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Anglican

Anglicans form the family of Christians closely related to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Whilst tracing their inheritance back to Christ and the earliest Christians and to the ancient Roman Catholic church, the sixteenth century Reformation was a crucial moment for Anglicanism.

Bishop

‘Bishop’ comes from the Greek word for ‘overseer’. So a bishop is a senior Christian minister authorised to have oversight for God’s people. As well as duties given to deacons and priests, bishops confirm and ordain.

Deacon

‘Deacon’ comes the Greek word for ‘servant’. Deacons in the Church in Wales have special roles within worship such as proclaiming the gospel. Traditionally, deacons have had responsibility for social care. Deacons often go on to be ordained priest.

Diocese

‘Diocese’ refers to the geographical territory in which a bishop exercises oversight. The Church in Wales is divided into six dioceses each with its own cathedral in which is housed the cathedra (the bishop’s ‘chair’ or ‘throne’).

Ecumenical

The Christian Church is divided due to different interpretations of the faith and different religious practices. The ecumenical movement promotes dialogue and understanding between Christians and works for visible unity.

Holy Communion

At Holy Communion blessed bread and wine is shared, by which we receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The congregation gives thanks for Jesus’ life, his death and resurrection and his continuing presence. See also Eucharist.

Liturgy

Liturgy is a set form of words and action used for worship. In the Church in Wales (and many other churches) these forms follow the same pattern from one congregation to another. Most Anglican liturgies look back in some way to the Book of Common Prayer.

Llandaff Centre of Mission

A partnership between the Diocese of Llandaff and Church Army.

Prayer

Prayer sustains our human relationship with God and may involve words (formal or informal) or be silent. Prayer can involve adoration (‘I love you’), confession (‘sorry’), thanksgiving and supplication (‘please’).

Priest

‘Priest’ comes from the Greek word for ‘elder’. Priests in the Church in Wales are those authorised specifically to proclaim forgiveness of sins, preside at the Eucharist and bless God’s people, as well as other responsibilities.

Home News and Blogs A Prayer for New Priests

A Prayer for New Priests

News Posted: 8 June 2023

Having served their foundational time as curates in the role of a deacon, learning to be a servant to the people of God and a messenger of the Good News, we now look forward to ordaining Amber, Ruth, Darren, Robert and Amanda as priests in the Church of God.

As priests they will gather the people together in worship; they will bless, baptise and preach; they will faithfully proclaim the Gospel, lead the people into holiness, explore new ventures in mission and minister to the sick and the dying.

This ministry is not theirs alone, but is a sharing in Christ’s ministry and so will take the shape of a crucified and risen love.

The Ordinations of Priests will take place on Saturday 24th June at 2pm by the Bishop of Llandaff Mary Stallard.

Please pray for our priests-to-be as they take up this awesome ministry, that they may bear it with courage, faith and hope, and pray too for the communities in which they continue to serve.

Pray

Eternal God,

We pray for those to be ordained into the sacred priesthood

especially those in this Diocese of Llandaff.

Give them a deep faith, a bright and firm hope and a burning love

which will ever increase in the course of their priestly life.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Great High Priest,

who with you and the Holy Spirit reign,

One God now and forever. Amen.

Our Priests

Amber Baker

I am a curate at citizen church and the Pontypridd ministry area. My first year of curacy has been incredibly exciting and stretching. In February we launched a new 11am service and community with citizen church in St Mary's glyntaff. I have loved partnering with the existing congregation and being a part of starting up our new 11am service. At our 8:45 service and mid week services i have loved joining in with more traditional styles of worship, and learning more about my deaconal role. While through launching our 11am service I have been incredibly encouraged seeing people come to know Jesus for the first time and being a part of all that God is doing as he grows his church.

I live in Pontypridd with my twin sister and have loved all the friends I have made since moving to wales. We love trying new coffee shops and exploring all the beautiful spaces throughout the valleys. I'm looking forward to continuing this adventure as I'm ordained a priest.

Darren Lynch

Born and raised in the Black Country, I met a girl from Trethomas and moved to Wales in 2008, like so many I’d begun life coming to Church but, again like so many, I’d decided as a teenager I knew it all and gone off into the world. Returning (somewhat humbly) to the Lord in around 2010. Married for 13 years this July, I have 3 children aged 13, 10 and 3 respectively. My favoured form of self flagellation is my love of Wolverhampton Wanderers football club. I’ve played a little football myself, tried my hand at Rugby and basketball but Boxing was always my passion, being a regional champion in my youth.

I’ve done the rounds in terms of Jobs- started life as a bricky, moved into parcel sorting, I’ve been a bouncer at more than one seedy bar. I’ve worked as a carer, in both a home and hospital setting. I’ve worked with young offenders, a youth worker, I’ve, been a school caretaker, and worked in an emergency call centre for lifeline alarms.

I’m a lifelong lover of Marvel comics, pro wrestling, star wars and almost all things Geek. I love Lego- for my ordination to the diaconate my kids actually made a Lego version of me- complete with little collar. I love rugby, football, NFL and Boxing. I like to write though I’m pants at it. I currently serve my curacy in the Taff Rhymney Ministry Area- in the Welsh valleys. Very working class, good, honest people. I feel at home here and try to do all I can to show Christ in the day to day- be it an assembly in the schools (one of my favourite parts of ministry) or being out in the community. I try to show that we can have our dents and still be in the light of Christ.

Amanda Thomas

I grew up in Caerphilly, where I lived with my parents and brother. My mum was a committed Christian and church goer so I grew up knowing our local Anglican church as an extension of my family, and my faith developed from there.

As a teenager I explored other denominations and for a while attended Pentecostal and Baptist churches, and I think this is where my love of worship of all kinds stems from, and my strong links with Ecumenism.

I briefly lived in the village of Magor, Gwent, but then moved back home and have now lived in Cardiff for 30 years. All the while my faith in God has been what grounds me and has seen me through life’s ups and downs.

After 31 years of working for a Radiochemical company I was made redundant and for a short time ran a Baby Food company with a friend.

I had now been drawn back to my home church in Caerphilly, and gradually became more and more involved in church life, becoming a Sidesperson, then Eucharistic minister and Sacristan, as well as becoming a warden. I also trained to become a Street Pastor and became involved in an ecumenical group called Club 707. But it was when I agreed to train as a Worship Leader in church that I finally recognised that God was gently leading me to something else, and after a period of discernment, acknowledged the call to Priesthood.

Since training at St. Padarn’s Institute, Llandaff, for 2 years and being ordained as a deacon in 2022 I have enjoyed working as a self-supporting curate in the East Vale Ministry Area where I am continuing to learn about the challenges of rural life, and working with our 3 Church in Wales Primary Schools. My greatest joy comes from exploring faith with others, and in encouraging and helping people to grow in their discipleship.

Rob McDonald

Although I was raised in a wonderful Christian family, I did the classic 'teenage rebellion' and only came back to faith at university. Before training for ordination, I worked as a Management Consultant in London. I ended up helping run the discipleship course at All Souls Langham Place and it quickly became the highlight of my week. Watching new Christians grow and develop confidence in their faith - becoming disciple makers - is still one of the greatest joys I know. It was there that I first really felt a call to ministry - that preaching and teaching might be what God had put me here to do.

I studied at Trinity College in Bristol and ended up hunting for a curacy in the peak of the pandemic when many dioceses struggled to look after their own ordinands, let alone import an outsider like me. Applying to the Church in Wales was very much a leap of faith, but thankfully God had a plan and we've absolutely loved moving to Cardiff (along with our bees and chickens!)

The church family at St Mark's Gabalfa and St Philip's Tremorfa have been incredibly welcoming, and we've had a brilliant time getting to know this corner of Wales. I've really appreciated the variety in my first year - from school assemblies, to the amazing Hope Cymru event at the Cathedral. From helping out at St Padarn’s, to hospital visits, from getting gunged at our superhero holiday club to running alpha at our ‘Fresh Start’ free market. It's been so exciting to see what God is doing here in Cardiff and I can't wait to see what happens next!

Ruth Greenaway-Robbins

I’m Ruth, I hail from the Black Country. I am married to Mark, a proud Cornishman and have two children Simeon (20), who is a nursing student in Edinburgh and a semi-professional Rugby Referee, and Anastasia (16) who is currently completing her GCSE’s. I am a curate at Margam Abbey, in Llandaff diocese, where as a team we are exploring sacramental pioneering using the gifts of Heritage, Arts, Culture, Tourism and Well-Being as tools of mission in the remarkable 875-year-old Cistercian Abbey Foundation, the only such building to survive the reformation and become a parish church in Wales.

I first came to live in Wales for my music degree at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff in 1999, and have lived here since, other than a nine-year stint in Vancouver, Canada. Before ordination, I worked as a professional musician (singer) studying and performing in both the UK and Canada. I was also a teacher specialising in working with young people with challenging behaviour and additional learning needs.

I have been formed in the Anglo-Catholic tradition and from this, I have long had a passion for liturgy this has been complemented by my music skills and love of church music both ancient and modern. In recent years I have become increasingly inspired by feminist theology and I am enjoying incorporating this into liturgical offerings. I am a huge fan of the mystics (I am greatly devoted to the writings of Lady Julian of Norwich).

I love to write, I enjoy a good book, and I am never happier than walking my two rescue dogs Alma and Lukie or cwtched up with our ancient cats Loyola and Bede. My not-so-secret pleasure is fashion, the quirkier the better. I can often be found in the sea, open water distance swimming or by the water supporting my daughter who is an elite rower. All of the above requires a healthy love of good coffee and because of such a great deal of travelling, I’m often engrossed in Radio 4 – the best education you’ll ever get for free!