We are sad to report the death of The Right Reverend Paul Barber, the first Suffragan Bishop of Brixworth, Assistant Bishop to the Dioceses of Bath & Wells, Archdeacon of Surrey and the former Vicar of St Michael’s, Camberley and of St Thomas-on-the-Bourne in Farnham. He died peacefully at home, with Pat at his side, […]
Charity Commission Charity: Orton Trust The Commission proposes to make a Scheme (a legal document) for this charity. The Scheme will remove the requirement, in the 1968 trust deed which governs the charity, for the trustees’ decision to sell the charity’s property to be confirmed by inhabitants. A copy of the Scheme can be seen […]
Revd Canons David and Helen Newman will be retiring from their posts of warden and chaplain of Launde Abbey in August of this year. They had been waiting for lockdown to be over in the hope of announcing their news to Launde Abbey staff in person but the extended closure of Launde make that impossible […]
Emma Kirby, one of our Gen2 missioners, tells us about the unexpectedly positive effects that lockdown has had on her work. Here at St. Mary’s in the parish of Weldon and Priors Hall, we have a heart for reaching out into the community. We believe that it is by making a difference in people’s lives […]
Monday 8th March is the day that the church remembers Edward King, former Bishop of Lincoln, who died in 1910. On my bookshelf I have a copy of The Spiritual Letters of Edward King and towards the end of the book is a letter headed ‘To a Working Man’. King says “The world goes ahead […]
Well, here we are once again on the cusp of Lent – traditionally a season of penitential preparation for the great feast of Easter; 40 days of self-discipline with the promise of a party at the end of it. Except, of course, that this year is different. This year, we approach Lent having already been […]
For the past 18 months, the Diocese of Peterborough has been one of only six ‘Trailblazer’ dioceses within the Church of England to take up the Growing Faith initiative. Growing Faith seeks to bring together the three spheres of church, school and households – in how we think and in what we do – and […]
Dear friends As we reach the terrible milestone of 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, we invite everyone in our nation to pause as we reflect on the enormity of this pandemic. 100,000 isn’t just an abstract figure. Each number is a person: someone we loved and someone who loved us. We also believe that each of […]
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 […]