‘I want the town to see the cathedral as their cathedral’

Adrian Morgan was about five years old when he announced that he wanted to be a vicar.

It came as something of a surprise to his mother. The family were not regular churchgoers.

“My mother reflects on how I told her when I was about five years of age, ‘I want to be a vicar,’” he said. “At that point she was quite flabbergasted because she didn’t know how I knew what a vicar was.

“We weren’t typically a family that would go to church. My grandparents were very faithful and committed to the Church. My grandmother had been a churchwarden, but my parents rarely went to church.”

Thirty-six years after that first declaration of intent, Adrian, 41, is preparing to be installed as Dean of Brecon.

The appointment takes him back to the cathedral where he was ordained deacon and priest — and to a place that had been part of his life long before his own ministry began.

“When I was growing up, my grandparents would bring me to dinner in Brecon on a Sunday afternoon and then we’d come to the cathedral for Evensong,” he said.

“So it’s been a place that I’ve had a strong connection with. I’ve been aware of its significance in the life of the diocese as the mother church.

“And I think that’s something I want to build on — this sense that, when the clergy and people of the diocese come to Brecon, there’s a sense of coming home, where the family of the diocese can gather to be refreshed, built up, encouraged and sent out to serve wherever they may be.”

Returning as dean has taken some getting used to.

“It’s quite a surreal feeling in one way because, when I was ordained here, I never ever imagined that I’d come to be the dean,” he said.

“But I’m aware of the fact that it’s an enormous privilege and an opportunity, and I feel quite humbled by it, in all honesty.”

Although his parents were not regular churchgoers, they sent him to Sunday school. His grandparents provided another important influence, with weekends spent with them often including church.

“My early memories there are of being intrigued by this person Jesus and wanting to know more about him,” he said.

“I can remember sitting around the piano in the church hall singing Sunday school songs and listening to the stories about Jesus.

“I had a Christian school teacher who equally would share Bible stories with us in the classroom, and that intrigue, I think, was developed there.

“And I spent a lot of time with my grandparents and they would go faithfully to church. So many of my weekends were spent with them and, when I was with them, we would go to church.

“So there was this sense of being intrigued by Jesus and wanting to know more about him. There was a sense, I think, that God was working something out in my life.”

As he grew older, however, the idea of becoming a priest became more complicated.

“The idea of being a priest was something that made you stand out a little for all the wrong reasons,” he said.

“I guess you just want to fit in with the crowd.

“And so there were other priorities, although I would still keep going Sunday by Sunday to church with my grandparents.

“But there was this kind of persistent nagging that I felt. Whatever I might be able to do, nothing would satisfy like being ordained. This sense of calling was always there.”

University brought him into contact with young Christians whose approach to faith was different from his own.

“I can remember meeting young people who talked about their faith in a way that I wasn’t really used to — not in terms of rite or rule or ritual, but in terms of relationship with this person, Jesus,” he said.

“And I think deep down I knew that they had something that I needed.

“That was a formative time really, an opportunity to grow as a Christian.

“And by the time I graduated, I knew that there was no other path that was credible really for me. There were lots of opportunities, but the call to be ordained was too strong and I’ve pursued it ever since.”

That path eventually took Adrian to St Catherine’s, Gorseinon, with St David’s, Loughor, where he spent more than a decade.

It was a period of considerable change, including a major redevelopment, the growth of a staff team and changes to the churches’ financial and operational structures.

Asked what he will miss about Gorseinon, Adrian said: “I’ve always felt that my calling was one to be a pastor. We’ve developed strong relationships and a sense of family. And we’ve had a lot of fun together. And I will miss that.

“I think it’s because relationships were strong and because there was a lot of trust, and a lot of fun and friendship, that we’ve been able to actually do some great things together. And it’s those relationships that I’ll miss most.”

Moving on will mean changes beyond his ministry.

“In other walks of life, when you get a new job, most other things stay the same,” he said. “But as a priest, when you move on, everything changes, new role, new home for your family, new schools for your children, new community and church.

“I’m grateful really for the love, support and friendship that we’ve enjoyed there and for the things that we’ve been able to do. And that’s really been the key to transformation.”

During his time in Gorseinon, almost £4.5m was raised, including a redevelopment costing just over £1.6m.

“We’ve developed a strong staff team with help from the Church Growth Fund, with expertise in children’s ministry, older people’s ministry, evangelism and hospitality,” he said. “And we’ve made sure that the church is on a strong financial footing as well, with good operational and finance procedures.

“We’ve laid foundations and we trust now that God will bring new labourers to the harvest to build on those foundations, so that it can go into a new season and go from strength to strength.”

The emphasis on relationships will follow him to Brecon.

“For me, relationship is at the heart of everything that we’re about,” he said. “We believe that our relationship with Jesus is transformational. When we recognise the depths of his love for us, it informs how we live and move and have our being alongside other people. And so relationships have always been at the heart of what I’m about as a priest.

“Initially, I want to be getting to know people and I want to learn about their stories, their joys, their sorrows, come alongside them and, I suppose, earn their trust. That’ll form the foundation, I guess, for everything that begins to happen from that point on.”

His experience in Gorseinon has shaped how he intends to approach change in Brecon.

“One of the things I’m most proud of in Gorseinon is that the major project we’ve undertaken there, that has led to transformation structurally, financially, operationally and missionally, is one that was born from the ground up,” he said.

“And it was able to be born that way because we invested heavily in relationships.

“So I want to get to know the people of Brecon. I want to invest in good relationships with them, I want to listen to them, understand where they’re coming from and I want to allow that understanding to inform how we move forward.”

Adrian also sees the cathedral as a home for the wider diocese.

“I’m somebody whose faith and life has been nurtured by the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon,” he said. “And so I want to invest heavily in the idea of family and to see the cathedral as a family home for the whole diocese.

“I want people to know that, whatever their age or stage, background, colour or creed, there is a place here for them. They can belong here.”

He hopes the cathedral’s canons can help strengthen that connection.

“They can act as ambassadors for the cathedral, as a network from the Gower Peninsula all the way up to the upper reaches of Powys, drawing people into the life of the cathedral as that beating heart and family home.”

Adrian also intends to spend time away from Brecon, supporting churches and congregations across the diocese.

“I want to be a high-profile dean, in as much as I want to be out and visible across the diocese in order to serve the diocese,” he said. “My heart is to be a servant.

“I hope that we can take what we do here to churches across the length and breadth of the diocese to support and encourage clergy and congregations.

“And if I can do anything to support personally, whether that be taking services, preaching and supporting churches the length and breadth of the diocese, I want to be doing that.”

He believes the cathedral’s resources also bring responsibilities.

“Cathedrals, compared to many parish churches, are quite well resourced,” he said. “And that’s a huge privilege.

“That resource ought to mean that we’re able to exemplify excellence in so many ways — excellence in music and liturgy, excellence in pastoral care, excellence in developing hospitality and community life.

“And I hope that we can model excellent mission and ministry for the rest of the diocese. But I really hope, too, that we can model it generously.”

His arrival comes as the cathedral prepares for a major development project.

“The fact that I have managed a major project already means that I’ve got a little bit of expertise which hopefully will help me hit the ground running,” he said. “I hope that we’ll be able to see that through successfully.”

The cathedral’s relationship with the town will also be a priority.

“I think that the cathedral is a jewel at the heart of Mid Wales and I want the town to see the cathedral as their cathedral,” he said.

Adrian wants the cathedral to play a wider role in the life of the town.

“My whole ministry has been about developing links with community,” he said. “What I want to do, metaphorically, is bring down the walls and make sure that people know that, wherever they are on the journey, there’s a welcome for them at Brecon Cathedral.

“I hope it’ll quickly become known as the place where things happen.

“To people who’ve been here many times before or to people who’ve never been here, I’d want to say: reach out. I want to get to know you. I want to know your stories, your joys, your sorrows.

“And I want you to know, more than anything, that there is a place here for you. We want this to be a place that the town of Brecon can lean on and use.”

The move has also brought changes for Adrian, his wife, Clare, and their daughters, Elena and Betsan.

Clare is a nurse by profession and has worked as a university lecturer in Swansea. Although Adrian describes himself as a “Swansea boy”, he previously spent more than a decade living in Aberystwyth as well as time in Cambridge.

The family is now settling into life in Brecon, exploring the area and adjusting to a different pace of life.

For Adrian, settling in Brecon is also bringing back memories of the grandparents who first brought him to the town.

“When I was a kid, I don’t know why, but my grandparents would come to the Wellington in Brecon for Sunday lunch,” he said. “I can vividly remember Mrs Barlow, the church organist. She’d ask me the same question every Sunday: ‘Where are you going today then?’ Brecon.

“They’d bring me up as a kid and they’d pay for a Sunday lunch. I’d only eat the pâté, the first course. And after lunch we’d come to the cathedral and stay for Evensong, which was lovely.

“I’ve got vivid memories of the place and a sense that it’s always been there really.

“And because my grandparents were so heavily involved in the life of the Church, we’d always come up here for big events, for ordinations and other events throughout the year.”

He is also conscious of the cathedral’s long history.

“Deans come and go, but this place has stood here for almost 1,000 years,” he said.

“I think that helps someone like me coming into this role understand my rightful place.

“My job, hopefully, is to steward it faithfully and to hand it on to the next generation in a better place than it was when I got it.”