Newyddion O Esgobaeth Llanelwy: Thursday 27 April 2017

St Asaph Round-up: Dydd Iau, 27ain Ebrill 2017

Newyddion o Esgobaeth Llanelwy: Thursday 27 April 2017

“Mental Wellbeing and Spirituality Symposium 2017– The importance of Trust” – 10 May, 9.15am-4pm in Llangollen Pavilion. Keynote talk

Canon Dr. Robin Greenwood. Our relationships with each other and with God are based on trust. Whereas we can always trust God, do we trust each other, how do we demonstrate that trust within the church and between each other, and are there occasions when we should be wary of trusting others? Please see the attached flyer and information on those speakers/workshop leaders.

Booking is essential, please contact

Do we unintentionally alienate people from our churches? How can we ensure that when people attend our services and events, we use language and behaviour that makes them feel comfortable and welcome? Learn some top tips from a man who has spent 20 years helping organisations make sure that people don’t feel excluded or disrespected. 9th May, 7-9pm in St Margaret’s Church, Wrexham. Trainer: Martin Joy. Cost: free. Booking is essential, please contact

Politics and the Church - Is your mission area or church planning election hustings or meetings connected with the forthcoming general election? If so, please contact the editor of Teulu Asaph, Karen Maurice at or 07918 133420 / 01745 532588.

This week

JESUS IS LORD! COME AND SING THE SONGS OF REDEMPTION

St John’s, Station Road, Old Colwyn, Saturday 29 April at 7.15pm

You're invited to join us for an evening of praise, worship and ENCOURAGEMENT, as we Sing the Songs of Redemption, from Redemption Hymnal and Elim Choruses. This evening is entitled JESUS IS LORD and features Quentin Bellamy at the Hammond RT3 and Peter Fawcett at the grand piano together with our special guests.

Virgin Art Exhibition and Sale – 1-6 May, St Mary the Virgin Church, Mold.10am – 8pm. Poster circulated previously.

Meeting of the St Asaph Retired Clergy Association at the Church of St Martin of Tours, Llay, near Wrexham on Tuesday 2 May 2017 (2pm for 2.30pm start). The speaker on this occasion will be Dr Huw Lloyd who will be talking about “Health in Senior Years”, and following Huw’s talk there will be Afternoon Tea in the Church Hall. The afternoon will conclude with a short act of worship. This event is open to retired clergy, their spouses and clergy widows. There is no charge for this event, but we do need to know roughly how many will be coming along (for catering) For all enquiries and to “book your place” please contact Canon Quentin Bellamy on 01492 478659 or via email

Currency old and new

Paper £5 notes are to be withdrawn from circulation on 5 May 2017. This means that the only £5 note that will be legal tender after this date will be the polymer £5 note featuring Sir Winston Churchill, which was introduced in September 2016.

Paper £5 notes, which features a portrait of Elizabeth Fry, will continue to be able to be spent until 5 May, after which they will have to be exchanged at the Bank of England, in person or by post.

It is also worth noting that the new twelve-sided £1 coin came into circulation on 28 March 2017. Old coins will remain legal tender until 15 October 2017, after which time they will no longer be accepted by businesses but can be exchanged at the bank.

Coming up

Friends of St Asaph Cathedral AGM Saturday 6th May, following Eucharist at 11am and Lunch.

Ysgol y Llan, Whitford - The Big Gig, Music; Food; Fun on Saturday May 6th at 7pm, admission £5 to raise funds for Whitford Church.

A concert by Cor Meibion Maelgwn will take place in All Saints Church, Deganwy on Thursday, 11 May at 7.30p.m. Tickets are £8 from Pat Chapman 01492 583420.

Mold & District Choral Society with Cor Cymysg Dyffryn Conwy will present a concert performance of Verdi's Aida at Capel Bethesda, Mold, on Saturday 13th May at 7:30 p.m. Tickets £12 available from 01352 757195 or at the door.

“Stories in the Crypt: New Life” at St George’s Church, St George, Abergele, LL22 9BP. 19th May at 7 pm. An evening of storytelling, music and wine. Tickets free of charge, at the door or from David Miller and Katy Williams. For catering purposes, please confirm on: or message 07919 154924. Collection for McMillan Cancer support Wales.

St Mary’s Churchyard Chirk - Cherishing Churchyard week, 3rd - 11th June.

Join us for a special week to celebrate churchyards and raise awareness of the treasures they contain. We have lots of interesting activities during the week.

Refreshments at all events. Chirk School is coming to explore churchyard with Wild Life Trust Team.

Full details on posters (available to download) or

Flower Festival to Celebrate Emmanuel Parish Church, Bistre 175th Anniversary. 7-15th July. 10am-4pm weekdays, 10am-6pm during weekend. Various refreshments available in the Church Hall alongside Emmanuel Church. Admission free, however donations will be very gratefully received and will go towards furthering the mission of the church.

St Silin's Church, Llansilin Church Open Weekend & Summer Tours

Church Open Weekend, 26th, 27th and 28th August Visitors welcome each day - Exhibitions "Llansilin Past and Present" Refreshments. Fully accessible. -Set in the picturesque village of Llansilin in the beautiful Cynllaith Valley, not far from Oswestry, the historic Grade 1 church lies behind the trees on the main village street. SY10 7QB. Also the Church, is welcoming visitors for its guided summer tours. The church is steeped in history and is surrounded by an interesting churchyard with magnificent yew trees.

Included is a traditional afternoon tea in the adjoining Parish Room. Wheelchair friendly and modern conveniences. Groups are welcome - details Mary Morris 662569 or Val Burton.com

Training

2017 dates for “Safe Church” – Safeguarding Children, Young People and Adults at Risk.

This training aims to enable members of the laity to develop awareness and understanding of abuse, safeguarding processes and how these relate to your role and responsibilities within the Church in Wales’ Safeguarding policy and procedures. Booking is essential, please contact

Future dates

2nd May, 6-9pm in St Peter’s Church, Holywell, CH8 7TL

4th May, 6-9pm in All Saints Church, Southsea, Wrexham LL11 5NS

30th May, 6-9pm in Christ Church, Ffrydan Road, Bala, LL23 7RU

11th July, 6-9pm in the St Asaph Diocesan Office, LL17 0RD

13th July, 6-9pm in St John’s Church, Pool Quay, SY21 9LA

6th September, 6-9pm in Canolfan Dewi Sant Centre, Pensarn LL22 7RG

If you would like to attend one of these sessions, please book your place by contacting .

Safeguarding - Train the Trainers course in North Wales (Management Centre, Bangor – 6/7th July). This is a residential course (funded by the Provincial Safeguarding Team) and there are two places available. To express an interest in attending this course, please contact Tracey White in the first instance: .

Mission Area Governance information sessions will be held to help the members of Mission Area Conferences (MACs) understand the legal framework of the MAC and the roles and responsibilities within the MAC. Anyone is welcome to attend one of these sessions if you would find it useful.

7th May, 2.30-5.30pm in St Peter’s Church, Rose Hill Street, Holywell, CH8 7TL
15th May, 2-5pm in Church Hall, Church Street, Connah’s Quay, CH5 4AD
16th May, 6-9pm in Dewi Sant Church, Abergele Road, Colwyn Bay, LL28 7TE.
6th June, 2-5pm in All Saints Church, Southsea, Wrexham, LL11 5NS.
27th June, 6-9pm in St Mary’s Church Hall, High Street, Llanfair Caereinion, Welshpool, SY21 0QS.
12th September, 6-9pm in Christ Church, Ffrydan Road, Bala, LL23 7RU
26th September, 6-9pm Venue to be confirmed

“2017 Welcome to Wales Course” - A residential training course for Ministers of Religion who are transferring into Wales from other parts of the UK or further afield. Wednesday 4th - Friday 6th October 2017 at St Michael’s Centre, Llandaff in Cardiff.

The registration form and more details can be located at:

Please contact if you would like to book onto the course, as the diocese may be able to assist with payment.

For more training events coming up this year please follow this link to the 2017 Training Prospectus or email to request a hard copy.

Information and Marketplace

Green Pastures Project - Beit Tikva - this is a Shared House in Penmaenmawr, North Wales run by ARC communities. It’s for men between the ages of 22 – 65 years old, who are ready to make a positive move into the recovery community and towards independent living, and looking for a family environment within which to do that. Beit Tikva provide pastoral support, role-modelling Christian family values, a range of faith- based training opportunities and evening activities on a voluntary basis. The Shared House currently has three vacancies and would welcome referrals from the faith community. Please see the attached referral form for details.

ARC Communities is also looking for some new directors to sit on its board. We would welcome someone from the Church in Wales to represent the faith community in general, but are also looking for additional directors who bring the following skills to the table:

Marketing and Social Media – an individual with experience in the field of Marketing and Social Media to assist in the promotion of ARC Communities using up-to-date technology to work alongside the CEO.
Fund Raising – an individual with the experience and energy needed to identify opportunities and organise fund raising events.

For further information please contact Ruth Cole at

Lost item - Pair of Purple framed glasses. If anyone who attended the Chrism Eucharist in the Cathedral on Maundy Thursday has accidentally picked them up could they please contact the St Asaph Diocesan office. Number below.

Reminders:

St. Paul's Craig y Don present Summer Fashion Show 2017 on Tuesday 16th May, reception 2.30pm. Tickets £4 including glass of wine/soft drink and 20% Bon Marche voucher. Block bookings welcome. Call 07944851425 or church members. Local ladies are modelling and this happy event will be in the historical Victorian church. Poster attached.

Forget me not tea party during Dementia Awareness week on Wednesday 17th May, 2.30-4.30pm in the parish church St Asaph. Everyone is invited, especially individuals living with dementia and their carers.

The North Wales Pilgrims Way annual pilgrimage from Basingwerk to Bardsey will take place from 27th May to 9th June. Everyone is welcome to join the group at any stage of the pilgrimage. Details can be found on Or on

Flower Festival to be held at St. Mary The Virgin Church, Mold 16 - 20 August 2017. The theme will be "Mold in Flowers/Yr Wyddgrug Trwy Flodau". All denominations within Mold and other organisations will be displaying flower arrangements depicting the life of Mold. Admission £3. Further information may be obtained from Ann Jones 01352 755796

The HLF has announced the closure of its Grants for Places of Worship (GPOW) programme: While this is disappointing, the HLF has made it clear that they will still be funding churches. Further guidance on the new arrangements for churches will be issued as soon as they are known. While there will be two more rounds of GPOW, there is no point rushing to submit an application that is not properly considered. The HRBA have produced useful information on the issue at:

Your help required for Caring for Gods Acre’s bid for Heritage Lottery Fund to support managing churchyards and burial grounds: We are currently developing a project which will provide information and support to those managing churchyards and burial grounds through encouraging people to learn about and get involved in these fantastic places. If successful the bid will also have a dedicated pot of money that can be distributed to burial ground owner/managers for recording events and activities. We have got through the first stage of Lottery Funding and now need people's opinion in order to shape the project. We have two online questionnaires which each take about 2 minutes to fill in:

For those interested in recording the built heritage such as memorials please fill in

For those interested in recording wildlife

More information can be found below and on our website:

In our increasingly cashless society new members and visitors to churches can find is more difficult to donate in a spontaneous way. To overcome this, churches are looking at additional ways of receiving donations one of which is contactless. Is this a new opportunity for churches and charities to broaden the range of donations they can receive? To find out we have put together a short nine question survey which will only take 1-2 minutes maximum to complete. If you would like to take part in the survey please click the link below and thank you for your contribution.

Summer school in Old Catholic Theology in its Ecumenical Context

From 2-7 July, the staff of the Seminary of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself into Old Catholic spirituality, liturgy, theology and history. Set in the beautiful ancient city of Utrecht, the course

includes excursions to collections of ecclesial art and through the city centre with its many churches and monuments. For more information and registration, see:

. The course director, Prof Dr Peter-Ben Smit, can be contacted by email at .

What’s on

Flower Festival - 1-4 June in St Asaph Cathedral. A celebration of the 5th Anniversary of City status. Displays by flower groups from all over North Wales. £5 Entrance – refreshments available. Proceeds to St Kentigern Hospice and St Asaph Cathedral.

The Big Church Day Out - 2-3 June, Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire. This event gathers Christians from all over the country, of all ages and denominations for a weekend of worship, family fun, music and celebration. This vibrant expression of church unity is enjoyed by thousands of guests every year, and stands as the biggest annual evangelistic event in the UK. Groups and families come from across the country, bringing many friends and family along as an introduction to church and faith. It is the UK’s largest and fastest growing gathering of the church, expanding to two sites in 2017 at a time when church unity is more of a focus than ever before.

RSCM North Wales Area Choral Festival – Sunday 11 June in St Asaph Cathedral. Rehearsal 2.30-4.15pm service at 5pm. More information and booking form available to download

St Grwst’s Church is holding a “Festival of Flowers” on 30 June, 1 and 2 July 2017. The theme for this event will be “The Year of Legend”.

We would welcome you to join this event exhibiting a display either as an organisation or as an individual in memory of a loved one.

There is no charge for exhibiting but donations to St Grwst’s Church will be gratefully received. For further information and to book a place please contact

Janet Pierce on 01492 640443 or e-mail

StAR - If you want something including in the St Asaph Round up, please send it to . The next StAR will be on Thursday 4th May.

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 Mission Area 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.

@StAsaphDiocese