Ordeinio 2023: Andy Broadbent
Dros Ŵyl Bedr eleni yng Nghadeirlan Deiniol Sant ym Mangor, cafodd Glenys Samson, Andy Broadbent a Josie Godfrey eu hordeinio yn Ddiacon
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 ag Andy am ei alwedigaeth i weinidogaeth oreinedig.
Soniwch rywfaint am Andy
Rydw i'n briod â Katy ac mae gennym ddau o blant bach, sef Jenny a Logan. Rydw i wrth fy modd yn pysgota - os na fydda i'n gweithio, yn chwarae efo'r plant neu'n gwneud pethau i'r eglwys, mi fydda i'n pysgota. Rydw i'n hanu o Helsby ger Caer ac mae fy ngwraig yn dod o'r Fflint. Arferwn weithio fel ceidwad anifeiliaid yn y Blue Planet Aquarium, ac yn y fan honno y gwnaeth Katy a minnau gyfarfod. Rai blynyddoedd yn ddiweddarach, llwyddais i gael fy rôl bresennol sy'n cwmpasu gogledd Cymru i gyd, felly mi symudon ni i Fae Colwyn, gan brynu ein tŷ ein hunain yn Nwygyfylchi yn y pen draw. O ran fy mhroffesiwn, rydw i'n Arolygydd llawn-amser efo'r RSPCA. Rydw i wrth fy modd efo 'ngwaith, ac er mai swydd 'seciwlar' yw hi, rydw i o'r farn 'mod i mewn sefyllfa dda i hyrwyddo caredigrwydd a helpu pobl.
Yn yr ysgol, roedd gen i ddiddordeb ysol mewn gwyddoniaeth, yn enwedig Bioleg, ac roedd fy ysgol uwchradd yn arbenigo mewn gwyddoniaeth. Symudais i Fangor i astudio Bioleg yn y Brifysgol. Yna, gadewais Gymru gan feddwl na fuaswn i byth bythoedd yn dychwelyd; ond ddwy flynedd yn ddiweddarach, roeddwn i'n ôl yn y wlad.
Allwch chi sôn rhywfaint am hanes eich ffydd?
Daeth ffydd yn bwysig imi pan oeddwn i'n oedolyn. Yn y bôn, dechreuais ddarllen y Beibl - oherwydd chwilfrydedd yn fwy na dim arall. Doeddwn i ddim yn gwybod beth i'w ddisgwyl, ond roedd yr hyn y des i o hyd iddo yn hollol annisgwyl, os yw hynny'n gwneud synnwyr. Roeddwn i'n credu y byddai'r Beibl yn llyfr eithaf beirniadol, ond gwelais mai cariad oedd ei fyrdwn mewn gwirionedd. Tan yr adeg honno, roeddwn i wastad wedi teimlo bod rhywbeth ar goll yn fy mywyd, ac roeddwn i'n amau mai ffydd oedd y peth hwnnw. Roeddwn i'n eithaf cenfigennus o bobl â ffydd - ffydd o unrhyw fath. Allwn i ddim gweld sut allai ffydd fod yn berthnasol i mi, hyd nes y darllenais y Beibl. Roedd y profiad yn union fel tanio switsh golau. Dechreuais fynd i'r eglwys leol, sef Sant Gwynan.
Sut ddatblygodd eich ymdeimlad o alwedigaeth o'r fan honno?
Bu'n rhaid imi dreulio mis o'r gwaith ac roeddwn i wedi syrffedu'n lân. Dechreuais chwilio am bethau i'w gwneud. Roedd y llwybr a arweiniai at yr eglwys mewn cyflwr ofnadwy, felly dechreuais weithio arno. Yn y pen draw, gweithiais ar borth y fynwent gan ailbaentio’r llidiart ac ail-wneud y gwaith llythrennu. O'r fan honno, mi wnes i weithio ar ddrysau'r eglwys, ond buan y daeth y jobsys i ben. Holais y ficer ar y pryd beth arall allwn i ei wneud. Awgrymodd y dylwn i fynd ar enciliad galwedigaethol. "Mi wnân nhw ddweud wrthych beth i'w wneud," meddai. Beth i'w wneud yn llythrennol oedd gen i dan sylw - 'beth arall sydd angen ei baentio'! Ond penderfynais fynd ar enciliad galwedigaethol yr Esgobaeth. Ar y cychwyn, awgrymwyd 'mod i'n addas ar gyfer rôl Darllenydd, ond roeddwn i wedi gwneud hynna o'r blaen ac roeddwn i eisiau pethau mwy ymarferol i'w gwneud. Er 'mod i wrth fy modd efo'r litwrgi a'r gwasanaethau, rydw i'n mynegi fy nghariad tuag at Grist trwy gyfrwng pethau ymarferol. Doeddwn i ddim yn credu bod rôl Darllenydd yn addas i mi. Awgrymodd Dominic, Cyfarwyddwr yr Ordinandiaid ar y pryd, y dylwn i ymuno efo fo ar ddiwrnod o encil yng nghwmni'r Diaconiaid Neilltuol, gan y byddai hynny'n gweddu'n well imi efallai. Ar ôl imi ddechrau siarad efo nhw, daeth yn amlwg fod yna edefyn yn eu cysylltu i gyd efo'i gilydd er gwaethaf y gwahaniaethau yn eu hoffeiriadaeth - ac roedd yr un edefyn yn rhedeg trwof i.
O ran eich rôl fel Diacon Neilltuol, beth ydych chi'n edrych ymlaen ato fwyaf?
Rydw i'n mwynhau gweithio efo plant. Cyn y broses hon, roeddwn i'n helpu i redeg y Llan Llanast ac yn ddiweddar rydw i wedi ysgwyddo cyfrifoldeb dros arwain y gwaith hwnnw efo fy ngwraig ac rydw i'n edrych ymlaen at ddatblygu ein hoffeiriadaeth Blynyddoedd Cynnar. Rydw i hefyd wrth fy modd yn ymweld â phobl ac yn gweithio efo aelodau hŷn ein cynulleidfa. A hefyd, rydw i'n cael blas mawr ar wneud tasgau ymarferol o gwmpas yr adeiladau. Fel Diacon Neilltuol, rydw i'n gallu helpu efo'r gwasanaethau a'r litwrgi pan fo angen, ond rydw i hefyd yn rhydd i fod yn y gymuned. Rydw i'n rheoli'r prosiect bocsys bwyd sydd ar waith yn y fan yma ac rydym yn ceisio gwneud llawer o waith yn ymwneud â gweddïo a chreu, felly rydym newydd sefydlu gwasanaeth myfyriol gyda'r nos. Rydw i'n ceisio rhoi trefn ar bethau ar gyfer yr haf, rhywfaint o weithgareddau i deuluoedd fel chwilio trwy byllau glan môr a mynd i'r mynyddoedd, a cheisio cysylltu hyn i gyd efo themâu Llyfr Genesis. Rydw i wrth fy modd yn pregethu, ond rydw i hefyd yn mwynhau bod y tu allan i'r adeilad a chysylltu pethau efo bywydau beunyddiol pobl - mynd â Duw at y bobl.
Sut ydych chi'n credu y gallwch gael cydbwysedd rhwng eich swydd lawn-amser a'ch rôl fel Diacon Neilltuol?
Mae fy ngwaith wedi bod yn gefnogol iawn drwy gydol fy hyfforddiant. Mae fy mhatrwm sifftiau'n anodd iawn, felly dw i ddim yn rhydd ar yr un amser bob wythnos. Ond mae hyn yn gweddu i'r dim i bethau ad-hoc ac unigryw. Gall yr hyblygrwydd fod yn fantais ar adegau. Hefyd, mae fy nheulu'n gefnogol iawn, gan gymryd rhan mewn pethau - ac mae hynna'n braf iawn.
Beth mae eich ffydd yn ei olygu ichi rŵan?
Mae wedi newid y ffordd rydw i'n profi'r byd, fy nheulu, pobl eraill a phopeth. Mae wedi caniatáu imi weld y da ym mhopeth. Rydw i'n delio efo pobl annymunol a gwrthdrawiadol yn fy ngwaith, ond mae fy ffydd yn rhoi rhyw heddwch imi wrth ddelio efo pobl, oherwydd ni waeth pa mor annymunol ydyn nhw, mae Duw yn eu caru. Ar ôl imi sylweddoli bod Duw yn eu caru, rydw innau'n gallu eu caru hefyd.
Mae'r ffaith 'mod i hefyd yn Dertiad Ffransisgaidd yn rhan enfawr o 'mywyd ysbrydol. Bu dysgu am Sant Ffransis yn agoriad lygad chwyldroadol imi. Mae yna rywbeth ynglŷn â'i symlrwydd radical a'i ymagwedd at greu - ac unwaith eto, cafodd switsh golau ei danio. Rydw i wedi dynesu at ffydd trwy ddarllen y Beibl, ond rydw i'n ei ddarllen ac yn ei ddehongli yn fy ffordd fy hun. Pan ddes i o hyd i Sant Ffransis, mi allwn i weld ei fod yn deall yr Efengyl yn yr un ffordd â fi. Rydw i'n gwybod bod pobl yn dehongli pethau mewn ffyrdd gwahanol ac roeddwn i eisiau gwneud yn siŵr nad oeddwn i'n troedio'r llwybr anghywir, fel petai. Mae hyn yn rhan hollbwysig o 'mywyd. Trwy weddïo, rydw i'n cysylltu efo Duw, a dyna fy 'llinell sylfaen'.
Beth fyddech chi'n ei ddweud wrth rywun sy'n ystyried cynnig mwy i'r eglwys?
Rydw i'n credu y buaswn i'n cynnig cyngor o ddau fath. Yn gyntaf, ewch i archwilio beth yw eich galwedigaeth. Fel fi, efallai na fydd yr alwedigaeth honno yn cyfateb i'r alwedigaeth y cawsoch eich galw i'w gwneud. Mae gwir lawenydd yn perthyn i'r broses - er y bydd pobl eraill yn holi ac yn stilio er mwyn canfod beth yn union sy'n eich galw, gallwch deimlo'r Ysbryd Glân yn eich holi hefyd er mwyn rhoi hwb ichi i archwilio eich galwad.
Yn ail, os dewiswch ddilyn llwybr mwy ffurfiol, mae'r hyfforddiant yn eithriadol. Bu'r cwrs diwinyddiaeth a'r cyrsiau preswyl yn rhagorol a bydd yr holl bobl y dewch i'w hadnabod yn troi'n gyfeillion gydol oes. Mi fuaswn i'n annog pawb i archwilio - o dorri'r gwair ar hyd y llwybr i ddod yn offeiriad, mae pob rôl yn llawn llawenydd.
Ordinations 2023: Andy Broadbent
This Petertide at Saint Deiniol's Cathedral in Bangor, Glenys Samson, Andy Broadbent and Josie Godfrey will be ordained Deacon.
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 Andy about his vocation to ordained ministry.
Tell me a little about yourself
I’m married to Katy and we have two young kids, Jenny and Logan. I love fishing – if I’m not working, playing with my kids or doign church things then I’m out fishing. I’m from Helsby near Chester and my wife is from Flint. I worked as an animal keeper at Blue Planet Aquarium and Katy and I met there. A few years later I got my current role which covers the whole of north Wales so we moved to Colwyn Bay and eventually bought our own house in Dwygyfylchi. By profession I’m an RSPCA Inspector full time. I enjoy my work very much and see it as, although I have to be ‘secular’, a good place to promote kindness and to help people.
At school I was very much into science, Biology especially, and the high school I went to was a science specialist school. I came to Bangor for Univeristy to read Biology. I then left Wales thinking I would never come back but two years later I was back.
Could you share a little about your story of faith?
I came to faith as an adult. Basically, I just started reading the Bible – more out of curiosity than anything. I didn’t know what I was expecting to find but what I found wasn’t what I expected to find, if that makes sense. I thought it was going to be quite a judgemental book but I found that it was a book all about love really. Up to that point I had always felt as though there was something missing in my life, and I kind of knew that that was faith. I was quite jealous of people of people who had faith – of any faith. I could never find how that would be relevant to me, until I read the Bible. It was like a light swtich had been flicked. I started going down to the local church, Saint Gwynan’s.
How did your sense of vocation develop from there?
I had a period where I had to be off work for a month and I was bored. I started looking for things to do. The path up to the church was atrocious so I started working on the path and then I ended up working on the lychgate and redoing the painting and lettering on that. From there I redid the doors to the church and then ran out of things to do. I asked the vicar at the time what else I could do. She suggested I went on a vocations retreat. “They’ll tell you what you can do,” she said. I meant literally, ‘what else needs painting’! But, I decided to go on the Diocesan Vocations retreat and intially it was suggested I might be good for a Reader role but I’d gone there wanting to do more practical things. Whilst I do love the liturgy and services, but my expression of the love of Christ is in the practical things. I didn’t feel like being a Reader fitted with me. Dominic, the Director of Ordinands at the time, suggested I joined him at a day retreat with the Distinctive Deacons as that might be a better fit for me. While I was chatting with them it became clear that, although they all had different expressions of their ministry, there was a thread that connected them all and that was the same thread that I was feeling.
What is it about that role of a Distinctive Deacon that you are particularly looking forward to?
I like working with children. Before this process I was involved in helping to run the Messy Church and I’ve recently taken on the leadership of that with my wife and look forward to developing our Early Years ministry. I also love visiting people and working with the older members of our congregations. Working on the practical tasks around the buildings is also something I really enjoy. As a Distincitive Deacon I can help out with services and the liturgy when needed but I am also free to be in the community. I manage the food-box project that we have running here and we’re trying to do a lot around prayer and creation so we’re just starting to establish a contemplative evening service. I’m trying to get sorted, for over the summer, some activities for families such as rock-pooling and going into the mountains and tying that into the themes in Genesis. I love preaching but I also like being outside the building and connecting things with people’s every day lives – taking God out to people.
How do you think you’ll balance a full time job and your role as a Distinctive Deacon?
My work have been really supportive throughout my training. I have a really difficult shift pattern so I’m not free at the same time each week but that suits ad-hoc and one-off things really well. The flexibilty can be a bonus at times. My family are also really supportive and get involved with tings which is lovely.
What does your faith mean to you now?
It’s reframed the way I experience the world, family, other people and everything. It’s allowed me to see the good in everything. I deal with some unpleasant and confrontational people at work but my faith gives me a real peace when dealing with people because, no matter how horrible they are being, God loves them. Once I realised that God loves them then I can love them too.
A huge part of my spiritual life is that I’m also a Franciscan Tertiary. I found the example of Saint Francis revelationary. There’s something about his radical simplicity and the way related to creation which was, again, like a light switch being flicked. I had come to faith through reading the Bible but I read it my way and interpreted it my way. When I found Saint Francis I could see that he understood the Gospel the same way that I understand it. I know that people interpret things in different ways and wanted to make sure I wasn’t going the wrong way, as it were. That’s a really important part of my life. Prayer is where I connect with God and it’s my baseline.
What might you to say someone who was considering offering more to the church?
I think there would be two forms of advice. The first would be to go and explore what that vocation might be. Like me it not be the one that they think they’re called to. There’s a real joy in that process – as much as other people poke and prod to find out to what you might be being called you can feel the Holy Spirit prodding you too to prompt you to explore what you are called to.
The second piece of advice is, should you choose to follow a more formal path, the training has been exceptional. The theology course and the residentials have been excellent and all the people you get to know become lifelong friends. I would encourage anyone to explore – from cutting the grass along the path to becoming a priest there’s joy in all those roles.