Ten years ago, in May 2014, St Saviour’s Church opened its first Foodbank Distribution Centre with the Trussell Trust’s Cardiff Foodbank.

It was the first in Wales to offer an evening session, a response to the growing need which has never gone away.

Today, the two sessions continue on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening.

Some of the volunteers who were there on the opening night are still working as volunteers, ten years on. People like Glyn (who is also the Lay Chair for the Ministry Area), and Janet.

Both are members of the congregation at St Saviour’s. They are there, week in, week out to do some of the many jobs involved from welcoming clients and administering the voucher system, to packing bags according to need or making a cup of tea whilst they wait.

Over the years we’ve also received a number of new members of the team. Catrin joined a few years years ago and volunteers each Thursday evening.

A growing need

There is so much generosity in response to need. All of the food is freely donated, and the staff at St Saviour’s, like all the Distribution Centres across the city, give freely of their time.

But since we first opened our doors ten years ago, the need keeps growing. Then, St Saviour’s was the fifth Distribution Centre to open in the city. Since then, another three have been launched, increasing the reach across Cardiff from Ely to St Mellons, from Grangetown to Tongwynlais, from Cathays to Llanedeyrn.

Ten years ago, 7500 parcels of food were distributed by Cardiff Foodbank. Between 2022-2023, this had increased to 19,253, forty-percent (7,639) of which were children.

Across the UK, the picture is the same. Last year, the Trussell Trust network, which consists of over 400 centres, provided nearly 3 million (2,986,203) emergency food parcels to people experiencing hunger – with over 1 million of these going to children.

Generous Giving

Like so many other churches and organisations, the churches of South Cardiff Ministry Area donates food to Cardiff Foodbank. Often, people will arrive with supplies on a Sunday before Mass or through the week. Sometimes, cash donations are given which enable us to take a shopping trip of our own.

In 2023, the churches of South Cardiff Ministry Area, donated over 440kg of food which equates to about 39 food parcels.

“I’m hugely inspired by people’s generosity,” said Fr Dean Atkins. “There is a very real culture of people putting their faith into action, whether they are donating food or giving of their time as volunteers.”

“We’ve been privileged to be part of the Foodbank network for the last ten years, and we remain as committed as ever to meeting people at their point of need.”

This is the first of a series of articles to mark the tenth anniversary of St Saviour’s partnership with Cardiff Foodbank

For more information about Cardiff Foodbank, including how to donate and more details about how to access the service, check out their website at https://cardiff.foodbank.org.uk

On Wednesday May 15, we’ll get our feet under the table again for our Justice Cafe. This time, we’re talking about homelessness.

We’ll be joined by Charles Sloper, Community Fundraising Manager for Llamau, a charity with a vision to end youth homelessness.

It’s a bold vision but they believe it’s possible.

The recent response to the UK proposed government’s criminal justice bill has shown concern from many quarters and has brought issues of homelessness back onto the public agenda.

The bill will allow the police to fine “nuisance” rough sleepers (which includes such things as “excessive noise” and “smells”). It means that rough sleepers could be moved on, fined up to £2,500 or imprisoned.

Leading homelessness agencies including Llamau have written to the Home Secretary urging him to reconsider the Government’s proposals.

Whilst the recent news raises issues of rough sleeping, the homelessness crisis is far more complex than a lack of permanent accommodation.

Llamau was founded in 1986 to provide homeless teenagers with a safe place to stay. Since then, they have supported more than 100,000 young people, women and children who are facing or experiencing homelessness.

Llamau works with individuals, recognising their unique strengths and needs, to make sure that they are supported to rebuild their futures. 

“We believe that the only way to end homelessness is to start by ending youth homelessness,” say Llamau. “That’s because many people who are sleeping on the streets today were homeless when they were younger as well. We have to step in early and support the homeless young people of today to prevent them becoming the homeless people of tomorrow.”

So if you’d like to talk and learn more about homelessness, including the vision of Llamau and their work with young people and women, then why not come along to the Justice Cafe on May 15th?

Oh, and one more thing, whilst we love a good natter and putting the world to rights, we always try to leave the table with an action!

Can you be part of Llamau’s vision and help end youth homelessness?

You can learn more about Llamau at their website https://www.llamau.org.uk

The Justice Cafe takes place at St Mary’s Church, Butetown on a Wednesday May 15th at 630pm

Churches of different traditions from Cardiff City Centre and Bay are walking their way from church to church.

We’re returning with our Pentecost Walk as we visit each of the churches which form part of the local CYTUN (Churches Together in Wales) group.

It takes place on Saturday 18 May beginning at St Paul’s Church in Grangetown at 2pm.

From there, we move on through Grangetown to the church of St Dyfrig and St Samson.

Then we visit St Mary’s Church at the top of Bute Street before we make our way into the city centre when the open doors of Taberbnacl in the Hayes will greet us, moving onwards to the church of St John the Baptist just a few hundred yards away.

After another short stop and devotions, we’re off to Charles Street where we find Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral and the Quaker Meeting House. From there we wind way across Queen Street to City Church in Windsor Esplanade and, finally, Eglwys Dewi Sant at 5pm.

Everyone is free to join us for the whole journey or just for part of it. You’ll find the approximate timings below.

At each stop, a short time of prayer will be led by someone from one of the member churches.

The event coincides with Christian Aid Week (12 – 18 May) and as well as enjoying the journey together there’ll be an opportunity to donate to Christian Aid along the way.

So why not come along? Bring your family and friends, enjoy an afternoon with others on the move, and pray with Christians of other traditions and explore in some of the churches of our city.

Here’s the itinerary with approximate timings:
St. Paul’s, Paget Street, Grangetown (2:00 p.m)
St. Samson & St. Dyfrig’s, Pentre Gardens, Grangetown (2:25 p.m)
St Mary’s Church, Bute Street (3:10 p.m)
Tabernacl, The Hayes (3:30 p.m)
St John the Baptist Church, St John Street (3:45 p.m)
Saint David’s Metropolitan Cathedral, Charles Street (4:10 p.m)
Quaker Meeting House, Charles Street (4:25 p.m)
City Church, Windsor Place (4:45 p.m)
Eglwys Dewi Sant, St Andrew’s Crescent (5:00 p.m)

Fr Dean reflects on a day of global proportions with the first conference of the Cardiff More in Common Community Cohesion group

I’m not a cricket fan. Apart from an acrobatic manoeuvre I once made as I dramatically dived across a friend’s lawn to catch a cricket ball in mid air accompanied by an applauding crowd of two (his parents) I can’t really recall a cricket moment I’ve ever really savoured. But I was ten. Does that count?

It’s strange how some people (i.e. me) fall easily into certain sports whilst others seem to be fans of whatever sport comes their way. Unfortunately, cricket never squeezed its way into my repertoire. It never managed to fight its way through football, rise beyond rugby or beat the attraction of athletics all of which seemed to dazzle my attention at the time. Apart from the dive. I remember the dive.

We define our experience of the world with moments. Sometimes they last just a few seconds, often slightly longer. But a moment is often enough to stay in our memory, like a kick, a catch, a dive.

And so we’re at the stadium of Glamorgan Cricket Club for a meeting of the “More in Common Community Cohesion” group. Whilst more than 80 delegates are gathered upstairs overlooking the pitch, groups of children are playing cricket.

It’s a tournament which celebrates Global Cricket, bringing school children together to engage with the sport but also to engage with the thought that maybe some people who share the field are different from them but also that they have even more in common. It’s the strapline which is sewn through this conference and through the work we are trying to do, inspired by the dream of Jo Cox who was murdered in 2016.

“We have more in common than that which divides us.”

Her sister, Kim Leadbeater MP, sends us a video message, wishes she could be with us, reaffirms the message, the vision, the dream.

The conference is the first ‘in person’ meeting of this new group of people. An amalgamation of the ‘South Wales Police Community Cohesion Group’ and the ‘More in Common’ Network inspired by the Jo Cox Foundation, it’s a diverse gathering of organisations from across Cardiff all of whom share the desire to create strong and safe communities for all.

There are representatives from the Police and the Local Authority, from the third sector and community groups. Councillors Julie Sangani and Huw Thomas are also here for part of the day, each with a message to share and words of support.

Amy Sanderson from Aberystwyth University shares some of her research, and how she observes the uniquely wonderful way in which Cardiff does Community work.

Inspector Mark Atwood from South Wales Police acknowledges both the successes and mistakes made by the police over decades but reaffirms their place and commitment to always do better and to do more.

We also hear from Meena and James from the Jo Cox Foundation. They’re sharing the story of the Great Get Together so far, and their plans for the future.

Before lunch there are eight break out sessions, each exploring a different area of community cohesion, from Education to Policing, from countering harmful narratives to Interfaith and sports – of course. The room is filled with a buzz of conversation as each person dives in with experiences, concerns, ideas. The feedback will feed into actions for the next year. We have our feet under the table but we’re ready to move on.

This is the third year our Ministry Area has been involved in the Great Get Together. It was an easy call for us. We were ready to dive in straightaway.

Towards the end of the conference, the school children file into the room, all 75 of them. They share their own experiences of their dive into the world of cricket, a world which spans boundaries and crosses cultures and which, like every sport, has the ability to bring us closer together. And then the final winner is announced.

The trophy is handed to the winning school by two Glamorgan Cricket players. “The Jo Cox Trophy” is inscribed upon it. The children cheer. There is applause. Laughter. Pride.

These moments may just be moments but they contribute towards a momentum, a movement, which celebrates diversity and what we have in common. A dive into a dream to create a community, a city, a country and, yes, a world where we enjoy mutual respect and understanding, with a sense of identity and belonging.

I wonder what these children will remember in years to come. What moments will help to define them, and how will this breaking down of barriers help shape the world to come? They are ten years old. Does it count? Oh I think so.

Anyone for a game of cricket?

As we reintroduce a monthly celebration of the Mass of the Sick, which offers the Sacrament of Healing through prayer, laying on of hands and anointing, we reflect on this gentle and beautiful time of prayer.

Each day, I am presented with open hands, stretched out in front at arms’ length, palms up, ready to receive.

I hold in my own hand something that people want, something that is offered and received. The gift is not mine to give.

Our hands reveal so much away about ourselves although in that brief moment, there is little time or inclination for me to study them.

The defining characteristic at that time, in that place, is that they are open, ready to receive that small piece of bread.

“The body of Christ.”

It is small, fragile.

“Amen.”

I place the gift into their hands.

Two Sundays ago I break it up into smaller pieces, place it into the much smaller hands of a child, three or four years old.

As a young child he is used to having open hands, receiving all he needs. He is too young, too little to do too much for himself.

And so I see everyone’s open hands as childlike, each waiting in turn to receive something which has to be given, too little are we to do too much for ourselves.

He looks at the tiny morsel with intent curiosity.

I gently raise his hands to his mouth, encourage him to eat.

“The Eucharist is so small,” said St Teresa of Calcutta.

He eats.

Then skips away.

“We must be faithful to that smallness of the Eucharist, that simple piece of bread which even a small child can take in.  We have so much that we don’t care about the small things.  If we do not care, we will lose our grip on the Eucharist – on our lives.” (St Teresa)

A sacramental life leans us towards the small things, helps us see the world as gift, to be received not ruined, given not grabbed, each waiting to receive what we need.

It is fragile too.

Sometimes, there are moments when we lose our grip, are stopped in our tracks by the fragility of life, when our bodies don’t do what we want them to do, when our minds seem to be dysfunctional, when our mood is lost in darkness, when grief and loss lie close.

Sickness and sadness, in all its shapes and forms, changes our bodies – whether we are totally weakened and weighed down by some debilitating illness or our head is bowed beneath the burden of worries and the weariness of life.

Perhaps our feet shuffle, the brightness of our eyes are dimmed or we can only force a smile to please others and so hide what’s really going on.

Our life is filled with rubrics, stage directions which help us act out how we feel although hiding our weakness is a skill we try to learn, a lifetime’s work of surviving with the fittest.

“Praying is no easy matter,” wrote Henri Nouwen. “It demands a relationship in which you allow the other to enter into the very centre of your person, to speak there, to touch the sensitive core of your being, and allow the other to see so much that you would rather leave in darkness.”

When someone seeks the gift of healing through the Sacrament of the Sick, prayer matters. It is an invitation to God to stir the darkness, to lean forward into the sensitive core of our being.

The priest’s hand are open, empty, palms down, laid upon a bowed head, a natural response of those who receive the laying on of hands, like an unspoken stage direction for silent prayer.

It’s a gesture which, for a moment, lowers the face, conceals it from others, nurtures a sense of humility which so often befriends us in our sickness.

But it also gives a sense of honour, as we become the focus of the community’s prayer, the gift that others bring.

But soon our head is raised, face up, open and honest as the holy oil is gently pressed upon the forehead, as though lifting our face to feel the warmth of the sun or the rain’s cooling balm.

“Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit,” says the priest.

The hands are opened too, palms up, ready to receive the trace of a cross along the lines and the grains of life.

“May the Lord who frees you from sin, save you and raise you up.”

Another gift.

Small,

Subtle.

And so I see everyone’s open hands as childlike, each waiting in turn to receive something which has to be given, too little are we to do too much for ourselves

Prayer demands of us a childlike trust, an immature openness which has no filter. A need for God to touch the sensitive core of our being which we’d rather leave in darkness.

Perhaps, unlike a little three year old, there’ll be no skipping away. We may have to relearn the art of living for a while, and what it means to ask that we may receive, to seek that we may find, to knock and have the door opened to us.

Beyond the locked door of the upper room, the risen Jesus showed his disciples his own wounds, raised his hands for them to see the marks of pain which saves them. The Resurrection had not rubbed his wounds away. They remind us of the way in which we are saved. (cf John 20:19-32)

“But they also remind us that our own wounds are much more than roadblocks on our way to God,” said Henri Nouwen. “They show us the unique way to follow the suffering Christ. Just as Jesus was identified by his wounds, so are we.”

Jesus even invites Thomas to come closer and touch the wounds, a post mortem of love, so that he may believe what’s possible, that there is peace beyond the pain, life beyond the death, faith beyond the doubt.

Somewhere, within our need for healing, we see or sense Jesus, open handed, marked by love, wounded and glorified. He recognises our pain, sees us in the ways we suffer, breathes his peace upon us.

A sacramental life leans us towards the small things, helps us see the world as gift, to be received not ruined, given not grabbed, each waiting to receive what we need, the consecration of a fragile life with all its pains and passions.

‘If anyone among you is sick, call for the elders, and let them pray over them anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.  The prayer of faith will save the sick person.’  (James 5:14-15).

The Sacrament of the Sick is celebrated at Mass on Tuesday April 16 at 7pm at St Mary’s Church, Butetown and then each month as advertised. Requests for prayer for those who are sick can also be made. The sacrament is also available by request.

OMG! It’s back! Yes our time together for young people has returned for the season of 2024.

Kicking off on Sunday May 19th at 6pm we’ll be celebrating the feast of Pentecost.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was amongst those who waited and prayed for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

We’ll be exploring what it means to stand alongside Mary, and to look up to her as a model of prayer and discipleship.

With the Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage coming up in August, we’ll take the theme of that pilgrimage and turn to Mary’s Song of Praise.

“Tell out my soul the glories of the Lord,” she sang. It was a song that was woven throughout her life.

How can we, filled with the Holy Spirit, take Mary’s song to heart and make it our own?

What do we want to sing about? What makes us rejoice? What is God doing in the world? What does he want to do with our lives?

We’ll think about these questions, spend some time in prayer and worship, and round up our time together with pizza! Whats not to like?!

Sunday May 19 2024 | 6pm | St Saviour’s Church, Splott

OMG! is an initiative of South Cardiff Ministry Area for young people.

On Monday 8 April we celebrate the moment when Mary received the message she had been chosen to be the Mother of God. It’s a feast we call ‘The Annunciation of the Lord.’  It’s usually celebrated on March 25th but this year was transferred because it fell during Passiontide. As we celebrate Mary’s attentiveness to God, we reflect on what it means to wait on God.

Across the country there’s a shortage in social housing. Politicians make promises but private investment often takes precedence, which means that those with little money have little hope of having their own place to call home and are left on an increasingly growing waiting list.

Mary’s Home

The home of Mary in Nazareth would be almost unrecognisable from those we build in Britain today. Nestled into rock with a brick extension butting out, and shared common facilities, it was a place she called home, a place she shared with others, where she welcomed others.

Perhaps, at times, despite such overcrowded conditions, she could be alone and quite at home there. Maybe it was one of those quieter days when Mary’s alertness to God was deepened, when she experienced a memorable encounter, a time of change.

A day in the life of…

Today, we have Luke’s written witness, an insight into Mary’s life that day, a peek through the keyhole, a glimpse into her heart.

Some time ago, there was a photograph on someone’s Social Media feed, featuring the image of Our Lady of Walsingham in the Roman Catholic Shrine’s Slipper Chapel.  There was a sign next to the image requesting that people do not to touch the image, for the statue was alarmed.

Mary was alarmed.

Meanwhile, back in Nazareth, we know that Mary had questions for the angel. She grappled with the message, her whole life shaken, the angel reassuring her, “Do not be afraid.”  Mary has learned to be at home with God, and to welcome him not just into her home but into the whole of her life, into her heart.

In the Orthodox Tradition of the Annunciation the encounter is more drawn out, given more depth. It begins as she draws water from the well,  So easily could she be distracted, and yet she senses God’s presence even in the midst of everyday jobs. In her arms she carries water. In her heart she carries Christ back to her home.

Rising and resting

Yes, she is alert to God in walking and stillness, in work and play, in rising and resting. Through those moments of attentiveness to God in her work and in her busyness, she herself becomes a home for Christ.

For nine months, the whole of her being becomes aware of the presence of God, kicking and moving and growing within her. And what of our home?

Our house

Maybe our own home is too full, too busy at times, or maybe it feels empty, lonely, too still, too silent.  For some, home may be uncomfortable, full of tension and frayed relationships, filled with memories, too much to take, not homely at all.

“Do not be afraid,” the Angel said to Mary.

And what of the house of the church with its altar shaped heart and a tabernacle full of treasure? In the Eucharist, Christ comes to dwell with us, feeding us and filling our lives with his love.

Perhaps we too are on a Waiting List. Waiting for things to happen, anxious to see things move on, to have things change for us, for others, wanting something different, something new, something to change.

We wait on God, try to learn the art of being attentive to him, being at home with him, as he comes to make his home with us.

You can read the account of the Annunciation in Luke 1:26-28