Parish of Llandudno North Wales, Rector's letter

August 2009

At the end of this month Jane Allen will retire from the stipendiary ministry of the Church in Wales. Having come to the parish as a Reader, Jane was ordained Deacon in 2000 and Priest in 2001 and has served here successively as non-stipendiary curate, stipendiary curate and latterly as Vicar of the Rectorial Benefice. Over that period her contribution to the life of the parish has been enormous and it would be well nigh impossible to list all that she has done, or to properly measure the extent of her influence in the parish. So I will just concentrate on a number of areas as representative of something much wider.

Firstly I would like to mention her ministry among the children and young people of our parish. This has been evident in her leadership of the Sunday School in which she has nurtured a growing band of children (and many of their parents!) over the last three years. For a much longer period she has also encouraged the young people of the parish in our Trygs youth group so helping them to grow in their faith and commitment to the Church. She has also made an important contribution to the life of Ysgol San Sior through her regular assemblies and by serving as a Governor.

A second particular area in which Jane has contributed has been in the worshipping life of the parish. She took over the leadership of the Exploring Worship Service from Nigel Dilkes and she has also developed a number of special acts of worship among which the very popular Pet Blessing Service at St. Tudno’s and the ‘Table Eucharist’ in Holy Week are typical examples.

In the area of ‘spirituality’ her quiet afternoons and evenings for Mothers' Union members have been much appreciated and her preaching could be summed up as straight to the point with humour and occasional self-mockery – I will long remember the sermon in which she told us how she tried to get in to somebody else’s car thinking it was her own much to the bemusement of the owner!

Jane has also been deeply involved in the social life of the parish and its money raising activities. I think for example of the memorable ‘events’ which she has organised, the latest of which will be ‘The Wondrous Story’ event this Bank Holiday weekend. She has also been a leading light in the Trinity Players and with a small group of ladies founded the Mustard Seed shop in Holy Trinity.

Last but certainly not least has been the depth of her pastoral care of many people over the last nine years. She does not like the title ‘Mother’ which in my opinion is in fact a very suitable one for a woman priest, but undoubtedly she has been a ‘mother’ to the parish.

When a priest retires, he or she does not of course cease to be a priest and it is good that in retirement a priestly ministry can be exercised without the particular demands and strains of the stipendiary ministry. We do hope that Jane will find fulfilment in her continuing ministry in retirement.

It is the normal practice in our Church for stipendiary priests to move on to a new sphere of ministry when they retire and there are good reasons for this. Jane’s circumstances are somewhat unusual in that she has not been the priest ‘in charge’ and will continue to live in the parish So whilst it is important that she discovers new areas of ministry and that the parishioners understand the changing situation, there will be several areas in which she will continue to contribute to the life of the parish. These are still being decided upon at the time of writing.

Meanwhile we thank Jane and celebrate all that she has done here and all that she has revealed to us of the love of God. We will be able to express all this on Jane’s last Sunday as our Vicar – Sunday 30th August.

Fr John

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From ‘The Wyngarth’

As many of you know, I will be retiring on the 31st August, but I wanted to let the Parish know what a tremendous privilege it has been to serve as part of the clergy team in Llandudno Parish. When I came home to the UK from the United Arab Emirates in 1996 following the death of my husband Ted, about the only people I knew apart from family in the shape of Edwina and Jason, were Phillip Cousins (the then Rector) and Janet his wife – very good friends of mine from many years previously in Ethiopia. But I was soon made to feel part of the Parish when I joined the Church Choir, then several months later had my Lay Reader’s Licence transferred from the diocese of Cyprus & The Gulf to the diocese of Bangor. Ordination followed three years later, and Llandudno Parish became for me a place not only for a very fulfilling ministry but also a place where I have been fortunate enough to find affection and real friendship.

Canon Bob Griffiths in our adjoining parish of Llanrhos has very kindly invited me to help as and when required as part of his Retired Clergy team, and I am looking forward to a new chapter in my life as I think there will be lots for me to do there. Of course I’m not moving away as my home is here in Llandudno, so I am continuing my duties as Chaplain to the Sea Cadets and Chaplain at the Hospice where I hope to be able to spend more time. Also, I will be continuing my work at Asda as its Chaplain so will still be sitting at my usual table there on Monday mornings, as well as serving on the Christian Aid Committee. In addition, Bishop Andrew has graciously granted me a Retired Clergy Licence so that I can help in the Deanery and Diocese, and as agreed at a recent meeting and with Bishop Andrew’s blessing, I will continue to serve on the Ecumenism Division of Bangor Diocese.

I want to thank the Parish for all the support and great kindness I have received both as Curate and Vicar from all sections of our congregation. It has been both fun and a great privilege to be heavily involved with our Sunday School – and can I say thank you to the other Sunday School leaders for making this a very special part of my ministry – and also with our Youth Group who have been such a pleasure to work with and to see develop and grow into fine young Christians.

The Mustard Seed has also been a source of great satisfaction, seeing it grow from such very small beginnings into a useful source of income and a provider of Christian cards and other items for many occasions. May I say thank you also to the Mustard Seed team who work so happily together and who I know enjoy what they do. I am especially grateful for the professionalism and support of churchwardens and their deputies, both past and present. To the late Sheila Crosby who was warden when I was ordained I owe a huge debt – she taught me so much about the minutiae of church life, her faith was all important to her and her service to this Parish and its life was an example to everyone who came into contact with her.

I know just how very hard many people work in our Parish family – the Wednesday coffee mornings, summer Afternoon Teas and Winter Warmers provide both much needed funds, great hospitality to friends and strangers, and also demonstrate the way in which the various teams enjoy fellowship together. And parishioners give practical service in so many other ways and in various other ministries – through music and song, bell-ringing, taking care of the flowers in church, maintenance and upkeep, serving on the PCC, production and distribution of our wonderful Parish Magazine, fund-raising and so on.

The Exploring Worship teams have shown just what a depth of faith and talent exists in the Parish. We have so many ‘treasures’ in our midst in the shape of faithful people who offer both their worship and their work to the Lord and I consider myself greatly blessed to have worked among you all. The steady commitment of parishioners who come to worship week after week is such an important witness, and it is my strong belief also that when we come together in the service of Christ, to worship him and to work for him, what we do is sacramental and precious in His sight.

The people of this Parish will always have a very very special place in my heart, and I will hold you always in my prayers.
The Vicar

With love

Jane

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