One of my pleasures this year was to ‘discover’ the works of Anglican priest-poet Malcolm Guite. Here he writes on today’s feast from “Sounding the Seasons”, his sequence of 70 sonnets following the course of the Church’s year. Learn more about him at malcolmguite.wordpress.com

Our King is calling from the hungry furrows
Whilst we are cruising through the aisles of plenty, Our hoardings screen us from the man of sorrows, Our soundtracks drown his murmur: “I am thirsty.” He stands in line to sign in as a stranger
And seek a welcome from the world he made,
We see him only as a threat, a danger,
He asks for clothes, we strip-search him instead. And if he should fall sick then we take care
That he does not infect our private health,
We lock him in the prisons of our fear
Lest he unlock the prison of our wealth.
But still on Sunday we shall stand and sing
The praises of our hidden Lord and King.

Malcolm Guite “Sounding the Seasons”, Canterbury Press 2012

It was not only Donald Trump who was elected on Tuesday! On the same day Archbishop Stack gave me two pieces of news. I had been elected Dean of Cardiff by the city’s clergy, and our 3 Churches were being sent Rev Daniel Stanton, a deacon, in January to see him through the last phase of training before hopefully ordination as a priest sometime next year.

Each diocese is divided into deaneries – we have six. Cardiff deanery includes the parishes of the city plus Penarth/Dinas Powys and Barry. There are at present about 17 or 18 priests serving the area. The Dean’s job description includes “to promote and coordinate pastoral action” and keep an eye on the clergy – their behavior (!), health, etc. It’s all in canons 553 – 556 of the Code of Canon law. It seems to me it’s what you make of it. I’m following Canon Pat O’Gorman and John Maguire in the role. Regarding Daniel, in the formation of a priest great importance is given nowadays to the practical experience of working in parishes. Seminarians will spend a shorter time each year, very often the summer, in a parish, and then during the last year they will have an extended placement. By then they will have been ordained a deacon, sometimes called a “transitory deacon” to distinguish them from the permanent deacons who also minister in each diocese, like Steve Melhuish in our Northern Arc.

Deacons can preach, celebrate Baptisms, Marriage Services and Funeral Services, and the idea is to get an all round experience of life in a busy pastoral situation. He will live with me at St Brigid’s Presbytery. Our deacon, Rev Daniel Stanton, was here on Vocations Sunday back in May, so some will have already met him. He hails from Maesteg and has been in formation at St Mary’s College, Oscott outside Birmingham. He will join us after Christmas, and stay hopefully until closer to an as yet undecided date for ordination as a priest.

Both these developments will have consequences, but I am sure that as usual we will move on, and especially that we will give Deacon Daniel a warm welcome – and a thorough pastoral experience,

without putting him off!

Fr Matthew