I know that many of you will have been following discussions at General Synod over these last few days, and in many ways, there has been a profound sense of dislocation as we have discussed important issues regarding the Church of England while being so deeply aware of the unfolding devastation in Turkey and Syria…
Tag: Bishop Rachel
Ceremony marks Knife Angel’s month-long installation at Gloucester Cathedral
On Wednesday 1 February, at 6.15pm, Bishop Rachel will be part of a ceremony to mark the arrival of the Knife Angel at Gloucester Cathedral. The sculpture aims to raiseContinue reading
Bishop Rachel, statements on Living in Love and Faith
The Bishop of Gloucester, the Right Revd Rachel Treweek said, “I want to reiterate my shame and sadness regarding the way those who identify as LGBTQI+ have too often experiencedContinue reading
A message from Bishop Rachel and Bishop Robert
Firstly, we want to reiterate our shame and sadness regarding the way those who identify as LGBTQI+ have too often experienced hostility and judgement within the Church rather than being cherished as members of the body of Christ with names and stories.
Message from Bishop Rachel, 17 January 2023
Yesterday, I had the privilege of being present at the official opening of The Nelson Trust’s Women’s Centre in Wales. Similar to the Women’s Centre in Gloucester, this provides transforming support for women who have been involved with the criminal justice system. Staff and volunteers work with women in a holistic way, listening to each person’s story and valuing them as a unique individual as they engage with the whole person, including the building and re-shaping of healthy relationships, often including a woman’s children.
Bishop Rachel: ONE Women’s Centre is ‘good news’ for women prisoners
At the end of last year, the Nelson Trust opened a Women’s Centre in HMP Eastwood Park, an innovative new pilot funded by the Ministry of Justice ‘Local Leadership andContinue reading
A New Year’s message from Bishop Rachel
I know that journeying can be an overused metaphor when we talk about faith, but it seems a good one as we begin a new year and recall the visit of the Magi and the unfolding of the season of Epiphany.
Bishop Rachel’s Christmas Day sermon 2022: Gloucester Cathedral
Time is a fascinating subject and it’s something of which we are all very aware: The time it takes to cook a turkey; the countdown of days on the advent calendar; the length of time it takes for an ambulance to arrive; or perhaps the counting of years with the celebration of a significant birthday or anniversary.
New stained-glass window dedicated to Ralph Vaughan Williams
On Sunday 11 December 2022, Bishop Rachel led the dedication service for a new stained-glass window at All Saints’ Church, Down Ampney. The colourful window had been specially commissioned toContinue reading
Living in Love and Faith – a message from Bishop Rachel and Bishop Robert
To our sisters and brothers in the Diocese of Gloucester … This week, we have spent a further three days with the Bishops of the Church of England in aContinue reading
Bishop Rachel’s Christmas message to all
There are so many messages of crisis: climate crisis, fuel crisis, cost of living, NHS, and crises across our world, including in Ukraine. And that crisis-messaging can make people anxious – even despairing … although crises are nothing new.
A message from Bishop Rachel to the Diocese of Gloucester this Christmas
This Christmas many people will come to church buildings, halls and schools to engage with the Christmas story through various services, nativity plays and events. I hope we will capture all those numbers, but then what?
Message from Bishop Rachel, 29 November 2022
We live in a world in which we are acutely aware that ‘nation lifts up sword against nation’ and there is mess and pain and injustice. Whether it’s the narrative around immigration, or a fuel crisis, or the damage inflicted on our planet, or indeed the price of eggs, there is talk of justice in the public square.
Thankfully, in our vision of LIFE Together we have committed to be ‘advocates for flourishing through initiatives which combat injustice…’ yet I am under no illusion that acting with justice is easy or straightforward, and of course mercy and love must also be brought to the table.
Making sense of sentencing – Bishop Rachel hosts event at House of Lords
On 22 November 2022, The Bishop of Gloucester, the Right Revd Rachel Treweek, hosted an event in the House of Lords to raise awareness of the impact of long-term sentences on prisoners and victims.
Message from Bishop Rachel: Living in Love and Faith
This week I have spent three days with the Bishops of the Church of England as we now move towards this final part of the ‘Living in Love and Faith’ journey and reach a decision about what is brought to General Synod in February 2023 regarding same-sex relationships.
Bishop Rachel writes foreword for printed Welcome Directory
The Welcome Directory helps faith communities become places where people who leave prison find acceptance. As a Patron, Bishop Rachel was invited to write the foreword for a new printedContinue reading
Message from Bishop Rachel, 1 November 2022
Today is All Saints Day – perhaps a welcome focus amid news and social media full of judgmental comment and disdainful appraisal of individuals whose names are in the public domain. However, All Saints Day is not primarily a day for moving from criticism to celebration of special people from the past whose stories are in print or whose images appear in stained-glass windows. Neither is it a day for simply extolling the virtues of the few who we perceive to be particularly significant. Rather, it is a day for celebrating the grace and love of God who in Christ has drawn us into a community of saints who belong to God and to one another. Those on earth and those who have gone before us.
Mothers’ Union and Women’s Aid join forces to End Domestic Abuse
On 11 October, the International Day of the Girl Child, Mothers’ Union joins with Women’s Aid to support their Come Together to End Domestic Abuse campaign so that no girlContinue reading
Clergy Conference 2022 – Bishop Rachel’s sermon
Every few years, clergy and lay leaders from our diocese go away for a conference, to learn, reflect, worship and reconnect. During the conference, Bishop Rachel gave a sermon callingContinue reading
Message from Bishop Robert, 4 October 2022
It was a very special privilege to gather last week with clergy and some of our lay leaders from across the diocese for our tri-annual Diocesan Clergy Conference. As the Church, we are charged in this time to share God’s love and to work for the coming of the Kingdom. So we return from the conference recommitted to sharing in this great commission with you, with the whole baptised people of God and with partners of goodwill across our communities.
Message from Bishop Rachel, 27 September 2022
Next month is International Black History Month and it leaves me feeling uneasy. It’s not because I don’t agree with bringing Black history into the frame or ensuring that so many stories about people and places are made visible, or that we are challenged regarding racial justice; rather, my uneasiness is because it can look as if people only need to think about all these things for one month of every year.
Footage from the 2022 Readers’ Day
The Readers’ Day service of admission, licensing and re-commitment to Reader ministry was live streamed on Saturday 24 September.
Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the Bishop of Gloucester visit Women’s Centre and HMP Eastwood Park
The Anglican Bishop for Prisons, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, visited the Nelson Trust Women’s Centre in Gloucester and HMP Eastwood Park.
Message from Bishop Robert, 20 September 2022
It will be a great joy to welcome our Reader community to the Cathedral this coming Saturday for our Annual Reader Day and, in the afternoon, our Annual Service during which Bishop Rachel will be admitting three new Readers who have now completed their training.
Readers have a long and distinguished history of ministry and play a significant part in the ministry of the church today and we owe them a great debt of thanks. Of course, their ministry is significant for all they do in preaching, teaching, pastoral care and, more recently, in pioneer ministry. It is, however, equally significant for what Readers are.
