‘Bishop’ comes from the Greek word for ‘overseer’. So a bishop is a senior Christian minister authorised to have oversight for God’s people. As well as duties given to deacons and priests, bishops confirm and ordain.
‘Diocese’ refers to the geographical territory in which a bishop exercises oversight. The Church in Wales is divided into six dioceses each with its own cathedral in which is housed the cathedra (the bishop’s ‘chair’ or ‘throne’).
‘Evangelion’ means ‘good news’. Evangelism is about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection in the hope that others may come to believe in and follow Jesus.
A new emergency fund will help churches across the diocese to tackle the cost-of-living crisis in their communities.
The diocese is providing £165,000 for new and existing projects that address social outreach and look to help meet identified local needs arising from the crisis.
Such projects can include existing provision of food banks, warm banks, night shelters as well as new ideas to address local issues.
Bishop John said: “There are various grants now available to churches working in our diocese this coming winter, helping to relieve needs arising from fuel and food poverty crisis that is badly affecting our communities.
“I know that many of you are doing a huge amount, collecting and providing food through our food banks, along with lots of other new initiatives such as providing warm spaces and fellowship for people who are finding things particularly difficult.
“There is grant funding through a government scheme that can be applied for, but alongside that, we as a diocese are providing funding of £165,000 that can also be easily accessed to help churches help their communities.
“We would like to get a full picture of exactly what we as a diocese are doing to relieve the fuel and food poverty here in Swansea and Brecon. We also want to make sure that no church initiative is left out of this funding process because of difficulty with any application process, or because people are unaware of funding sources that can help.”
Archdeacon Peter Brooks and diocesan evangelism officer Mandy Bayton will coordinate and compile a list of any churches involved and they will act as a point of contact to help explain the simple criteria for people to access funds.
The Diocese is committed to helping churches and ministry areas to transform the wider community by service that meets local needs. It is hoped that projects will extend the local church’s engagement with people and groups and introduce Christ in such a way that people may have the opportunity to consider following him.
If you have a project or would like more advice, contact Archdeacon Peter Brooks at PeterBrooks@cinw.org.uk or Mandy Bayton at MandyBayton@cinw.org.uk
A resource page with details of the grants, and how to apply, is available here.
