Dear Friends,

The Confirmation service held at Holy Trinity Church on the 15th June was very special. The service was conducted by Bishop Saunders, the former Bishop of Bangor. It was with rejoicing that Angharad, Heledd, Ieuan, Elen, Amy, Elin, Terri and Cath were welcomed into the Church Family. Those confirmed were hugely blessed; there was a real sense of God's presence and all were moved by the occasion. Our prayer is that those confirmed will continue to grow and mature in their faith and to become more like Jesus.

By the time you read this, Richard Wood will have been ordained at St Davids Cathedral. We warmly welcome him and his wife Naomi into our midst. We look forward very much to their ministry amongst us. Richard's time here will allow him to experience different aspects of ministry and, ultimately, to undertake increased responsibility, before moving on elsewhere. Please make yourself known to Richard - and please bear with him as he gets to know all your names!

Both these important events in the Church's calendar focus on Jesus. With the Confirmation, the confirmees affirmed their allegiance to Jesus, and have promised to follow him for the rest of their lives. And with the Ordination, Richard has affirmed his allegiance to Jesus, in serving the Church, which exists to draw others to give their lives to God, and deepen their desire for the kingdom of God.

Let each of us then pledge our allegiance to Jesus. He is Lord over everything. In receiving Christ Jesus as Lord we have come to "fullness of life in him" (Colossians 2:10). All that we need for every stage of our Christian lives is to be found in Jesus. "As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6-7). Let's take this Scripture to heart, and encourage each other to make sound progress in our Christian living.

With warm Christian greetings,

John Lewis