Ordeinio 2023: Josie Godfrey
Dros Ŵyl Bedr eleni yng Nghadeirlan Deiniol Sant ym Mangor, cafodd Glenys Samson a 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 â Josie am ei alwedigaeth i weinidogaeth oreinedig.
Dwed wrtha’i chydig am Josie.
Cefais fy magu yn High Wycombe rhwng Llundain a Rhydychen, a dyna lle mae fy rhieni yn dal i fod. Nid oes gennyf unrhyw frodyr neu chwiorydd nac anifeiliaid anwes ond rwyf wrth fy modd â chŵn a hoffwn gael un pan fyddaf wedi setlo.
Es i’r Brifysgol yn Llundain ac yna ymlaen i Rydychen, Saint Stephen’s House, i hyfforddi i fod yn offeiriad. Astudiais gerddoriaeth fel myfyriwr israddedig. Chwaraeais i offerynnau amrywiol yn yr ysgol gan gynnwys y clarinet, sacsoffon a phiano ond canwr ydw i yn bennaf. Dewisais fynd i King’s College, Llundain oherwydd roeddwn i wir yn hoffi’r ffordd nad oedden nhw’n canolbwyntio ar berfformiad ac, er nad oeddwn i’n gwybod beth roeddwn i eisiau ei wneud ar ôl y Brifysgol, roeddwn i’n gwybod nad oeddwn i eisiau bod yn berfformiwr unigol a dewisais gerddoriaeth oherwydd dyna oedd fy hoff bwnc.
Ydi’r Eglwys wedi bod yn rhan o dy fywyd di erioed?
Cefais fy Medyddio yn faban ac awn i’r eglwys yn achlysurol ond nid bob dydd Sul. Dechreuon ni fynd ychydig yn amlach pan ddaeth Mam yn athrawes Ysgol Sul am gyfnod ond dechreuais ddeall fy ffydd fy hun, ac eisiau mynd i’r eglwys i mi fy hun trwy’r côr. Roedd yn rhaid i ni fynd yn fwy rheolaidd ond roedd rhywbeth ychwanegol oedd yn fy nhynnu i mewn yn fwy. Dim ond tua deg oeddwn i ar y pryd felly dydw i ddim yn meddwl y gallaf egluro beth ydoedd. Dim ond pan oedden nhw’n canu yr aeth y rhan fwyaf o weddill y côr mewn gwirionedd felly nid oedd fel petai cylch eang o ffrindiau.
Rwy’n canu clychau llawer, felly pan symudais i Lundain fe wnes i lawer iawn o hynny ac roedd yn golygu fy mod yn canu clychau mewn llawer o eglwysi gwahanol. Hyd at y pwynt hwnnw dim ond mewn un eglwys roeddwn i erioed wedi addoli a darganfod yn sydyn bod mwy o eglwysi a mwy o bobl ac nad yw pawb sy’n mynd i’r eglwys yn wyth deg oed!
Sut wnes di synhwyro Duw yn dy alw di i weinidogaeth ordeiniedig?
Teimlais fy mod yn cael fy ngalw i ordinasiwn i ddechrau, er nad oeddwn yn gwybod beth oedd hynny ar y pryd, pan oeddwn yn bedair ar ddeg. Canais yn y côr mewn gwasanaeth ordeinio yng Nghadeirlan Christ Church yn Rhydychen lle roedd rhywun o fy eglwys yn cael ei ordeinio. Mae’r côr bron â swatio allan o’r ffordd yng Nghadeirlan Christ Church ac roedd gen i wir ymdeimlad o fod yn y lle anghywir.
Yn ystod fy ngradd israddedig roeddwn yn archwilio beth mae galwedigaeth yn ei olygu felly ochr yn ochr â’m trydedd flwyddyn roeddwn yn Gynorthwy-ydd Bugeiliol mewn eglwys yn Llundain er mai dyna’r flwyddyn y tarodd Cofid.
A oes unrhyw beth sy’n nodedig yn dy dyddiau di’n y coleg?
Fe wnes i ddau osodiad tra roeddwn i yno. Rydym yn gwneud gosodiad haf am tua mis. Yn fy mlwyddyn gyntaf es i Swydd Derby a oedd yn wledig iawn, i bentref ôl-ddiwydiannol, cyn-bentref glofaol a oedd yn ddifreintiedig iawn. Roedd y bobl yn hyfryd a bob amser yn fy ngwahodd o gwmpas am de ac i gwrdd â’u gwartheg. Mewn cyferbyniad â hynny, roedd fy ail leoliad haf yn Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue yn Efrog Newydd. Roedd yn brofiad rhyfeddol iawn. Mae gynnon nhw gymaint o gynulleidfa, staff ac arian – mae’n byd hollol wahanol i’r hyn sy’n gyfarwydd i ni. Yn rhyfedd iawn, roedd y ddau leoliad haf yn ategu ei gilydd yn dda iawn a dysgais gymaint gan y ddau ohonynt. Mae cydberthynas o fewn weinidogaeth yn holl bwysig.
Y peth arall wnes i fwynhau yn fawr yn y coleg oedd y sgyrsiau yn y bore cyn i bobl gael eu coffi cyntaf. Roedd rhai o’r sgyrsiau a gawsom y tymor diwethaf yn amrywio o “A all aligator gerdded i fyny’r grisiau?” i, “Beth fyddai’n ei olygu pe bai Iesu yn efaill?” Rwy’n mwynhau’r mathau hynny o sgyrsiau yn fawr ac maen nhw’r math o beth y bydd llawer o bobl yn ymgysylltu â nhw.
Beth mae dy ffydd yn ei olygu i ti?
Mae fy ffydd yn gysonyn sy’n sail i bopeth arall. Rwy’n hoffi meddwl fy mod yn berson normal a bod fy ffydd yn amlwg ym mhopeth a wnaf. Nid yw fy ffydd yn rhywbeth ar wahân sy’n digwydd yn yr eglwys neu yn fy astudiaeth.
Beth wyt ti’n edrych ymlaen ato ynglŷn â gweinidogaethu fan hyn?
Effeithiwyd cymaint o fy amser yn hyfforddi gan Cofid ac felly rwy’n edrych ymlaen at ddychwelyd i wneud “stwff”. Cefais fy magu yn gwneud pethau o fewn yr eglwys ac yna pan es i hyfforddi ac yn sydyn ni chaniateir i chi wneud unrhyw beth mwyach. Dwi hefyd yn edrych ymlaen yn fawr at ochr gerddorol. Des i Fangor ym mis Ionawr i ymweld a mwynheais fy amser yn fawr. Roedd pawb yn hyfryd iawn. Dechreuais i ddysgu Cymraeg ar y trên ar y ffordd adref. Dydw i ddim yn gret am ieithoedd ond dydw i ddim yn ofnadwy chwaith felly mae dysgu Cymraeg yn digwydd yn araf. Rwy’n meddwl y bydd bod yma’n fwy rheolaidd yn help mawr. Mae gen i olwg eithaf uchel ar y sacramentau a’r Cymun yn arbennig. Dyna ganol swydd yr offeiriad ac mae popeth arall yn deillio o hynny, a dwi’n edrych mlaen i ddathlu gyda ac er mwyn pobl y Gadeirlan, Bro Deiniol a’r ddinas.
Ordinations 2023: Josie Godfrey
This Petertide at Saint Deiniol's Cathedral in Bangor, Glenys Samson, Andy Broadbent and Josie Godfrey were 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 Josie about her vocation to ordained ministry.
Tell me a little about Josie.
I grew up in High Wycombe between London and Oxford, which is where my parents still are. I don’t have any siblings or pets but I love dogs and would really like to get one once I’m settled.
I went to University in London and then on to Oxford, to Saint Stephen’s House, to train to be a priest. I studied music as an undergraduate. I played various instruments in school including the clarinet, saxophone and piano but I’m mostly a singer. I chose to go to King’s College, London because I really liked the way that they didn’t focus on performance and, although I didn’t know what I wanted to do after University, I knew I didn’t want to be a solo performer and I chose music because it was my favourite subject.
Has Church always been a part of your life?
I was Baptized as a baby and we went to church occasionally but not every Sunday. We started going a little more frequently when Mum became Sunday school teacher for a while but I started understanding my own faith, and wanting to go to church for myself through the choir. We had to go more regularly but there was something that just drew me in more. I was only about ten at the time so I don’t think I can explain what it was. Most of the rest of the choir only really went when they were singing so it wasn’t as though there was a wide circle of friends.
I do a lot of bellringing, so when I moved to London I did a huge amount of that and it meant that I was ringing at lots of different churches. Until that point I’d only ever worshipped in one church and suddenly discovered there were more churches and more people and that not everyone who goes to church is eighty years old!
How did you first sense God calling you to ordained ministry?
I first felt called to ordination, although I didn’t really know what that was at that point, when I was fourteen. I sang in the choir at an ordination service in Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford where someone was from my church was being ordained. The choir is almost tucked out of the way in Christ Church Cathedral and I had a real sense of being in the wrong place. During my undergraduate degree I was exploring what vocation means so alongside my third year I was a Pastoral Assistant in a church in London although that was the year that Covid hit.
Is there anything that stands out to you from your time at college?
I did a couple of placements while I was there. We have a summer placement for about a month. In my first year I went to rural Derbyshire, to a post industrial, ex-mining village which was very deprived. The people were lovely and were always inviting me around for tea and to meet their cows. In contrast to that, my second summer placement was in Saint Thomas’s Fifth Avenue in New York. It was a really amazing experience. Their congregation, staff team and financial situation is so different to what we’re used to. Bizarrely the two summer placements complemented each other really well and I learnt so much from them both. Relationships within ministry are really important. The other thing I really enjoyed at college were the conversations in the morning before people had had their first coffee. Some of the conversations we had last term ranged from “Can an alligator walk upstairs?” to, “What would it mean if Jesus were a twin?” I really enjoy those kind of conversations and they’re the kind of thing that lots of people will engage with.
What does your faith mean to you?
My faith is a constant that underpins everything else. I like to think that I’m a normal person whose faith is evident in all that I do. My faith isn’t something separate that just happens in church or in my study.
What are you looking forward to about ministering here?
So much of my time in training was affected by Covid and so I’m looking forward to getting back to doing “stuff”. I grew up doing things around the church and then when I went to train and suddenly you’re not allowed to do anything anymore. I’m also really looking forward to the musical side of things.
I came up to Bangor in January to visit and really enjoyed my time. Everyone was really lovely. I started learning Welsh on the train on the way home. I’m not amazing at languages but I’m not terrible at them either so learning Welsh is happening slowly. I think being here more regularly will really help.
I have quite a high view of the sacraments and the Eucharist especially. That’s the centre of the priest’s job and everything else stems from that. I’m looking forward to celebrating with and for the people of the Cathederal, Bro Deiniol and the city.