Stories from 2009
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Bishop-elect of St Asaph
The Revd Canon Gregory Cameron has been elected as the next Bishop of St Asaph. The announcement was made by the Archbishop of Wales on the Cathedral steps at 5 p.m. on Monday 5 January, once Canon Cameron had secured two-thirds of the vote of the Church in Wales' Electoral College.
Canon Cameron has twenty-eight days to accept the nomination but said today, “I am conscious that for the family of St Asaph the choice of a new bishop is a profoundly important point in their life and that of the Gospel in North-East Wales. I am both stunned and honoured by the choice of the Electoral College and hope that by God’s grace I can at least in part live up to people’s expectations. I will need the prayers of all the diocese and the church as we find a way forward together.”
Canon Cameron, 49, is currently Deputy Secretary General of the Anglican Communion Office. He is pictured (above) with his wife, Clare. They have three sons, age 11, 9 and 6.
Signing in
At the Sacred Synod on March 16th, the Bishop-elect of St Asaph, the Revd Canon Gregory Cameron, signed the Synodical Act and assumed legal responsibility for the Diocese.
Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Barry Morgan, and the new Bishop of St Asaph, at the Sacred Synod.
Bishop Gregory consecrated
The Rt Revd Dr Gregory Cameron (49) was ordained bishop at a ceremony in Llandaff Cathedral on Saturday 4 April, along with the Rt Revd David Wilbourne (53), who will serve as assistant bishop of Llandaff.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Dr Rowan Williams, was the preacher at the service. After encouraging the new bishops to “Keep watch over yourselves” he concluded by saying “We all wish you joy, support and strength.”
Dr Cameron has been Deputy Secretary General of the Anglican Communion; prior to that he was chaplain to Dr Rowan Williams when he was Archbishop of Wales. He originates from Monmouthshire.
Dr Cameron is the 76th Bishop of St Asaph. He follows Bishop John Davies, who retired at the end of last year.
The Archbishop of Wales said, "This was a very joyful and affirming service and we particularly appreciated the support from the large number of bishops who came and joined us in the consecration. I am delighted to welcome Bishop Gregory and Bishop David to the Welsh Bench of Bishops and wish them every blessing in their ministry."
The Bishop of Swansea & Brecon, Bishop of Bangor, Bishop of St Asaph, Archbishop of Wales, Bishop of Monmouth,
Assistant Bishop of Llandaff, Bishop of St David's.
Easter 2009
Maundy Thursday
For the first time, Bishop Gregory presided at the Maundy Thursday celebration of Holy Communion in the Cathedral. The service included the renewal of ordination vows and the blessing of oils. These are then taken away to the parishes for use in prayer for the sick and at baptisms and confirmations.
The service followed Bishop Gregory's consecration in Llandaff Cathedral on Saturday 4 April. He will be enthroned in St Asaph Cathedral on Saturday 25 April.
Read the new bishop's letter to the clergy of the Diocese.
Watch the Church in Wales video of the consecration.
Governing Body 2009
St Asaph Diocesan Youth Projects took centre stage at the Governing Body of the Church in Wales at its meeting in Llandudno in April. Under 25s Officer Tim Feak told the Governing Body members about the strategic approach of the Diocese in supporting volunteers and, where possible, employing youth workers. This approach is underpinned by youth work grants made available by the Diocesan Board of Finance.
Benjamin Lines, youth worker in the Holywell Deanery, told the meeting about some work he had been doing with young people asking them about their beliefs. He said that one teenager had said,
“1. I believe that music can lead people to God; 2. I believe that everyone has good and bad people inside them but it is the side we choose to act on that shows us who we really are; 3. I believe people are too dependent on things that are not important e.g technology; 4. I believe that brownies (especially my recipe) are addictive.”
Ben is working in the Deanery whilst studying for professional youth work qualifications and a degree.
Hilary Murray, volunteer youth worker in Bala, spoke up for the role of grandmothers like her in offering love and care to young people. The group in Bala is part of the Rock Solid network, resourced by Youth for Christ; Hilary said that they were provided with ideas for leading meetings, ideas which so often seemed appropriate and timely for the members of their group.
The meeting was also told about the work of the Church Army bus project in the Chester area, a mobile youth centre that goes out into the community. Captain Rob Barker said that he would be happy to see this project working across the border in Wales as well.
Blessing the Diocese
The Inauguration of the Ministry of the Rt Revd Gregory Kenneth Cameron and his enthronement as 76th Bishop of St Asaph concluded as Bishop Gregory stood at the west doors of the Cathedral to bless the City and the Diocese.
The service, on Saturday 25th April, was attended by over 700 people, including parish representatives, clergy and civic dignitaries and other special guests.
Bishop Gregory said in his sermon that he was encouraged by two things - firstly, the people gathered in the Cathedral, representing a diocese in good heart, and, secondly, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He said, "We are a people who have been released from complaint and fear because we have tangible proof in the cross of Christ Jesus that God loves us completely and to the end."
Pentecost 2009
Bishop Gregory told candidates at his first Confirmation service that he was as nervous as them! On the evening of Sunday 31st May, the Feast of Pentecost, he confirmed candidates from the parishes of St Asaph, Colwyn, Hawarden, Minera, Petryal, Rhuddlan and Rhyl. The newly confirmed are pictured here with Bishop Gregory outside the Cathedral, after the service.
Diocesan Conference 2009
LISTENING is the priority for Bishop Gregory, as he demonstrated at the annual diocesan conference on Sunday 21 June. In his address he highlighted three areas of work to which he felt the diocese was being called - and then invited three people to respond to what he had said.
Bishop Gregory is pictured with
Canon John Lomas, Tracey White and Ros Crawford
Read Bishop Gregory's address and the three responses.
Annual Reports (Word 124kb)
Comment:
A Call To Action
Written by Bishop Gregory for the Daily Post
I am proud of my faith and my country. Both are under threat. The threats are actually many, but let me speak of two. First, the congregations in my diocese are facing the fact that the Christian Church no longer commands the wholehearted affection and respect of our communities. Indeed, in some quarters, Christianity is seen as irrelevant superstition and its values as restricting rather than life-giving. Secondly, my nation is also under threat - from militant Islamist extremism, which has already wreaked death and destruction once in the British capital city. A future attack, my government tells me, is imminent. Something needs to be done on both fronts.
So on the face of it, the advent of an ‘English Defence League’ and its shadow counterpart, the ‘Welsh Defence League’, to stand up for traditional values and protest against violent Islamist extremism, may be seen by some people as a much-needed breath of fresh air. “At last, a group that will rally support for Christian values and Country!” some will say; but not I.
The arrival of the English Defence League in Wrexham is something that signals danger for me. I cannot support it - indeed, I feel called upon to oppose it. Why?
Both my Christian values and my country’s values instruct me in the same way. Britain has been learning over centuries to find a way of living into Christ’s command “to love one another”. The history of Church and State has many blemishes, and the process of learning this lesson has received many setbacks. Often Christians have taken the lead in being savage to the stranger and outsider. But, gradually, we have argued ourselves into a position where we can celebrate two great values; tolerance and hospitality.
Tolerance is not a failing. It is the value which says, ‘Our communities will flourish best together if each person feels safe to live and to argue from their convictions without fearing verbal, social or even violent attack for being true to their beliefs’. Strong protests against perceived threats can seem attractive at first, but if they aren’t tempered by tolerance, protest itself can turn into threat, and this is so fundamentally anti-Christian and corrosive of our society that we embark on such a course to our peril.
But even tolerance doesn’t go far enough. It is a passive thing; a live-and-let-live attitude. Far stronger is the value of hospitality, which says, ‘Be active in welcoming the stranger at your gate, help them to feel at home, and remember that in doing good to them, you build a safer and sounder society’. What makes me most proud of my nation and most proud of my fellow Christians is when I see us reaching out to the stranger and the dispossessed, the lonely and the needy, and seeking to bring about a more inclusive society, a more prosperous society, and a more caring society. Don’t just sit back, but get up, take action and reach out! This would be a Church and State worth defending.
I’m afraid that I see nothing of tolerance or hospitality in the actions of the English Defence League. Far from standing for my faith and my country and my traditional values, they seem to act in a way which undermines them, by playing on fear and anger, and behaving in such a way that makes our immigrant communities of north east Wales feel that they are the target of anger and fear, not tolerance and hospitality.
And a further thing; the danger of extreme action is that it gives participants a rush, saying, “Aren’t we being brave to stand out in this way?” But, in the end, it becomes fighting evil with evil. By playing on our adrenaline, such protests are psyching us up to conflict, preparing us for violence, urging us to take out our frustrations on the first victim that seems to match the focus of our fear and anger. It is the action of people who are afraid and weak, not confident and strong.
If you really want to stand up for your country or your faith, and create a safer society, then don’t go parading, strutting around looking for a fight; don’t even go to shout from the sidelines, and provoke hostility by reaction. Instead, at the very least, get out your teapots, and invite your neighbours around for a cuppa. I think a cup of tea taken with a neighbour, especially one from a different racial or faith background, will do more to defeat the threats to our society than a hundred rallies based upon fear and division. You can be an advocate of tolerance and hospitality – in your own homes.
Better by far, take bold and courageous action while you can. Assert our real values and our hospitality. Join something like “Together Creating Communities” (http://www.tcc-wales.org.uk/) which works for our communities. Find out what fears drive extremists - of any persuasion - and be bold in finding ways in which you can really help to transform those fears. There are dozens of organisations, committed to inclusive and peaceful transformation, who would value your pennies, if you can’t give anything more.
I deplore those who turn to violence as a way out of their troubles. I am outraged by terrorist attacks which victimise the innocent. I stand wholeheartedly with those who grieve because a daughter, a husband, a lover have been struck down by some idiot who thinks that the anger of man can work the righteousness of God.
But I don’t want even to set out down the path which might lead to fighting like with like. My faith and my country are worth more than that.