, Conwy is slowly putting together a finance team after a good while without a treasurer. This team will between them do the functions of the treasurer. This is a novel development and will take some time to bed down. Llangelynnin is a place where there are no wardens either. Yet, it is home to Celtic Praise which is a growing community of people who are at different stages of their faith journey. Celtic Praise is only based in Llangelynnin during the summer months so it makes the appointment of traditional officers difficult. Yet, what seems to be developing is a shared responsibility for various tasks like welcome, maintenance and worship not unlike having a finance team in Conwy rather than one person.
I am grateful that Chris and Mike are content to stay on as MA wardens. If either one had stepped down, especially the vicar’s warden, I would have been lost as to who to appoint so soon after my arrival. Indeed, with the combination of MA wardens and church wardens, there needs to be some rethinking about responsibility and tasks. This will in part be solved by creating a council of wardens, a forum for those called to be wardens to discuss how we work within Bro Celynnin. Realistically, we have to accept that at the moment if someone stepped down from an office there might not be someone ready and willing to take that task on. One of the ways forward is introducing Deputy MA wardens who will support the rest of the leadership team, which includes local churchwardens, MAC, as well as the Ministry Team. Roles always evolve. No one would have anticipated at one stage the same incumbent being responsible for Conwy and Caerhun. Change requires trust and an acknowledgement that fragility is not always a negative thing.
Llanbedr y Cennin offers a particular case in point. It is a reality that the congregation has dwindled over the last several months. I want to give this community the best chance of flourishing again. Worship in its particular format of 9:30am on a Sunday morning seems for now to be limited to the handful who currently attend. I am committed to trying to do something once per month there probably in the afternoon. I don’t mind publicising on the ground and trying it out. It will I imagine not look like what happens in the church currently.
Family services, worship that attracts new people, changing the way we run things takes particular time, and the life of the church is no different in that respect. The society and culture in which we live have changed before our eyes, and we need to respond accordingly. We need to think deeply and yet sometimes quickly about many things, not least what does it mean to follow Christ today in Conwy, both in the valley and town. I want to work with you all to understand what that means. I am very grateful to have Eryl as a conversation partner in this.
Bro Celynnin is blessed by its Ministry Team. Where would we be sometimes without Heather, ably supported by Ian? Alongside leading worship and preaching, Heather has that ability seemingly to be everywhere. I am delighted that Susan is with us. Her prayerful presence is a reminder to me always that we are called to pray. Anna, Lynn, and Berw share their gifts of priestly ministry on a Sunday, and in Gyffin we are blessed by the presence of Terry and Phil. Alongside the Team, we should delight in the fact that we are able to have the skills and gifts of Nic at our disposal. In addition, the church would not function without its volunteers, where those who hold formal office or not. Ros’s tireless work to ensure contact is maintained with people prevented from joining us for Sunday worship is a case in point. This MA has much to celebrate as we build on those who have gone before. What do I offer? Perhaps that is for you to judge. I am a priest, evangelist, and scholar. I like being part of the communities of Bro Celynnin. I do need to work harder at being present in the rural part of our parish more than in our rural town. I still am deeply committed to listening to you all. I am committed to helping grow our churches numerically. This is a promise to try to be deeply personal. Growth usually happens one by one. I am afraid this might mean I will be more present in our schools, primary and secondary and in community groups than I am in church sometimes. For me projects are borne out of pastoral and missional situations.
The community I want to be part of is open hearted and generous, that can disagree but laugh together, but longs to make a difference and continues to see lives changed by the gift of love. We have time to explore together what that might mean for us and for our churches.
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