Caldicot Churches Together

01/03/2024

Caldicot Impact Training, April 2024

Christian Life and Ministry
in the Power of the Holy Spirit
24th to 27th April 2024
at Victory Church, Caldicot

For further details see:

An alliance of Christian churches promoting prayer and seeking revival in Wales.

29/02/2024

30/01/2024

THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF MONMOUTH RECIEVES GRANT
£3 MILLION TO PLANT NEW CHURCHES.

Chepstow to be one of the first to benefit.

A £3-MILLION grant has been awarded to the diocese of Monmouth to create four new church-plants aimed at people under 40.

The funding is from the Church in Wales’s Evangelism Fund, set up six years ago to provide funding for large-scale, transformative diocesan projects — an echo of the Church of England’s Strategic Development Fund (News, 21 September 2018). Grants of between £250,000 and £3 million are available.

Over the next five years, four new plants, or “hubs”, are to be established, each with a leader and a children’s and families’ pioneer — an approach that would allow them to “develop organically and without placing burdens on existing clergy”, the diocese said. It is envisaged that they will be self-sustaining by the end of five years.

Between 2020 and 2023, Monmouth diocese underwent significant organisational change, with the amalgamation of 121 parishes into 16 larger ministry areas — “rectorial benefices” led by teams of lay and ordained ministers, including at least two stipendiary clergy — with the aim of encouraging collaborative working, including shared resources and the harnessing of economies of scale.

The Bishop of Monmouth, the Rt Revd Cherry Vann, has warned that many congregations “have few if any members under 60: the life of the Church doesn’t look sustainable beyond a decade or so”.

On Tuesday, the Archdeacon of the Gwent Valleys, the Ven. Stella Bailey, said that seven applications had been received after all the ministry areas had been asked “what it would look like to plant a new worshipping community into their context with additional ministry support and a resource budget”. The Evangelism Fund committee had supported the funding of the first two plants, and another two were due to be launched in 2026.

In Tredegar, a post-industrial valleys community, “which lives with the social impact caused by the decline of the iron and coal industries”, a team led by the Area Dean of Mynydd Bedwellty, the Revd Matthew Davis, was already “creating activities that deepen their relationship with the community and create a welcoming space for families”. The aim was to launch a worshipping community “away from the traditional Sunday-morning context, that will be shaped in its discipleship and outreach to engage with those under 40”.

In Chepstow, a commuter town having many families with members who worked in the Bristol area, there was “enormous potential” to build a new congregation with a “younger demographic, working alongside and helping to inspire the existing congregations in that ministry area”. There had been “amazing support and enthusiasm from across the ministry area congregations for this project”.

The diocese is currently advertising for the “hub leader” and children’s and families’ pioneer posts. Applications from both lay and ordained candidates are welcomed, it says.

“In a society which can now be described as pre-Christian, we acknowledge that the jump from being unchurched into a eucharistic tradition is a barrier which can inhibit people’s abilities to hear the good news and hope of the gospel,” Archdeacon Bailey said.

“We are seeking to strengthen a culture where we take risks for God in a way that enables us to live out the great commission and to preach the gospel afresh for this generation. As such, the project has targets around numerical and spiritual growth, as well as accountability and good stewardship. We expect that lessons learned from the project can be replicated in other contexts across the diocese.”

Evangelism grants to date have included funding for two plants in partnership with the Church Revitalisation Trust established by Holy Trinity, Brompton: Hope Street, Wrexham; and Citizen Church, Cardiff, where attendance is now in excess of 500 people (News, 22 March 2019, 16 September 2022).

In 2021, funding was allocated to the £3-million Llan project to re-establish and found new pilgrimage routes in north Wales, and turn six churches into “pilgrim churches” (News, 9 April 2021).

30/01/2024

CHRISTMAS SERVICES SAW A RISE IN ATTENDANCE IN ENGLISH CATHEDRALS,SURVEY FINDS

ATTENDANCE at services at Christmas exceeded pre-pandemic levels in more than a dozen English cathedrals, according to an investigation in The Times this week.

Of the 26 cathedrals that provided data on attendance levels in 2019 — the year before the pandemic began — 13 experienced an increase in the number of people attending Christmas services.

Southwark Cathedral was one of those at which attendance this year was higher than in 2019. On Wednesday, the Sub-Dean, Canon Michael Rawson, told the Church Times that “various things conspire together” to draw people in: “Live music in a stunning building, the quality of welcome where people feel that they will be noticed and looked after, and the way that the services are put together.”

He also referred to the volume of Christmas services as another factor: multiple carol services for specific causes or charities helped the cathedral to reach out into the community, he said.

Of the 30 cathedrals that provided data to The Times, 24 reported that the size of congregations had risen between 2022 and 2023.

The Acting Dean of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Jan McFarlane, told The Times: “Our experience this Christmas leads us to conclude that we shouldn’t be nailing down the lid on the Church of England’s coffin any time soon.”

In the C of E, attendance has risen since 2020, but has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels (News, 17 November 2023).

30/01/2024

CHRISTMAS BOUGHT PEOPLE BACK TO ENGLISH CATHEDRALS:
BACK TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS A SURVEY FINDS.

ATTENDANCE at services at Christmas exceeded pre-pandemic levels in more than a dozen English cathedrals, according to an investigation in The Times this week.

Of the 26 cathedrals that provided data on attendance levels in 2019 — the year before the pandemic began — 13 experienced an increase in the number of people attending Christmas services.

Southwark Cathedral was one of those at which attendance this year was higher than in 2019. On Wednesday, the Sub-Dean, Canon Michael Rawson, told the Church Times that “various things conspire together” to draw people in: “Live music in a stunning building, the quality of welcome where people feel that they will be noticed and looked after, and the way that the services are put together.”

He also referred to the volume of Christmas services as another factor: multiple carol services for specific causes or charities helped the cathedral to reach out into the community, he said.

Of the 30 cathedrals that provided data to The Times, 24 reported that the size of congregations had risen between 2022 and 2023.

The Acting Dean of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Jan McFarlane, told The Times: “Our experience this Christmas leads us to conclude that we shouldn’t be nailing down the lid on the Church of England’s coffin any time soon.”

In the C of E, attendance has risen since 2020, but has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels (News, 17 November 2023).

22/01/2024

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST UNDER ATTACK FROM THEIR OWN

Thousands back priest in Ukraine stand over prayer for Russian victory

THOUSANDS of Russian Orthodox Christians have urged Patriarch Kirill of Moscow to reinstate a popular priest in the capital, the Revd Alexei Uminsky, who refused to recite an official prayer for their country’s victory over Ukraine.

In an open letter, they write: “In our difficult times, it is important to maintain the opportunity for people to receive spiritual support from a beloved and important priest.

“The decree banning this priest from serving will deprive thousands of people of spiritual support — a great tragedy for many believers, for children’s hospice patients, for hundreds of prisoner and thousands of homeless people.”

The appeal, signed this week by more than 11,000 people, including heads of local charities, says that Fr Uminsky, parish priest of Holy Trinity, Moscow, since 1993, had led many people to faith, providing “strength, support, and reconciliation” through sermons, books, and speeches.

It says that the priest, who has repeatedly warned that he cannot endorse Moscow’s February 2022 invasion, worked to help sick children and those on Russia’s social margins, and also “answered questions that really bother people”.

Russia’s online news agency Gazeta.ru said that the priest had long been considered “a thorn in the Kremlin’s side” for his anti-militarism and concern for political prisoners, and had been branded a “criminal in a cassock” by the Russian Orthodox Church’s TV channel Spas, after urging mercy for the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, during an August 2021 prison hunger-strike (Comment, 29 January 2021).

The news agency said that Fr Uminsky had been banned from ministering under a decree, issued on 3 January by the Moscow Patriarchate, for suggesting in a YouTube interview that Christians should “pray for peace rather than victory”. He had been replaced by a Ukrainian-born priest who supported President Putin’s “special military operation”, the agency said.

More than 300 Russian Orthodox priests signed an appeal against the Ukraine invasion of 2022, most of whom have since been silenced or forced to emigrate — and some of whom have joined a new clergy association, Christians for Peace, whose website (christians4peace.com) was blocked in Russia last September.

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At least ten priests have faced direct sanctions for refusing to recite the prayer ordered at the liturgy by Patriarch Kirill in September 2022, which denounces those who have “taken up arms against Holy Rus, eager to divide and destroy her one people”, and asks “forgiveness of sins and blissful repose” for servicemen killed in the war.

The prayer also asks God to “grant victory” and “deliverance from troubles” to “faithful children zealous for the unity of the Russian Church”, and to “overthrow the plans” of enemies who are seeking to “darken minds and harden hearts”.

In a statement at the weekend, the Russian Church’s diocesan court said that Fr Uminsky faced unfrocking for “violating his priestly oath” if the relevant court order was approved by Patriarch Kirill.

The ruling has been challenged, however, by the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ), which questioned Patriarch Kirill’s right to impose a prayer “about Russia’s victory over Ukraine”.

“Father Uminsky, like any other priest, had every right not to read this ‘special’ prayer’: it is not in the service book, does not have conciliar origin, and it is not approved by the Holy Synod, but is the desire of one person,” the UOJ said last week.

“To ban a priest from ministry simply for refusing to read a prayer that contradicts his ethical or political views clearly has nothing to do with the Kingdom of Heaven and brings enormous harm to the Church.”

In a further sign of toughening attitudes, the Pope condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine, in a letter published last week. He said that he was “close to the pastors trying to give hope to people in a situation that seems increasingly hopeless”.

He told the Primate of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, Major Archbishop Svetoslav Shevchuk: “I share with you the same contempt and pain that you feel before these military operations, which, having struck the civilian population and the civil infrastructure of the entire country, are dishonourable and unacceptable and cannot be justified by any manner.”

19/01/2024

UKRAINIAN STUDENT SEEKS CALDICOT LODGINGS
CAN YOU HELP?

The Student - age 42 - arrived in the UK in October 2022. Unfortunately she is being forced to leave her current abode and seeks a new place to live in order that she may continue her present studies.

We understand a Council Grant may apply.

Interested persons should contact us via the Messanger on this page.

19/01/2024

UKRAINIAN STUDENT SEEKS LODGINGS IN CALDICOT AREA

A 42 year-old student has been forced to seek new lodgings. Can you help? Contact us via the Message Page. We understand a Council Grant will possibly apply.

13/01/2024

RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY - 11 FEBRUARY

According to the latest figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ‘At least 108.4 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are nearly 35.3 million refugees, around 41% of whom are under the age of 18.

Around the world people are being forced from their homes, not least in Gaza and Ukraine. Please pray for them, and all others affected by war or discrimination.

09/01/2024

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) are busy in this area, please remember them in your prayers.

CAP PROMOTES BUDGETING AS REMEDY FOR JANUARY BLUES

A CAMPAIGN to beat the January blues, “Budget not blues”, is being launched by Christians Against Poverty (CAP), encouraging people to take control of their finances and embrace budgeting.

CAP supports people in their efforts to get out of debt, and helps clients to access the support and benefits to which they are entitled, but may not know about. The charity’s new budgeting campaign is aimed at anyone who finds January a struggle financially, after the expenses of the Christmas season.

It offers a free guide to budgeting, which takes users step by step through the process of creating a sustainable budget and includes suggestions for cutting costs.

CAP’s YouGov survey late last year suggested that two in five people did not know how to budget, and that as many as 3.7 million people lacked financial confidence (News, 10 November).

For those who cannot create a balanced budget, CAP offers support to find out what extra help may be available. The charity also runs free money-coaching sessions through hundreds of churches.

CAP’s money-coaching expert, Peter Snell, said: “January is often a time when we all feel a bit blue. The weather is cold, energy bills are on the rise again, and money for a lot of people is tight at this time of year, but there are simple steps we can all take to turn our January blues into budgeting success.

“This January we are launching the Budget Not Blues campaign, and releasing free resources to people and encouraging everyone to make it their New Year’s resolution to use our free tools to create themselves a personal budget and follow our five simple steps to improve their finances in 2024.”

Last year, CAP helped 2157 people to free themselves of debt: an increase of about 11 per cent on the previous year. It also helped thousands to uncover extra benefits to which they were entitled, averaging £513 a month.

05/01/2024

A beautiful story of Royal kindness.

KING CHARLES INTERVENES TO ENSURE BOY CAN BE BURIED
IN A PLACE SPECIAL TO THE CHILD

THE King has given permission for a seven-year-old boy killed in a suspected hit-and-run car crash to be buried in the churchyard of St Mary and St Eanswythe, Folkestone, where the burial ground has been closed.

The boy, William Brown, was hit as he walked on Sandgate Esplanade, in Folkestone, on 6 December, and died at the scene. A 49-year-old man was arrested the following day, on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by careless driving, failing to stop at the scene of a collision, and perverting the course of justice. He was later bailed.

In the days after William’s death, his mother, Laura Brown, launched a fund-raising campaign for a funeral at the family’s church, St Mary and St Eanswythe; any remaining funds would go to the church, “a place so dear to William’s heart”. William was a pupil at St Eanswythe’s C of E Primary School.

St Eanswythe, a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon princess, is said to have founded Folkestone Priory (News, 6 March 2020).

Mrs Brown wrote for the online appeal: “Our son’s service will be held at the St Eanswythe’s church and God willing we will be able to bury our son in the grounds of the church he absolutely loved.

“He was child of God and he spent nearly everyday after school in that graveyard. He would spend his time collecting conkers, foraging for wild garlic or generally digging, something that he loved.”

The churchyard was closed nearly 170 years ago, in 1857, and only one exception has been made for a burial in 1898, according to the Law & Religion website. Mrs Brown was told that it would take two meetings of the Privy Council to approve an application to bury him in the churchyard, and that the Council was not due to meet until February.

On Christmas morning, Mrs Brown drove three-and-a-half hours to the Sandringham Estate to hand a letter to the monarch’s security team, The Daily Telegraph reported. In it, she asked whether the case could be expedited, “to help me bury my boy, so he is no longer alone”.

A spokesman for the Privy Council said: “We are pleased that His Majesty the King, on the advice of his Privy Council, has granted permission in order to support the family in these tragic circumstances. The Brown family and the local community in Folkestone are in our thoughts at this difficult time.”

A spokesman for the King said: “His Majesty was exceptionally moved by the family’s circumstances, and pleased to be able to assist.”

Mrs Brown, who also has six-year-old daughter, told the BBC that she had been “blessed with a miracle”. She hopes that her son’s friends will be able to visit his grave on their way to and from school. Her appeal, with a target of £10,000, has already reached £21,000, and the BBC reports that the funeral is due to take place on 13 January.

02/01/2024

ARCHBISHOP WELBY'S NEW YEAR MESSAGE
COMMENDS SACRIFICE OF OUR ARMED FORCES

SERVICE and sacrifice were the themes of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year message for 2024 — together with a reminder that conflict and death did not have the final word.

In a short film broadcast on the BBC, which opened with scenes from the Coronation military parades, Archbishop Welby spoke of the values embodied by the armed forces.

“Our military were at the centre of the celebrations”, he said, “not just because the world marvelled at their displays of pageantry, but because they, like many, many others in the country, embodied the theme of the Coronation service.”

When swearing allegiance to the new monarch, the armed forces promised to be faithful and to obey orders, he said. “They understood that it wasn’t about being served by us, but to serve.”

The film showed Archbishop Welby visiting RAF Brize Norton, where almost 6000 service personnel are based. He paid tribute to their service, in both keeping the country secure and delivering humanitarian aid after natural disasters and global conflict.

“RAF Brize Norton is also the place where personnel who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice abroad come home when they’ve lost their lives,” he reminded viewers.

Archbishop Welby said that war seemed to be everywhere at the moment: “wars we know about, wars forgotten. I’ve seen for myself the ongoing human cost of war. In Ukraine, I went to Bucha, where evidence of atrocities was found.

“I’ve met Ukrainian refugees, most recently in Georgia and Romania. Families having to start again in a new country. I’ve met refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh after they left their homes because of conflict. And in Jerusalem, last October, I sat and listened to some of those traumatised by war — Palestinian and Israeli.”

The Christian message was one of peace, he said. “Jesus Christ tells us to stand with those suffering because of war and to seek to make peace. And we trust in a God who promises peace with justice.”

The New Year would hold challenges and opportunities, he said. “Jesus Christ came not to be served but to serve in his death and resurrection. We know that conflict and death do not have the final word. Instead, victory is with peace and the eternal life to come.”