'A wonderful time to reach out and engage with our communities'

It’s going to be a busy year for the diocese as it marks its 100th year. Here, Mandy Bayton outlines the plans to mark the occasion

2023 is a very special year for the diocese of Swansea and Brecon because it is our centenary year. The province of the Church in Wales was created in 1920 after the disestablishment of the four Welsh dioceses of the Church of England. After the partial disendowment of the Church in Wales, two new dioceses were created one of which was the very lovely and diverse diocese of Swansea and Brecon. Swansea and Brecon was formerly established on the 14th of September 1923.

As a diocese we believe we have much to thank God for and we want to celebrate our centenary by celebrating God’s goodness and faithfulness throughout the previous century. We would like to celebrate with a year of celebration, with different celebratory events and activities taking place across our beautiful diocese and beyond. We also want to remind our communities that the Church, and, most importantly God, cares about them and is for them.

Humans are creatures who love a celebration – people love coming together to celebrate, be it winning a rugby game or a football match, a birthday, a wedding or a royal jubilee. Strangers become friends at celebrations, bound together by a common cause. God wants us to celebrate, celebration is in our DNA, Jesus’ first recorded miracle took place at a wedding celebration.

However, the Church isn’t normally the first thing that springs to mind when we think of celebration, but shouldn’t it be? We, the Church, should be the most life affirming, and life celebrating people, so others are attracted and drawn to the life we’re celebrating. If we want to reach out and engage with our communities, then a wonderful way to do that is to celebrate with them. Celebration is powerful, it unites, breaks down divisions and can build life-long relationships, and what better way to celebrate than by celebrating our God together.

There are celebrations recorded throughout Scripture and in Leviticus 25 we read about the significance of the year of Jubilee. According to Levitical law every 50th year was to be a jubilee year, a year of celebration. It was to be a year of rest - no working the land, just enjoying what the land itself produced. A year when property or land reverted to its original owner, those who had been sold as slaves could regain their freedom and prisoners were set free.

Even now in the 21st century, when 50 years have passed it is often marked in some way, half a century of time is significant, a century even more so. Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 50th year of reigning as Monarch in 2002. 50 year marriages are celebrated with gold gifts exchanged and parties. I celebrated my 50th birthday by undertaking a bucket list of 50 firsts, not sure I’ll manage 100 firsts when I reach my centenary year but I’m willing to give it a go!

The official beginning of the Jubilee year was on the Day of Atonement, the day when the Israelites annually made amends for their sin, saying sorry to God for the mess they kept making of things. It makes sense that a year of freedom and celebration would start on the day the Israelites put things right with God.

Atonement is one of the central themes of the Bible. Consistently throughout the biblical narrative we read how God wants to reconcile with humankind bringing us back into a right relationship with Him. The Jubilee concept was based on reconciliation and restoration.

The theme of the Jubilee year was carried into the New Testament. Jesus said in Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free. To proclaim the year of the lord’s favour.”

Jesus came as the fulfilment of Jubilee, so that every day could be a day of celebration, so that every day could be the day when we could be forgiven, set free, restored and reconciled to God. I think that’s pretty amazing and so worth celebrating.

During this centenary year, we also want to take the opportunity to remind our communities that the Church is faithful, steadfast, loving, generous and welcoming.

We want people to know that we are good to be around and that the Church is a place and a people where there is joy and laughter. More importantly we want our communities to know that we have something wonderful and life transforming to share with them and that we have a God who loves them, who yearns for them to be reconciled and restored to Him.

It may feel strange to be arranging a year of celebratory events when so many are going through extremely difficult and challenging times, but I think these are the times when we need celebration even more. We need the joy that celebration brings, and we need to be sharing the joy which being a follower of Jesus gives us deep down in our beings, despite the awfulness of life. We need to help others discover the restoration and reconciliation

God is offering and to discover the things of God that sustain us and give us hope and peace through our lives’ storms.

We have some pretty amazing things planned for our centenary year: a medieval festival at the cathedral, bell ringing throughout the diocese, a Mothers’ Union booklet of 100 recipes and graces, Cathedral Chaos, to name just a few and then on Saturday, 9th September, there will be a Centenary Celebration Festival at the Royal Welsh Showground. An afternoon and evening of music, poetry and prayers, bouncy castles, stalls, food vans and so much more. Entry to the event is free because we don’t want anyone to feel excluded by cost. We are asking you to please invite your friends, neighbours, colleagues, everyone and anyone to come along and celebrate God’s goodness with us. We’d love it if churches across the diocese could arrange transport to the Festival, so we can ensure everyone can come, the hire of minibuses/coaches are able to be funded by the Mission Fund.

Please get involved in the centenary, it’s a great opportunity for ministry areas to host joint events. There is money available through the Mission Fund to help fund events and activities and the diocesan office can help you with more information on how to apply.

Also included in this section are 100 ideas of how we can bless those who live locally and globally with acts of kindness and how we can show our care for our communities and environment. There are ideas for us to do individually, as churches and as ministry areas together.

We’d be really grateful if you could let the diocesan office know what you are planning and doing so that we can publish your events in the bulletin, and in our centenary diary..

Please put the centenary celebration festival and all the other dates in your diaries, on your calendars, on your noticeboards, in your newsletters/notices sheets, on your social media pages, wherever you can get the word out and let’s get thousands of people celebrating our good God, loving and serving each other, reminding our communities that the Church and faith is a very good thing, and together let’s celebrate a century of the Lord’s favour.

Do get in touch with me if you would like me to come and speak at your church, or if I can help you with ideas for a centenary event and/or with any other evangelism or outreach plans.

Email mandybayton@cinw.org.uk or contact the Diocesan Office at diocese.swanbrec@churchinwales.org.uk