Vision 001

Visi n From St Catherine’s Church, Gorseinon October 2017 | Issue 001

Faith transforming families

Richard keeps running the race

Strangers becoming friends

Contact a member of our team Vicar

The Reverend Dr Adrian Morgan

The Vicarage, 40 Princess Street, Gorseinon, Swansea, SA4 4US. (01792) 892849 adrian@stcath.org.uk Assistant Curate

The Reverend Glynne James (01792) 893034

The Vicar takes a day off every Friday, so please be aware that any messages left will not be attended to until the next working day. In the event of an an emergency only, please contact a Warden.

Church Wardens Heather Culliford Dhan Williams Ken Sullivan Rob Samuel

Director of Music Martin Bell

(01792) 533497 (01792) 699576 (01792) 892991 (01792) 415223

(01792) 428152

Book our Facilities Our Facilities, which include a large Hall, several smaller meeting rooms and well equipped modern kitchen, are available for hire throughout the week. All our facilities offer wi-fi connectivity. Check availability at www.stcath.org.uk or contact our Hall Co-ordinator: Kathryn Lewis (01792) 891482

Contributions for the Magazine Anyone wishing to contribute an article for the next edition of Vision should contact a member of the Editorial Team: Stephen Phillips Sheila New Sheila Fuge Rob Samuel Sandra Hoyles

077 02 099 779 (01792) 927579 (01792) 809780 (01792) 415223 (01792) 911220

Contributions can also be sent to vision@stcath.org.uk

Welcome W

elcome to this first edition of Vision. When it was announced that I would be staying in Gorseinon, many were keen to know what my vision for the church would be, for where ‘there is no vision, the people perish.’ (Proverbs, 29.18, KJV). The implication was that the church cannot grow without a visionary leader. Yet in all honesty the imparting of God’s blessing isn't dependent on who may or may not be resident in the Vicarage. A better translation of those verses is from The Message: If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.

Vision is really about paying attention to what God Himself is up to and then following humbly in His footsteps. You may play a key part in one aspect of St Catherine's ministry but there are likely to be many other good things going on that you are unaware of.

It is my hope that Vision will be an opportunity for us to share and discover all that God is doing in our midst.

In this first edition I'm excited to share how your generous response to the Swansea Humanitarian Aid Relief clothes appeal is impacting individual Syrian refugees, and how members of our Mother's Union have been putting love in action one stitch at a time by knitting colourful squares to make blankets for babies in a Crisis Pregnancy Centre in Kampala, Uganda. For those bookworms amongst you we have introduced some Recommended Reads and the first book to be reviewed is A Grace Disguised, which sensitively and honestly explores the author's experience of how his soul has grown through loss. If you've not yet experienced one of the fantastic Food with Friends community meals, you can also read about what has been happening, and how strangers are becoming friends over good food.

So, find yourself a spare half hour, put the kettle on, put up your feet and enjoy the read!

Adrian October 2017 Vision • 3

Crowds turn out to celebrate new beginnings O

n Wednesday 27 September 2017 a whole community turned out to celebrate the beginning of a new chapter in the life and ministry of St Catherine’s Church in Gorseinon. Crowds filled the church to capacity for the licensing of the Reverend Dr Adrian Morgan as Priest in Charge at a special service lead by the Archbishop of Wales.

The service was attended by members of the church family, by people from the local community, and by many others who had come from far and wide to mark the occasion.

Prior to his ordination, Adrian taught Welsh Language and Literature at Aberystwyth University and worked as Warden of Pantycelyn Hall, one of the University Halls of Residence. He then read theology at Peterhouse in the University of Cambridge before training for the ministry at Ridley Hall, a Church of England theological college.

4 • Vision October 2017

Adrian is no stranger to Gorseinon as he has served as Curate of the parish for the last three years. During the service Archbishop John Davies acknowledged that, whilst it is unusual for a Curate to stay in his title Parish, he felt that it was right for Gorseinon and for the Llwchwr Ministry Area.

‘We are here in unusual circumstances, but we are here in circumstances where we are persuaded that we are doing what is right for this Benefice and for the Ministry Area of which it is a part.’

‘One of the things I’ve always sensed about Adrian, from the first time that I met him, was a huge enthusiasm for the work of God, huge enthusiasm for the work of the Gospel, huge enthusiasm to make disciples and to reignite the life of the Church’, said Archbishop John.

Reflecting on the calling of Jeremiah to ‘pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.’ (Jeremiah 4.10), Archbishop John said that this was a calling the Church today needed to hear.

‘It is not that we have to destroy everything that we have inherited’, he said, ‘but if there are things that need to be looked at under a microscope and analysed to see whether they are any longer fit for purpose, we must do that. We do that in a spirit of valuing what the past has been to us, but if there are those things of the past which are past their best - past their sell-by-date- then we have to find the courage to say that, in God’s name, these things have been put to one side.’

‘But we are also called to build and plant’, he said, ‘and that work is beginning, it is underway in many parts of our Diocese.’

‘There are those who say, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’ but here you can say that ‘seeing is believing’ because things are beginning to develop, here and in the wider Ministry Area.’

‘But we are called to be courageous, called to be visionary. We are called sometimes to make difficult decisions … and it will be expected of the people of God to support their ministers, ordained and lay, in making that careful analysis and taking difficult decisions, not for the sake of taking difficult

decisions, or to prove how great you are, but for the sake of the Kingdom of God and so that there might be growth in that Kingdom.’

‘Adrian, what you speak is challenging, and that will have to continue,’ Archbishop John said, ‘but you are surrounded by people who want the Church to live.’

Encouraging the congregation to support Adrian in his ministry, the Archbishop said, ‘For all of you, as we move into formally licensing Adrian and then making our promises, I do hope that you will be up for it. There are certainly very, very encouraging signs that that is exactly what you are, and that must continue.’

During the service, Adrian was formally licensed as Priest in Charge by Archbishop John Davies, and he was symbolically given a set of keys and allowed to ring the Church bell to signify the start of his new ministry.

Members of St Catherine’s Church family presented Adrian with the symbols of his ministry: water for baptism; a Bible representing his calling to hear, to teach and proclaim the Word; a Prayer Book as a sign that he is to be a man of prayer; Holy Oil to remind him of the need to be faithful to Christ and the Gospel; and finally bread and wine, symbolising the fact that it is his duty and his joy to celebrate the Eucharist.

October 2017 Vision • 5

During the service, Adrian was also greeted by representatives from the local community.

These included the headteachers of Gorseinon Primary, Ysgol Gymraeg Pontybrenin, Penyrheol Comprehensive School and Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr, where Adrian is Vice Chair of the Governing Body.

Hodgins from Tabernacle Presbyterian Church; Rev Owen Pugh from Undeb yr Annibynwyr, Fr John Patrick Thomas from the Church of the Blessed Sacrament; and by Julian Richards from Cornerstone Church and New Wine Cymru.

Speaking on behalf of Gower College Swansea, Dean of Faculty Nick Brazil said, ‘We see ourselves very much as a community in the College. Adrian is a key part of that community as our Chaplain and we are extremely proud to be here tonight. We see that relationship certainly flourishing and continuing to develop as Adrian settles into his new position.’

Speaking at the end of the service, Adrian said, ‘To the community at large, the people of Gorseinon, and those who have come from further afield - a big thank you. I’m really overwhelmed by your words of encouragement, your good wishes and tokens of love. I know that St Catherine’s has been, and it will continue to be a place of hospitality and welcome.

Our doors will be wide open to you all.’

Speaking to Adrian during the service, Councillor Andrew Stephens, Mayor of Gorseinon, said ‘I must take this opportunity to commend your fantastic work, not only within the Church, but in the wider community. You are a fantastic community leader and you’re always eager to run events that bring the community of Gorseinon together, which is what we need. It is my honour not only to call you a colleague but also a friend, and I want to wish you the very best for this next chapter.’

Speaking to the Church family, he said, ‘Thank you for your love, your encouragement and your enthusiasm to travel the ways of Jesus with me. My role this evening has been quite incidental, because clergy come and clergy go. Yes, I had a part to play, but the most significant part of the service was when we affirmed together our commitment to the work of ministry in this place, the living out of the Gospel and making Jesus real. Each one of us is part of this important work.’

Speaking on behalf of the Gorseinon Palm Community of Faith and Light, Wendy Wilcox said, ‘It seems a little strange to say that we want to welcome you, because you are very much a part of us… we love you and you have been a great gift to us.’

‘The Sunday services will be as normal,’ Adrian said, ‘It’s amazing to see the Church full to capacity this evening but I’m going to set you all a challenge - I’ll see you on Sunday! We have a message that is well worth listening to, so why not come and see?’

Adrian was also congratulated by representatives from the First Gorseinon Brownie Pack, by Rev Huw Roberts from Penuel Baptist Church; Timothy

6 • Vision October 2017

Strangers becoming friends at Gorseinon Community Meal W

hen we wanted an event to bring the whole community together, there was one course of action everyone could agree on - we made a meal of it.

And, despite aiming to start small, the now-named Food with Friends events - with monthly meals cooked by volunteers and entertainment including local choirs - have become so popular they are bringing in hundreds of people.

“There was great enthusiasm to reach out into the community and bring people together,” Vicar of St Catherine’s Rev Dr Adrian Morgan said, “and a particular passion to do that around food.

We chatted to various groups and found there was a lot of enthusiasm, and that a lot of people were thinking along

similar lines. I approached local groups, councillors, supermarkets and shops, and representatives of other churches. We had a meeting at St Catherine’s which got everyone together and gave us an opportunity to share ideas and talk about the possibilities.”

Those meetings led to the formation of a planning group and the first community meal, which took place in March, was on the menu.

“We had anticipated we would start small,” Adrian said. “But as it turned out we began on a high. More than 100 people came, the Community Lives choir performed and it was wonderful to see so many people in the church hall, singing and dancing and coming together. That gave us a lot of momentum and, as the weeks and months have gone by,

that enthusiasm hasn’t waned but got stronger.”

It is an idea that has been embraced by local businesses, too.

“We’ve had tremendous support from the community, local councillors, Asda and Sainsbury’s, Shepherd’s Fruit and Veg in Gorseinon, the Premier store in Pontlliw and Richards the butcher,” Adrian said. “People just want to be involved, whether that’s through donations or giving their time as volunteers. One of our volunteers, county councillor Jan Curtice, was also a cook in a school canteen and she’s brought a rare combination of skills and expertise and, what typifies all of our volunteers, and that’s a real desire to help the community.”

October 2017 Vision • 7

Another of those volunteers is local councillor Andrew Stevens, who has been involved with the scheme from the start.

“It’s an excellent thing for the community,” he said. “The first event went down a storm, we had fantastic music and everyone had a good time. We’re happy now that it’s got off the ground and it’s becoming self-sustainable which means we can afford to purchase things for the meal.”

Running through all the events is the ethos which has made the venture so successful - it is for everyone.

8 • Vision October 2017

“We were determined that it should be an event not just for certain groups but for the whole community. We wanted to get everyone together, including people who wouldn’t normally be able to get there, who are often isolated or forgotten about,” Adrian said. “We enlist the help of social services and the meal is held at a time when children have finished school, so that parents are able to come along.

It’s something for people of all ages, all backgrounds, all abilities.

It’s about making the community stronger. People are coming as strangers, they’re eating together and they’re leaving as friends.

That is something to celebrate.­­­”

The next meal is planned for 28 November 2017 between 3.30pm-5.30pm and promises to be a highlight, with a home-cooked Christmas dinner, traditional Christmas deserts and even a visit from Father Christmas on the cards!

Can you volunteer?

If you are able to come along and help, please send your details to adrian@stcath.org.uk or telephone the Vicarage on (01792) 892849.

Changing lives a lorry load at a time

Gwyneth Phillips offers us an insight into the work of the Swansea Humanitarian Aid Relief Project and explains how our donations are helping to change people’s lives.

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e have all been very much aware for the past two years of the Refugee Crisis, but have often felt helpless. ‘All we can do is pray” are words I have used when struggling to come to terms with the media’s vivid portrayal of the reality of the situation: tens of thousands trying to escape from the chaos and devastation of their homeland and that never-tobe forgotten photograph of the 3 year old Syrian boy, Alan Kurdi, who drowned on 2nd September 2015 and whose body was found on a beach near Bodrum in Turkey.

In January this year, Rev’d Margaret Blake, a Mothers’ Union Trustee and Chair of Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees, sent out an appeal for donations of tents, sleeping bags and warm clothing for refugees in the camps in Greece.

Members of our Mothers’ Union felt that God was putting it on their hearts to come forward and help and they asked the church family to support them.

This was something positive and practical that we could do to help in this humanitarian crisis.

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of St Catherine’s Mothers’ Union and other members of the church family, I have been able to deliver over 100 bags of much needed items to the local sorting depot run by SHARP — Swansea Humanitarian Aid Relief Project (Syria). This group was founded in September 2015 by Renée Cullen and Nizar Dahan (Neezo). It was originally based in the old council offices in Penllergaer but is currently in Gorseinon.

Since my first delivery I have become a regular volunteer and work with a dedicated band of people, under the management of Warehouse Co-ordinator Ruth Exell-Whitehart. All donations are sorted into categories and packed into large bags. Camps in Syria and Greece are being prioritised at present. Vans are packed from our depot, each carrying 7 tonnes of clothing and aid. Working with Aid Convoy (London) the contents are then packed into containers and

sent to camps in Syria, Jordan, Italy, Spain and throughout Greece by land and sea, It is estimated that over 170 tonnes of aid has already been sent from Gorseinon during the last year in this way.

SHARP links with other Aid Agencies across Swansea, including Bloom in Mumbles and Oranges and Lemons Cymru, which runs a large warehouse in Llansamlet. These agencies support the homeless, resettled refugees and asylum seekers.

Nizar Dahan is from Swansea and his commitment to humanitarian work is amazing. He was recently nominated for a Pride of Britain Award for the fundraising he initiates. “As a community we need to unite and help”, he says, “we cannot stop the drowning of men, women and children, but we can offer them some sanctuary with a hot meal, clean water, adequate clothing and shoes.”

Thank you to all who have donated and continue to donate so generously to this worthy cause.

October 2017 Vision • 9

Faith transforming families Peter Williams, former Social Responsibility Officer in our Diocese, introduces us to the vital work of our Family Centres in some of the most socially challenging communities in our Diocese.

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n retiring as the Rector of Llangennith, Llanmadoc & Cheriton after twenty six years I moved to Grovesend so am just within the Parish of Gorseinon. Twenty five of those years at Llangennith were spent as the Diocesan Social Responsibility Officer (SRO) and, as such, I had oversight of Faith in Families – indeed it was during my time as SRO that Faith in Families began its life.

Many decades ago Church social work outreach within the Diocese was undertaken by the wonderfully sounding ‘Swansea & Brecon Moral Welfare Association’ and a major part of its work was the running of an adoption agency and the provision of accommodation for mothers and their babies – the original Eastmoor. By the time I had arrived on the scene in 1988 this had long since stopped, and shortly after I began as SRO, the Church in Wales entered into a Community Development partnership with the Children’s Society. Here in the Diocese of Swansea & Brecon this partnership took the form of work based initially at the Family Centre run by the Children’s Society in Portmead/Blaenymaes and then in centres in Bonymaen (Cefn Hengoed School) and Ystradgynlais (in the Healthy Living Centre).

When the Children’s Society decided to withdraw from all its work in Wales in 2001 Swansea & Brecon Diocese, through its Board for Social Responsibility, decided to continue alone the work that we had been formerly undertaking in partnership with the Children’s Society and from this new venture grew Faith in Families.

The focus of this work from its very beginnings has been on children and families often from some of the most socially challenged areas within the Diocese. Faith in Families centres and works in Portmead/Blaenymaes, Bonymaen, Penplas, Clase and Brecon seek to give children a good start in life and to provide their parents and carers with both support and opportunities for themselves. Everything from Mother & Toddlers Groups to Work Skills initiatives, pre-nursery Flying Start Groups to Healthy Eating & Family Budgets, Confidence Building to Community Participation.

Given the focus on the work on children and families, perhaps it is no surprise that one of our main supporters within the Diocese from the very inception of Faith in Families has been the Mothers Union.

Love in action one stitch at a time U

sing knitting needles and wool Gorseinon women are sharing God’s love one stitch at a time with young mothers to be in Uganda, West Africa.

St Catherine’s Mothers’ Union has been sending out colourful knitted squares to Wakisa Ministries as a result of meeting the Director, Vivian Kityo when she visited Wales in 2014. Vivian spoke passionately about the Crisis Pregnancy Centre she

10 • Vision October 2017

runs in Kampala, Uganda to support teenage girls with early pregnancies, many as a result of rape or incest and with little or no family support. Her work is recognised by the Parliament of Uganda as a leading ministry, offering safe shelter and appropriate services to marginalised teenage girls who have been rejected by their families. Many have been victims of domestic abuse and are HIV positive.

We have been sending about six parcels (12Kg)

Mothers’ Union cream tea raises hundreds for inspiring family work

B

efore taking a break for the Summer members of our Mothers’ Union organised an Afternoon Tea to support the inspiring work of Faith in Families.

The Hall was filled to capacity on a sunny July afternoon and everyone tucked in to delicious sandwiches, savouries and pastries. It proved to be a most enjoyable afternoon and, thanks to the ticket sales and generous donations received, we were delighted to raise £855.

Members later attended an Open Afternoon at the Faith in Families Centre, located at St Teilo’s Church in Penplas, to see how the money raised by us would be used to transform the lives of many families. They were impressed by the way the

Church had been re-ordered with such imagination and sensitivity, retaining a section of the building for worship whilst using the remaining area and a new extension to house a wide range of community activities.

The new facilities include a commercial standard kitchen, cafe, play rooms for young children, an outdoor play area, and a room for the popular after school clubs. The Centre opened officially a short while ago and during the school holidays the free breakfast and lunch provided attracted large numbers.

At St Catherine’s we intend to continue to support the Centre at Penplas, starting with the purchase of reading books, colouring books and crayons for delivery before Christmas.

of knitted squares a year as many of our members enjoy producing them by the bagful! The girls then choose the colours they like and make their own baby blanket in readiness for the birth of their baby. It is now part of the culture at Wakisa and a start of the bonding process. Some squares are also used to make colourful bed blankets for the dormitories.

The emphasis of the Centre is to provide a temporary shelter in a Christian home for the girls, with pre and post-natal care. Bible study classes and

Anyone wishing to donate resources for this appeal should contact Beryl Evans on (01792) 893314 or Gwyneth Phillips on (01792) 893161.

Mothers’ Union meet in the Church Hall on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 2.00pm and there is a warm welcome for anyone who wishes to join us.

Future events include: • 17th October: Elaine Tomas “A Royal Garden Party” • 7th November: Michael Kelly - “World Horizons in East Asia - What’s Happening in Mongolia?’

• 21st November: Bethan Richards - “Pilgrimage to my Roots in India” • 5th December: Christmas Carols and Tea

the Alpha course are held regularly. Life skills and vocational classes give the girls an opportunity to support themselves when they leave the Centre. Arts and crafts and gardening are also popular.

Vivian has a vision to construct a Wakisa House – a Childhood Development Institute and Birthing Centre. In her monthly newsletter she asks for our prayers that the Kampala City council will approve her plan to start construction for the new centre.

October 2017 Vision • 11

New Archbishop of Wales elected Archbishop John left the law to enter the ministry and was ordained in 1984. He served in the Diocese of Monmouth in a variety of rural, post-industrial and urban parishes, and he also served as Diocesan Schools’ Officer and Officer for Ecumenical Affairs.

He was appointed Dean of Brecon in 2000, and during eight years in that role oversaw significant improvements to the fabric and liturgy of the Cathedral. He was elected as the ninth Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in 2008.

J

ohn Davies, who has served as the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon for the past nine years, has been chosen as the 13th Archbishop of Wales.

He succeeds Dr Barry Morgan who retired in January after 14 years as the leader of the Church in Wales. His election is also historic as this is the first time a Bishop of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon has been elected as Archbishop of Wales.

Archbishop John was elected having secured a twothirds majority vote from members of the Electoral College on the second day of its meeting at Holy Trinity Church, Llandrindod Wells. The election was immediately confirmed by the five other diocesan bishops and announced at the door of the church by the Provincial Secretary of the Church in Wales, Simon Lloyd. Archbishop John will be enthroned at Brecon cathedral in due course.

Archbishop John was born in Newport (Mon) and educated at Bassaleg Grammar School. He graduated in law from the University of Southampton from where he moved to the College of Law at Chester.

He was admitted as a solicitor in 1977, specialising in criminal law and, after ordination, completed a master’s degree in Canon Law. Prior to ordination he was heavily involved in the life of the church at parochial, diocesan and provincial level.

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As a former church chorister, organist and choirmaster, Archbishop John has a passionate interest in church music being ‘done well’, whether complex musical settings or just simple hymns and songs, believing that it can do much to enhance the quality, spirituality and effectiveness of many an act of worship. He also enjoys a wide variety of music, watching sport – especially cricket and rugby – playing golf very occasionally, cooking and walking.

He is married to Jo, an emergency nurse practitioner, and they have two grown-up children.

He said, ‘I am overwhelmed and humbled. I would like to thank members of the College and especially my fellow bishops for the confidence and trust they have shown in me. We will work together as a team to grow and strengthen the Church as it serves the communities of Wales and helps build the kingdom of God. The Dean of Brecon, Dr Paul Shackerley welcomed the news on behalf of the Diocese. He said, ‘I am delighted with the news that Bishop John has been called to be our next Archbishop. He has proven gifts and experience to lead the Church into the future and will receive our full support and prayers as he prepares to exercise his weighty, yet joyful, archiepiscopal ministry. I feel the future of the Church in Wales is in good hands with all our faithful Bishops leading us with hope into the future so that we may flourish and serve the communities in which we are called.’

Significant Welsh Prayer Book reaches milestone anniversary T

his year marks the 450th anniversary of the translation of the Prayer Book into Welsh, but ‘we often forget the historical significance of this event’, says Dr Adrian Morgan, Vicar of Gorseinon, who studied the Welsh language before pursuing a call to the ordained ministry.

‘Over the years, many scholars have argued that the translation of the Bible into Welsh in 1588

by Bishop William Morgan was vital in terms of ensuring the preservation of the Welsh language, and that is absolutely right. But we do tend to underestimate the significance of the Welsh Prayer Book, which first appeared in May 1567.’

‘An act of Parliament in 1563 not only ensured that the Prayer Book would be translated into Welsh, it also stipulated that the services contained in that book should be used wherever the Welsh language was the normative language of the people - this was the case in most places in Wales at the time and it was also true in some towns of the Welsh Marches.’

‘All of this took place at a time when the Anglican Church in Wales was by law established, meaning that it was effectively a part of the political establishment. Every

person living in the country was compelled to attend Anglican worship.’

‘As a result, what the 1563 Act of Parliament actually did was to give the Welsh language a new official status. It was given a political imprimatur as the language of faith in Wales, which resulted in the Welsh language being heard and used in public on a regular basis in all four corners of Wales.’

Prior to the translation of the Prayer Book into Welsh, services were held first in Latin and later in English, both of which were not widely understood by the Welsh. As a result, the translation ‘also meant that ordinary Welsh people began to hear the Scripture in a language that they knew and understood for the very first time.’

The Prayer Book itself was translated into Welsh by William Salesbury, a leading Welsh scholar of the Renaissance, who is believed to have been born sometime before 1520 in the parish of Llansannan, Conwy.

The only complete surviving copy of the 1567 edition of the Prayer Book is believed to be held in the John Rylands Library in Manchester.

October 2017 Vision • 13

RECOMMENDED READS Gorseinon bookworms share something about the books that have blessed and encouraged their Christian journey

Clare Kingdon reviews ‘A Grace disguised; how the soul grows through loss.’

By Jerry Sittser

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here are many experiences common to everyone, male or female, old or young, healthy or not and this sensitively and honestly written book addresses the issue all of us will have faced at some point in our lives – that of loss, and the grief process that naturally must follow. The greatest of these losses is death itself, but loss of our health, employment status, marriage breakdown, and unfulfilled dreams are a bereavement in themselves too, and in which the process of painfully grieving for what once was and is no more is just as essential.

Jerry Sittser is a man well acquainted with grief. One night in 1991, he was driving his family home and his car was hit by a drunk driver. In an instant his mother, wife and daughter were killed and his life would never be the same again. He is a man who loved the Lord before that night, and still loves the Lord over two decades later, but does not shy away from the uncomfortable questions such a tragedy made him face head on with God as he was plunged into the darkness his grief took him into. This is a man with authority to talk of such things, and worth listening to, as he shares his thoughts on ‘Is one type of loss worse than another?’, depression, having to rebuild a life where the familiar is now unfamiliar, the terror of the randomness of tragedy, wondering ‘Why me’

14 • Vision October 2017

and conversely ‘Why not me?’

He doesn’t shy away from the difficulty in forgiving the driver who caused the car crash that killed his family members, and the desire for justice to be served.

He is honest in his admission of feeling God was absent in his suffering and questioning if he could still follow a God who allowed the tragedy to happen in the first place. He later meditates on the positive role church, family and friends can have in choosing to share in his pain and be a ‘community of brokeness’ together.

The experience of loss does not have to be the defining moment of our lives’ writes Jerry. ‘Instead the defining moment can be our response to the loss. It is not what happens to us that matters so much as what happens in us.’

This book is not a story of his individual sorrow. It is a moving meditation on the losses we all suffer and the grace that can transform us. How in coming to the end of ourselves, we can come to the beginning of a new life – one marked by spiritual depth, joy, compassion, and a deeper appreciation of simple blessings.

It is a book given to me by a friend a few weeks after a very close family member of mine died. Reading it felt like having a trusted friend who had travelled further down the road of grieving than me, sitting on the sofa and

chatting with me. Page after page resonated with me. This man ‘got it.’ And his insights helped me see that I had a choice in how I responded in my grief. I chose the way he had travelled, which was to face up to the blackness my loved one’s death had left me in, and embrace it, knowing that there would be a day when I’d come out of it and see the sunrise once more. And more than that, that through accepting and embracing the depths of grief because of what I had lost, having 100% honesty with God about where I was at, and trusting he loved me just as he found me in the darkness, my soul could grow just as much then, as it did during the heights of happiness and wonder of when my loved one was alive.

In preparation for writing this book review I have reread the book again, this time four years on from my loved one’s death. It remains the most comprehensive honest, spiritual, emotional and helpful book I’ve ever read regarding loss, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has suffered significant loss of any kind in their life.

Jerry Sittser (2004), A Grace Disguised: how the soul grows through loss. Expanded version ISBN 978-0-310-25895-7.

Available on Amazon from £4.50 (second hand), £6.50 (kindle) and £15.50 (new).

A record breaking organist pulls out all the stops in Gorseinon A

mateur organist John Richards from Cardiff, who recently completed a musical mission to play all ninety four cathedral organs in Britain, pulled out all the stops when he visited Saint Catherine’s Church this August to play the Mighty Nicholson Boggis Organ.

the final organ on his list, St Andrew’s Church of Scotland Cathedral in Inverness.

His 10-year quest to play every Cathedral organ in Britain has taken the retired tax inspector from Cardiff on a journey through Wales, England and Scotland from Truro to the Orkneys.

Playing organ for Aberdare Apostolic Church to earn pocket money as a boy, he never dreamed he would go on to play the most famous and historic organs in the land.

He has played on the countries’ finest cathedral organs including Canterbury Cathedral, St Paul’s and Westminster.

“It has been exciting,” he said.

“I spent the last two weeks finishing the last ten on the list in Scotland. On one day I played three organs in Aberdeen, but my fingers are used to it now and don’t get tired.”

“Around sixty people came to listen when they heard ‘a man from Cardiff ’ would be playing at St Magnus cathedral, the most northern cathedral in Britain.”

John was accompanied on his trip by wife Lyn. His son Phillip, from Cwmdare, made a special effort to fly from Bristol Airport to hear his father play

John, who learned to play piano aged seven, moved onto the organ aged ten, but never had a proper lesson on what he describes as “the king of instruments”.

Back home in Cardiff he is organist for Bethany Baptist Church in Thornhill and assistant organist at Whitchurch Tabernacle.

When news of his accomplishment hit the headlines, John was invited to play the organ on BBC One’s Songs of Praise and he now holds the Guinness world record as the first person to play all ninety four cathedral organs in the land.

His visit to Saint Catherine’s is a fitting end to another successful organ recital series. With ever growing numbers, this last series was the fourth to be held in Gorseinon, attracting eminent organists including Welsh Simfonia organist Carl Grainger, David Geoffrey Thomas from Llandaff Cathedral, and St Catherine’s very own Martin Bell.

October 2017 Vision • 15

Richard keeps running the race Rob Samuel interviews Richard Batchelor, a member of the Gorseinon Faith and Light Group, about life, faith and his interest in wheelchair basketball and Boccia.

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nyone who has run a half marathon will know that getting the mind and body ready for a thirteen mile run requires a great deal of physical and mental preparation, yet this did not phase Faith and Light member Richard Batchelor who successfully completed the Swansea half Marathon in his wheelchair in June this year.

Twenty years ago, at the age of 13, Richard was diagnosed with ‘Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia,’ a disease that attacked his hip joints so aggressively that they virtually turned to jelly. He suffered so badly from this that within nine months of the diagnosis he was virtually confined to a wheelchair.

I remember Richard as an active 12 year old playing in Parc-y-Werin, Gorseinon, but by the age of 14 he was having major mobility problems that affected his lifestyle and schooling. Despite all this, Richard had a positive outlook on life and by the time he was in his early 20s he had joined Faith and Light, a crossdenominational Christian charitable association based at St Catherine’s Church. The purpose of the association is to assist those with learning disabilities and their friends and family, by fostering friendship, prayer, celebration and sharing. There are approximately 1,612 communities organised into 50 provinces, in 81 countries across the world today, one of which meets each month in our church.

Sean Jordan, himself a Faith and Light member, invited Richard to the Millennium celebrations of Faith and Light in Swansea and Jean Vanier, a founder of the organisation attended. Richard was also a regular attender of the Diocesan Youth Camp each summer and especially enjoyed the archery and the great sense of togetherness that existed at the event and it is at these events that Richard first began to think about Christian faith.

16 • Vision October 2017

Richard’s ill health meant that he inevitably missed some time at school too, but he was later able to make up for this by taking an Introduction to Further Education course at Gorseinon College. The course, along with his family support, gave him confidence to push on with his student life to such an extent that he became the representative for Disabled Students at the college and travelled to conferences and meetings on their behalf. On one such trip by train to Blackpool, on his own and in his wheelchair, Richard had some misinformation about the distance to the hotel where he was staying, “only 10 minutes away” he was told but some 6 miles later, and almost in Fleetwood, Richard had propelled himself and his wheelchair along Blackpool front and beyond! Was God preparing him for things to come?

More recently Richard has participated in two disability sports, Wheelchair Basketball and Boccia which is a form of ‘Boule’. Wheelchair Basketball is a physically demanding sport which often results in collisions that can tip the wheelchair over and the player just spills out of their chair. When this first happened to Richard he was very shaken and was not sure if he should carry on with it. He tells how, at the Christingle service at St Catherine’s, he asked God for guidance as to what he should do. The following morning he had a call from a team asking him to join their Wheelchair Basketball group and this he felt was his prayer being answered. Richard currently plays for Swansea Storm in the GB National League and is hoping the sport will be included in the Commonwealth Games in 2018 so he can push for a place in a Welsh team.

Richard lives with his stepfather Keith and the confidence that he now has is not only down to the positive way he has coped with his disability, but also to the support and care that Keith has provided

over many years. Together they have had to cope with the tragic death of Richard’s mum Rosemary and his sister Andrea. Getting on with life is what they both do very well and virtually every day is a busy schedule of activities for Richard with Keith providing the transport to the leisure centres, train stations, Faith and Light meetings and doing many other tasks to support Richard.

charities, Faith and Light and Swansea Boccia. He still trains every Saturday morning at the ‘Park Run’ in Swansea and he is an example to us all in what can be achieved in life despite major obstacles. By faith and because of the support of friends, family and his community, Richard is leading a full and active life and he shows absolutely no sign of wanting to slow down!

Richard completed the Swansea half marathon in 2 hours and 47 minutes, and raised £250 for 2

For more information, visit www.faithandlight.org.uk or www.swanseastormwbc.co.uk

“By faith and because of the support of friends, family and his community, Richard is leading a full and active life and he shows absolutely no sign of wanting to slow down!”

October 2017 Vision • 17

FIVE MINUTES WITH THE FATHER A snack from scripture to nourish and sustain you

‘At home’ in God’s Love ‘Make yourselves at home in my love.’

John 15.9 (Message translation)

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hen someone says, ‘Make yourselves at home,’ it means you’re welcome and accepted. That’s what Jesus means when He says, ‘Make yourselves at home in my love.’ You have never been and never will be loved by anyone as much as God loves you.

The reason you have such a hard time grasping that concept is because you have nothing to compare His love to. Nothing could make God love you more than He does right now, and nothing could make him love you less. The great irony is that we spend time trying to earn His love, when it can only be received by faith.

John says: ‘What marvellous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it - we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognise us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who He is or what He’s up to.’

18 • Vision October 2017

(1 John 3.1-2, Message). You may have grown up with parents who withheld their love, or weren’t capable of expressing it. God doesn’t do that. Throughout Scripture He keeps saying, “I love you. I love you. I love you!’ C. S. Lewis wrote: ‘God created us to be the objects of His love! Sometimes our actions make us unlovely, but we’re never unloved. And because God loves us - we have value. And nobody can take that value away. God’s love revealed at Calvary fastens itself onto flawed creatures like us, and for reasons none of us can ever figure out, makes us precious and valued beyond calculation. This is love beyond reason. And this is the love with which God loves us.’ © UCB Word for Today, for more information visit www.ucb.co.uk

TRADITION UNLOCKED

Exploring some of the traditions we take for granted in Church, what they mean and why we do them.

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very week Christians in Gorseinon gather in a building that bears her name, but who was Catherine and why do we still remember her today?

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, often known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and the Great Martyr Saint, was born around 287AD and martyred around 305 in Alexandria, Egypt. According to Christian tradition, she was of noble birth, she was also educated and she was a good scholar.

Around the age of fourteen she saw a moving vision of Mary and the infant Jesus, so she decided to become a Christian. When the pagan emperor Maxentius (Roman Emperor from 306 to 312) began persecuting Christians, Catherine visited him to denounce his cruelty. Rather than order her execution, Maxentius summoned fifty philosophers to debate her. Her words were so moving that several of the pagans converted to Christianity and they were immediately executed.

Catherine was later arrested and scourged, but she did not abandon her faith. Word of her arrest and the power of her faith quickly spread and over two hundred people visited her in prison. Following her imprisonment, Maxentius made a final attempt at Catherine by proposing marriage to her. She refused, saying that she was dedicated to Jesus.

The emperor angrily ordered her to be executed on a wheel, but when Catherine was presented before the wheel, she touched it and a miracle occurred and it shattered. Unable to torture her to death, the emperor had her beheaded.

In the sixth century, emperor Justinian established a monastery in her name at the foot of Mount Sinai. The monastery still stands today and it is one of the oldest monasteries in the world. Saint Catherine was one of the most important saints in the religious culture of the late Middle Ages and she was especially well known as an intercessor, a woman who believed in the power of prayer.

Saint Catherine is often associated with the wheel and her Feast Day is celebrated on November 25th.

She is the patron of students, unmarried girls and apologists (a person who makes a defence in speech or writing concerning a belief or idea).

Being a Christian is certainly not easy. Even today, many people around the world are martyred because they live lives that are dedicated to Jesus and because they attempt to share his powerful teachings of acceptance, love and peace. Even in countries where Christians don’t face any imminent physical harm, an increasingly secular society continues to marginalise Christians.

In Gorseinon, Saint Catherine is still remembered.

We gather together in a place that bears her name because, like her, we are people who stand up for Jesus. In the power of the Spirit, we challenge injustice and cruelty in our broken world and we pray that Jesus’ transforming presence continues to speak directly into individual lives, making the world they live in a better place, like Saint Catherine did.

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Join us in our Weekly Worship Sunday

8am

A short, quiet and contemplative Communion.

9am

Cymun Bendigaid yn Gymraeg.

10.15am

A traditional Communion with lively hymns, followed by tea and coffee in the Church Hall.

6pm

Evening Worship.

Wednesday 10.30am

A short mid-week Communion, followed by tea and coffee in the Church Hall.

For more information on our weekly events and other activities, please visit our website www.stcath.org.uk where you will find the latest details. www

www.stcath.org.uk @stcath.org.uk /stcathgorseinon

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