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: bishopsletter
Message from Bishop Rachel, 16 May 2023
It is nearly a year since bishops from all over the world gathered for the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury. Among the highlights for me were our small groups in which we met a couple of times each day; and a day at Lambeth Palace on one of the hottest days of the year, focusing on climate change and hearing stark stories of the devastating impact on the lives of people and places across our world. One of the many contributors to that day was Christian Aid.
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 Rachel, as published in the Citizen Easter 2023
Message from Bishop Rachel, as published in the Citizen Easter 2023
As I look around at our communities, country and world, I am aware of a sense of so much and so little in all the reporting of bad news….
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 Rachel, 21 March 2023
Last Saturday, many people from across the Diocese gathered for the inspiring and informative event, ‘Under fives and flourishing’. When introducing the event, and particularly thanking so many wonderful volunteers, I stated that creating spaces for under fives and their parents and carers is one of the most significant things we offer as followers of Christ.
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.
Message from Bishop Rachel, 28 February 2023
I suspect that if you have given anything up for Lent it probably isn’t the mirror. Most of us during Lent will look in the mirror at least once a day, and I wonder if this in itself might be the reminder we need to allow Lent to be a time when we look beyond the surface of our external reflection and discover more of who we are within, and who God is, who knows us inside out and loves us.
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 Rachel, 31 January 2023
On Thursday of this week it will be 40 days since Christmas and we mark the Feast of the Presentation, often referred to as Candlemas, when we recall Christ beingContinue reading
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.
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.
Message from Bishop Robert, 10 January 2023
A number of us from across the diocese were pleased to be able to gather on Friday in the Cathedral to express our thanks to Canon Andrew Braddock for 14 years of ministry in this diocese.
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.
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 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.
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.
Message from Bishop Robert, 22 November 2022
I am delighted to report that, like the first cuckoo of spring, I have seen my first house decorated for Christmas. At one level I know I should hold the line — it’s not even Advent and as a child Christmas lights were never allowed before Christmas Eve (or just possibly the weekend before that).
