The Rector of Thrapston Parish Church from 1979 to 1989, Revd Dr Andrew Daunton-Fear, is the editor of a special book published this month by a special author – his mother! Treasures from a Deep Mine: Readings for Lent and Daily Life consists of 40 devotional talks by Alison Daunton-Fear, given in England and Australia over a period of […]
As a lay minister and Mothers’ Union Diocesan President, I am a great believer in both lay and ordained working together to build God’s Kingdom. We may have different roles and responsibilities, but are all gifted by God to share the good news of salvation. We may think of it in terms of the great […]
Revd Philip Evans, the Lead Chaplain at St Andrew’s Healthcare (the specialist mental healthcare charity based in Northampton) was recently invited to make a presentation to a conference of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, hosted by its Spirituality Specialist Interest Group (SIG). The conference, entitled ‘Spirituality and Mental Health: What does the NHS Provide?’, was […]
Our Diocesan Gen2 team welcomed a new member at the beginning of 2021 – Charlotte Nobbs. Charlotte has been appointed Diocesan Children’s Mission Enabler, and we thought we would catch up with her to say hello and discuss her new role. Hi Charlotte – welcome to the Diocese! Please introduce yourself… I am Charlotte Nobbs, […]
The Bishop of Peterborough has embraced a plea by Action for Happiness volunteers in Northamptonshire, asking churches across the Diocese of Peterborough to consider Sunday 17th January as ‘Wellbeing Sunday’. The third Monday in January has often been dubbed ‘Blue Monday’ and cited as the most challenging day of the year in terms of mental […]
The following updated clarification on singing in places of worship has been given by the Church of England: The Government has advised that: Where singing or chanting is essential to an act of worship, this should be limited to one person wherever possible. Exceptionally, where it is essential to the service, up to three individuals […]
Following the statement by the Prime Minister on Monday night (4th January), detailing new restrictions in England to control the spread of Covid-19, The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, who chairs the Church of England’s Covid Recovery Group, said: “The Prime Minister’s words tonight underline the severity of the situation for the country, as the virus continues to […]
NB: This reflection was written prior to the current government lockdown. I am writing this on Advent Sunday, such is the way of deadlines. I want to suggest that at New Year, we should be looking forward rather than back, but I’ve already fallen into the trap of checking to see what I wrote this […]
Bishop Donald was part of a virtual House of Lords debate on Thursday (10th December) regarding War Widows’ Pensions. The question for the debate, asked by the Labour peer Baroness Crawley, was: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in resolving the issues faced by those war widows who were required to […]
Our churches have been hard hit financially this year. Months of lockdown has left many of you wondering where to find the necessary funds for repairs, running costs and maintenance. We’ve listened and we’re pleased to announce a new partnership with fundraising website easyfundraising which will enable you to easily generate funds for your church […]
I love the ‘not-yet’ seasons of the year, Advent and Lent, when we look forward (sometimes patiently) to the celebrations of Christmas and Easter. Many of us can sympathise with the child who prayed “Lord, please give me patience and give it to me right now!” Waiting is unpopular. We desperately try to guess which […]
The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, has welcomed guidance from the Government permitting outdoor singing for places of worship in all tiers in England from 2nd December, and indoor singing by choirs. Guidance published by the Government on Sunday confirmed that indoor singing by both amateur and professional choirs will be permitted, and that congregations […]
Morgan Overton was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Tuesday 10th November after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. He was sentenced to a three-year community order with 20 days of therapy in order to stop him re-offending. He was also given 120 hours of unpaid work and will be […]
Peterborough Cathedral Choir has made a series of live recordings for parishes to use for their online Advent and Christmas services. The recordings – which are all (except one) in video format – will be available from Monday 23rd November, so that they can be used from Advent Sunday onwards. Feel free to add these live […]
The Church of St James in the Northamptonshire village of Hollowell will be part of Christmas for millions of people this year, as one of their stained-glass windows is featuring as part of Royal Mail’s Christmas stamp collection for 2020. Six stained-glass Nativity scenes from churches around England have been chosen for the special collection, […]
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York and a number of senior church leaders are inviting Christians across the nation to participate in a month of prayer – launching today (Thursday 5th November) – as a second lockdown in England comes into force. Throughout the month, Christians will be encouraged to pray daily for a specific […]
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have invited the nation to join them in prayer, in a message encouraging ‘calm, courageous and compassionate’ responses to the difficulties of the second national lockdown in England. Dear Friends, These are deeply challenging and difficult times for us all. When we are surrounded by fear and suffering, it can […]
November – 1st: All Saints, 2nd: All Souls, 5th: Guy Fawkes, 8th: Remembrance, 11th: Armistice… 22nd: Christ the King (and 29th is Advent Sunday this year). Lots of church, community, and civic highlights. This year still very real, and very important – but subdued and maybe overshadowed by the virus. Remembering still matters though. Not […]
Sarah Howes is one of our new Mission Enablers for the Gen2 Project. Sarah is based at St Mary’s Wollaston and Bozeat, and shares her experience of lockdown with us. When lockdown hit, all our usual youth ministry had to stop and suddenly we were faced with the challenge of trying to reach out, support […]
Peter French, Deputy Diocesan Director of Education, brings us up-to-date with how our Church schools have coped (and continue to cope) with the effects of COVID-19. Within the Diocese of Peterborough there are 103 Church of England schools. All of these have been open for all or part of the time since the lockdown occurred in […]