St Asaph Round-up: Dydd Iau, 24ain Tachwedd 2016

Newyddion o Esgobaeth Llanelwy:Thursday 24November 2016

Teulu Asaph should be in your churches this weekend – please pick up a copy and share it with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. It’s a bumper 20-page edition, with information about Advent, Christmas, Mission Areas as well as a look ahead to celebrations marking 20 years since the ordination of women priests.

Advent Message - Bishop Gregory’s Advent Message will be presented in churches across the Diocese on Sunday. If you haven’t got a copy for your church yet, visit

/ Advent Message 2016
stasaph.churchinwales.org.uk
In his 2016 Advent Message, Bishop Gregory urges people to renew God's church in lively and real ways.

Press information on Christmas Services:Each year the weekly newspapers like to include information about carol services in Christmas week. In order to compile an accurate and comprehensive list of services, please can every church email the following information to Karen Maurice, Communications Office () by Friday 9 December. Only services between Sunday 18th - 25th December (inclusive) should be listed. Please complete the following template:

Name of Church:

18 December – TIME – Name of service

Christmas Eve - TIME – Name of service

Christmas Day- TIME – Name of service

If you have other carol/Christmas services taking place in the week leading up to Christmas Day, please include them too.

This week:

Come and Sing the Songs of Redemption. Our third gathering “Continuing Steadfastly” takes place at St John’s Church, Old Colwyn on Saturday 26 November at 7.15pm. Join Quentin Bellamy (at the Hammond RT3) and Peter Fawcett (at the piano), and our special guests, John Lomas (Archdeacon of St Asaph), and Alan & Janice Brown (Old Colwyn Baptist Church) and our other friends for an evening of worship and encouragement with hymns and songs from Redemption Hymnal and Elim Choruses.

An Afternoon of Music- Elena Stepanova and her pupils will be performing a selection of music from Baroque to Modern. Saturday 26th November 3pm at St Grwst’s Church, Llanrwst. Refreshments available. Admission £2.50. Advance tickets available from Olwen John on 07551327509.

Ysceifiog Community invites everyone to their “Communities Together” event – 26th November at 7pm in St Mary’s Church, Ysceifiog. A gathering for everyone, near and far from all walks of life – all faith, and none. An exploration of the universal theme of love. Food and drink provided afterwards. All enquiries to Barbara Hearty:01352 721128 or Diane Ward: 01352 711046.

Historical lecture in aid of St Tudfil's church: on Tuesday 29 November, Parish Hall, Park Road, Coedpoeth at 7pm. Mr Mike Crumplin will be speaking on military medicine: "Losing sight of the glory: war, injury and medicine from Agincourt to Helmand". Tickets £5 payable at the door.

Services of Induction, Licensing and Installation:

Aled Mission Area Commissioning Service is on Sunday 4th December at 3pm, in St Michael's Church Abergele. Refreshments to follow in the Red Cross Hall next door.

Nicholastide Confirmationat Cathedral, 6.30pm on 7thDecember.

Service to welcomeChristine Browneas Shrine Guardian, St Melangell’s Church,Pennant Melangell, 11thDecemberat 11am.

Licensing ofRoger Wattsas Priest in Aled MA, St Cynbryd’s Church, Llanddulas on 19thDecemberat 7pm.

Celebration of 20 years of Women’s Priestly Ministry in the Church in Wales, 7thJanuaryat 11am in St Asaph Cathedral. Celebrant and preacher: The Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester.

Training

“Words of Hope” creative writing workshop for Advent –3rd December led by Revd Dr Jan Berry. 10am-4pm at Luther Kind House, Brighton Grove, Rusholme, Manchester M14 5JP. Additional information on the attached poster.

Please see the following 3 training sessions for next year from Bridge Builders:

All the workshops are open to all (not just those who have done some previous training with Bridge Builders). Workshops are designed for anyonein church leadership (Lay or Ordained), but is especially relevant to those in a position of overall oversight.

Responding to Criticism: Thursday 12 January 2017, 9.30-4.30: London

The specific aims of this workshop are:

Practise some skills for handling difficult criticism

Do a personal “attitude check”: what are you modelling?

Work on a case-study that you bring

Develop your own framework for maintaining perspective

Plan some strategies for changing a predominantly negative culture

To book, follow this link:

Virtual Church Conflict: Wednesday 8 February 2017: Manchester

The aims of this workshop are:

Review your own use of electroniccommunication, and devise a personal listof dos and don’ts

See how inappropriate communication maybe part of a wider pattern of behaviour

Add to your tool-kit of possible responses

Plan how to help your church explore thewhole business of responsible electroniccommunication

To book, follow this link:

Leading Well Under Pressure: Wednesday 8 March 2017: York

The aims of this workshop are:

Review the challenges you are facing, and assess the support you need

Learn to make better choices about the way you face conflict

Resist pressure from the anxiety of others

Bring together insights on leadership from scripture and from contemporary research

. To book, follow this link:

All workshop places cost £65 each.

Monmouth Diocese is holding a vocations conference in Abergavenny on Saturday 18th February 2017. The conference will have a panel of speakers from a variety of ministries (monastic, lay, pioneer, ordained, and chaplaincy) and it would be a useful day for anyone exploring vocations to attend the day to hear the panel (who will be looking at the areas of vocation, faith and spirituality through the lens of their particular ministry) and have a chance to ask questions. Please see the flyer and booking form (circulated previously) for more details.

Information and Marketplace:

Revd Heather Fenton is putting together a display for the Celebration of 20 years of Women’s Priestly Ministry in the Church in Wales.Ifanyone has any material that could be loaned for incorporation into the display please contact Heather on or call 01490 412169.

Please visit our new “StAR Christmas Activities section of the Website”.Added this week are details of:

  • St Paul’s, Craig-y-don Advent service and Christmas Fair
  • Tenovus Cancer Care Charity Christmas concert
  • North Wales International Music Festival “Music for Advent” concert.

Red Carpet Wanted for Film Festival – if anyone has a red carpet that could be borrowed for the Iris Film Festival on 6th December please contact Revd Dr Manon C James on

Reminders:

Save the date ....Tue 6th December 2016, 7p.m. St Asaph Cathedral

Changing Attitude Trawsnewid Agwedd Cymru presents our own Iris Film Festival “TELLING OUR STORIES”. Featuring six short films telling LGBT+ people’s stories from around the world and launching our own film made on location in Llandrindod Wells ‘All One in Christ’.In partnership with Iris Prize Outreach and the Big Lottery Fund Wales admission and refreshments

Cofiwch y dyddiad ....Maw 6 Rhagfyr, 2016, 7y.h. Eglwys Gadeiriol Llanelwy

Mae Changing Attitude Trawsnewid Agwedd Cymru yn cyflwyno ein Gŵyl Ffilm Iris “ADRODD EIN STRAEON”. Yn cynnwys chwe ffilm fer yn adrodd straeon pobl LHDT + o bob cwr o'r byd a lansio ein ffilm a wnaed ar leoliad yn Llandrindod 'Un yng Nghrist'.Mewn partneriaeth ag Iris Prize Outreach a Chronfa Loteri Fawr Cymru a lluniaeth am ddim.

#RefugeesWelcome - What’s causing the ‘refugee crisis’? What can we do to help? What are the official schemes in place and how can we engage with them? How can we promote better understanding and debate? What are the churches doing in Wales, across Europe and beyond to help?

Come and find out at #Refugees Welcome, St Collen’s Church, Llangollen, on 12th December (approx. 11am-3.30pm) – where we will be joined by Christian Aid Wales along their ‘Bethlehem to Egypt’ walk in solidarity with refugees.

The charge to participants is £10 to cover the cost of refreshments. To reserve a place, please contact or telephone 029 2034 8252.

Cheques should be made payable to Rep Body of the Church in Wales and send to:

Lisa Macrow, 39 Cathedral Road, Cardiff, CF11 9XF

More details will be available shortly.

More details on the Christian Aid walk at

The walk will end with a service at St Asaph Cathedral on 15 December at 7pm at which Bishop Gregory will preside.

What’s on

“Ensemble 1677” Launch concert – An evening of early music from Bryd to Strozzi. 3rd December, 7.30pm in St David’s Church, Pantasaph, CH8 8PE. Tickets £5 from or available on the door.

Enneagram Workshop with Gordon Melvin in Llangollen Friday 13th January at 6pm until lunchtime Sunday 15thin The Upper Room of St Collen’s Church Community Hall, Regent Street, Llangollen, Denbighshire, North Wales. LL20 8HL.01978 860231.ContactAndrew Sully;

Price: £150, excluding a variety of accommodation options

Refreshments: Full board, inc. Vegetarian

The workshop is being held for men who have who come across the Enneagram through Richard Rohr’s work or through the Men’s Rites of Passage. It is not intended to be exclusively for ‘Initiated’ men, but for men seeking to deeper their own spiritual practice. Details circulated previously.

StAR - If you want something including in the St Asaph Round up, please send it to next StAR will be on Thursday 1st December.

Check back on previous editions of StAR at linked from the home page)

Nominate people in your church to receive this information. It’s free and we want to share it! Ask your PCC Secretary, Wardens or Parish Communications Officer to send an e-mail to with ‘Subscribe to StAR’ in the subject line and we’ll do the rest.

Keep in touch!

Keep up to date with what is going on across the Diocese.

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@StAsaphDiocese

Sian Connelly

Administrative Assistant / Cymhorthydd Gweinyddol
Diocesan Office /Swyddfa'r Esgobaeth
High Street / Stryd Fawr
St. Asaph / Llanelwy

LL17 0RD