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Glamorgan

Heritage Coast

Parish Magazine

July 2020

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After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are more hills to climb. 1

1. Index. 2. From the Editor. 3. Celebrities. 4. From Father Edwin. 5. Father Edwin. 6. Saint of the Month. 7. Advertisement. 8. Ocean of Life. 9. Ocean of Life. 10. Slave Trader. 11. Slave Trader. 12. Humour.

13. Puzzle Page. 14. Imperialism. 15. Imperialism. 16. Celebration. 17. Advertisement. 18. Re-opening. 19. Taking the Knee. 20. Taking the Knee. 21. Book Review. 22. Book Review. 23. Meaning of the Eucharist. 24. Directory.

This magazine serves them all. Contributions to be in by 22nd of the month please. Index

This Month’s Cover There are signs that we might soon be able to begin to recover from the extreme restrictions of the lock-down. We will be able to go shopping, meet people and even travel distances. After the claustrophobia of self-isolation we will be able to resume some group activities and we can even think about holidays and, eventually, being able to attend a service in church. One step along this road has been taken when St Illtud’s church was unlocked, and will be open for limited periods, for the purpose of private worship, see page 18. This unlocking was carried out by Jim Morgan, one of our senior citizens who is held in high regard by all who know him. Well done Jim!

Parish Magazine The Rectorial Benefice of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast comprises the Parishes of: St Bridget’s, St Brides; St Michael and All Angels, Ewenny; St Giles, Gileston; St Cattwg’s Llanmaes; St Michael and All Angels, Llanmihangel; St Illtud’s, Llantwit Major; Holy Trinity, Marcross, St Mary’s, Monknash, St Donat’s, St Donats; St Tathan, St Athan; All Saints, Southerndown; St James, Wick.

If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours. 2

From the Editor Dear Friends,

For several days the top headline in the media wasn’t the latest about Covid 19. Updates on the pandemic were overtaken, and rightly so, by, the dreadful news coming to us from the USA. George Floyd was an African American who lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On Monday 25th May, he was suspected of passing a counterfeit banknote and arrested by four white police officers. George was lying on the ground after having been handcuffed. One officer held his legs, another held his back, a third knelt on his throat while the fourth looked on. In spite of the fact that George was gasping and complaining that he could not breathe, the officer continued with the standard restraining posture for nearly ten minutes, by which time George had suffocated and had died.

A crowd had gathered and saw the whole occurrence and it was even

videoed. The reaction of the crowd, understandably, was of extreme anger at this perceived brutality and evidently blatant racism. Subsequently, there have been many protest marches in many US cities, several of which turned to violence and looting. The protesting has spread to other countries, including the UK, and has led to an upsurge of feeling against any perception of racism.

One of the things that it has led to is a renewed condemnation of slavery

leading to the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol. Colston was a trader who was born in the 17th Century, who was initially concerned with wine fruits and cloth from Europe but later became the most prominent slave trader in the world. He became a very wealthy man and, having done so, he turned to philanthropy and endowed many things in his name in the city of Bristol. Do these acts make up for the inhumane treatment of millions of black Africans? Almost certainly not in the minds of Christians and definitely not in the minds of the many campaigners for racial equality.

Other statues have been attacked, including that of Winston Churchill and the base of Nelson’s Column. Where will it end? Quite possibly, not until all public reference to such people has been removed. This includes statues, names of buildings and even road names. Unfortunately, extremists don’t always submit to reason and we might even find that remembering Queen Victoria is unacceptable because she ‘presided over’ Britain during a significant era of empire building involving subjugation of various races and exploitation of resources.

Where do you stand in all this? Are you racially prejudiced? I think there is a

degree of prejudice in most of us even if it is only a dislike of the countries we fought in the Second World War. There was racial prejudice recorded in the Bible, remember the Samaritan? As Christians we are taught to love our neighbours whether they are black or white. Prejudice is not confined to the colour of skin or the nationality, it can any one of many factors. We need to be on our guard.

Yours sincerely, Eric Sparks

Celebrities

Do you watch any of these TV programmes which include a ‘celebrity’? I am referring to the ‘Pointless Celebrities’ or ‘Celebrity Mastermind’ or such like and what I am asking is, do you always recognise the people involved or, if you are like me, do you ever recognise them? It all begs the question “What do you have to do to be regarded as a celebrity?” In some cases, it would seem that the answer is, “Not a lot.” But over the last few months, we have had examples of people who have thoroughly deserved to be recognised as being out of the ordinary or of having done something which is remarkable. The first one I want to mention is Captain Tom. That lovely old man who unwittingly set in motion a world-wide response to his charity support to the tune of over £30 million. That he is now Colonel Tom and Sir Tom is apt recognition of what he did. I wrote about him in the May magazine and won’t repeat myself here other than to say that he has now passed his 100th birthday. Many Happy Returns! Another person who is thoroughly worthy of note is five-year-old Tony Hudgell. He is the little boy who was so severely abused when he was a baby that he had to have both legs amputated. Inspired by Captain Tom, Tony decided that he wanted to walk 10km, on his crutches, to raise money for the NHS. At the time of writing he has raised over £1 million for the Evelina London Children’s Hospital where his life was saved.

A third person to talk about has been in the news for a completely

different reason. Marcus Rashford, who plays soccer for Manchester United and England, had experienced what it is like to be short of food when he was younger. When he heard that the Government was going to cut the Free School Meals scheme, he wrote to the Government asking them to reconsider. As he has over 2 million followers on his social media postings, they backed him up and the pressure led to an about turn and the scheme will be continued for the school holidays.

The fourth person to mention is Dame Vera Lynn who has just died

aged 103. Vera was known as the ‘Forces Sweetheart’ for the way she sang sentimental songs aimed at the Armed Forces during the Second World War. She worked hard and succeeded in raising the spirits of nearly everyone who heard her sweet voice full of compassion and sincerity.

I think that these four wonderful people have something in

common; while they did what they did for other reasons, they became the focus for massive public support and succeeded beyond all expectations. It is good to have someone to admire for having the ability to act in such selfless ways for the common good. Well Done!

ES

What you get free costs too much. 3

Father Edwin’s Page

Dear Friends,

Slowly but surely, we’re back in business! We have started the gradual process of re-opening our church buildings across the Glamorgan Heritage Coast Parish. That doesn’t mean that all 12 of our churches will open all of the time; that simply won’t be possible at the moment, but a few churches will be available for private prayer at specified times during the week. It will still be some time before we can open for worship and, even then, we will probably be tightly restricted in the number of people we can accommodate… but we have made a start. Most importantly, when our churches are open, they will be safe to visit. Social distancing will be observed and a lot of careful planning has gone into the way we guide visitors through our churches for their prayer time.

With all the preparations for re-opening our churches, I realise that it’s much easier to close a church than to re-open it! The beginning of July this year marks 32 years since I was ordained and I can remember few more difficult tasks that closing and locking the doors of our churches, back in March. Our church buildings tell a story of faith that has endured through twists and turns of generations, yet there can be few times in their history, when our churches have been closed to public worship for so long.

Back in the 1990s, I spent 10 years working as a prison chaplain, for one or two days each week. In order to do that job, I had to carry a bunch of prison keys in my pocket when I was on duty, which were at the heart of my work for opening doors, not just for locking them. In chapter 4 of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives… to let the oppressed go free.” (Luke chapter 4, verse 18) These are powerful words that speak of God liberating us from everything that confines and constrains us, with an offer to liberate us in the fullness of the Lord’s living and loving presence. When I opened a cell door in the prison, it was with the purpose of bringing that light and Good News of God, and I hope the gradual unlocking of our churches will do the same for all of us. We are taking the first tentative steps that liberate us from lockdown. I know many of you are shielding and still confined largely to your homes, but even in that situation, I hope it will be a little easier to see loved ones and friends and for us all to re-discover our relationships with one another in the flesh.

Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots.

4

I’d rather regret the things I have done than regret the things I haven’t done.

5

Re-opening our churches is part of this. Yet we must also realise that, over the last 3 months, we have become different people living in a different world. I see local shops and businesses working in a different way and for us as a Church, the broader impact we have had through online worship has drawn a different community of people together. We will open our churches for services as soon as we are able, but we must also work hard to develop the new opportunities that the lockdown has revealed. This is all part of our liberation – of God releasing us from our captivity with a gift of Good News. With every blessing Edwin

Giving to Churches

We would like to extend sincere thanks to all of you who have continued to give financial support to the work of our churches during the lockdown. In many ways, we are similar to businesses across the country, with many bills still to pay and an enormous drop in income. Our visitor income has disappeared and there is no likelihood of fundraising or social events taking place for some time, so the regular giving of parishioners is keeping us afloat.

If you give to your local church with the envelope scheme, please save your envelopes or give the Parish Office a ring if you would like someone to collect them. You might also consider giving directly to your local church from your bank account. If you would like more information about this, please contact your local church treasurer, or ring the Parish Office for details. Naturally, all conversations will be entirely confidential.

Finally, we have some ways of giving online to our churches and there is a text-giving number. If you would like to donate £5 to the Glamorgan Heritage Coast Parish: Text give5 to 70970

Your prayerful, practical and financial support is greatly appreciated in these difficult times.

Thank you!

See also page18.

Progress isn’t made by early risers. It is made by lazy men trying to

find an easier way of doing things. 6

Saint of the Month 28 July: Samson, Bishop (485 – 565)

The reason for this is because within 50 years of Samson’s death a Breton monk wrote the Vita Samsonis, the ‘Life of Samson’, saying that his words are not ‘of confused and unauthorised rumours’ but from what he learned from a monk of Llanilltud, from Samson’s cousin, from Samson’s mother, and from visiting Llanilltud Fawr, Illtud’s ‘splendid monastery’.

So what are the facts about Samson? He came to Llanilltud as a small boy;

was ordained deacon there at the age of 23; became the cellarer and then abbot of the monastery on Caldey Island; went on a missionary journey to Ireland; was elected abbot of Llanilltud Fawr and consecrated bishop; travelled through Cornwall founding monastic communities; finally crossing to Brittany, establishing a monastery at Dol, where he died on 28 July 565.

We get insights into Samson’s character from the Vita Samsonis. At the age of five he learned the alphabet in one day. At the age of 15 he was so over-enthusiastic in fasting and other spiritual exercises that Illtud had to forbid him from trying to do what the older monks were doing. However by the time he was 23 Samson had taken on a strict rule of abstinence; he was chaste, a vegetarian and never drunk. He felt his fellow monks were lax, and would only eat with them “for the sake of charity” – he wasn’t exactly popular, and so left for Caldey Island. Even there he was dissatisfied with the life of the rest of the island community, keeping apart from them even though he had been appointed abbot. Samson refused to leave Caldey to visit his father who was “lying at death’s door”, and had to be reminded that he needed to have care for others. Maybe a saint – but difficult to live with!

As a result of founding the monastery at Dol in Brittany and becoming bishop of the diocese, Samson is honoured as one of the founding saints of Brittany. Many churches are dedicated to him there, though surprisingly no ancient churches in Wales. Philip Morris

A few years ago, Y Lolfa published a little book with the title In Pursuit of St David; it was suggested that there should be a similar book In Pursuit of St Illtud. However, there wouldn’t be much to write about, as all that we can say with any historical certainty is that St Illtud was the magister or teacher of a monastic school. A fuller book would be In Pursuit of St Samson, for we know far more about this pupil of Illtud than we do of his teacher.

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The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones

away. 8

Ocean of Life My family moved to Newcastle upon Tyne from Wallsend, and I subsequently attended the local Grammar school, where I became very good friends with someone called John, who lived in the same road, and who always wanted to go to sea. Sadly, John is no longer with us, he died quite a number of years ago. Whenever our Bible reading on a particular Sunday involves the sea, boats and ships, or if it is Sea Sunday (12th July 2020), then I think of John. He was a ‘bit of a lad’ – my Mother was always a bit concerned that my friends tended to be in this category - but in his later years John reached the high rank of Commander in the Royal Navy, and was awarded an OBE for his services. Do take note that our Headmaster (Mr Bennett) had told John not to expect admittance to the Navy's Dartmouth Training College. John was always trying to persuade me to join the Sea Cadets – but I didn’t relent – after all, on the North-East coast, with the Easterly winds whistling in, you can sometimes find people needing to wear warm coats in August!

However, John did succeed in persuading me to go the cinema,

but not to see films such the innovative ‘Oklahoma’ (1955), but Navy films about the 2nd World War such as ‘The Cruel Sea’ (1955) which portrayed the Battle of the Atlantic; then ‘Above us the Waves’ (1955), which was about the attack by British submarines on the German battleship ‘Tirpitz’ in a Norwegian fjord.

John’s Mother, Margaret, was a nurse, and she had treated

injured soldiers, who had returned from the D-Day Landings, in Shotley Bridge Hospital,. She was famous for producing a large cauldron in her kitchen into which Christmas turkey left-overs etc. etc. were placed and simmered for days, always kept topped up…..on reaching New Year’s Eve, with the Hogmanay-like celebrations, most of those living in the road would pass through her kitchen, coming out clutching a bowl of cauldron-turkey-soup; her hospitality was legendary.

So, what about a biblical sea scene, for example, Jesus on the stormy seas? What illustration or painting to choose? When we (are able to) enter a church, we can sit in a pew and look up and see the roof of the nave: a reminder that the church is a ship sailing through the ocean of life. Boats and ships abound in Scripture from Noah’s Ark and the psalmist singing of seafarers, to the New Testament with Jesus calling fishermen from their boats and Paul shipwrecked off the coast of Malta. The ship’s voyage is a powerful nautical symbol of the Christian journey. We all know how the sea can be calm and serene one moment, but stormy and tempestuous the next

A painting that captures the terror of these elements is: ‘Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee’ by Ludolf Bakhuizen. He was a leading Dutch painter of maritime subjects in the 17th century, with powerful studies of the drama of sea battles and whaling scenes. In his painting of 1695, a boat carrying the anxious disciples is trying to make its way through an angry sea. The waves are high, rain and dark clouds threaten overhead and the wind is tearing the rigging. Storms like that quickly sprang up on the Sea of Galilee, but Jesus is there among the disciples, ready to allay their fear and tame the elements around. We can see the rays of sunlight on the left of the painting that will soon break through to bring peace again beneath a blue sky. When we are on ‘land’, that is sitting in the pew, looking up to the roof, we can think of when life is stormy and the way ahead so unsure. Then, we can take heart from the assurance that Jesus is our captain on the voyage, the sails of our ship are hoisted on the mast of his cross, and the destination is clearer. Just as Jesus protected his followers then, we pray that he will be with us on our journeys now through both calm waters and storms.

Keith Brown

There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror which reflects it.

9

Slave Trader commemorated in GHC Parish

We are all aware of the depth of feeling as a result of the death of George Floyd, with large gatherings in this country under the banner of Black Lives Matter, the toppling of the statue of the notorious slave master Edward Colston in Bristol, and the call for statues and monuments to others associated with the slave trade and racism to be removed from our cities and towns.

In Wales, the Lord Mayor of Cardiff has called for the removal

from the City Hall’s Heroes of Wales installation of the statue of Sir Thomas Picton, and a petition has been set up demanding the removal of the 25 metre high obelisk in Carmarthen erected in his memory by public subscription in 1888.

But did you know that there is a commemoration of Sir Thomas

Picton in St Brides Major? Thankfully not a statue, and hopefully will not be removed, even though it is to a cruel slave trader.

Who was Sir Thomas Picton?

He was born in Haverfordwest in 1758, and became an officer in the British Army, rising through the ranks as the result of taking part in successful campaigns in the West Indies. Picton became the first British governor of Trinidad in 1797, enhancing his income by investment in the slave trade. He became known as the ‘Tyrant of Trinidad’ as a result of his cruelty towards slaves, and was put on trial in England for excessive cruelty, executions without due process, and for torturing 14-year-old Luisa Calderón, a mixed-race girl. Although convicted, later the verdict was overturned, and Picton became a commander in Wellington’s army, fighting against the French under Napoleon.

Picton was the highest ranking British officer to be killed at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815; he was hit in the head by a musket ball as he repulsed a French advance against the British line The Duke of Wellington described him as “a rough foul-mouthed devil, but very capable.”

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is just tenacity. 10

Why a memorial to him in St Brides Major?

Most people driving into St Brides Major from Bridgend on the B4265 do not realise that the grove of chestnut trees on the right after the quarry commemorate Sir Thomas Picton. The trees were planted by the Dowager Countess Caroline of Dunraven.

Picton’s brother, Edward, was vicar of St Brides Major from 1789 to 1834, and lived at Ty’n-y-Caeau Farm, recently renamed St Brides Court, up the hill from the church. Thomas Picton stayed with his brother for a few weeks before leaving for the Battle of Waterloo, during the time visiting all his relatives in the area as he had a premonition that this would be his final battle. His memoirs say “that he expressed this conviction in the most serious manner to the different branches of his family” and that “he arranged his affairs with all the exactness and attention of a man who knows that he has but a short time to live.”

Among those he visited was his eldest brother, Richard

Turbervill Picton of Ewenny Priory. How did the connection with Ewenny Priory come about? Richard inherited the Ewenny estate in 1797 from his wife’s second cousin. It was a condition that those inheriting the Ewenny estate should change their name to Turbervill, so Richard added this to his surname. Later descendants reversed the surname to Picton Turbervill, and this has remained to this day.

There is a village tradition that Sir Thomas Picton received

Communion in St Bridget’s Church the day before leaving for London to join the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo.

Philip Morris

There are three golden rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are.

11

It’s such a relief not to have to do that social

distancing.

We’re running out of food in the freezer.

I’ve been really glad that I am now allowed out for

my daily exercise.

Humour

The wedding ceremony had come to the point where the Minister says, “I am required to ask anyone present who knows a reason why these persons may not lawfully marry, to declare it now.”

The moment of utter silence was broken by a beautiful young woman who was carrying a baby. She stood up and started walking slowly towards the Minister. The congregation was aghast as the penny dropped. The Groom's jaw dropped as he stared disbelievingly at the approaching young woman and child. Chaos ensued. The Bridesmaids gave each other knowing looks, the Groomsmen started to wonder how best to help save the situation while the Bride threw the bouquet in the air and burst into tears. Meanwhile, the Groom's mother fainted and Great Aunt Agatha had hysterics.

The Minister asked the young woman, "Why have you came forward? What’s your objection?” There was absolute silence in the church as every member of the congregation strained to hear what the girl had to say. "We can't hear you at the back.”

********* There was a ‘nice little old lady’ who wanted s some company during the lock-down and managed to obtain a parrot, thinking that she could talk to it. Unfortunately, it turned out that most of the words that the bird said were swear words. She thought, “I’ll teach it a lesson,” and put it in the freezer for half a minute. When the parrot came out, the lady said, “Well, that cold will have taught you a lesson.” The parrot replied, “I’ve learned my lesson, but it wasn’t the cold. I took notice of what happened to the chicken you had.”

********* A simple exercise to help you keep fit, is to get two 5lb potato bags and, holding one in each hand, straighten your arms straight ahead of you. Try to keep your arms steady for one minute. The second week do the same with 10lb potato bags and the third week try 25lb. I have got to this stage and next week, I am going to put a potato in each bag.

All the world’s a stage and most of us are under-rehearsed. 12

Your greatest treasures are simplicity, patience and compassion. 13

Answers

Miniquiz 1 Greenway was the Devon holiday home of which Crime writer? 2 Which mythical king of Ithaca had the idea for the Trojan horse? 3 Located in South Australia and Western Australia, what is Australia’s largest desert? 4 The explorer, Henry Morton Stanley served on both sides in which 1861 – 1865 war? 5 Which name for the devil comes from the Latin for “Light Bearer”?

Answers

1 Agatha Christie, 2 Odysseus, 3 Great Victoria Desert, 4 American Civil War, 5 Lucifer

Across 1 Jugular, 5 Also,10 Brusque, 11 Dizzy, 12 Tulle, 13 Skinny,

15 Eighth, 17 Cavern, 19 Angora, 20 Inept, 23 Nerve, 24 Moisten,

25 Tact, 26 Praying,

Down: 2 Usual, 3 Unquestioned, 4 Averse, 6 Lozenge, 7 Onyx, 8

Abetted, 9 Advisability, 14 Instant, 16 Generic, 18 Farmer, 21

Satin, 22 Knot.

Puzzle Page Crossword No 94

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9

10 11

12 13

14

15 16 17

18

19 20 21

22

23 24

25 26

Across

1 A vein 2

5

As well 3

10

Curt 4

11

Vertigo 6

12

Silk net 7

13

Thin 8

15

⅛ 9

17

Cave 14

19

Goat 16

20

Awkward 18

23

Courage 21

24

Dampen 22

25

Politeness 26

Appealing

26

Appealing

Down

2 Customary

3 Accepted

4 Opposed

6 Pastille

7 Gemstone

8 Helped

9 Suitability

14 Moment

16 Agriculturalist

18 Common

21 Consumed

22 eg Reef

This Month’s Maze

Three o’clock is always too late to do what you want to do, or too early. 14

Imperialism, Good or Bad?

Anyone who has watched news bulletins on the Coronavirus pandemic will have noticed the proportion of non-white people who work for the NHS and are sometimes victims of the virus. They are involved at every level, from surgeons and top administrators to porters and cleaners, and not necessarily in that order of importance. They represent families who have migrated into Britain mainly since the Second World War, often arousing very mixed reactions. Recent editions of "Endeavour", set in 1966, and "Inspector Gently," (1968) have reminded us clearly.

It is a cliché that Britain acquired an empire by trade and by

stealth, and this may be true of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and all of these had "dominion status," virtual independence, before the second world war. Later arrivals came mainly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the West Indies, looking for a brighter future, and, except in India, and later Uganda, there was little violence, except where religion was involved internally. Arguments over colonisation continue unabated; was it more than railways?

France was another great colonial empire, in Africa and Asia, and

its loss of empire is reflected in its war memorials. The second world war only lasted two years, but added to war deaths were others - the Resistance and those executed by the Gestapo. Other names are deaths in German labour camps and concentration camps. Then there are the wars of which we know little.

French Indo-China in south east Asia was a rich tropical treasure house cruelly exploited by the French, but the post-war army could not withstand local resistance, allied to foreign intervention, and now we have Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. .

I’m not asleep., I’m just in my energy saving mode. 15

The world is so complicated that it is futile trying to simplify why

colonies fall into chaos. For example, it was Harold Macmillan's "Wind of Change" policy in Africa that converted wealthy countries like Zimbabwe and Uganda into racial and tribal conflict. The sad lesson of history is that economic exploitation is too often a partner to cruel and, often, racist oppression.

Viv Kelly

Mediæval Gardeen It isn’t just people who have been missing out during the Covid 19 lock-down, the interior of the church will not have had any attention for the same length of time. The graveyard has been looked after with the grass having been regularly cut and the surrounds trimmed. Another part of the churchyard to receive some care has been the Mediæval Garden. The dry spring was rather harmful but the recent rains have gone part way towards making up for that.

Algeria in North Africa was the greatest prize in the French Empire, economically rich and an ideal climate for settlement, but a mixture resentment and religion led to a prolonged war, extreme violence and de Gaulle as President. He promptly offered independence to the remaining colonies.

After tidying and some fresh planting, the plot is looking forward to some nice growing weather so as to bloom again.

Throughout the tender ministrations, the gardeners had the company of a cheeky robin who acted as superintendent of works or perhaps he was just after the seeds and worms!

ES

Celebration All our churches have been closed since the start of the Covid 19 lock-down. We have not been able to attend service or even enter for private prayer. However, readers might be interested to learn, a service did take place at St Illtud’s on Wednesday 17th June. No, it did not contravene the ban on entering the building as it was held in the porch! They had intended to have a family meal together in Cwmbran on the previous Saturday and hold the service in Panteg at David’s Parish Church but, of course, the restrictions prevented this. In spite of the forced change in plans, everything went smoothly in this charming little ceremony. In pre reformation times, marriages were solemnised in the porch, before going into the church for the wedding mass so they were reviving a very ancient custom.

ES

The occasion was the celebration of Gillian and Peter Hothersall’s Silver Wedding. They took the opportunity of this 25 year landmark to renew their vows in a short ceremony with Gillian’s father, Canon David Brunning officiating.

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We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.

18

We’re re-opening for business… slowly!

.

Ewenny Priory

St Illtud’s Church in Llantwit Major was opened for the first time on Wednesday 24th June. We decided to open St Illtud’s first of all, so that we could try out our plans for social distancing and generally keeping the building safe. It was lovely to welcome Jim Morgan to unlock the church after all these weeks

We need volunteers to act as stewards in our churches when they re-open for private prayer. We have to be very careful that no-one who is in a high-risk category for Coronavirus acts as a steward, so that means all volunteers must be under 70 years of age and not have any underlying health issues.

If you are able to help as a volunteer, please contact any of the clergy, or give the Parish Office a call on 01446 792439.

EC

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. 19

Taking the Knee by Bishop David Wilbourne, formerly Assistant Bishop of

Llandaff.

As a good catholic lad, I’ve been taking the knee for fifty years, except I call it genuflection - Latin for knee-bending. The Book of Common Prayer Communion invites people to confess ‘meekly kneeling upon your knees’, an instruction omitted in the pandemic of experimental services which infected the 1960s and 1970s, since knees clearly were not what they used to be. Whatever, creaking knees notwithstanding, I always kneel when celebrating at the 8am, not least to remind me, and the congregation, that we are God’s subordinate and not his equal. For the same reason, I always invited candidates I was ordaining, to prostrate themselves during the singing of the Veni Creator Spiritus, immediately prior to having hands laid on them. As they lay flat on their faces before the altar, it caught their spirit of service and obeisance towards our all-powerful but ever-merciful God. It is customary to genuflect on entering and leaving a church, or on beginning and ending a service, where the sacrament is reserved in a locked cabinet containing bread and wine previously consecrated at Holy Communion. A cabinet on the east wall is called a tabernacle, on any other wall it is called an aumbry and both have a white light burning above them so signify the Eucharistic presence. Aumbries tend to be predominantly functional, a source of the reserved sacrament for home communions, last rites and other emergencies; tabernacles tend to be devotional as well as functional. A church where the sacrament is reserved always has a more prayed-in and numinous feel. Whilst appreciating Anglicanism embraces a spectrum of views about Holy Communion, I believe that bread and wine consecrated by a priest brings our Lord Jesus Christ as close as touch, calling and recalling us to be Christ in our own situations. Similarly, it is customary to genuflect before and after receiving communion, and to receive the sacrament kneeling, with the Book of Common Prayer rubric curiously stressing that you kneel as a mark of humility and humble access rather than expressing devotion.

Taking the knee and genuflection combined in an incident in my

dad’s parish in West Hull in the 1970s. The congregation included residents from the nearby Church of England Children’s Home, who sat in their designated two pews at the back, shades of Oliver Twist. The rest of the congregation tended to give them a wide berth, mostly gathering towards the front of the other side of the nave. When the time came for administration of Communion, there was an unseemly rush, and bell-shaped geriatric women, who had hitherto shown no signs whatsoever of any athletic prowess,

Be smart enough to go through any door which opens for you. 20

suddenly sprinted to the altar ‘to avoid receiving wine tainted by those Children’s Home brats.’ You won’t be surprised to learn that I sat with the brats, many of whom were from racial minorities. One Trinity Sunday one of the old dears, deciding that prejudice and piety weren’t mutually exclusive, duly genuflected as she came out of her seat. Unfortunately, this caused the rest of the usual stampede to power into her, effectively forming a collapsed rugby scrum from which none of them could scramble out. Me and the brats passed by them at a safe social distance, reaching the altar rail long before them; that Trinity Sunday by the Humber the last were truly the first. Which is what Trinity is about, really. Jesus, the lowest of the low, who suffered the execution reserved for the most base criminal, deemed a curse under the law, is celebrated as leaving ‘his Father’s throne above, so infinite, so free his grace, emptying himself of all but love and bleeding for Adam’s helpless race.’ Following that emptying and cruel death, his Father raised him up, and he breathed his Holy Spirit on his disciples. Trinity Sunday is a time for celebrating that at the name of Jesus - and at the name of every victim - every knee shall bow.

Trinity Sunday by George Herbert

Lord, who hast formed me out of mud, And hast redeemed me through thy blood, And sanctified me to do good; Purge all my sins done heretofore: For I confess my heavy score, And I will strive to sin no more. Enrich my heart, mouth, hands in me, With faith, with hope, with charity; That I may run, rise, rest with thee.

Hymns I am sure that we all have our favourite hymns. Maybe it is the tune that lingers in the mind, or perhaps it is the words. the last verse of this hymn might be of comfort in these difficult times. ES

Be still my soul, the hour is hastening on When we shall be forever with the Lord. When disappointment, grief and fear are gone. Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored. Be still my soul when change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Hymn 286

It is always better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.

21

Book Review A New History of the Church in Wales Edited by Norman Doe Cambridge University Press £24.99

On Sunday 7 June we should all have gone to Llandaff Cathedral for a service to celebrate the centenary of the Church in Wales. We should have had a visit from the Archbishop of Canterbury. We should have been taking part in local celebrations, not least the various Pilgrimage Walks planned for this year. However all events have been cancelled. Back in April I should have gone to St Davids Cathedral for the launch of a new book to mark the Centenary. That was cancelled. However, the book has been published and is now available for purchase on-line from Church House Publishing or Amazon. I have to declare an interest, as I was involved in editing one of the chapters and I helped source some of the photographs in the book.

This is a substantial book, some 370 pages, with 18 chapters written by different people. These include the historical lead up to the disestablishment of the Church in Wales from the Church of England in 1920; a broad sweep of the last 100 years; the Constitution of the Church in Wales; Bishops, Archbishops, Priests and Deacons; the Laity and Patterns of Ministry; the Doctrine and Liturgy of the Church; the Church and other Communities of Faith; the Church and Cultural Debate, Education, and the Welsh Language; the Church, State and Society; the Image of the Church; and the Church of the Future.

I suspect this book will become more of a standard text-book for

those studying Welsh Church history rather than coffee table or bedtime reading. Those of us who have been involved with the Church in Wales at a national or diocesan level will know or have known a good number of the people mentioned, or the initiatives taken. I can say that over the 47 years of my ministry, I was involved in many of the initiatives, reports etc. mentioned as having taken place since 1973, and worked with many of the archbishops and bishops through my membership of various Church in Wales’s boards and committees. Canon David Brunning says he knew 21 of the 47 bishops mentioned in one chapter, and 15 of them knew him by name. Many other clergy reading this book would be able to say “I was there” or “I knew him or her.” For this book is really about the institution of the Church and its organisation, than what happens at a local level.

Chance is always powerful. Let your hook always be cast. In the pool where you least expect it, there will be fish.

22

Therein lies the weakness of this book. While we can appreciate and celebrate what the Church in Wales means to the nation and to each of us personally, and that as the foreword says, we do have ‘a joyful story to tell’, what is missing from the book is the ‘joyful story’ at the level most people experience the Church – and that is in the churches, parishes and communities. There is no mention of our church buildings and their importance in the mission of the Church, but that is where most people have their experience of God – in the worship, in the prayer, in the silence. There are no stories of the faithful witness and ministry of parochial clergy and people, and the ways in which they reach out to the local community, quietly, unspectacularly, but nevertheless living out the Gospel as they bring the love and light of the Risen Lord to people around them.

This book is a compilation of essays written from the particular perspective and experience of the writers. The result is that much of what has happened at a diocesan level that has impacted on parishes has been omitted. No mention of the work of Welcare and the Church’s mother and baby home in Cardiff, the only one in Wales, which was so strongly supported financially and with gifts by the parishes of Llandaff Diocese. No mention of the efforts in the Rhondda by parishes to deal with unemployment and the miners’ strike in the 1980s. No mention of the Decade of Evangelism of which Bishop Roy said, “You will have heard it said in some places that the Decade of Evangelism was a damp squib – but I tell you not so in the Diocese of Llandaff.” No mention of Cardiff Alive ’95, the great mission by all the churches to the city, with over 2000 events, and the resulting projects which are still having an impact. So the list could go on.

This book is an important contribution to our understanding of

the Church in Wales and its role as an institution in the nation over the last 100 years. But more is needed – those human stories of how the Church has touched people and communities. This is why a book like Canon David’s The Vicar writes… is so important because that is where the real story of the Church can be heard – what happens at grass-roots level. So there is a second volume of A New History of the Church in Wales waiting to be written!

Philip Morris .

The Meaning of the Eucharist

Jesus came to Jerusalem with his twelve Apostles and preached

the Gospel or Good News to all the people there. The Jewish authorities saw him as a threat and sought to eliminate Him. Judas Iscariot accepted a bribe to betray Jesus but the night before this was to happen the twelve met in an upper room to celebrate the Passover. Then, as Saint Matthew tells us: "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave it to His disciples saying "Take and eat, this is my body". Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them saying "Drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

In the Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion or Mass, we re-enact this act of supreme sacrifice made by Jesus on our behalf. The priest takes bread and wine and consecrates it using words derived from the account in the Gospel. The priest then gives each person some of the

It’s so simple to be wise; just think of something stupid to say and then say the opposite.

23

bread and some of the wine which they receive in token of what Jesus did for them. In a spiritual sense, we receive the body and blood of Jesus so that we can "feed on him in our hearts with faith and thanksgiving." and be grateful to Him that He shed His blood on our behalf for the remission of our sins.

ES

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Benefice Directory

Rector Rev'd Canon Edwin Counsell. 01446-794503 The Rectory, High Street Llantwit Major, CF61 1SS edwin.counsell@ghcp.church Team Vicar Rev’d Craig Vaughan 01656-890468 The Vicarage, Trepit Road Wick. CF71 7QL fr.craig@ghcp.church Team Vicar Rev’d Rhian Prime 01446-750273 1, Rectory Drive, St Athan CF62 4PD rhianprime@ghcp.church Team Vicar Rev’d Marc-Ashton Walford 01656-880328 marc.walford@ghcp.church Assistant Rev’d Jude Peters 07944-607006 Curate judepeters@ghcp.church Reader Sue Moll 01446-719445 sue.moll@llanilltud.org.uk Reader Keith Brown 01446-793804 Pew News keith.brown@llantilltud.org.uk Reader Bill Henderson 01446-750418 bill.henderson@llanilltud.org.uk Reader Hazel Norfolk 01656 880532 norfolk.1@hotmail.com Reader Penny Snowden 01446-775402 pennysnowden@gmail.com Parish Office Alison Weston. St Illtud’s Church 01446-792439 9 am-2.30 pm Church Street, Llantwit Major. Mon – Fri. CF61 1SB. office@ghcp.church Website http://www.llanilltud.org.uk/ School Mrs Ceri Thomas 01656 890253 Wick & Marcross Church in Wales Primary School Church Street, Wick. CF71 7QE School Mr Duncan Mottram 01656 880477

St Brides Major, Church in Wales Primary Heol yr Ysgol St Brides Major, Bridgend. CF32 0TB

Magazine Eric Sparks, Bronelwyn, Castle St 01446-795443 Editor Llantwit Major, CF61 1AP eric.sparks@llanilltud.org.uk

Contributions to be received by 22nd of the month.

Tel: 01446 795166

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Parties etc Contacts: Frank Holness 01656-890455 or Mary Williams MBE –

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