FOOD FOR THOUGHT
David Hammond-Williams reports from this year’s Diocesan Conference, which demonstrated the church at its very best
It’s the conference season again, and not just for the politicians. Nor is it confined to seaside resorts beginning with ‘B’.
Lampeter has been the centre of my universe these past few weeks; no sooner had the Governing Body delegates departed than our own diocesan conference filled the University’s Arts Hall. As Bishop Wyn said in his address, we are a journeying church. It certainly feels that way just now.
Pride of place at this my first conference went to the Committee For Social Responsibility, and when better than during a recession to throw the spotlight on the way we as Christians address the problems it brings, especially to families?
To quote Bishop Wyn’s presidential address again, “if the gospel is not social then it’s not working.” Well, based on what we heard at Lampeter, it is most certainly working. Miracles is probably too strong a word, but it’s the one that came to mind.
Our Rural Life Adviser, Eileen Davies, set the ball rolling with a resumé of the how the Church is supporting farming families. Too often in rural villages, the church is the only social body left standing as jobs and essential services disappear one by one. The answer, she suggested, was a blend of spiritual and practical service: if the church is all that is left, then why not put a post office in it? Or perhaps a shop selling the produce the farmers rely on for their livelihoods? Anything to combat the supermarkets that pay the farmer 20p for a litre of milk and sell it to us for 75.
Back in town, Sonia and Cheryl were waiting to tell us how the support they received from Plant Dewi had literally rescued their lives; two women blighted in childhood by abuse, neglect and the low self esteem that results, transformed into confident, successful people. Their moving testaments to the power of “warmth, safety and support” brought a lump to my throat and, I dare say, many others.
And there were other equally excellent examples of how the diocese is building bridges into the communities it serves. If anyone tells me again that the Church is out of touch and irrelevant, I know exactly where to take them.