The following article is from Mark Russell, Chief Executive of The Children’s Society. I know this is an anxious time for all of us, which is why I wanted to reach out and share with you exactly what we at The Children’s Society are doing to support those vulnerable children and young people who need it most. […]
We have been informed by the Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board of the following scam: “Some people have received calls from somebody claiming to be from Public Health England, asking residents if they have received their letter from the government and then asking if they have support from family and friends, and trying to obtain personal […]
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby is backing a call from the Pope for Christians across the world to join in saying the Lord’s Prayer today (Wednesday 25th March) as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Pope Francis has invited Christian leaders and congregations worldwide to pray the Lord’s Prayer simultaneously at noon […]
All Church of England churches are to close with immediate effect, including for private prayer, in an effort to help limit the transmission of the coronavirus COVID-19. The archbishops and bishops of the Church of England have written collectively to clergy, through their dioceses, urging them now to close all church buildings – other than where they […]
Unfortunately due to the current coronavirus situation, the Diocesan Library will be closed until further notice. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. If you have any questions, please do call us on 01604 887000. We look forward to seeing you all again when the Library re-opens. Until then, please stay safe. […]
Many people are having to pray on their own at the moment. The few diocesan staff who are currently still working from Bouverie Court in Northampton are going to light a candle every weekday morning at 8:45am and pray for the Church, this nation and God’s world. Why don’t you do the same? Light a […]
The Presidents of Churches Together in England have issued a call to prayer in the light of the Coronavirus pandemic. This is for all churches and people of prayer to join on Sunday 22nd March – Mothering Sunday. They write…. This Mothering Sunday, 22nd March, we are calling all churches to a National Day of Prayer […]
A letter has been issued today by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, confirming that public worship is to be cancelled until further notice. The letter can be found here. There is also a press release and further guidance on the Church of England website. This guidance will continue to be updated regularly and will […]
16 March 2020 Dear friends Introduction In these challenging times, I think we need more regular communication than my occasional letters. This bulletin is likely to appear weekly during the Covid-19 crisis, and will go to our licensed clergy (including curates, chaplains, assistant and associate priests, but not those with permission to officiate), copied to […]
A MESSAGE FROM BEV HUFF (DIOCESAN SAFEGUARDING OFFICER) It is with regret that I am cancelling the Parish Safeguarding Networking Day for this Saturday (21st March). This is due to the ongoing situation around coronavirus, which clearly is a very fast moving situation. I am so sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. There is […]
A MESSAGE FROM THE DIOCESAN SECRETARY To all Synod members With regret, I advise that the meeting of Diocesan Synod to be held on Saturday 21st March 2020 is cancelled. As there is no vital business to transact, it is felt unwise to bring everyone together at this point. We will be looking for opportunities […]
Claire Reetz, one of the Diocesan Missioners for the Gen2 Project, is currently studying for a diploma in Theology, Ministry and Mission at Church Mission Society in Oxford, as part of their Pioneer Mission Leadership Training course. Claire recently did an interview for CMS’s Pioneer blog, and we liked it so much we thought we’d […]
Bishop Donald’s two talks at the Bishop’s Bible Day in Peterborough three weeks ago (on the theme of ‘The Bible and Prayer’) were recorded. They can be heard below: Talk 1 Talk 2
With great regret I have decided to cancel the Northampton Bishop’s Bible Day, planned for this Saturday, 14th March. With a high proportion of older people being present, and with sharing refreshments and lunch for around 300 people, we simply couldn’t comply with the latest advice on the COVID-19 coronavirus. I apologise to those who […]
11 March 2020 Last month I issued instructions and guidance for hygiene at Holy Communion. Those have permanent effect. This notice concerns the current Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. These are instructions which the clergy and churchwardens must implement, but they are temporary, and will be lifted when life returns to normal. Those giving out books or […]
The Church of England has issued advice regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, which can be found here. This information is being updated daily in the light of the latest advice from Public Health England, and has the approval of Revd Dr Brendan McCarthy (the Church of England National Adviser on Health Policy) and Revd Prof Gina Radford (Deputy Chief Medical […]
Thank you to everyone who has already submitted their church’s Statistics for Mission return for 2019. Although quite a lot of work can be involved in providing the figures, the resulting data proves invaluable in identifying what’s happening within the Church of England, locally as well as nationally – enabling hard facts to take the place […]
Bishop Donald will be leading another pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine in April 2021. The theme of the pilgrimage is ‘Following in the Footsteps of Jesus’ and the visit will run from Monday 12th April to Wednesday 21st April 2021. You can read an introduction to the trip from Bishop Donald here: I hope you can […]
Bishop Donald was in the House of Lords last Tuesday (25th February), and took part in a debate regarding war widows’ pensions. The debate regarded the rights of war widows to payments after they have remarried. Bishop Donald’s contribution was as follows: My Lords, does the noble Baroness (referring to Baroness Goldie, Minister of State at […]
The Church of England has launched its first ever Green Lent campaign today (Wednesday 26th February – Ash Wednesday). The #LiveLent challenge sets out 40 topics for thought – as well as prayers – to help people to explore the theme of ‘Care for God’s Creation’. Some of the questions explored over the 40 days will include: Could you switch […]