Forty days into the Easter Season we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. In this reflection, we move from a click to a conscience, from a swipe to a place where “quite different things are going on”.

I made a big mistake. I clicked on a reel on Facebook. I shouldn’t have done it. But I couldn’t resist. I’m sorry. I’m embarrassed to admit it.

But I clicked on a video of kittens. It was lovely and cute and, well, kind of cuddly. I’m a cat person. So I thought it was harmless enough.

And now Facebook thinks the only thing I’m interested in is kittens and cats and furry things.

Don’t get me wrong. I do like kittens and cats and furry things. I’m a cat person.

But that’s all they’re giving me now.

One click on a cat. And cats is all I get.

I’m inundated.

With cats.

I think of others who may have clicked on other things. Young people. Vulnerable people. Any people. Those who click on one thing and then the algorithms define them and send them more. And more. It builds. They become what the algorithms think they are and want.

The algorithms swell their timeline. Lure them in, flood their vision with stuff and more stuff. More unsavoury than the last. But they never take the blame. The conscience lies in the click not the commerce.

And so the experience becomes narrow. Nebulous. Narcotic.

Who defines us and feeds us? Influences and fashions us?

Perhaps, unwittingly, we have placed ourselves at the whim of others. Forgotten who we are. Been too willing to be defined and destroyed. Gaslighted and grounded by others.

And yet the Ascension of Jesus lifts us beyond the banal control of others. Sets our sights above, on Heaven. Liberates us from the narrow limits of other’s perceptions of who they think we are.

How do we measure our lives? How we look and eat and love and act. How we wake and sleep and want and need. What we believe, how we grieve. How we shop and how we bleed.

Do we need to place ourselves at the whim of too many self-help books and living guides, look up too often to the influencers and social media moguls whose minds are set on money not our mental health? Be besotted too much by the ‘Tiktoking’ quick witted, fast scrolling way of a world that think it knows it all?

But yes, of course, we learn by the lives of others, are shaped by the lessons they learned although, at times, we rarely learn. We lean in on their stories, connect ourselves to them, and try to make a new start inspired by their bravery and their very human lives. Yes, we need the lives of others and their learned lessons. There are so many waiting to be discovered. Inspired and inspiring.

When Jesus disappears from the Apostle’s sight it could be a case of smoke and mirrors. The cloud and mist embrace him. The magician’s sleight of hand plays tricks with our story of faith, contents us with the way we want it to go, makes everything so tidy. Get through the pain and this will happen, a holy moment, well worth waiting for.

And yet the mirror comes from the heights into which we look, and ‘The Kingdom’ he had come to proclaim where, as RS Thomas wrote in his poem of the same name, “There are quite different things going on: festivals at which the poor man is king and the consumptive is healed: mirrors in which the blind look at themselves and love looks at them back.”

When we stop scrolling or flicking left and right, upload the last picture of our Sunday lunch, or retake that selfie again to get our image just right, we can always simply look upwards to find another vision where love looks at us back, where festivals favour the poor, where the consumptive is king.

“It’s a long way off” continued RS Thomas in his poem, “but to get there takes no time and admission is free, if you purge yourself with your need only and the simple offering of your faith, green as a leaf.”

We live in an imaginary instant world where we have no time, and where we expect so much for nothing. Our free socialising on social media actually comes at a cost. One which we are still waiting to discover.

“Why do you stand here looking into heaven?” the dumbfounded apostles are asked by those white robed figures as Jesus disappears from their sight.

It’s a good question. On what do we set our sights? What images do we see? Kittens and cats and furry things and whatever the algorithms define, more unsavoury than the last? Our timelines give testimony to our life in the post modern world. Or do we seek or really savour other things?

There is a place where “there are quite different things going on.”

The Ascension of Jesus lifts us beyond the banal control of others.

Sets our sights above, on Heaven.

Liberates us from the narrow limits of other’s perceptions of who they think we are.

And maybe gives us another view, a different image, of how our life can be.

Traditionally, May is Mary’s month and in many churches and homes throughout the world her image is crowned with a garland of flowers. Accompanied by images of Mary from our churches, we reflect on the part that Mary plays in the life of the Church.

A teenager stands on the stage in front of a few hundred others. He holds a microphone in his hand, looks nervous.

Bishop Lindsay who stands next to him welcomes him, tries to make him feel at ease, looks at the T- shirt he’s wearing. “Iron Maiden. Sounds like a description of Our Lady,” he says. There is laughter.

Mary. The Iron Maiden.

The boy who wears the T-shirt is probably well into his twenties by now, maybe touching thirty! It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been to the Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage. Even then, ten years ago, Iron Maiden had been around for many years even before that teenage lad was born, at a time when I was a teenager too.

Mary has been around for even longer.

The Iron Maiden.

Strong, resilient, constant, dependable.

That’s the image we get from Holy Scripture. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, Mary is a constant presence, experiencing the hardships and the difficulties, sometimes at a distance but never far away. She travels with him. Moves to his momentum.

She is there when Jesus’ family thinks he has gone mad, when they are concerned for his health and well being. Tries to push through the crowd to speak to him.

She is there when he dies. She is broken but resilient. Dependable and loving. An Iron Maiden. The handmaid of the Lord. Submissive to God but stubborn and serious enough to tell the stewards at Cana’s flagship wedding to do whatever he tells them. She orders them to take his orders.

Meanwhile, that teenage lad is stood on the stage at Walsingham’s pilgrimage of the young, ready to tell his story, his own story of faith. We all have a story to tell. Stories connect us. We make stories of our lives. They help us give meaning to who we are. They make us matter.

Mary matters to Jesus. She matters enough that in his dying words he creates a covenant of love in that place of death, gives Mary and John to one another, creates a new community of faith even as his blood pours to the very ground which will envelop him.

Mary’s story continues into the new life being created from the momentum of God’s hand in the world, stirring things up, and telling the even greater story of our Salvation.

Jesus’ resurrection means that more is to come. When the Holy Spirit’s power is poured out on a praying crowd squeezed into a first floor room, she is there, side by side with the Apostles.

Her story is crowned in the life of heaven for which she and we were made.

She hasn’t gone away. Never will.

An Iron Maiden.

Made to last.

The staged teenager tells his story, talks of his life and those moments of faith which mark him, makes connections with those who listen.

I wonder what T-shirts he wears today. And if the Iron Maiden features in his life.

Stubborn, strong, resilient

Pointing us to her Son.

Images of our Lady will be crowned in our churches on Sunday May 5

It’s time for lunch and I’m off to Moorland Community Centre in Splott

As I arrive, I meet a class of school children from Moorland Primary School who have been visiting the Centre. They’ve been doing the Splott rounds recently bringing their own lively vibe wherever they travel.

They had recently called at St Saviour’s Church, chatting away and sharpening up their communication skills – although these children are not shy!

They’ve obviously livened up the Centre this morning, brought a smile to faces. “It’s been really lovely,” was the common consensus.

The Moorland Community Centre has been in its present existence for about 13 years and although COVID hit them hard, they’re still here, providing a welcoming and supportive environment for its members, and a two-course cooked meal every Tuesday to Thursday.

In fact, during the lockdown years they provided an essential service, delivering meals to those unable to leave their homes.

Costing just a few pounds a day to its members, the centre is a lifeline to so many. It’s a quieter day today, they tell me. Thursday’s roast dinner seems to pull in the crowds, and they tell me to make sure I come back soon.

But today, it’s gammon and egg with chipped potatoes and peas, and lots of bread and butter. As I place my knife and fork on the emptied plate and before I can say, “No, thank you” a second helping has been served up. It would be rude not to!

Eating so heavily at lunch time makes me feel rather sleepy. But there’s no appetite for that here. They’re straight onto Bingo, a popular pastime for this particular group of people. But there are other activities planned too, and coach trips and other days out.

“It’s lovely to have a meal cooked for you, especially when you live on your own,” said one of the regulars.

As we sit and eat and chat, the volunteers quickly scurry from table to table. There is busyness in the kitchen, as the meals are served with care and attentiveness, and those who work here are full of enthusiasm and humour.

There is a real community feel, a family feel even. They are looking out for one another, enjoying the friendship.

The site of the centre is planned for redevelopment which means it will be temporarily moved to a different site whilst a new community space, topped by 13 Council flats, will be built.

As a member of the newly constituted Board (along with two other members of St Saviour’s) it’s a privilege to be part of the journey, and to join with the likes of Clarissa and Elza and others who have poured so much into this initiative.

But whatever building it inhabits, the heart of this centre is the people.

I’ll be back soon, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get to taste that roast dinner.

Check out Moorland Community Centre’s Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/moorlandcommunitycentre or email them at moorlandcommunity@yahoo.co.uk

“If you don’t have a place at the table then you’re probably on the menu” is a dictum often used by Citizens Cymru.

We’re sat at the table now, Fr Edward and I, which soon fills up with other arrivals. Corrina, Ali and Fiona from Citizens are already there, along with another Ali, the new project officer funded by the Youth Endowment Fund. It’s one of the interventions for an important initiative to help young people in Butetown and Grangetown to flourish, to keep them safe.

We’re at a meeting with other members of the Core Team at Citizens Cymru Action Centre in Loudoun Square.

A number of interventions have already begun. The guys from Foundation for Sports kick off with their updates.

Like Saturday nights at Butetown Pavilion. Sixty or seventy young people aged 13 to 22 years old rolling out sporting opportunities which are accompanied my mentoring groups and workshops dealing with issues which affect young people. The mentoring groups consist of about 9 young people but there are many one-to-ones too.

They’ve had successful Ramadan midnight sessions and for the first time ran sessions where a large number of girls attended, over a hundred.

Waz from Tiger Bay boxing club updates us on the strategy there where extra sessions for learning have been introduced. “No classes, no boxing,” he says.

“How has that been received?” I asked

He laughs. “They don’t like me.”

But it hasn’t reduced the numbers of those who are boxing. It has only served to increase the engagement with education.

Waz is well on his way to establishing a training centre for ‘Tiger Bay Security’ which will increase the chances of winning more contracts, and giving local young people the training and employment opportunities in the security industry.

Ali is engaging with some large companies, like Dwr Cymru, Sustrans and Transport for Wales. He says many local young people have engaged in their recruitment process but none have been employed.

More companies too are signing up to the local Jobs Compact, promising to pay the Real Living Wage, and a website will be launched soon advertising the jobs on offer by employers who have signed up.

This is an impressive group of people with a deep concern and care for those with whom they work.

But there is also a sombre turn of mood as they share some of their concerns and worries, anticipate what could be. We talk about the impact of the recent Section 60 periods introduced by South Wales Police, listen to the experiences of “stop and search.”

This work, funded by the Youth Endowment Fund, has a number of strands. Sports and education, policing, safe streets, mental health to name just a few. It was launched last year at St Mary’s Primary School in the presence of Huw Thomas, the leader of the Council, and Alun Michael, the Police and Crime Commissioner.

South Cardiff Ministry Area has been a member of Citizens Cymru for two years now although we’ve been involved in various campaigns for far longer. It’s an alliance of groups and organisations who work together to bring change.

This initiative is a five year project and whilst many of the interventions are funded, other concerns are tackled by engagement with decision makers, and those who have the ability to make the change needed. We engage with issues as varied as drug litter and floodlights.

The meeting is soon over. An hour is not enough but it’s enough to get a taste of what’s important. They’re already dressed for action, their sportswear emblazonedy with their logos. The table is soon empty. They’re off to do what they’ve been talking about.

For more information about Citizens Cymru visit their website

As the Spring edges us into the gardens, we celebrate some of the outdoor spaces of our churches – how they’re used, what we hope to achieve and how you can get involved.

I write another email reply. It sounds the same as the others. “Sorry, we don’t have a burial ground here.”

We receive many requests from people digging into their family tree. The reports from a century and more ago, often refer to “burial at St Mary’s” but what was really meant was a funeral service here followed by burial in Cathays Cemetery which took the dead of the ancient parish of St Mary’s.

I point them in the right direction, wish them all the best as they dig around their family archives. History and heritage clings to our churches like the ivy which climbs their walls.

Whilst we don’t have any burial grounds attached to our churches, we do have gardens and grounds which often take more maintenance than the buildings. The seasons don’t hold back.

The Seasons of St Mary’s

The lockdown years lent themselves easily to gardening, but as life sped up again, time spent digging around and cutting back became more sparse, and the work of those months has now again succumbed to nature’s rhythms. Time to cut that ivy.

During this time, St Mary’s Wildside was fashioned, a place to care for nature. We created QR audio trails too, one for children, the other for adults, taking you on a reflective journey to consider our responsibility as Christians to care for God’s creation.

Years later, our Wildside needs a little taming, and the area at the front of the church awaits a spell of dryer weather for a slight revamp as we clear areas for raised beds. Time to grow.

A steady stream of people make their way along Bute Street, pulled by the sea and Mermaid Quay with its clutter of cafes and restaurants.

Some are surprised by the church which seems to sneak up on them as they pass the Salvation Army’s Homeless provision next door.

They pause for a moment. Many are struck by the huge crucifix which dominates the gardens, a memorial to the men lost in War. They take a pic and then they’re on their way.

In the Summer, this will become a place for barbecues with the “Great Get Together” Barbecue at the end of Refugee Week, and the Assumptiontide celebrations in August. The gardens are a space to gather.

Meanwhile, a quick scurry away to the other end of the church, characterised by tarmac and parked cars, we’ve reclaimed some space for nature, each year adding more plants which bring in the bees and bugs and lift the human spirit.

From here, you can look across the city’s landscape as cranes pierce the sky. The city builds up, builds out. Slick apartments rise as millions of pounds of investment is sucked up. We take a breath, try to care for what we can’t afford, but which we can’t afford to ignore.

The gardens and grounds and the buildings we inhabit always need some work. The seasons don’t hold back.

A Splott of Colour

Across the way in Splott, a splash of colour brings nature’s touch to Splott Road.

The gardens at St Saviours were first enclosed by railings in 1893, five years after the church was dedicated in 1888.  Two years later the grass lawns were laid. 

The lawns serve us well, and provide a great gathering space for events and activities and, on a sunny day after Mass, the doors are open and children play.

Just like St Mary’s, a central feature of the gardens is the Calvary, the gift of “a good friend’. The original plates containing the full list of men from Splott were unveiled by Lord Tredegar on November 11, 1921. Sadly, more names were to be added from future wars and conflicts.

Whilst it’s not a large garden, we make good use of it, with open lawns for gatherings and events, parts set aside for wildlife with bug and bee houses, and two shrines of Our Lady and St Francis which were installed last year. There’s even a hedgehog home, as we await the first resident.

At the same time, during the “Churches Unlocked Festival,” children from Moorland Primary School planted a living larder with us, a collection of herbs available for anyone to use.

The children also discovered something of the history and heritage of Splott, gazed up to the stained glass windows and the stories they tell, discovered treasures hidden in the walls.

Yes, our churches are places rich in history and heritage, with archives and records and remnants of the past. The human stories are part of our landscape, tell us who we are.

But we are rich too in our natural heritage, and the sense of worth we find when lingering in the garden, when we lean in close to nature, dig around or rest awhile, and wait for that hedgehog to arrive.

If you’d like to contribute to our garden spaces, either by volunteering to help or donating plants and pots and other items, then do get in touch.

St Mary’s first Gardening day take place on Saturday May 11 from 10am to 1230pm

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)