These days, we are living between the feast of the Ascension, which we celebrated last Thursday, and Pentecost, which we will celebrate this coming Sunday, and they have a very particular feel to them.
Tag: Bishop Robert
Message from Bishop Robert, Tuesday 9 May
One of the few things I was known for by my headmaster at school was my ability to avoid the ball when it came to football. My school sporting careerContinue reading
Message from Bishop Rachel, 2 May 2023
Last week, Bishop Robert shared some reflections on the Coronation and the truth that ‘the formation of our society needs the participation of us all’. Now that the details of the Coronation have been made public, we can see that this is fully reflected in the liturgy and events of this weekend.
Message from Bishop Robert, 25 April 2023
What is it that makes this country? There are of course a number of answers to that question, and none of them are mutually exclusive. Our history and our geography play a large part. Those features have been in part responsible for shaping our institutions of government nationally and locally
Message from Bishop Robert, 18 April 2023
This coming Sunday at 3pm we will be welcoming Canon Andrew Zihni as the 39th Dean of Gloucester. The eagle-eyed will notice that he comes as the Dean of Gloucester – his ministry while rooted in the life of the Cathedral is not restricted to it! As the Dean, he is the senior priest of the Diocese and shares with Bishop Rachel, with me and her whole staff in the leadership and care we together seek to offer to the whole Diocese.
Message from Bishop Robert, 28 March 2023
One of the questions asked of the candidates at an interview I was chairing recently was what were they passionate about? It was a great question, passion is that strong, motivating force that drives a person’s life. It might be about sport, or a hobby. If we are lucky, it might be our work, and it will be something that we want to share with others, that they might become as passionate about it as we are.
Message from Bishop Robert, 14 March 2023
Thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength … (Isaiah 30:15)
I have found myself returning often to these words from the prophet Isaiah over the last few years as a reminder in busy, sometimes anxious, sometimes challenging times that it is in God we are to place our trust and from God our hope and our confidence for all that will be.
Message from Bishop Robert, 7 March 2023
Last week, in Jerusalem, the Patriarch with the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem consecrated the Chrism oil that will be used in the Coronation of King Charles III.
Diocese of Gloucester celebrates first licensed funeral ministers
On 9 February, Bishop Robert licensed six new Funeral Ministers, marking an exciting step for the Church of England and the Diocese. Diocese of Gloucester Funerals is a new serviceContinue reading
Message from Bishop Robert, 20 February 2023
This coming Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, we begin our Lenten journey. Many of us will mark this by being present in church where we will receive the imposition of ashes, the sign of the cross marked on our foreheads with the words ‘Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ’ before we are fed with the bread and wine of communion to sustain us on our journey.
Living in Love and Faith: Message from Bishop Rachel, 14 February 2023
The most recent message regarding Living in Love and Faith, first posted on 14 February 2023
Message from Bishop Robert, 7 February 2023
I have just returned from a fabulous mission weekend with the Thameshead Benefice, a group of six parishes and nine churches located between Cirencester and Tetbury – a mix of larger villages such as Kemble and smaller communities that together create a lively church community reaching out to all who live in the area.
Message from Bishop Robert, 24 January 2023
I was privileged last year to lead one of the first pilgrimages to the Holy Land after Israel reopened its boarders following the global pandemic. In contrast to previous pilgrimages, the Holy Sites were generally quiet – ours was the only group present in the chapel in Bethlehem where Jesus is traditionally thought to have been born. That quiet extended to another of our visits, like the vast majority of pilgrimages, to the Holocaust Memorial, Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem.
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.
Bishop Rachel: Interim Dean arrangements
A message from Bishop Rachel about the departure of our current Interim Dean Andrew Braddock for Norwich, and Bishop Robert’s role for the coming months.
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
Message from Bishop Robert, 6 December 2022
A week ago, Cate Williams wrote on the deep reality of the nature crisis that is wounding the biodiversity of our world and how, as disciples of Christ, we might begin to respond. As we begin our Christmas celebrations, we are given, should we need it, another reminder of why it is so important that we respond.
Eco projects at care home help residents connect with faith
Bishop Robert visited Badgeworth Court in Cheltenham to find out more about the environmental projects they use to benefit both their care home and their residents. Joana Matias, Activities Coordinator,Continue reading
Letting the wildflowers bloom
Sue Padfield, Churchwarden at St Mary’s, Witcombe showed Bishop Robert how the church team has been caring for the churchyard in a way that encourages nature. They leave two largeContinue reading
Message from Bishop Robert, 8 November 2022
This week, we will remember the victims of war, from the Great War to the Second World War and the conflicts that have followed to this very day. As we remember, we will commemorate all victims of war and we will give thanks for those who have worked to bring peace out of war and we will, I trust, commit ourselves, as we remember, to be people of peace.
Bishop gets eco tips from Shurdington School
Bishop Robert visited Shurdingon Church of England Primary School to chat with the children about their views on the environment.
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 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.
Message from Bishop Robert, 6 September 2022
For those of us who seek to follow Jesus Christ, this is where our hope and our confidence is to be found – a hope and confidence that will allow us to speak a different story, that will challenge the narrative of gloom and doom that seems all pervasive.
