Dyffryn Clwyd

I hope everyone is keeping well and safe and enjoying the wonderful weather at the moment. It’s a great time to be out and about for a walk enjoying the spring flowers. I’m enjoying managing to carve out the odd hour here and there to be in my own garden clearing the flower beds and planting ready for the summer. 

I’ve got a busy weekend ahead of me, compline tonight at 6pm in Llanbedr led by Rev’d Natasha, followed by the teens go wild around the fire pit 7pm-8.30.

Then on Saturday we’ve got a rehearsal of the Passion Narratives getting ready for the performance on the Wednesday in Holy Week, then off to St Asaph where pilgrims from Dyffryn Clwyd will be getting together with the other groups who will journeying to Walsingham this summer then back to Llanynys for 5pm and the Stations of the Cross with the Voci Choir.

Then on Sunday, alongside our usual pattern of Worship we have our Monthly Gosber at 6pm, this time it will be Llanrhydd who are hosting and I look forward to seeing people there.

This Sunday, Mothering Sunday marks the half way mark through Lent and from here on out our journey begins to quicken in pace…

Next Sunday mark the beginning of Passiontide, where we switch our liturgical to Red and we cover all crosses and statues in our churches. The covering of crosses, statues and other ornamentation in our churches at this point is an ancient custom but has a very practical reason. As we journey through the story that leads us to Calvary the danger is that we skip ahead and fail to fully immerse ourselves in the events of the passion story. And so we cover the crosses and statues so that we aren’t distracted by what is to come and can focus on each part of the story as it comes over the following fortnight.

Then comes Palm Sunday itself, the triumphal entry to Jerusalem, the threshold to Holy Week. Over the last 2 years we have been forced to do things differently, but as restrictions continue to be lifted this year we will once again be able to process into town and join together as Dyffryn Clwyd to make the step into Holy Week together. At 9.30 people will gather together in Llanbedr, Llanrhydd and Llanfair for the liturgy of the Palms. Then with shouts of Hosanna! Blessed is he who some in the name of the Lord! We will set off with Jesus to enter Jerusalem with our palms held high. We will walk into Ruthin and gather in the square for 10.30am for the Liturgy of the Passion where we will publicly recount the story we are to follow through Holy Week. From there we will then walk to Llanfwrog, there to celebrate the sacred mysteries of our faith in the Holy Eucharist. This Paslm Sunday journey will effectively be one service spread into 3 parts and I encourage you to participate in each of the stages. If you are unable to walk between the different parts of the story you can drive ahead of the procession and meet us at each point, and maybe at the end give a lift to those who have walked.

And from Palm Sunday, we journey then through Holy Week, with events and services every single day for people to join and re-live the greatest story ever told. While we may wish to join everything I know it’s hard, we all live such busy lives, but I do encourage you to look at what’s going on across the Mission Area and join as you are able to so that we can arrive together at Easter ready for that beautiful conclusion, the monumental event that kickstarts 50 long days of celebrations!