Dear Friends,

The Resurrection: icon of Victory not only shows the Risen Lord and an empty tomb but includes the descent of Jesus into hell.

In the centre of the icon the Risen Lord surrounded by the light which symbolises the glory of God, stands his right hand extended to grasp by the wrist and raise to life the first Adam. At his feet on his left Eve looks expectantly waiting to be raised to life – the second Adam to the fight, and to the rescue came.

Surrounding the central figure are representations of those who have predeceased the Christ. John the Baptist is there together with a number of Old Testament characters – Abel is represented as the young shepherd boy.

At the bottom of the icon the Cross, the symbol of death is seen plunged into the open gates of Hades which have been smashed wide open ‘Christ has trampled death by death’, new life has broken into the world. Lying around the base of the icon are broken locks and chains, removed by the new life brought by the Risen Christ.

A dramatic statement of the Resurrection a commentary on the creedal statement ‘he descended into hell.’ The Risen Christ in that period between Good Friday and the early hours of Easter Day bringing the Resurrection life to all who had gone before, taking them on into the life of God with him.

We look forward to the celebration of the Resurrection with great hope, as we wait to greet the Risen Lord on Easter Day. This is the Victory of Christ so prominent in the Passion narrative of the Gospel of John, and

witnessed to by countless millions of Christians over the generations since.

Wishing you all the joy and peace of Easter.

Brian.+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Our contributors.

I am grateful to all who have contributed to this issue of The Newsletter with a variety of articles. A reminder that it is now available on line on the Diocesan website. Ed.

Diocese of Swansea and Brecon

The Newsletter for Retired Clergy and their Families No. 69 Easter 2015

From the Editor: Chancellor Brian H. Jones

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Family News

We send our congratulations and best wishes to the following who are retiring and wish them well in their new homes

Betty Williams who celebrated her 96th

birthday in February.

Jo and Lesley Griffin in their new home in Gorseinon, John and Ann Walters in their new home in the city

Roger and Pru Williams of Penarth, previously in the diocese in their new home in Usk

We send our best wishes and prayers to those who have been unwell recently hoping that they will make a speedy recovery. We hold them in our prayers and those who have the care of them.

In Memoriam Vaughan Lake

Vaughan was a contemporary of mine at Ystrad Meurig, Lampeter and Llandaff. Unlike most of us his appearance never seemed to have changed throughout all the years. Perhaps this was due to the fact that he retained a crop of fair hair. He began his ministry with a curacy at Barry, then St Saviour's, Roath before a first incumbency from 1964-67 at Oakwood. From 1972 he was Rector

of Shirenewton and Newchurch in the diocese of Monmouth until 1977 when he resigned to spend the remainder of his working life in social work in Swansea. In recent years he renewed his role as a priest and assisted in various parishes in Gower, particularly during interregnums. That his ministry was greatly valued was evidenced by the large congregation representative of so many Gower parishes where he had taken services as well as the people of St Hilary's where he had played an active role. Humble and self-effacing with a wry sense of humour Vaughan will be sadly missed, especially by his four sons and their families. Arthur Howells.

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The Retireds’ Group

The group meets on the second Tuesday of every month in the Eastmoor Resource Centre at 10.0a.m. Our recent speakers have been Canon John Walters and Canon Padraig Gallagher.

In February we held a Quiet Day in Llangasty conducted by Fr. Mark Griffiths, Parish Priest of St. Gabriel’s in Swansea. There is a detailed account of his theme elsewhere in The Newsletter

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Continuing ministry.

We who are retired, consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to share in the ministry of the parishes in which we worship, and occasionally to be able to be of assistance elsewhere. It may also mean from time to time that we may be invited by families in our former parishes to conduct the funerals of former parishioners. This can be a very delicate situation and we are asked to follow the courtesies which we followed during our active

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ministry, that of asking the incumbent of the parish concerned for an opportunity to be present. If the funeral is not in church but directly to the crematorium we still need to tell the incumbent of the parish concerned. The same courtesies would apply if we are responding to the request of an undertaker to minister at the funeral of a person with no church association. By doing so we preserve the good relations which the retireds have with those still involved in active ministry. – B.H.J

Consider the Lilies

Stanley Spencer’s series of paintings ‘Christ in the Wilderness’ includes the above which Revd Mark Griffiths used as a focus for meditation on Priesthood at a Retreat for Retired Clergy at Llangasty in February 2015.

“The purpose of priesthood is nothing less than the fulfilment of Christ’s own ambition for the world – that it may know God, and knowing him, may adore him. The priest is called, before all else, to be what Christ is, the adorer of God. Priests are consecrated to the service of adoration.”

“The wilderness is the place where Christ goes to refine and discover what it means for him to be God’s suffering servant. Spencer’s paintings portray a profound meditation on the disciplines and delights of prayer and are about our vocation too, our longing to find and know our true selves in God, to grow in communion with him who is to be found in all places and in the eternal now of each moment.”

“Spencer begins by subverting the text itself. These are not lilies that Christ is considering but daisies. The ordinary insignificant flowers grow in a desert which has come to life with trees and grass, echoing the prophetic themes of the desert blooming, and foreshadowing flowering crosses and dead wood breaking into blossom. More like Easter Day than Lent.”

“Christ is shown like a great rock settled in the heart of the landscape, blending in with the rocks of the desert. But he is not a monument making us think we should bow down before him. He is down on all fours gazing in wonder at the daisies. He is at the same time huge and humble. In the foreground some of the daisies are turning their faces to him. The flowers that follow the path of the sun are turning to the true light.”

“Jesus is gazing at the flowers and delighting in them for no other reason than they are what they have been made to be. He is marvelling at God’s creation. Perfection consists simply in being just what God wants us to be. Like the flowers, we are made for relationship with God. We are made to turn to the light. We are made for adoration.”

“What is Jesus doing in this painting? Nothing. This is not wasteful idleness but contemplation. He is showing us that we become most fully ourselves when we become what he is, the adorer of God, the adorer of the God who adores us.”

“Spencer conceived this image when he saw his infant daughter crawling about in the grass looking at the flowers. It may seem astonishing to liken God to a toddler but it makes a connection between prayerfulness and playfulness. God delights in the act of creation and then in his enjoyment of it and of us. To be childlike, as Christ is in this painting, is to enter fully into the eternal now of each moment, into the presence of a God who laughs and plays and loves and cares, clothing the daisies of the field and who makes the wilderness of our lives fertile and fruitful.”

“Like Christ, the eternal Word, we are to be adorers. Consider the lilies. Consider your vocation. God is continuing each day to bring to perfection the good work he has begun in you. A priest is paid to be creatively unemployed! We pray on behalf of a world which will not, but in so doing are drawing the world back to its true self.” Geraint Hughes

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My

memories of St. Jude’s –Geoffrey ThomasSt. Jude’s Church in Swansea was built in 1915 replacing a corrugated iron building and seating around 500 people. My connection with the church began with my baptism 16th June, 1929 – apparently I did not cry, perhaps I was learning to be quiet in church.! I began attending Sunday School when I was five, this was held in the vast Hall situated under the main body of the church. The huge Sunday School under the watchful eye of the Superintendent J.P. Morgan. In other parts of this huge building there was a Ladies Bible Class and a Men’s Bible Class. The last Sunday of July was set aside as Sunday School Sunday when we sang the hymns that we had practised for weeks before. In my early days the curate was the Revd. Leslie Norman who was to become vicar of Christ Church in Swansea.

In 1936 we celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the church and all the children were presented with a ‘very small’ New Testament. When I was nine years old my father came home from church and said that the Vicar, Canon Watkin Davies who lived in grand style in the Vicarage, with his wife and daughter wanted to see me. I was ushered into the presence by the maid Amy. The expected telling off didn’t happen and I was presented with a leather bound Bible, which I still have, signed by the Vicar with the inscription 1Tim. 6: 12 -very appropriate!!

On another occasion my father came home from church to say that there would be a church council meeting as Mary, the Canon’s daughter was home. Canon Davies, his wife and daughter always sat together in Council meetings. In 1941, shortly after the bombing of Swansea began, the Vicar, his family and the maid Amy departed to live in Llanybyther and we never saw him again!!!

The parish was left in the charge of the curate, Revd. Phil Rees, and he was in charge throughout the dark days of the war. There was, I remember a large contingent of R.A.F. men stationed locally undergoing training at Mount Pleasant technical College. These young men were required to present themselves for Church Parade on a Sunday morning which swelled

the numbers. There were no social events because of rationing and no more Youth Club.

One of my memories of Phil Rees was that he wrote his sermons in bright blue ink, and before the service rehearsed it in the Hall. He prepared a number of young people for Confirmation, in those days candidates had to be 16. I was one of those confirmed by Bishop Edward Williamson, an austere man who spoke no words to the candidates except the words of Confirmation. He would advise the congregation to get their coughing out of the way before he began his sermon! It was much later that I learned that bishops are human!!!

Eventually the war ended and the parish was informed that a new vicar was to be appointed. Parishioners sent a ‘round robin’ to the bishop asking that Phil Rees be appointed. I do not know what the reply was but Phil Rees was appointed Vicar of Lower Chapel and on

February 1st, 1946 Harry Craven Williams was inducted as vicar.

It was also the day that I began work as an office boy – a day of new beginnings for me and for the parish. There were changes in the services, e.g. the vicar no longer stood at the north end for the Eucharist but celebrated facing east. The Church Pastoral Aid Society gave a grant for the parish to employ a Lay Worker, Miss Dodson, her function being very much like that of the pastoral care workers that we have today. Services began to take on a different appearance, although it was the evening service that was the best attended. A new stained glass west window was installed commemorating the 1939-45 war.

The Vicar was chaplain to the British Legion and the choir and organist, Jim Barlow, would attend the Festival of Remembrance in the Brangwyn Hall. Curates of the parish at the time included Garfield James, who went on to be Vicar of St. Michael’s Manselton and Sketty, and Harold Edgar Williams later Vicar of Newton and Archdeacon of Gower. Harry Williams left the parish in 1950 to become Vicar of Sketty.

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He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

He was succeeded by the Revd. Daniel Jones Evans. He encouraged at least four young men to be ordained – Brian Jones, Tudor Jones, Peter Greenslade (ordained in St. Davids) and me. Dan Evans encouraged me to be a Lay Reader before seeking Ordination. One of my tasks was to take services in Tawe Lodge which in those days was the workhouse. This was a very happy time. I was involved in the flourishing Drama Group, the choir under Jim Barlow, the Youth Club and the football club under Bill Ackland and Haydn Charles.

In 1958 I left St. Jude’s to train for Ordination in St. Michael’s College Llandaff, and after ordination curate of Llansamlet with Brynmor Williams as my vicar and mentor. I followed this with a period in Jos in Nigeria, which at the moment is going through a very difficult period. I came home to be Vicar of St. Nicholas, Townhill which had been a daughter church of St. Jude’s so Dan Evans became my neighbour and colleague.

Dan always ended his sermons by looking at his watch and saying ‘finally my friends, and this very briefly…’ and I will conclude my recollections in the same way. Shrove Tuesday was always an important occasion in St. Jude’s and Dan often invited two men from Gower Jac and Wil. One of their most requested hymns was ‘ Pwy fydd yma mewn can mlynedd’ (who will be here in one hundred years?) Sadly after the 8th

February, 2015, just short of the one hundredth anniversary of the opening of the church the answer has to be no-one! Geoffrey Thomas(I am grateful to Geoffrey for his memories of St. Jude’s and the wonderful worshipping community of which we were all part. Geoffrey and Margaret were married there and it was a great joy for me to be their best man.-Ed.)

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Ar Wasgar(Reflecting on the ministry of those ordained in the Diocese and who were involved in specialist ministry outside)

When I was in prison….

……or, rather, when we were in prison. To make it clear, Judith, my wife, and I were both prison chaplains. In fourteen years I ministered in every type of penal establishment, starting at HMP Liverpool and finishing at HMP Bristol, then a category A local prison. Judith began her prison ministry at Bristol with a month on detached duty at HMP Parc before going to HMP Eastwood Park, a women’s prison north of Bristol, where she stayed for twelve years. The subject of women and prison and of ministry to them deserves an article to itself so from here on I shall write out of my own experience.

The words Church in Wales or Church of England on the notice board at the church gate are not necessarily a guide to what goes on inside; similarly all prisons operate as part of Her Majesty’s Prison Service but have little common with each other except in their formal and bureaucratic aspects. So my experience is different from Judith’s and different again from that of Lionel Hopkins. Again, prisons are similar to churches as institutions, in that both are partly a product of their history, of the people who work there and those who live or worship there. So, on my first day in HMP Liverpool at my security briefing, I was told, “We don’t care how they do things in other places, we do it the Liverpool way.” Years later, I had cause to be grateful for the thoroughness of their training. Not all establishments are so thorough. Prisons are, of course, staffed by local inhabitants so that they manifest something of the character of the surrounding area.

Chaplains, however, have formal responsibility to the diocesan bishop as well as to the Governor of their prison. Perhaps it is not surprising that relations between chaplains and other prison staff can sometimes be uneasy and need to be worked out in practice, usually successfully since chaplains and officers (unlike governors) tend to share the same work space and are thus visible to each other. But it is sad that relations between chaplains and some diocesan bishops are virtually non-existent. Unlike the Roman Catholic and Methodist churches, the Church of England has no publicly stated policy on prison chaplaincy so that chaplains are dependent upon the vision and thoroughness of their diocesan bishop. Ironically, even in our plural society, the Anglican chaplain is still a mandatory appointment to every prison. I should say that both Judith and I were extremely fortunate in our diocesans, who ensured that we were not forgotten or ignored.

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Anglican prison chaplains are the only clerics whose duties are detailed in law; (military chaplains minister under Queen’s Regulations.) These statutory duties are to conduct divine worship every Sunday and on major festivals, to meet all newly received prisoners as soon as possible, and to daily visit all prisoners in the health care centre where there is one, and all prisoners segregated for their own or others’ safety. In practice, these duties are shared with chaplains of other faiths and denominations, while there are numerous other activities not specified in the Prisons Act (1952). Chaplains can often find themselves offering pastoral support to prisoners’ families as well as to prisoners themselves, especially in the case of first sentence.

Families often fear the worst, based on TV programmes like “Bad Girls”. Prisoners themselves bring their own anxieties, ranging from those who are carers for invalid relatives to concerns about their accommodation and the threat of homelessness after release. The care of pets frequently causes anguish; Judith

once had to ring a prisoner’s friends and neighbours to ensure that a pet parrot was fed. The powerlessness of the prisoner’s situation and the pressure on prison officers is such that chaplains are usually the ones who deal with these problems. Chaplains can also find themselves ministering to other prison staff for their job is a fraught and potentially dangerous one and some are haunted by such things as the discovery of suicides and the violence of prison riots. It is a reminder that we are chaplains to prisons, not simply to prisoners. Similarly, when a relative dies it is often the chaplain who checks the veracity of the information and informs the prisoner of their loss. This is a ministry in itself since reactions cannot be predicted and there may be subsequent pastoral support if the prisoner wants it, including a service in the chapel when attendance at the funeral is not possible.

My doctoral research revealed that the majority of Anglican chaplains consider themselves to be liberal catholic and I locate myself in that group. Theological extremes tend to exclude and, in a total institution like a prison, ministry needs to be as inclusive as possible. While the broad mainstream of Anglicanism helps to answer this need, the chaplain must also value the range of beliefs and faith practices which prisoners bring with them, building a bridge between the traditions and practice of the Church and the vernacular values of the wider world. In this sense,

perhaps, chaplains are some way ahead of the church in the world, as in friendly co-operation with other faith ministers.

Prison chaplains meet people who would rarely, if ever, think or dare to enter a church. Since most prisoners are male, they also meet the gender group least represented in church congregations. So there is a sense in which prison chaplains (many of whom are civil servants by status) are pioneers and ambassadors for the broader church of Christ. Peter Phillips

(The Revd Dr Peter Phillips retired as chaplain of the lifers’ prison at Shepton Mallet following earlier service at Usk and Bristol. In retirement he has researched prison chaplaincy at MA and PhD level.)

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I am Malala’ by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb.

The title of the book is the answer to the questions asked by the gunman on that fateful day in the school bus carrying Malala and her friends home to their village in the Swat Valley. The book not only tells the story of Malala herself but a detailed picture of the kind of life which was that of the people living in the north of Pakistan under the rule of the Taliban. She and her family lived in the Swat Valley in the north of Pakistan a most beautiful place of mountains, waterfalls and lakes. A place which had a sign saying ‘Welcome to Paradise’ at the entrance to the Valley – often called the Switzerland of the east.

Malala’s father was a very intelligent and educated man who was most active in establishing schools after graduating in both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English. This he did with the help of friends and they became centres of excellence in the Swat Valley until the Taliban forces moved right into the heart of the nation’s capital – Islamabad. Life changed for the inhabitants of Pakistan – women were called the Burqa Brigade – trained to attack shops and bazaars and then to become suicide bombers. Malala says that she tried to distract herself from all the fear that surrounded them by reading Stephen Hawking’s book – A Brief History of Time’ which answered big questions such as how the universe began and whether time could run backwards? She already wished it could and she was only eleven years old at the time!

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It was at this time that

Malala was asked

to write a diary of

the life of a schoolgirl under the rule of the Taliban using the

pseudonym Gul Makai and her first diary entry appeared on January 3rd, 2009 headed ‘I am afraid.’ From that time on Malala found herself being a spokesperson for the right of education for girls. Her public image at such a young age was what finally led to the gunman on the school bus asking ‘who is Malala?’ and firing the gunshots which almost killed her in October 2012.

Fortunately, due in no small part to the skill of the neuro-surgeon in the Pakistan army and two British doctors from hospitals in Birmingham who happened to be in Pakistan, her life was saved. The decision was made to fly her to Birmingham to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital known for treating British soldiers injured in Afghanistan and Iraq. There her recovery continued until she was discharged from hospital to live with her family again in their new home in Birmingham.

In recognition of her courage Malala was honoured with the National Peace Prize in Pakistan in 2011 and International Children’s Peace Prize in 2013. She is the young ever person to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The book is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls’ education and of Malala’s parents’ fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons. I thoroughly recommend it as a factual, informative and heart-warming story. Monica Jones.

Hereford Cathedral Boy Bishop.Many readers of this letter will remember Dr Michael and Mrs Joan Brookes who a few years

ago ran the cathedral shop and exhibition and Pilgrims at Brecon. Before coming to Brecon Michael was Science advisor to the schools of Powys and he and the family were devout members of Llandrindod parish. Their eldest daughter, Eleanor, was married in Brecon Cathedral and her son Harry now sings with Hereford Cathedral Choir. On the second Sunday in Advent 2014 Harry was selected to be this year’s Boy Bishop, a position he then held until Epiphany 2015.

The office of Boy Bishop at Hereford dates back to the thirteenth century. At an impressive ceremony in Advent, in the presence of the Diocesan Bishop, Dean and Chapter and the Lord Mayor and dignitaries of the city, a choir boy is chosen to serve as Boy Bishop from December to January 6th. At Evensong during the singing of the Magnificat, as the choir sing the words “he hath put down the mighty from their seats”, a verger leads the diocesan bishop from his throne to a simple stall in the chancel and his place is taken by the Boy Bishop. This symbolic action was much appreciated by Richard, the present bishop, who had been enthroned Bishop of Hereford only two weeks earlier. The readings at the service told the story of the boy Samuel in the temple and the gospel reading of Jesus taking a child and telling his followers that unless they become like children they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Boy Bishop then leads prayers and preaches a sermon, In former years boy bishops have taken this as an opportunity to introduce startling changes. Harry was content to speak movingly of the privilege of serving God in the office of chorister and comparing his situation with that of a former choir boy who gave his life for his country in the first World War. At the conclusion of the service the Dean presented the Boy Bishop with his stipend, intended to cover the cost of

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candles used in the Christmas season. Since the Middle Ages this has been set at 2 pence. In acknowledgement of the ravages of inflation the Dean this year generously increased the payment to 3 pence.

How I wish we had thought of using this ceremony in Brecon! How Tom Toft, formerly our verger, would have enjoyed removing the then bishop from his throne and replacing him with a choir boy!

Geraint Hughes

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The Chrism Eucharist

The Chrism Eucharist is in the Cathedral on Tuesday, 31st March at 12 noon. As in previous years we are grateful to Bishop John for the invitation to the retireds to share in the occasion. Clergy dress for the occasion if they intend robing is alb/surplice/cotta and white stole.

After the service there will be a light lunch, and those who intend staying for the lunch are asked to inform the Bishop’s secretary. The Chrism Eucharist is a lovely occasion, not only a time when we renew our Ordination vows, but one of the few occasions during the year when we meet with the Bishop for worship and fellowship. -Ed

A New Memorial.

When in 1889 St. Gabriel’s Church in Brynmill was built. Colonel Llewellyn Morgan who had given the land for the new church insisted that a gap should be left in the houses opposite the church so that the new church could be seen clearly from the Mumbles Road. It also meant that residents could have access to the Recreation Ground.

The above contemporary photograph shows what came to be known as St. Gabriel’s walk showing the church clearly between the gap in the houses and people strolling up and down the walk. Either side of the walkway as we can see were flower beds and shrubs. Over the years the whole area had fallen into

disrepair, and although the walkway remains it had little to commend it. That is, until the centenary of the first World War began to be celebrated and a group of local people thought that this gave an opportunity for the refurbishment of the site.

It was decided to replace a fountain that had been in the Recreation Ground and to site it at the bottom of the St. Gabriel’s Walk. The fountain was eventually found in a City of Swansea scrap yard and the process of refurbishment began.

The fountain was renovated and repainted and placed at the bottom of the walk way where the walkway enters into the Recreation Ground. The siting is very interesting as it is alongside the boundary wall of the St,.Helen’s Rugby Ground. The ground itself has close links historically with World War 1. In 1914 the then Mayor of Swansea decided that Swansea should provide a battalion of soldiers to help in the conflict. It was decided that the rugby ground would be an ideal place for the recruiting of soldiers for the battalion. The directors of the Swansea Rugby Club agreed to

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suspend all fixtures in the ground while the war lasted and handed over the ground to the town

council as a centre for recruitment. The ministry of Defence agreed to the proposal and local businesses provided the means of setting up the battalion – donations were received from Sir Alfred Mond who provided weapons and Ben Evans Department Store who helped with the uniforms. The battalion was formed and was linked to the Welch Fusiliers and were known as the Swansea Pals.

Fr. Mark the parish priest of St. Gabriel’s was involved in the project in collaboration with the local group and the British Legion. He dedicated the memorial on the last Sunday of the year and in commemoration of the truce on Christmas Day 1914 when soldiers on both sides exchanged gifts and played in a football match. After the dedication a group of young men played a short game of football also in commemoration,

The intention is that either side of the walk will be planted with shrubs and flowers restoring the whole site to its former glory, but with the added poignancy of a memorial for young men who had volunteered for service in World War 1.

Brian Jones

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Printed and published at Swansea and Brecon Diocesan Centre Cathedral Close, Brecon Powys

LD3 9DP (01874 623716)

The Retireds’ NewsletterEditor Chancellor Brian H. Jones125, Homegower House, St. Helen’s Road,Swansea SA1 4DW tel. 01792 923642E mail b.h.jones@outlook.comPlease send suggestions comments, corrections and any items of news about the Retired Clergy by June 1st, forthe summer issue.

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