The Rector Writes – July 2008
Dear Friends
In his letter to the clergy last month our bishop, the Right Reverend John Davies, announced his intention of retiring with effect from the end of this calendar year. I have been grateful for the guidance and leadership which he has offered over the past nine years, and I would like to pay tribute to his work of building up a strong team within his diocese of St Asaph, both of pastors and administrators, which has resulted in robust morale.
Bishop John has been keen to stress that he does not want “the next six months to be a long goodbye”, to quote what he wrote. However it would be a pity to miss a golden opportunity to celebrate his last planned visit to this parish. He has previously been here as bishop for the reopening of the parish church after the restoration in May 2000 and for my induction as Rector in May 2001. As you will see from this month’s service information he will be here again for the Deanery confirmation on 6th July. This will be followed by an informal reception in the parish hall.
Whereas in the Church of England, being the established church in England, bishops are nominated by the Prime Minister and approved by the Queen, the procedure in Wales, where the Anglican Church was disestablished in 1920, is different. Bishops are appointed by a body of people known as the Electoral College. This consists of representatives of all six Welsh dioceses and it is charged with meeting to elect a new bishop within six weeks of the previous one ending his term of office. We should thus know the identity of Bishop John’s successor during February next year. The likelihood is that I will then be serving under a bishop younger than myself! I would ask you to remember Bishop John and his wife Joan in your prayers, as they endeavour to complete the work to which they have felt themselves called, and as they adapt to life in retirement.
Last month I began a short series about resources which can strengthen our faith whether we attend church regularly or not, and I wrote about The Youth Bible, which our confirmation class has been learning from. This month I would like to commend a form of Christian devotion which may appear to be quite passive but which can be a great source of encouragement and inspiration, namely The Daily Service, which is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 long wave or digital at 9.45am from Mondays to Fridays.
At the parish church the clock chimes the quarters and so it is easy to be aware of the passing of time throughout a Sunday service. If our mid-morning worship is Communion then the chimes marking the end of the first fifteen minutes usually occur during the Old Testament reading or the Epistle. After less than a quarter of an hour the Daily Service has included an introduction, a prayer to express its theme, a reflection, three sung items, a Bible reading and intercessions. It somehow manages to do that without any sense of being hurried. In nearly every case there is a pause of no more than two seconds between the end of the service and the pips before the 10.00am news. It is as if the programme is produced in a time warp!
The Daily Service celebrated its 80th anniversary earlier this year. During that time it has changed its format in several ways, such as its inclusion of modern songs in addition to traditional hymns. It may be led by one person and a choir or music group, or by a range of people to help and lead the intercessions. In keeping with the directive of Lord Reith, as worship, it is broadcast live. Conversely, Songs of Praise, which may be equally worshipful, is recorded, and is therefore classified as “light entertainment”!
The Daily Services is most often broadcast from Emmanuel Church, Didsbury in Manchester, but it may also come from churches which have not hosted it before. One morning in 1996 it came from the church which I was previously responsible for in Rhosnesni, Wrexham. I was allowed to sit in, quiet as a mouse at the back, while the Rev’d Roy Jenkins of Cardiff led it, with music sung by the local schol’s excellent girls’ choir.
I value the Daily Service because it ministers to me, it helps me make connections between God’s word and the needs of the world and the Church which I may not have thought of, and it introduces me to new songs or illustrations which I would not otherwise have been aware of. It is important not to be distracted whilst listening. I always record it on cassette but it is also possible to hear it on the BBC website’s listen-again service.
Yours sincerely
Martin Snellgrove