The Church in Wales

We visited a Church of Wales service while on holiday. There was an assortment of locals and tourists. No singing, because of Covid; just the liturgy. A lay-leader explained to us, that they had a tradition of supporting pilgrims, passing through, some as corpses for burial, to the holy island of Bardsey, which was known as a “thin place”, to be near the resurrection.

She asked if we too were experiencing the current decline of Christianity? Their own shrinkage is due in large part to the depopulation, and ageing, of their rural areas, which we share in England; but some is indeed because of the wider secularisation, especially among the young. For example, when we asked for directions to a sixth-century church, a young volunteer in a National Trust centre didn’t know of it; he simply sighed, “There are so many churches”!

The same phenomenon is illustrated by the number of former non-conformist chapels; many empty ruins, other turned into flats, or restaurants. One has even been transformed into a new age meditation retreat centre: a very different “spirit”! From being the heart of Welsh culture, many are now just shells. Historians comment that these Calvinistic Methodist chapels have not been able to shed their conservative legacy, of nineteenth century culture, in order to connect with modernity.

Despite the numerical weakness of the church we visited, they are at least attempting to reach out. This lay-leader has been ordained for pioneer ministry, using poetry; in particular the heritage of R. S. Thomas, who was a former priest of the parish. The officiating priest, however, who conducted the Communion, used the term “Namaste” instead of “The Lord be with you”. It is questionable whether this word was appropriate, as it expresses a pantheistic Hindu perspective: “The sacred in me greets the sacred in you.”

Not all attempts to connect Christ and culture are valid. The lay-leader we spoke to also remarked that another former priest had been a founder of the Gay Christian Movement. The Church of Wales is one of those which have recognised gay marriage. For her, obviously, these developments are signs of hope. To me, they are symptoms of the decay, which actually contributes to the decline, which she had lamented.

However, I had wondered, how her strategy of using poetry in mission might work. So, we returned to a mid-week evensong, which combined readings and recorder music. This contemplative space attracted again a mix, albeit older in age, of locals and holiday-makers. Providing a neutral space for reflection, demanding nothing of the attenders, this summer-time initiative could be an spiritual incubator for escapees from secular cities – perhaps the holiday could again become a “holy-day”?

It is possible to affirm what is good in an endeavour, without necessarily agreeing with everything. None of us holds the whole truth. While we must stand up for the particular understandings, which God has revealed to us, we must also seek the good wherever it is. Mission is inevitably a mixed bag.