Trwyddedu ac Ordeinio 2021: Judy Freeman
Dros Ŵyl Bedr eleni yng Nghadeirlan Deiniol Sant ym Mangor, cafodd 14 o bobl ymroddedig, dawnus eu hordeinio neu eu trwyddedu i weinidogaethu.
Fe’u gelwir i “adeiladu corff Crist fel y cyrhaeddwn oll hyd at yr undod a berthyn i’r ffydd ac i adnabyddiaeth o Fab Duw” (Effesiaid 4).
Dyna’u tasg ar y cyd – ond mae gan bob un hefyd eu straeon personol eu hunain am alwad Duw ar eu bywydau.
Yma, cawn sgwrs â Judy am ei galwedigaeth fel Gweinidog Teulu.
Dywedwch ychydig wrtha’i amdanoch eich hun. Pwy ydi Judy?
Mi ges i fy ngeni i deulu traddodiadol yn y cyfnod ar ôl y rhyfel. Dwi’n un o bump a dwi’n efeilles. Dwi’n briod â Roger ac mae’r teulu’n gwbl ganolog i mi. Rhodd Duw i ni ydi ein tri o blant. Mae gen i berthynas agos iawn, iawn efo fy mrodyr a’m chwiorydd – rydyn ni’n dal yn gefn i’n gilydd mewn llawer o ffyrdd. Dwi’n ystyried teulu’n gyfrifoldeb mawr.
Dwi’n meddwl bod yna, yn fy nghefndir, ymdeimlad enfawr o barch at y gwir, o onestrwydd a thegwch a chasineb at haerllugrwydd a rhagrith. Dwi’n sefyll yn gryf dros gydraddoldeb a hawliau merched. Dwi’n teimlo’n angerddol dros y byd naturiol. Roedd fy ngradd gyntaf mewn amaethyddiaeth ac mi fûm i’n gweithio fel cynghorydd amaethyddol am gyfnod. Dwi hefyd yn hoff iawn o anifeiliaid.
Ond wnaethoch chi ddim aros ym myd amaeth ’chwaith, naddo?
Dywedodd ffrind da iawn wrtha i, ar ôl i mi fod i ffwrdd o’r gwaith am ddeuddeng mlynedd i gael y plant, am freuddwyd roedd wedi ei chael ddwywaith, sef y byddwn i’n dod yn fydwraig. Roeddwn i’n teimlo cyffro, y ‘dyna ni’. O’r eiliad honno roeddwn i’n gwybod beth oedd yn rhaid i mi ei wneud. Duw’n ymyrryd go iawn. Nid mewn gwaith bydwraig mewn ysbyty oedd fy niddordeb, ond mewn gweithio yn y gymuned – gweithio ochor yn ochor â mamau, babis a theuluoedd. Gofalu am bobl eraill ydi’r hyn sy’n fy niffinio i mewn gwirionedd.
Ydi ffydd wedi bod yn rhan o’ch bywyd erioed?
Roedd cariad at Iesu yn ganolog i’r teulu – wastad yn ganolog. Roedden ni’n gweddïo, yn cael amser tawel ar lin Mam, yn cynnal gweddi deuluol. Roedd fy nhad yn henuriad yng nghynulleidfa leol y Brodyr agored ac roedd yn bregethwr ac rôn i’n meddwl ei fod o’n rhyfeddol. Roedd fy mam yn arfer trefnu cyfarfodydd y chwiorydd, ac yn dysgu yn y Crusaders. Craidd ei ffordd o fyw oedd gofalu am y teulu, gofalu am bobol yn yr eglwys, gofalu am unrhyw un. Mae’n debyg y bydd pobl yn dweud ’mod i wedi cael magwraeth gysgodol iawn, ac mi ges i! Yn ystod y cyfnod hwnnw y tyfodd ffydd yndda i’n raddol. Proses oedd hi – doedd na ddim ‘geni drachefn’ ar ryw eiliad benodol.
Beth mae eich ffydd yn ei olygu i chi?
Mae’n dragwyddol – mae hynny’n ddiogelwch mawr, mawr, mae’n bersonol, mae’n ddiamod. Dydi o ddim fel dweud, "Dyma fy ffydd", ond mae’n daith. Mae’n ddeinamig, mae mewn difri’n newid drwy’r amser ac mae hynny’n gyffrous iawn. Mae ’na rwystrau a darnau garw a darnau anial. Ond cariad ydi Duw ac mae o bob amser yn ffyddlon ac yn ddigyfnewid.
Yn ddiweddar iawn mae Lectio 365 (ap darllen y Beibl) wedi bod yn gymaint o fendith i mi. Y neges ohono fo’n ddiweddar ydi bod pobol fel Elias wedi profi argyfyngau enfawr yn eu ffydd ond bod Duw yn y pen draw wedi estyn allan atyn nhw.
Sut gawsoch chi’ch arwain i gael eich trwyddedu?
Ar ôl ymddeol a symud roeddwn i’n gwybod rywsut bod pennod newydd yn cychwyn. Roeddwn i’n chwilio am y fan roedd Duw am fynd â fi – swyddogaeth newydd, cyfeiriad newydd, sefyllfa newydd. Mi es i Eglwys y Santes Fair ac roedd yna sicrwydd llwyr mai dyna lle’r oedd Duw am i mi fod. Doedd yna ddim teuluoedd, neb o’m hoed i, ond roeddwn i’n gwybod mai hyn oedd yn iawn. Yna daeth Agor y Llyfr yn bosibilrwydd – alla i ddim cofio sut ddigwyddodd hynny. Dwi’n poeni go iawn bod yna genhedlaeth o blant sydd heb ymwybyddiaeth ysbrydol na gwybodaeth o’r Beibl. Ac yna mi wnaethon ni ychwanegu Mannau Gweddi ond roeddwn i’n teimlo y dylai fynd ymhellach na dim ond un ysgol.
Pa wahaniaeth, os o gwbl, ydych chi’n meddwl y bydd cael eich trwyddedu yn ei wneud?
Roedd yn ymddangos yn wirion bost nad oedden ni’n gweithio gyda’n gilydd ledled y gwahanol eglwysi yn yr Ardal Gweinidogaeth. Felly rôn i’n frwd dros ddod â phobol at ei gilydd, i feithrin syniadau newydd a ffyrdd newydd o wneud pethau, i rannu adnoddau. Dydw i ddim eisiau bod yn gyfyngedig i ddealltwriaeth draddodiadol o’r hyn ydi teulu – mae’n ehangach na ffocws ar y ‘ y teulu’. Dwi wedi gwneud yr Hyfforddiant Bugeiliol a dwi eisiau helpu datblygu’r addoliad yn yr eglwys.
Pa un ydi’ch hoff fisgeden?
Bisged efo Sglodion Siocled – y math o beth rydych chi’n ei slaffio tuag awr cyn i’r plant ddod adref o’r ysgol!
Pe bai rhywun yn dweud wrthych eu bod yn meddwl bod Duw am iddyn nhw gynnig mwy o beth allech chi ei ddweud wrthyn nhw?
Byddwn i wrth fy modd ac mor falch eu bod yn teimlo bod Duw yn siarad â nhw’n bersonol. Mi fyddwn yn trafod efo nhw beth oedden nhw’n feddwl oedd eu diddordeb arbennig nhw ac yna’n eu hannog i siarad â rhywun a fyddai’n gallu ei ddirnad ymhellach a’u tywys drwy ran nesaf y broses!
Hollalluog a thragwyddol Dduw, sydd trwy dy Ysbryd yn llywodraethu ac yn sancteiddio holl gorff yr Eglwys: gwrando ein gweddi a offrymwn dros dy holl bobl ffyddlon, iddynt allu dy wasanaethu mewn sancteiddrwydd a gwirionedd yn eu galwedigaeth a’u gweinidogaeth er gogoniant i’th enw; trwy ein Harglwydd a’n Hiachawdwr Iesu Grist, sy’n fyw ac yn teyrnasu gyda thi a’r Ysbryd Glân, yn un Duw, yn awr ac am byth. Amen.
Licensing and Ordinations 2021: Judy Freeman
This Petertide at St Deiniol's Cathedral in Bangor, 14 dedicated, gifted people were ordained or licensed for ministry.
They are called to “build up the body of Christ until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4).
That is their common task – but each also have their own personal stories about God’s call on their lives.
Here, we talk to Judy about her vocation as an Family Minister.
Tell me a bit about yourself. Who is Judy?
I was born into a traditional post war family. I’m one of 5 and I’m a twin. I’m married to Roger and family is totally central. Our three children are gifts from God to us. I have a very, very close relationship with my siblings – we still support each other a lot. I see family as a big responsibility.
I think in my background is a huge sense of truth, honesty and fairness and an abhorence of arrogance and falseness. I’m a big advocate of equality and women’s rights. I’m hugely passionate about the natural world. My first degree was in agriculture and I worked as an agricultural adviser for a bit. I’m also an animal lover.
You didn’t stay in agriculture though did you?
A really good friend of mine, after I’d had a 12 year break from work to have the children, told me about a dream she’d had twice which was that I would become a midwife. I felt a buzz, ‘that’s it’! From that moment I knew what I had to do. It was a real God-intervention. My interest wasn’t in hospital midwifery, it was working in the community – working alongide mums, babies and families. Looking out for other people is what really defines me.
Has faith always been a part of your life?
A love of Jesus was central to the family – always central. We had prayers, quiet time at Mummy’s knee, family prayers. My father was an elder in the local open Bretheren and he was a preacher. I thought he was amazing. My mum used to run the women’s meetings, taught in Crusaders. Her whole way of being was caring for family, caring for people in the church, caring for anybody. People will probably say that I had a very sheltered upbringing, I did! It was during that time that I eased into faith. It was a process – there wasn’t a ‘born again on such and such’ moment.
What does your faith mean to you?
It’s eternal – that’s a big, big security, it’s personal, it’s unconditional. It’s not, “Here’s my faith” but it’s a journey. It’s dynamic, it’s actually changing all the time and that’s really exciting. There’s cul-de-sacs and rough bits and wilderness bits. But, God is love and is always faithful and unchanging.
In really recent time Lectio 365 (Bible Reading App) has been such an amazing blessing to me. The emphasis recently is that people like Elijah had massive crises of belief but at the end of the day God reached out to them.
What brought you to being licensed?
Having retired and moved I just knew it was a new chapter. I was looking for where God would take me – a new role, a new outlook, a new situation. I went to St Mary’s and there was total certainty that that was where God wanted me to be. There were no families, nobody my age but I knew it was right. Open the Book then became a possibility – I can’t remember exactly how it came about. I have a real concern that there’s a generation of children that have no spiritual awareness or knowledge of the Bible. And then we added on Prayer Spaces but I felt it should go further than just 1 school.
What difference, if any, do you think being licensed will make?
It seemed crackers that we weren’t working together across the different churches in the Ministry Area. So I really wanted to bring people together, to bring new ideas and ways of doing things, to share resources. I don’t want to just be restricted to a traditional understanding of family – it’s broader than the focus of the ‘family’. I’ve done the Pastoral Training and I want to help develop the worship in church.
What’s your favourite biscuit?
Chocolate Chip Cookie – the kind of thing you bang out about an hour before the kids come home from school!
If someone were to tell you they thought God wanted them to offer more what might you say to them?
I’d be so utterly delighted and glad that they felt God was speaking to them personally. I would discuss with them what they thought their particular interest was and then encourage them to speak to someone who can discern it further with them and guide them through the next bit of the process!
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified: hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people, that in their vocation and ministry they may serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.