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Bishop

‘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

‘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’).

Home For clergy and members 'God holds out before us a hopeful future'

'God holds out before us a hopeful future'

Diocesan Conference 2022

Our Diocesan Conference this year was full of hope, joy, energy and excitement – and certainly showed our commitment to ‘Faith in our Future’!

With the launch of a new vision for the diocese, the announcement of additional funding from the Representative Body and the ability to all come together in person, there was certainly a ‘buzz’ and a feeling of positivity.

But, as Bishop Cherry reminded us in her presidential address - “we have a job to do!”

Speaking about emerging from the pandemic, Bishop Cherry, said: “…. let’s not either slide back into some sort of comfort blanket, content to feel safe and secure in our old familiar ways. Because we have a job to do.

“….we don’t have to look far to see the challenges we face as we emerge from the pandemic. If we’re honest with ourselves (and honest we have to be), the challenges were there even before the pandemic. But we see them now all the more clearly.”

She highlighted three main challenges – declining number of people attending our acts of worship; implications for our church buildings and cost of living crisis.

However, she added: “there’s hope and joy, there’s energy and even excitement, because we continue to believe that God holds out before us a hopeful future. As our headline vision statement proclaims, we have faith in our future.

“And this isn’t just an empty rallying cry devoid of any substance. There are good reasons to be hopeful and joyful….”

Bishop Cherry shared the news that the Representative Body had agreed additional funding for the Diocese of Monmouth for £6.7m over the next 10 years to enable us to build and grow. It’s not a ‘magic wand’ but shows ‘an extraordinary vote of confidence is us as a diocese and in our potential.’

Exciting times ahead!

You can read Bishop Cherry’s full conference address here

You can watch Bishop Cherry’s full conference address below