Prayers for Covenant Sunday, 11 June 2023
Prayer of praise and adoration
We are here in this place, to praise and adore you
To offer our love, our hope and our joy
To lay at the feet of the King and the Christ-child
All that we are, that has led us to here.
Sing a new song, let life be the melody
Lift our voice high, to no longer feel shame
To offer our words, our doings and beings
All that we are that has led us to here.
As Abram and Sarai did, oh so long ago
Let us build up our table, and offer our bread
As Matthew and Paul, let us pick up and follow
All that we are, that leads us from here
Songs of a covenant, written in scripture,
Lived out in this place, in hope and in joy
To walk from this place with the King and the Christ-child
All that you are that leads us from here.
Confession:
For those things that we have done, that we shouldn’t,
That we haven’t done and should,
That we’re struggling with through no fault of our own
We offer our confession
A confession of Faith that things can change
A confession of Hope that we can be changed
A confession of Love for the God who works miracles within us.
We ask forgiveness, we ask for help, we ask for healing.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
Collect:
God of promises kept, and promises to be fulfilled,
Walk with us as we journey and find new ways of being an old church.
Stretch out your hand, and guide us to find our place in your kingdom. Amen
Prayers of Intercession and Thanksgiving:
On this covenant Sunday, we remember the promises made by 5 denominations of Christians in Wales to walk together, alongside our friends to find new ways of being church. We give thanks for the vision and foresight of those that have journeyed before us, and for those that are travelling still.
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
We thank you for the example of Abram and Sarai, of Matthew and Paul, who set out to follow where you led them, not knowing where that would take them, the challenges they would face. We give thanks for modern day followers of Jesus, whose example challenges us to be God’s better people.
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done
We pray for the world around us – for those sitting in offices, administrators and clerks, who seek to follow you. We pray for the chaos caused by climate change, for those countries that are facing devastation and war, for those facing famine and hunger. Help us to be the answer to someone else’s prayer
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done
We pray for those near to us, those that we love and those that we loathe, for all need our prayers and your salvation. [insert local intentions here]
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done
We pray for those who have died, that the best memorial to them may be in the way we live our lives.
Merciful God, grant us grace, and strengthen our souls to face whatever comes our way.
Amen
Newsletter Spring 2023
BACKGROUND
The Commission was formed following the decision by the following Churches and Denominations in 1975 ‘to seek visible unity’ together: The Covenanted Baptist churches, the Presbyterian Church of Wales, the United Reformed Church, the Methodist Church and the Church in Wales. For almost 50 years, the Commission has fostered discussions on issues such as ministry and sacraments, ways of encouraging local partnership and collaboration between congregations of different traditions and has provided resources for shared prayer and worship.
Covenant Sunday
We invite you to mark the Commission ‘Covenant Sunday’ in 2023, which falls this year on June 11th. Once again Commission partners have written new prayers for you to use on that day. Let us remind ourselves again of our Lord’s call ‘…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you’. (John 17 v 21). It might not always be easy or obvious to link our lives and work together as churches but let us continue to recognise our shared ministry and the unity together to which we are called.
The prayers can be downloaded through the Commission’s website https://www.cytun.co.uk/hafan/en/the-covenanted-churches-in-wales/
Or through your church or denomination. They will also be distributed with this Newsletter.
A Prayer of Intercession and Thanksgiving:
On this Covenant Sunday, we remember the promises made by five denominations of Christians in Wales to walk together, alongside our friends, to find new ways of being church. We give thanks for the vision and foresight of those that have journeyed before us, and for those that are travelling with us still. Amen
Ecumenical Training for Church Leaders in Wales
The Commission is looking to introduce a far more joined-up approach to introduce new denominational church leaders coming into Wales to our history, practice and objectives. It is obvious to us that many appointed denominational leaders are called to practice ecumenical work but have no specific understanding of our history in Wales.
We are currently considering what sort of training should be offered, and to whom. Cytûn already offers the yearly ‘Welcome to Wales’ residential course for all new ministers arriving in Wales, (see the Cytûn website) but this additional training will be geared specifically for those of our partner denominations who need to know more, and will regularly be involved in ecumenical projects and practice.
Shared Ministry
In our newsletter last year, we rolled out the report on the encouragement to many churches to recognise the agreements already in place on undertaking shared ministry in your locality. This report is available through Cytûn’s website – see above,
We are now undertaking somewhat of a ‘publicity drive’ to affirm these agreements and ensure that what might be our remaining theological differences are not barriers to churches particularly welcoming ordained ministers from other denominational partners to share with them in the ministry of word and sacrament, without questions arising.
We are aware of a number of examples in Wales where there is already a simple sharing in this respect, and where there is a lack of available ministers week to week – that churches welcome one another and join together when they need to. Churches are indeed encouraged to prayerfully consider how they might creatively engage with others around them, particularly where ministry within their own denomination is either too costly or simply unavailable.
The Commission welcomes new Cytûn Chief Executive
We warmly welcome the Rev Sion Brynach to his new role as Cytûn Chief Executive, as he begins his work on 1st April 2023. He replaces the Rev Aled Edwards who has provided inspirational leadership to Cytûn for many years up until his recent retirement.
Rev Sion comes to Cytûn after a number of years working for the Arts Council of Wales and is also an ordained priest within the Church in Wales. Many will remember the contributions that Sion’s parents, Bishop Saunders and Cynthia Davies, have made to the ecumenical life of the churches over many years. We were pleased to note that in his opening greeting, Rev Sion identifies ‘the challenges and dangers of neo-tribalism’ as a real issue in our society today; something that to a certain extent we have wrestled with for many years in our churches(!).
We look forward to continuing our regular interaction and good links with the Cytûn leadership and working with Rev Sion.
Commission of the Covenanted Churches, Room 3.3, Hastings House, Fitzalan Court, Cardiff CF24 0BL
Through the drop-down menu you will find information about the Covenanted Churches and about the Commission of the Covenanted Churches; there will be information about membership of the Commission, its aims and its current work. You will find the latest information about Commission meetings and you will be able to read minutes and reports from the Commission meetings and its various panels or committees.
The following churches make up the Covenanted Churches:
The Covenanted Baptist churches (unofficial site)
The Church in Wales (churchinwales.org.uk)
The Methodist Church (methodistwales.org.uk)
The Presbyterian Church of Wales (ebcpcw.org.uk)
The United Reformed Church (urc-wales.org.uk)