Dictionary

Words on this page

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.

Ecumenical

The Christian Church is divided due to different interpretations of the faith and different religious practices. The ecumenical movement promotes dialogue and understanding between Christians and works for visible unity.

Holy Communion

At Holy Communion blessed bread and wine is shared, by which we receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The congregation gives thanks for Jesus’ life, his death and resurrection and his continuing presence. See also Eucharist.

Prayer

Prayer sustains our human relationship with God and may involve words (formal or informal) or be silent. Prayer can involve adoration (‘I love you’), confession (‘sorry’), thanksgiving and supplication (‘please’).

Home Pobl Dewi: June 2026 The breath between us

The breath between us

On Sunday, 24th May, in St Peter’s Hall, Carmarthen, a singular truth became manifest: ‘ni allwn wneud hyn ar ein pen ein hunain’, ‘we cannot do it alone’. Kristie Godden-Lamb joins the ecumenical gathering

This Pentecostal outpouring of gratitude was born from the grace-filled desire of Bishop Dorrien to bring us together as one body in Christ. It was a space saturated with joy, where the atmosphere remained vibrant with the quiet, transformative presence of the Holy Spirit.

Organised by Archdeacon Mones Farah, the evening invited us into a time of genuine connection. The Cathedral choir’s voices resonated throughout the hall, and, as we all joined in, the room became one voice of unity.

In a moment of profound stillness, Archdeacon Mones recited the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, holding the room in a state of reverence. Following this, the Archdeacon and Revd Sarah Llewellyn conducted thoughtful interviews, and these fragments of grace were deeply moving.

The Most Reverend Mark O’Toole, Archbishop of Cardiff-Menevia, spoke of the Spirit as the breath that stirs him each morning, the anchor of his daily surrender. Revd Beti Wyn James, past president of the Union of Welsh Independents, invoked the domestic intimacy of faith, recalling the comfort of her mother’s arms by the fire, a beautiful image of how the Spirit draws the shivering soul into the warmth of God’s presence. The Very Reverend Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, Dean of St David’s Cathedral, offered a brave witness to the Spirit’s work in the silence of loss, describing a presence that carries the weight of grief when we are too exhausted to stand.

Bishop Dorrien then reflected inspirationally on St Peter, and how the fisherman, once fearful, was transformed at Pentecost by the absolute confidence born from knowing perfect love. We, too, are loved in that same measure by the Holy Spirit. When we are tenderly nurtured by this presence, our eyes are opened to recognise Christ in the face of the stranger.