News and reflections

‘Jesus did this…..and his disciples believed in him.’ (John 2:1-11) 

”I feel like I’m being ordained into the Traitorhood.” Charlotte, as she was forced to become a Traitor having been a Faithful.

This may seem a confusing time in the Church Lectionary – recently having celebrated the birth of Jesus, last week’s Gospel focused on his baptism as an adult whilst today’s Gospel is the first miracle at Cana in Galilee at the start of Jesus’ ministry. The season of Epiphany centres on the revelation of God’s glory and purposes in varying ways despite the surrounding doubt and treachery. Chief amongst this is crafty King Herod who tells the Magi that he wants to worship the baby and later orders the massacre of all baby boys under the age of two to try to ensure his death. What if the Magi had done as Herod asked rather than gone home by a different route after being warned in a dream? They had a choice to make – as do we.

Difficult choices were being made on the BBC TV programme The Traitors this week and I was struck by the religious language being used in a show that rewards lies and deceit as the Faithful try to discern the unknown Traitors amongst them. This was highlighted in Charlotte’s above comment as she joined the Traitors, ordained being the term used for the consecration of a priest or other religious leader as holy orders are conferred – and yet being used by her in this unorthodox way. Ironically, an Anglican priest is voluntarily part of the programme too but Charlotte had no choice about this decision – she was asked to become a Traitor or be ‘murdered’. As one of the players commented, “It depends how you’ve been recruited. If you’ve been seduced you have a choice. If you’ve been given an ultimatum it’s that or murder.” However, Charlotte seems to have embraced her new role with great enthusiasm and is already talking of possibly betraying the Traitor who selected her as the prize money of up to £120,000 exerts its attraction. Just watching the programme is complicated as doubts develop about each individual and living through the experience must have been very challenging, although some contestants seem to thrive on the intrigue.

The programme is intriguing in itself as the power of lies, division and persuasion creates a web of deceit that can affect all those involved. It’s only a game – but is it? Perhaps there have been times for all of us when we have been deliberately misled, situations have not been as depicted or lies have prevailed – and perhaps we’ve been economical with the truth at times too. As my Gran once told me, “I always tell your grandad the truth – just not necessarily all of it!” 

This Week of Prayer for Christian Unity challenges us to seek ways of establishing unity rather than division as do Jesus’ words from John 11:25, 26 where he declares, “I am the resurrection and the life….. Do you believe this?” His words may sound challenging but are also an invitation and are spoken to Martha in love and compassion as she grieves for her brother, Lazarus. They are spoken to us too as scammers, A I robots, and identity fraudsters can also be treacherously present amongst those of dubious or honest intent who surround us and the need to discern truth and reality grows ever more pressing. What is genuine, who do we believe and what is being revealed this Epiphanytide as we, in what’s been called the game of life, try to be faithful in our own way – but to what?

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

The Bishop of St Asaph’s recent letter to his clergy mentioned Psalm 131 moments and the hope that these could form part of facing whatever challenges 2025 brings to us individually and corporately. With his permission, that part of his Ad Clerum forms this week’s reflection and it comes with my thanks to Bishop Gregory and the hope that this may be a helpful discipline for us all as thoughts turn from Christmas towards Lent.

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

Bishop Gregory’s reflection – Psalm 131 moments. 

Walking in the bright sunlit calm that we had on one day last week, I was able to soak up the healing balm of nature. After all the rush and busyness of Christmas, the quietness of space to think, to relax and to recover was very important. However, that walk in the open air was also for me a quiet revelation of the love of God. I do believe that the Holy Spirit is manifest in all creation and offers grace to us through all sorts of things and experiences, so that even walking in the sunshine can itself be a channel of God’s grace to us. It was a Psalm 131 moment:

Lord, my heart is not proud;

my eyes are not haughty.

I will not get distracted by things

too great or too wondrous for me.

Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul

like a weaned child with its mother.

My soul is like a weaned child.

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

both now and forevermore.

My hope, as we begin 2025 together, is that we can all invest, individually and corporately in Psalm 131 moments. In eight weeks’ time we will be beginning Lent, and we will have once again the fine Lent Prayer Card…. which calls us to be joined together spiritually in the saying of the same prayer at the same time every day in Lent. Until then, however, we have two months to make a discipline of finding time to say Psalm 131 alone or in prayer groups, to make the attitudes of which it speaks, of humility before God, and expectation, part of the orientation of our hearts in facing whatever challenges 2025 will bring. As Isaiah put it: “in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30.15)

Every blessing as we begin an exciting new year. 

+ Gregory Llanelwy

‘They saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they….presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:1-12.

“Rather than getting more spoilt with age, as difficulties pile up epiphanies of gratitude abound.” Alain de Botton.

I had a minor epiphany recently, a revelation of seeing in a new way something I’d viewed in a different light for many years. It involved the badge of my grammar school, which had elements from the city’s coat of arms on it. At school in Nottingham, I’d been told that the three golden crowns on the badge represented the Holy Trinity and its rough wooden cross Shirewood Forest. It had also been suggested that the crowns are ducal coronets and a mark of the King’s approval with so many royals often coming for the good hunting in Sherwood Forest with an area still called the Dukeries today. What I didn’t realise, and have only discovered this Epiphany, is that the three crowns may be linked with the Magi in Matthew’s Gospel, who took symbolic gifts to the Christchild of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 

Many carols sing of the figures known as the Three Kings as well as the Wise Men and they may not have existed at all, though their influence is extensive as they traditionally depict young, mature and older people from Europe, Africa and Asia. As Magi, priests of the Zoroastrian religion whose deity is the god of light Ahura Mazdā (hence Mazda light bulbs), Matthew’s  account tells of their arrival in Jerusalem as they asked where the child born to be king was to be found. By doing so, they alerted King Herod, which led eventually to the Massacre of the Innocents as he ordered all baby boys under the age of two to be killed. However, there is little historical evidence for this either, though savagery was used by the Romans in enforcing their empire. By travelling on to find Jesus and then returning via a different route, the Magi linked both Jews and Gentiles in showing that the Light of the World had come to all humanity and not just a chosen race, age or background. That is sometimes lost today. 

Those three kings were also the link between the crowns on my school badge and the mother of Emperor Constantine, St. Helena, who was thought to have been born in 242 CE in Colchester. She was the daughter of King Coel from whom the city gets its name and Nottingham may carry three golden crowns on its crest, like Colchester, because a later King Coelus was buried there. Helena recovered many artefacts of Christian significance, amongst them the relics of the Three Kings which eventually ended up in Cologne. There is a golden shrine in the Cathedral holding the bones of three men and, although their existence is doubted by some, the fact of the shrine’s existence and its importance as a place of pilgrimage for many today shows that truth is revealed in the story of the Magi for others. 

The same is true here at St. Melangell’s, where I’m sometimes asked whether or not it troubles me that she is thought by some never to have existed. That may be the case, but would her church, shrine and story have developed and still be thriving today had she never lived? Clearly, elements of her tale may be exaggerated or misunderstood but perhaps the legacy of sanctuary, healing and hospitality that has endured here for centuries is the greatest testament to the truth of her existence. So, as Epiphany is marked once more, the church door has been chalked with this year’s date and the words Christus Mansionem Benedicat inviting Christ to bless this house of peace and hope as well as commemorating Caspar, Melchior and Balthazzar. As 2025 begins, may Epiphanytide bring revelations of truth and hope which will continue throughout the year – if we’re willing to seek them and even if they are sometimes only fully understood many years later!

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

“The Lord…took away the disgrace I have endured among my people…. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me?“ Elizabeth to Mary in Luke 1:25-45.

‘Shame must change sides.’ Stéphane Babboneau, her lawyer, quoting Gisèle Pelicot. 

Today’s Gospel reflects the courage and humility of Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin with whom Mary went to stay as she came to terms with the astonishing events surrounding her pregnancy. Elizabeth’s own pregnancy was remarkable, given that she was barren and past childbearing age – in those days, children were considered to be a sign of God’s blessing and Elizabeth was clearly made to feel disgraced because she had not conceived. She speaks of God looking upon her favourably because of her pregnancy and spends five months in seclusion as she prepares for what is to be. Both women courageously agree to what is being asked of them in such perplexing circumstances and are able to support one another before their babies are born, also being filled with the Holy Spirit. It may be that, before Mary’s visit, perhaps Zechariah and Elizabeth had wondered whether their baby was to be the Messiah but, as she greets Mary, it’s clear that Elizabeth realises that Mary is the mother of her Lord because of the reaction of her unborn child. What grace and humility she displays as Elizabeth tells Mary that she and her child are blessed and Mary displays similar qualities in the words of the Magnificat as she praises God for all that has been given.

Both of these women endured shame, Elizabeth for being barren and Mary for being pregnant and unmarried, but each of them is willing to allow that shame to be transformed as the new life they are carrying helps them realise God’s purposes in what is happening. These are humble yet remarkable women of faith, now lauded down the ages.

Another remarkable woman has been much in the news in France as Gisèle Pelicot waived her right to anonymity in the face of the shame and disgrace that rape victims often experience. In contrast to Elizabeth and Mary, Gisèle was denied consent to what was happening to her as her husband and many other men abused her while she was drugged and she later spoke out to warn others during their trial. In suggesting that shame must change sides, Gisèle faced the shock of learning the full extent of what had happened to her, which left her exhausted but, as she said, “I have nothing to be ashamed of….. I  can survive anything now.” Due to the staggering support she received from all over the world, Gisèle was able to allow the potential shame of what had happened to be transformed into a new way of life for herself and for others as French society engages with the consequences of the trial and calls begin for justice to be served by changing the law. 

Gisèle’s husband betrayed her but both Elizabeth and Mary were fortunate to have the support of Zechariah and Joseph, hard though it was for both men in the shame they initially endured too. Perhaps there have been times in our own lives, families or communities when events have caused feelings of shame, scandal or embarrassment which may have been resolved but are perhaps festering through being concealed or lack of support? May the example of these remarkable women and men enable us to respond with courage and hope that God’s grace will also enable us to become transformative at the times when we may ask with Elizabeth, “Why has this happened to me?” As the light of Christmas dawns at this dark time, may we see more clearly how new life may develop as God’s purposes are discerned today:

‘…Mary stands with all we call ‘too young’

Elizabeth with all called ‘past their prime’.

They sing today for all the great unsung 

Women who turned eternity to time

Favoured of heaven, outcast on the earth,

Prophets who bring the best in us to birth.’ 

From ‘The Visitation’ by Malcolm Guite.

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

As the reflection for the Third Sunday of Advent has become encoded in transition and this cannot be overcome, it can’t be posted. A video reflection on the Gospel reading of the day by Bishop John Lomas is available instead in the third session of the Church in Wales Advent course O Come, Let Us Adore Him. This can be found at 

Advent 3: Luke 3.7-18

If the code can eventually be cracked, it will be posted in due course – apologies for any inconvenience meanwhile.

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian. 

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” From Luke 3:1-6

”For those living with MND……when the Sinfield juggernaut comes through…..it lifts their spirits, it shines a bright, bright light.” John Maguire, BBC commentator. 

St Luke, with his customary doctor’s eye for detail, sets today’s Gospel in the context of those in authority at the time. He cites Tiberius as Emperor, Pontius Pilate as Governor of Judaea, Herod as ruler of Galilee, his brother Philip as ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis with Lysanias the ruler of Abilene. All this, he writes, takes place in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas and it’s this context of earthly power that dates to 28 or 29 CE the emergence of John in the wilderness to proclaim the coming of a very different realm. He urges his listeners to prepare the way, not of an earthly ruler, but for the Lord who will come and who is greater than he. The mountains will be made low and the valleys raised, declares John – this is a topsy-turvy kingdom where worldly values and power are overturned.

I often pass one of the construction sites for a hub of the HS2, the ill-fated high speed train that has had its route curtailed due to escalating costs. This is a massive undertaking involving the compulsory purchase of properties en route, the preparation of the ground and foundations, the time and skills of many and huge amounts of money and machinery. Slowly, shape and order is emerging from the chaos and mud but it’s taken a long time of planning and preparation as well as hard graft. This huge undertaking contrasts sharply with the work of Calum MacLeod, a Scot living on the Island of Raasay, whose daughter’s education was being affected because there was no road as the original ran out due to cost and left people in the North of the island isolated. Julie was 14 when Calum decided that, nothing having been done about this, he would build the remaining two miles stretch himself. This was the start of an astonishing feat which took him ten years as he single-handedly demolished what blocked the route and constructed a way of joining two isolated communities together, whilst also working as a crofter, postman and lighthouse keeper. By the time he finished, it was too late for his daughter who was now an adult but succeeding generations benefited from his foresight and hard work in creating the road which is still in use fifty years later. Calum could, like so many others, have done nothing but he decided that, despite the challenges, he would do something about a situation that needed a solution – and he did. He prepared and made the way.

The same was true of Doddie Weir, the Scots rugby player diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. He knew this would kill him, which it did, but was determined to do what he could to raise awareness and money to try to find a cure for it. Doddie’s courage as well as his determination not to lie down and give up began the challenge that has now evolved into Kevin Sinfield’s Running Home for Christmas, seven ultra marathons run over seven days in seven different places in honour of Rob Burrow, who played rugby in a seven shirt and who also died of MND earlier this year. A great many people were involved in the arrangements and preparation of the route for Kevin and his team of supporters, doctors, sports therapists and nutritionists, all combining to try to raise their target of £777,777,7. That was surpassed and, as the commentator John Maguire said, “It’s light in the darkness isn’t it?” 

Looking for light in the darkness is not only part of the Advent preparation for Christmas but appropriate since this is being written at night during a power cut caused by Storm Darragh! May the light guide us in 2024 in whatever form of wilderness and authority we find ourselves in the reign of King Charles III, with Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, Eluned Morgan as First Minister of Wales and the Church in turmoil as it comes to terms with a disgraced Archbishop of Canterbury and a storm of criticism for the institution itself over safeguarding issues. Nevertheless, like John the Baptist, we have our own part to play in serving the Lord as we are also tasked with preparing the way for what is to be or enabling others to do so. And, if the wilderness seems to dominate, it’s very dark and everything is topsy-turvy, perhaps we are closer to the kingdom of heaven than we may realise?

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

The Bishop of St Asaph has asked for his Advent message to be circulated, so it forms this week’s reflection and is available below in Welsh or English. 

May Advent bring forgiveness, wider vision, fresh hope – and an Advent-ure!

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian. 

Advent Message from the Bishop of St Asaph 2024

It’s good to have the opportunity to communicate with you once again this Advent Sunday, and to reflect about how our life as a diocese has been developing, both in the year past and in the year ahead.  

 In the diocese we’ve been living into our three foci – Growing Faith, Bringing Hope and Demonstrating Love. This year, I’d like to focus on Bringing Hope. One of the great saints of the Church, St Augustine of Hippo, spoke about the festival of Easter. It maybe a surprise to be talking about Easter in Advent, but he said to his churches, “We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song.” We are an Easter people and “Praise to God” is our song.  

Christians should be bearers of Hope.  We should be people who warm the hearts of those we encounter; who create courage and positive feelings; who transform the world into being a more hopeful, better place.  

So how can we do that in a world that is fairly grim; a world in which people are suffering, in which there are levels of anxiety and need, of homelessness and food poverty, a world in which there is greater war than we have seen for a long time. We are still praying for peace in the Holy Land and peace in Ukraine. We are still seeing governments having to raise taxes and populations electing curious choices to be their leader. How do we bring hope in that situation?

I can tell you what brings me hope. 

The first thing that brings me hope, is my belief that, in the end, as Christians, we affirm that God is in control. The message of the birth of the baby in Bethlehem is to say, “God has the work of salvation in hand. He is working to save us; He is working to put things right. He is our chief hope and stay in any situation”. “God help us – Hosanna, Free us” is the cry of the Christian church. God really does give me hope. 

The second thing that brings me hope is my love for the Christian disciple, that is, the real joy I see in the eyes and the hearts of members of the Teulu Asaph.  

So what is my Advent Message to you this year? Quite simply, “Put your trust in God. Deepen your knowledge of God so that he may bring you hope, so that you may become a bearer of hope to others; someone who will encourage, someone who will stand alongside, someone who makes time to be with other people  – so that we can become an Advent people and “Alleluia” can still be our song.  

Neges yr Adfent gan Esgob Llanelwy 2024

Mae’n dda cael cyfle i siarad â chi unwaith eto, ar y Sul hwn yn yr Adfent, ac i ystyried datblygiad ein bywyd fel esgobaeth, yn y flwyddyn sy’n dod i ben ac yn y flwyddyn sydd i ddod.

Rydym ni yn yr esgobaeth wedi bod yn ymroi i dair elfen ein harwyddair – tyfu ffydd, dod â gobaith a dangos cariad.  Eleni, hoffwn ganolbwyntio ar ddod â gobaith. Efallai ei bod yn swnio’n rhyfedd i sôn am y Pasg yng nghyfnod yr Adfent, ond dyma a ddywedodd un o seintiau mawr yr eglwys, Awstin Sant, wrth ei eglwysi am ŵyl y Pasg, “Pobl y Pasg ydym ni ac Alelwia yw ein cân. Pobl y Pasg ydym ni a Mawl i Dduw yw ein cân.”

Dylai Cristnogion ddod â gobaith i bobl; dylem gynhesu calonnau’r rhai y down ar eu traws, dylem wneud i bobl deimlo’n ddewr ac yn gadarnhaol, a thrawsnewid y byd i fod yn lle gwell a mwy gobeithiol.

Ond sut allwn ni wneud hynny mewn byd sy’n filain; byd sy’n llawn sefyllfaoedd eithaf difrifol; byd lle mae pobl yn dioddef; lle mae llawer o bryder ac angen, digartrefedd a thlodi bwyd; byd lle mae mwy o ryfel nag a welsom ers amser maith; lle rydym yn dal i weddïo am heddwch yn y Wlad Sanctaidd ac yn Wcráin. Yr ydym yn gweld bod llywodraethau’n dal i orfod codi trethi a phoblogaethau’n dal i wneud dewisiadau rhyfedd wrth ddewis arweinydd?

Sut allwn ni ddod â gobaith yn y sefyllfa honno?

Gallaf i ddweud wrthych beth sy’n dod â gobaith i mi.

Y peth cyntaf sy’n dod â gobaith i mi yw fy mod yn credu ein bod ni fel Cristnogion yn cadarnhau mai Duw sy’n rheoli yn y pen draw. Byrdwn y neges am eni’r baban ym Methlehem yw bod iachawdwriaeth yn llaw Duw.  Mae’n gweithio i’n hachub; mae’n gweithio i wneud pethau’n iawn.  Ef yw ein prif obaith a chynhaliaeth mewn unrhyw sefyllfa.  “Helpa ni Dduw – Hosanna, Rhyddha ni,” yw cri’r eglwys Gristnogol.  Mae Duw wir yn rhoi gobaith i mi.

Ond y peth arall sy’n dod â gobaith i mi yw cariad disgyblion Cristnogol – y gwir lawenydd a welaf yn llygaid a chalonnau aelodau Teulu Asaph.

Felly beth yw fy Neges Adfent i chi eleni?  Yn syml iawn, ymddiriedwch yn Nuw.  Ewch ati i feithrin adnabyddiaeth ddyfnach o Dduw fel y daw ef â gobaith i chi, ac y dowch chi â gobaith i eraill. Trwy annog pobl, cydsefyll â nhw, a gwneud amser i fod yn eu cwmni, gallwn ni fod yn bobl yr Adfent ac “Alelwia” fydd ein cân o hyd.

The Kingship of Jesus is an issue at his birth as well as his death.  Born in the reign of Emperor Augustus, the appearance of the Magi in Jerusalem asking the whereabouts of the child born to be the King of the Jews was enough to alert King Herod and send Jesus and his family into exile in Egypt for fear of his life. Even the song of the angels on the night of his birth was revolutionary –  Luke’s Gospel tells of a multitude of the heavenly host singing, “Glory to God in the highest! And on earth, peace.” This part of the Nativity happens outside Bethlehem, now in the West Bank and part of the ongoing turmoil in the Holy Land and Middle East today. Then, the birth of Jesus was at a relatively peaceful time in Palestine, although enforced by the Roman occupation, but the cry of “Glory to God in the highest” was revolutionary and could get you killed because it gave God the highest honour and not the Emperor.

The same was true when Jesus appeared before Pontius Pilate in the reign of Emperor Tiberius, just before his crucifixion, when earthly power is confronted by a different kind of kingship. As the Roman prefect of Judea, Pilate was a puppet ruler caught between the occupying Romans and the people and his first question to Jesus is, “Are you the King of the Jews?” A debate then follows with Jesus declaring that his kingdom is not of this world and that he has come to testify to the truth, with Pilate asking the question that resounds through history: “What is truth?”

That question is as relevant today as then, especially with so much rumour,  trolling and Trumped up comments being posted on social media with calls for greater regulation having little success. The truth of the matter according to the Gospels is that this King rides into Jerusalem on a donkey rather than the usual kingly stallion; humbly washes the feet of his disciples; wears a crown made of thorns on the throne of a cross; forgives his enemies as he dies; enables a dying criminal to find hope; and proves the truth of which he has been speaking through the resurrection. Ironically, the Roman prefect who gave in to the people posts Jesus’ kingship in Hebrew, Latin and Greek atop the cross – testifying as the King of the Jews and not, as requested by the chief priests, “This man says he is the King of the Jews.” And, as the soldiers mock Jesus, it is a penitent criminal – a man with no illusions about himself or his fate – who recognises the truth before him and is forgiven whereas his disciples had mostly fled from the reality they found too hard to bear. Is the same true, at times, for us?

Today is also Stir Up Sunday, the Sunday before the start of Advent and the traditional time when Christmas puddings were made in order to mature in time for the feast.  A secret wish, – a form of prayer in a way? – usually to do with hopes for what could be, was often made as the pud was stirred and the ingredients were mixed in. Given the uncertain situations being faced today in so many ways, perhaps that very uncertainty may stir us up to realise that, like Pilate, we also need to proclaim Jesus as King when he appears in our lives and to ask and respond to the same question, “What is truth?”

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

“If anyone puts a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for them if a great millstone were hung around their neck and they were drowned in the sea.” Jesus to his disciples in Matthew 18:6.

“Appropriate and proportionate action should be taken with anyone who has failed in safeguarding terms.” The Bishop of Winchester, Rt. Rev’d Phillip Mounstephen.

In light of the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury this week, it’s appropriate that today is Safeguarding Sunday as the Church of England is left in turmoil and called to address the issues arising from the Makin Report more thoroughly and openly than has been the case. Since St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 597, Archbishops have left their role for various reasons – not least murder and execution – but Justin Welby is the first to resign over matters of negligence. As he wrote in his resignation statement, “It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility,” and it was said of him that his position had become ‘holy untenable’.

There is very little that is holy in the appalling details that have been revealed about the terrible child abuse inflicted by John Smyth at youth camps and schools in the UK and Africa for so many years and the failure of the Church to deal with it effectively. Chances to stop him were missed and neither fully exposed nor prevented further abuse by him. Steps taken by the institution and individuals within it were ineffective and the police were not informed when they should have been as others who knew also failed to take proper action. Survivors therefore had to endure the consequences for longer than need have been the case in an institution tasked with particular care for the defenceless, widows and children, as well as liberation for the captive. Jesus himself warned his disciples of the terrible consequences for those who did not look after children (see above) and those who experienced the abuse included Smyth’s family. Many victims have described how their psychological and spiritual health has suffered even when the physical trauma ended and how they’ve been unable to move on even though Smyth is now dead because they were also treated so badly by the Church. As Mark Stibbe, victim and former vicar commented, ”We are still suffering broken hearts, broken marriages and broken lives as a result of it so it never really goes away.”

The Archbishop, a former oil executive, has endeavoured to introduce change to the church and update its practice on issues such as women bishops and the blessing of same sex marriages although these remain controversial. He has been outspoken on issues such as slavery, housing, child poverty, Rwanda and assisted dying although this seems to have been overlooked in the current controversy. Let it not be forgotten how much good the church also does in so many ways but it does seem that a conspiracy of silence has prevailed in a desire to protect the institution and avoid a scandal. Now that Welby has resigned, and others may follow, it’s suggested that this may lead to more effective and independent safeguarding with a complete overhaul of church procedures and awareness of individual as well as institutional responsibility.

This applies not just to the church but to many institutions and businesses where silence and turning a blind eye can often prevail, as in the case of Mohamed Al-Fayed at Harrods. It can take immense courage to speak out but the hope is that others may then also come forward, silenced voices may then be heard and action will follow.

Perhaps there have been times when we have not spoken out or have ourselves been ignored and not found support. May the shame and sorrow of which Justin Welby has spoken lead to greater awareness of the need for effective safeguarding in all areas of life from anyone involved in any way with children and vulnerable adults and not just figureheads. The responsibility and accountability for their safety belongs to us all.

For further information or support, please contact safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk or call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056. With my prayers; pob bendith,Christine, Priest Guardian. 

Unlikely as it may seem, I am an honorary member of the Royal Marines Association dating from when I was Chaplain to the Nottingham RMA which commemorated Lance Corporal Walter Parker VC as a local war hero. Parker won his Victoria Cross during the Gallipoli campaign, on the night of  30^th April 1915, when he volunteered to be a stretcher bearer with a party of men taking ammunition and supplies to an isolated trench containing about 40 soldiers, some of whom were wounded, and men had already been killed trying to reach it. 

After crossing 400 yards of an open area being swept by machine-gun and rifle fire, Lance Corporal Parker found himself alone because everyone else had been killed or injured. When he arrived at the trench, he tended those needing care and also helped with the evacuation of the trench early the next morning, even though he himself was seriously wounded. The citation notes that Parker showed remarkable bravery then and during the previous three days too, when almost every wounded man had to be evacuated under fire and over open ground.

Parker won the VC but never fully recovered from his wounds and was invalided out of service in June 1916 before dying at the age of only 55. The remarkable thing about his VC is that stretcher bearers don’t bear arms and the action under fire was taken whilst being unable to defend himself. Before his Army service, Walter had worked at the local ironworks and, at 33, was considerably older than many of his comrades. He was just an ordinary chap leading a quiet life in Nottinghamshire but, called up to the trenches, found himself in an extraordinary situation where his commanding officer, adjutant, sergeant major and company commander were all injured in the same action. There was no-one else to do what needed to be done and so Walter stepped in and did what was necessary. Perhaps that’s one of the definitions of courage – realising that you are the one who needs to act and responding to that duty for the sake of others, no matter how unlikely it may seem. And perhaps that’s a duty that, for various reasons, we have shown or maybe avoided at times in our own lives. 

That was the case with other ordinary people who stepped up. Amongst them was a Welsh seamstress, Mabel Davies from Newport, who had married Max Wulff, a German sailor, in 1909. They had set up home in Wales but he was interned when World War One broke out and sent back to Germany when it was over. His wife and two children joined him there and Mabel was the caretaker of the Anglican Church in Hamburg when the Second World War began. She and the church were harassed by the Gestapo but Mabel concealed British flags under the altar, hid valuable art works, put out fires when the church was bombed at various times in the frequent raids on Hamburg and also allowed people to shelter in the church, helping to save their lives. Mabel did what needed to be done, despite the personal risks involved, and later received the British Empire Medal for her courage.

Others found that quick thinking was the order of the day, like the officer commanding Royal Welch Fusiliers who had become trapped during fighting in Reusel, Holland. Rather than using English, by calling out his orders in Welsh the men were able to withdraw in small groups without discovery as none of the surrounding Germans could understand Welsh. Quick thinking saved lives where previously hundreds had died. Sadly, quick thinking could not save Private William Lewis of 1 Berwyn Square here in Llangynog. He was killed in Palestine in 1917 and is commemorated at Pennant Melangell – a poignant reminder of the cost and waste of warfare as we consider the warfare and bloodshed that still goes on, for different reasons, in the Middle East today. In the same way, how hard it must have been for the family of Edward Evans of Llangynog, who served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He survived the war having been badly gassed but his weakened lungs could not overcome the tuberculosis from which he died in 1920 and, because his death was war related, Edward Evans is honoured as one of the local war dead in St Melangell’s churchyard. 

The consequences of war service were factors for the Welsh Guards, too, on their return from a tour of duty in Helmand Province Afghanistan in 2009. One of them said that nobody came back the same person as they went following the terrible sights, experiences and losses they’d endured. PTSD developed for some but one of the officers spoke of his great pride in what had been achieved in six months. “It was about endurance and human endeavour, everyone at every level,” he said – and aren’t there times when that is true in our lives, when, on the home front, we also have to show endurance and human endeavour or find ourselves pushed to the limits, too? 

And as we commemorate D Day, Kohima, Monte Cassino and the battles 80 years ago, so we remember Able Seaman Glyn Evans of Berwyn Street Llangynog, the only name here for the Second World War, who died at the age of 20 in 1944 when HMS Mahratta was torpedoed off Norway by a U boat whilst she was on convoy escort.  

Walter Parker, Mabel Wulff, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, William Lewis, Edward Evans, Glyn Evans and the Welsh Guards: all examples of courage and fortitude in times of extreme danger and trial. Many are long dead and we may think it’s all far removed from us today but is it actually? For them, the warfare is over but for us, in less extreme ways, life’s battles go on. Perhaps there are times for us when, like Walter Parker, those who might have taken control are out of action and we unexpectedly find ourselves the only one available; perhaps, like Mabel Wulff, caretaking means that we have to take evasive action for the sake of others; perhaps, like the officer commanding the Welch Fusiliers in Reusel, our quick thinking may save the day; perhaps, like William Lewis, Edward Evans and Glyn Evans, we know of lives laid down through violence, illness or painful memories for the sake of the freedom we sometimes take for granted today; or perhaps, like some those Welsh Guards, we find ourselves having to live with agonising memories and experiences that are hard to overcome. We in our generation, ordinary people living out our daily lives, are having to endure times of extraordinary change, which can be hard to accept. As we contemplate a world where still so many are killed or injured through warfare or violence, the fight for justice goes on – as does the hope that making a difference for good to establish peace will prevail as it eventually did in Northern Ireland and the Balkans in our day. 

Those who died fell in the service of others and for the cause of freedom and peace – that service and cause is now ours. May the example of all those in the Navy, the  Army, the RAF and the civilians who made the ultimate sacrifice inspire us  to honour their memory and to build on their lives’ legacies through doing what needs to be done, as they did, and helping to create communities of hope and peace as we, with thanksgiving, honour and remember them. 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.