Reader Writes March 2023

Well the Rev Ben -the “singular Griffith” as I don’t think he minded us calling him- is

moving on after over seven years of very busy ministry amongst us. He is moving,

incidentally, to a strip of ancestral west Wales lying between the Irish sea and the

mountains, which includes Harlech with its castle and Barmouth with its beautiful long

bridge over the Mawddach estuary where oystercatchers sing on the mermaid sands. He’ll

be hugely missed by very many; so we wish Ben and Jean a special welcoming home and

new community.

Needless to say it is quite a shock to find that your vicar is departing; a full time busy job is

suddenly vacant. No Ben rushing between our churches to lead services or visit

parishioners or trek in to Hereford hospital, or alas the crematorium; no ebike winging its

way up and down the hill, and even finding its way in all weathers to the farther fringes of

our benefice. But at the same time a vacancy suddenly has an urgency as we begin to

imagine how to attract another vicar who will look after our flock and love our community,

both town and rural parishes. To be blunt, we have to use it as an opportunity.

If you made a list of all the things that you seek, you quickly realize that the only suitable

candidate is the Angel Gabriel. And if you also say that he or she needs to be as human

as the rest of us, that rules out angels and leaves your list in tatters. Nevertheless, most

would say indisputably that at the top of the list we need a person of clear Christian faith,

able both to teach and encourage present congregations, and to reach out to our

community with the Good News of Christ. Here is the irony, often said before; the Church

is a unique institution that exists entirely for those who are not yet members of it. Those of

us, the few, who are members already should be actively sharing that Good News and

inviting our neighbours to join us.

The title Vicar is interesting. It is entirely an ecclesiastical term rather than a biblical one. A

vicar is the Bishop’s vice who depends on a church’s patron and the diocese for a stipend.

The title encourages the impression that clergy have authority and jurisdiction that may be

out of step with orthodox teaching on church leadership. The Apostle Paul, writing to

Timothy, advises a checklist for a leader, including “the husband of but one wife”; simply,

he/she is of exemplary character and a pastor, teacher and evangelist.

Foolish, you may say, to raise the Reformation at this point. But in the enduring tension

between tradition and teaching that exists in our Church of England, a “priest” is not there

to facilitate or enable our access to God like an ecclesiastical gate keeper; nor is this

dependent on the administration of the bread and the wine at the Eucharist. The Apostle

Peter spells it out when he refers to the Church as a “priesthood of believers” 1Pe2:9. All

believers are accepted through the sacrifice Christ made once for all on the cross. The

Vicar’s tough job is both to care for that flock of believers and encourage it to grow.

Robert MacCurrach