Increasingly in my ministry, not least in my ministry with prisons and criminal justice, I reflect on the reality that all the brokenness in our world is rooted in broken relationship: Relationship with God, with neighbour and with self, and of course with the earth and the whole of creation. This is echoed in our failure to keep those commandments, underlined by Jesus Christ, to ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength’ and to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’.
Tag: Life Together
Message from Bishop Rachel, 6 June 2023
We do a lot of counting in the Church, often related to numbers of people or leaders or amounts of money – and much of that can help us identify the places where we are healthy as Church and where we are not. In the shaping of our current strategies and plans, not least within each deanery, there is a need for some counting and measuring, yet always being aware that noticing and nurturing growth and health involves so much more than counting.
LIFE Together 2022: Some highlights
It’s been a year since we focused the spotlight of our LIFE vision into the five areas of the LIFE Together vision. We’re seeking to live ‘life in all itsContinue reading
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.
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
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.
Message from Bishop Rachel, 11 October 2022
As well as the privilege of being Bishop of Gloucester, I also have the additional privilege of being Anglican Bishop for His Majesty’s Prisons in England and Wales, and last Sunday was Prisons Sunday at the start of Prisons Week. The theme this year is Thankfulness, and it was good to explore that during the Eucharist at HMP Ashfield in the Diocese of Bristol.
Message from Bishop Rachel, 21 June 2022
Monday was World Refugee Day and it was a privilege to be at the unveiling of a blue plaque in Gloucester marking the house where 10 Jewish boys were given a home in 1939 when they arrived in England on the Kinder Transport escaping Nazi oppression…
Message from Bishop Robert, 1 February 2022
All our desire, all our intentions, will only be fruitful if they are rooted in a vision of the holiness of God.
Praying together for LIFE Together
‘Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,Continue reading
Praying together for LIFE Together
Worshipping communities and individuals in and around Gloucestershire are invited to join in monthly prayers on Zoom for the work of the church in this area. “Do not worry aboutContinue reading
A New Year’s message from Bishop Rachel and Bishop Robert
One of the joys for both of us in the days before Christmas was to be able to join in a number of carol services around the Diocese. In theseContinue reading
Message from Bishop Robert: The God who calls us is faithful
LIFE Together builds on all that has happened over these last five years, as we have sought to shape ourselves as a Church in this diocese to share the abundance of life that is in Jesus Christ.
Message from Bishop Rachel, 2 November 2021
‘… all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of theContinue reading
