From the Vicar
Following Pentecost, the church enters the period of Ordinary Time, which will last over the Summer and into Autumn. However, the word “Ordinary” does not mean “usual or average”, but simply that it lies outside the seasons of Lent / Easter and Advent / Christmas.
Ordinary time provides a period during the Liturgical Year for us to deepen our faith and understanding in order to learn how to live out our Christian faith in our daily lives, and how we each play our part in taking the Church in this area forward in the years to come.
As the Church in Wales approaches the centenary of its disestablishment in 1920, we should remain confident about the future as we develop our thinking about its nature and vocation. We must be a changing church witnessing in a changing society – people who increasingly recognise that the mission of the Church in Wales belongs to all members of the Church and not just the clergy.
Bishop Gregory, at his visitation to our Deanery earlier this month, reminded us of the need for us all to prepare to take the Anglican Church in the Diocese of St Asaph forward in the years to come. As part of the process each Deanery has been sent a document which outlines its current ministry and finance, with the thought that Deanery Conferences can realistically discuss the future of their group of parishes. This process will enable Deaneries or Mission Areas or Ministry Areas to plan strategically for the future, using their local knowledge and skills, to take the Church forward.
Here in Denbigh Deanery the process is well underway, via our Deanery Plan, and reorganisation of the Parishes of Llanrhaeadr, Nantglyn, Llandyrnog with Llangwyfan under one Incumbent from October, as Bernard Thomas and myself take our retirement from full time stipendiary parish ministry. These changes will be an important part of the process.
So – no Ordinary Time, in the sense of “usual or average”, in the near future but plenty of challenge and opportunity – as is always the Christian way.
Michael
