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| View enjoyed by the Provincial Offices of the Church in Wales Source: Twitter |
The Provincial Offices of the Church in Wales which 'provide professional assistance to the work of the Governing Body, the Representative Body, the Bench of Bishops and the Bishops’ Advisers' recently moved from their leafy suburban office in Cathedral Road, to a more elevated position in 2 Callaghan Square, Cardiff.
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| The Archbishop of Wales on high Twitter |
A tweet from D&G Office Interiors has afforded readers the opportunity to enjoy a glimpse of a Church in Wales blue ribbon event at which the Archbishop of Wales, the Most Reverend John D E Davies, took the opportunity to view from on high the more lowly areas of the city where some of the less fortunate in society are accommodated in the Huggard Hostel for the homeless surrounded by those who have become largely indifferent to the church.
But do not be misled. The needy are not forgotten. On the ground, front line workers are taking part in the Cardiff Churches Nightshelter scheme which provides food and shelter for the homeless over the Christmas season and beyond.
But do not be misled. The needy are not forgotten. On the ground, front line workers are taking part in the Cardiff Churches Nightshelter scheme which provides food and shelter for the homeless over the Christmas season and beyond.
Along with churches from other denominations, the Parish of St German with St Saviour will be providing care for the needy. Details are on the Nightshelter page of their parish website.
Pondering Pastor: The hostel in front of St Mary's is The Salvation Army who with the Huggards' coordinator the homeless/rooflessness support in Cardiff, which are very well supported by the lowly parishes in the city while the "Pharisees" look down from lofty heights.
ReplyDeleteTŷ Gobaith Lifehouse | The Salvation Army
https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk › tŷ-g...
'Let them eat cake!'
ReplyDeleteWonderful irony! The Church in Wales high command eating cake, and looking down from their lofty new offices onto one of the few parishes that actually does work amongst the poor.
ReplyDeleteYour pledge dollars at work.
ReplyDeleteHe may think that he has ascended to the mountain top but far from a land flowing with milk and honey he is confronted by a land abandoned by his church. Like me he will not awaken to the sound of bells this morning but to divisions that turn concrete into cake instead of the obedience that enables the sacraments to flourish for the good of the church and faithful people.
ReplyDeleteTo me he cuts a lonely and pathetic figure of a prisoner of the cult of liberalism - all but abandoned by his own fallen angels as he gazes down from the pinnacle of his temple of doom.
From his palatial new corporate HQ he looks out over one of the poorest parishes in the province, and he eats cake! Under his nose the Salvation Army and the Huggard work in the gutter to help those in the gutter, and he eats cake! The churches are empty, vocations are falling, giving is down, and he eats cake! I think that ill thought out PR photo will haunt his tenure as archbishop. ‘Anyone for more cake?’
ReplyDeleteAn exceedingly good post Mr Kipling. Thank you.
DeleteI trust that the church will now publish the rental costs of this new office, together with annual ground rent and maintenance charges. Or don't weary parishioners have a right to know how their hard-earned money is spent?
ReplyDeleteEnquirer
The rents, service charge and business rates costs per square foot were clearly identified on a previous thread on this blog and totalled £400,000 per annum.
DeleteJust about the most expensive cake in Cardiff and entirely in accord with their vastly ovwr-inflated sense of self worth.
While St Michael's sits there costing more money..............
DeleteHubris
Quite so Danny, quite so!
DeleteMeanwhile 39 Cathedral Road is now standing empty, serving no purpose and no-one.
DeleteRather like so many CinW Churches.
You can read all about the plush new Penthouse suite overlooking some of Cardiff's poorest on the D&G Office Interiors website, although I am uncertain what a "quite" zone is meant to be.
DeleteIt looks as though no expense has been spared on all the latest must-have designer office equipment for the gophers.
http://www.dgoi.co.uk/case-studies/inexus-services-ltd-13.html
The Church in Wales
D&G created a new concept design and fit out for The Church in Wales' relocated head office in Cardiff City centre. Our client's brief was to create an inspiring space for The Church in Wales staff that was practical and would help to generate a new integrated way of working.
To enhance their new workspace within the design, we incorporated a mixture of open-plan and collaborative areas. Space planning was key during the design process to ensure each department worked cohesively together. The Church in Wales' staff engagement was essential throughout space planning as each department had certain storage requirements. We positioned bench desking along the outer windows, to maximise the natural sunlight and for the staff to overlook the city centre from their desks. Meeting pods and "quite zones" were introduced throughout the floor which helped to create new spaces away from the desk and to encourage interaction between staff and clients.
C in W has become an irrelevance in and to Wales - so just enjoy the following as another Sunday slips into evening - Tchaikovsky - Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41 https://youtu.be/XNXyxQVJCGs via @YouTube
ReplyDeleteBetter still, attend an actual celebration of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. Sadly not at present widely available in Wales (Orthodox churches with resident clergy are in Cardiff (Greek), Llanelli, Lampeter, Blaenau Ffestiniog, and just over the border in Shrewsbury) -- but if demand were to increase doubtless provision would follow suit.
Deletehttps://www.russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com/visit-us-uk
DeleteReaders of AB - and, more to the point, the Bench of Bishops - would do well to read an article entitled "Why Churches Die" by the Master of Trinity Hall, Rev Dr Jeremy Morris. To give you a flavour (as you contemplate the cake-eaters peering down at the poverty below)...
ReplyDelete"The seeping away of a ‘default’ Christian culture in Britain is one thing, and serious enough. But put on top of that an extra layer of crisis, a sense of betrayal by the Church’s leadership and a sense of popular dislocation from that leadership and from what the Christian Church represents, and you might wonder how the Church can survive... When the cultural hinterland of historic Christian faith is thinned out almost to vanishing point, will a crisis of confidence in the Church’s leadership (and I mean all ‘official’ representatives, not just bishops) administer the final coup de grâce? Will we see – even despite some islands of growth – a final, catastrophic draining away of support from most of the congregations currently struggling to hang on?"
His final paragraph is a wonderfully-focussed (though, of course, thoroughly unintended) swipe at the lasting damage done by Barry the Golfer and his acolytes:
"I suspect that top-down, ‘managerial’ solutions are not enough. We will have to start again at the most basic level, from bottom up. The Church will have to reinvent itself completely as a servant church, assuming nothing, opening itself up for all, making no judgements about the lives of others, but living for others. You can’t take an inherited position for granted. We’re going to have to start all over again, somehow, somewhere."
No prizes for guessing why Dr Morris is not a bishop!
You can read the whole thing at https://viamedia.news/2017/11/16/how-do-churches-die/
Excellent, we need to preach Christ crucified and invite others to take up their cross and follow Him. The organisation is secondary to the primary focus of extending the Kingdom of God. We need to remember that the church is the company of God's faithful people wherever they are irrespective if they belong to a church in 'apostolic succession'.
ReplyDelete“Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
Romans 11:19-22
And we wonder why churches faithful to scripture are the only ones that are flourishing.
The ears in the walls report that yesterday's Choral Evensong was effectively replaced by a Cymanfa Ganu to raise money for the national Eisteddfod.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though Cathedral music in Llandaff has been diminished to such an extent by the Capon that it's become a love-in for his gay cabal and the Taffia.
Little wonder the place is empty more often than not.
Given that Choral Evensong in Llandaff is always a hit or miss event anyway, we should not be surprised that people are choosing to stay away. Why make the effort, when so many cathedrals in England and Oxbridge collegiate foundations are webcasting, and you can be assured of quality and consistency? Above all, you are spared the hypocrisy of the conceited Toad.
ReplyDeleteOne gets the impression that June is horrified by the attendance figures at Llandaff compared to the numbers she was used to getting at Salisbury. I am sure she is working on a strategy even as I type this. Let's hope so.
The Bishopette should be even more horrified by the figures in the annual accounts and the continued failure to publish the Organ appeal accounts and quinquennial report. There has been a deafening silence too about the Friends' account balance since Gerwhine got his hands on their cheque book in August.
Delete