J–M–J

~ A FESTAL LETTER TO THE FAITHFUL OF ST GERMAN’S ~

Dear Friends, A Blessed Feast of Pentecost to you all!
Today is such a special day in the life of the Church throughout the world. Primarily, because the
Feast of Pentecost reminds us above all, that the Church is not abandoned in this vale of tears. We have,
through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the continued presence, power and grace of God at work in our lives
and our world, and our communities. That is good news – even when it isn’t self-evident…!
I felt that the Feast of Pentecost offered me a great opportunity to write to the parish and share some of
my reflections at the start of this new chapter, not least because I am sure that many of you will be keen
to know what the new vicar has in mind for the near future and whether that aligns with your thoughts
and feelings too! From the very beginning let me say that what I have already seen here at St German’s
gives me every confidence not just in God, but in each of you, as we to continue to be faithful to our
inheritance here. I’ve seen first-hand the genuine welcome that you offer to those who come here. I have
been so encouraged by the way our young servers are being nurtured to participate in the liturgy as
thurifers and crucifers by those more experienced. I’ve been overwhelmed by the devotion I see in you
at Mass not just on Sunday’s but in the week, and most importantly I am deeply thankful that you appear
to be a ‘real’ community of ‘real’ people – because there is an authenticity there which I think others who
are not yet part of our fold will find deeply attractive. You won’t be surprised to hear me say that it can
of course, be daunting, to serve as vicar in a place so evidently sanctified by almost one hundred and fifty
years of Catholic Anglican witness, devotion and prayer – almost everyone I speak to from my various
walks of life knows of, or has been to, St German’s! The majesty and history of this place is renowned
and this is something which dawns on me even more ever since reading of Fr Ives (the first Vicar here)
apparently spotted praying in the Lady Chapel, long after his death! Whilst I admire Fr Ives piety, and
that of those who claim to have seen him - I trust that nowadays dear Father Ives has other places to be!
On a more serious note, you don’t need me to tell you that we live in challenging times as a church
and as a world. The key thing is, how do we remain faithful to Jesus in these times, and how do we
resist not just despair but the very secular focus on numbers and statistics so prevalent in the wider
church today? We will all have our own personal preferences when it comes to our life together. But I
think we all know that our supreme duty is to render to God worship which is living, beautiful and
dignified, and worship which for this wider community, is both meaningful and accessible. Alongside
that, we have a duty, I believe, to inhabit and preserve the tradition of St German’s for those who will
meet Jesus here long after you and I are summoned to his side. St German’s stands as a reminder of our
forebears who threw beauty into a too-forgotten part of Cardiff. A sermon in and of itself of the
incarnation surely? God lavishing upon all of us the riches of his love in a way that forces us to pause
and to ponder, Gods loving purposes. No-one expected to find God crying his eyes out born in flesh in
a stable in Bethlehem, and no-one expects to find Jesus in the tabernacle of St German’s waiting for
them either. We are told that G. F. Bodley, when designing our church, wanted to build a Church
visibly present in this community, but not overbearingly so. I think this matches up with my idea of our
mission here – to be deeply convinced yet humble Christians. There is a nobility in our simple
conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord, wholly sacramentally present for us in the rites and services of the
Church – something we proclaim (and live!) unapologetically, whilst acknowledging that this conviction
is one which ought to bring us closer to our atheist or interfaith neighbours rather than further from

Metal Street CF24 0JY | www.saintcf24.org | @StGermanCardiff

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them. This is something that a predecessor of mine here put really rather beautifully I think in his
reflections on the parish in his time: ‘What we have to learn from the ‘characters’ of St German’s, past and
present, is that the church exists for the honour and glory of God: where everything is done ‘to his greater glory’ then
everything falls into place. The continuity of the Catholic tradition is assured, not by a slavish imitation either of an
Anglo-Catholic past or of a Roman Catholic present, but by a radical obedience to the Gospel, and by a
determination to follow the promptings of the Spirit as He seeks to manifest the glory of the risen Christ in the life
and worship of His people here and now.’ - Father Martin Williams, Vicar 1977 – 1992 Following his spirit, I
thought I would share just a couple of thoughts with you – things not right for a homily, and too long
for the notices slot(!), but which I wish to share with you at this time.
I think it rather obvious, that any parish priest not living in the parish day-to-day has a very real
challenge – that of getting known. It is unfortunate that we no longer have a clergy house in the parish,
but we must make the best of our situation, and we will. In an effort to offer the people of our parish
and anyone visiting as many opportunities as possible to encounter God in our sacred space, and as
many possibilities to encounter each of us as possible I have restarted Evening Prayer and Benediction
on the First Sunday evening of the month beginning this month, a Requiem Mass on the First Monday of
the Month, The Angelus and Midday Prayer each Wednesday at 12 Noon, and a Low Mass on every
Feast Day at 1.15pm in addition to our School Mass on Tuesdays at 10.00am. The Sacrament of
Confession is also available: Tuesdays 9:00AM-9:30AM and Wednesdays 12:30AM-13:00PM (and by
appointment). Alongside that, I would like to encourage you, if you happen to be in Church at 9am
12noon or 6pm to ring and pray the Angelus so that our parish can hear our bell as we ask Our Lady to
interceded for us and for our community. This is certainly something the faithful can do without a priest
and it is a very simple way of reminding our community that every moment is penetrated by God’s
presence.
I want to return to Father Williams words above, to that sense of ‘radical obedience to the Gospel, and a
determination to follow the promptings of the Spirit….here and now’. Knowing what radical obedience to the
Gospel looks like today for us is something we all need to discern together, and we all need to seek
God’s voice so that we may ‘follow the promptings of the Spirit’. I hope and trust that we will together
commit whatever else: to being good news to the poor, healing to the broken, freedom to the captive,
and new vision to those who do not see. (cf. Lk 4) May St German’s stand as an alternative vision to the
status quo. Today’s Feast is a wonderful reminder, that the true unity of the Church that very first
Pentecost, was born not of uniformity or forced ‘assimilation’ – but of various and diverse tongues out
of which God created a family, baptized in His love, set ablaze by His Spirit and sent out as a witness to
His Risen Son in the world. With my love, prayers and gratitude for all you do for Our Lord here.

Father Jarel Robinson-Brown, Vicar The Feast of Pentecost 2024

E: fatherjarel@gmail.com
M: 07300211640

Metal Street CF24 0JY | www.saintcf24.org | @StGermanCardiff