Retreat focuses on Sacramental ministry

A retreat exploring how to breathe new life into sacramental ministry made participants reflect on 'how to keep the main thing, the main thing,' writes one of the organisers, Canon Dr Mark Clavier.

Clergy and lay people from across Wales gathered at Llangasty Retreat House, near Brecon, to spend time together praying, listening, and discussing how to breathe new life into the sacramental ministry. Entitled, Inhabiting the Mystery of Christ: An Invitation to Sacramental Mission, the retreat drew participants into a deep reflection on what it meant to inhabit the Word and Sacraments—or ‘how to keep the main the thing, the main thing,’ as some put it. Throughout their time together, participants expressed a longing to explore the depths of the Christian faith and a desire to find new ways to open the eyes of others to the richness of the Christian imagination.

In my welcome I spoke about the need for sacramental ministry to get back to the sources, to focus on the heart of our faith. This is why we made inhabiting the Word and Sacraments the theme of the conference. It’s what sacramental ministry is all about.

The retreat began with Bishop Rowan Williams speaking about what it means to inhabit. Drawing on Welsh folk tales, he encouraged people to return to the centre of the faith, to stand within the circle that is Christ, where we can know who we are within his light. In his next address, he spoke movingly about Scripture as a script that is performed and that invites people to find themselves within its narrative. He reminded everyone that, for most of church history, the Bible wasn’t encountered mainly on the sacred page but rather through its performance in the liturgy, art, music, and drama.

The next day, The Very Revd Dr Frances Ward spoke about inhabiting the sacraments in terms of embodiment, embeddedness, and enchantment. Playing with the word ‘inhabit’, Frankie spoke of the need to cultivate Catholic imaginations by locating the body, set in a particular context, within a divinely-ordered world. She asked participants to think how we might live that vocation as Christ’s body, saved by his body, so that the places and people to which we are called might know that joyous life for themselves. She encouraged people to do this in ways that embed them and their communities in the places where they live and in ways that orient them towards reclaiming humanity’s vocation as God’s stewards in creation.

In between the thoughtful talks and lively discussions, retreatants spent time in worship, prayer, and fellowship, finding encouragement in each other’s company as fellow travellers in the faith. "The retreat was truly imaginative, encouraging, and filled with hope for the future of the Church in this province," commented The Revd Nick Gill, when reflecting on the retreat.

Before the concluding Eucharist, The Revd Dr Ainsley Griffiths, The Revd Dr Jordan Hillebert, and myself led a plenary discussion about next steps. It was agreed that a series of regional retreats would be organized to bring men and women, both clergy and laity, together to be refreshed in prayer, worship, and theological reflection. Participants also committed themselves to gathering weekly online to discuss the Sunday lectionary.

The Revd Dr Catherine Haynes commented afterwards, "I found it a great source of enrichment—a much needed and thought-provoking oasis from which to refresh my ministry."

The conference was underwritten by Convivium, an initiative begun at Brecon Cathedral to inspire people to think about how to live well with God, creation, and each other.

• If you would like to be informed about future events or to join in the weekly lectionary group, please contact me at markclavier@cinw.org.uk.