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Last Christmas, I reflected on ‘O little town of Bethlehem’
and urged you to pray for the communities of the Holy Land and surrounding nations. And sadly this year, I find myself repeating that urging – the need for God’s gifts of peace and goodwill in those and other places is greater than ever.
But let me add another line from that carol: ‘So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.’ At Christmas we celebrate and proclaim that in Jesus everything we think of as ‘heaven’ breaks into our human experience. ‘Heaven’ is about the close presence of God, and Jesus offers us the way into knowing that presence in our own lives. ‘Heaven’ is about
a life of joy and contentment, and Jesus offers us that experience now. ‘Heaven’ is about the full coming of God’s justice and peace, and Jesus makes real that possibility.
Of course it is true that we do not in this life experience these things in full and final form. But our Christian faith is that these gifts of God may begin to be reality for us and for the world – we may have a foretaste, a first instalment. And this comes as Christ Jesus is ‘born in us today’. This Christmas, may God impart afresh to us his wondrous gift and the blessings of his heaven.
+James, Bishop of Rochester
DECEMBER 2015/JANUARY 2016
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Copy deadline for the February issue of Rochester Link is 4pm on 15 January 2016. Copy to: [email protected]
Mpwapwa: A Decade of Links
see pages 6 and 7 for details
The Wonder of Christmas
We often hear the question ‘Do people today understand what Christmas is really about?’ If you visit Rochester Cathedral before 2 February 2016, you will find out that the children in our Church schools all around the Diocese know exactly what Christmas is all about. With a simple plastic hoop, schools from every part of the Diocese have created a set of twelve Nativity mobiles to hang in the Cathedral to remind us all what is most important about Christmas.
Explaining their ‘Host of heavenly Angels’, St John’s
school in Tunbridge Wells said, “At our School, we sing about Jesus’ birth, we act out the story of the Nativity, we dance as we remember the joy the shepherds and the kings must have felt when they were visited by the Angel Gabriel.” For St John’s Infant School in Chatham, they explain by saying, “We realised that every single person on our earth will see the very same stars that the three kings saw no matter where they live or what their beliefs are.” At St Nicholas’ Infant School in Strood, making a giant mobile meant that, “We thought about the
people that were important in the story and decided that the humble shepherds reflected our beliefs about how we should serve God.” For St Barnabas in Tunbridge Wells, their mobile helped them to think more about their Christian values and so, ”Each image on our mobile reminds us that, as a school, we continue the tradition of making the glory of the Word made flesh known in our parish and community.”
If you get the opportunity to see the Nativity display in the Cathedral and read about how
the children have thought about Christmas, remember how much children can continue to teach us. If we think on this, it should come as no surprise to us that Jesus came as a tiny child to teach us everything that we need to know. Wateringbury school pupils say this better than I can, “Making our mobile (A Starry Night) made us think about Jesus being the light of the world and helping to us show the right path in our own lives.”
Bishop James writes
By Virginia Corbyn
God’s Gift of Peace
Picture on left taken at Holy Trininty School, Dartford
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SEVENOAKSDecember 2, 9, 16 and 23 lunchtime recitals. Church of St Luke, Eardley Road, Sevenoaks. 1230. Admission free. Refreshments available from 12 noon (2 Dec Trevor Brearley, Organ.9 Dec. Colin Baker Quartet. 16 Dec. New Benedict Singers. 23 Dec. Chris Lawton, Organ.
WATERINGBURY5 December. Kent Chamber Choir: Music for Advent and Christmas conducted by Alan Vincent with mezzo-soprano Tabitha Reynolds, baritone John Harding and organist Geoffrey Lester at the Church of St John the Baptist, Tonbridge Road, Wateringbury ME18 5PA at 7.30pm. A varied evening’s entertainment including gems by John Rutter to mark his 70th birthday year and by the late Sir David Willcocks, with traditional and less well known carols.Tickets at £10 (£5 children/students) available from Ros Diment 01622 813032, Rebecca Moate 07715 399320 and Wateringbury Post Office.
ROCHESTER7 December. Using Social Media. Training session. 7.30 – 9.30 pm at the Diocesan Office, Rochester, ME18 6BX. Cost £5. Contact: Sarah Cabella, 01634 560024. Explore the benefits and pitfalls of using social media within your ministry. Examine best practice, guidelines and safe social media practices.
ERITH11, 12 and 13 December. Erith Christmas Tree Festival, Christ Church, Victoria Road, Erith, DA8 3AN. 11 December 12 noon to 6 pm. 12 December 10 am till 6 pm. 13 December 12 noon till 5 pm. Admission free donations to charity.
ERITH12 December. 7 pm. Christmas Musical Concert in Christ Church, Erith surrounded by Christmas trees! Bexleyheath Rock Choir Admission free - donation to charity.
ERITH12 December. Christmas fair. Church hall, Christ Church, Erith. 10 am till 2 pm. Admission free
LONDON12 December 7.00pm. Michael Card with guests Celeste, Jeff Taylor, Chenoa Alamu and the St Thomas on the Bourne Choir. Christmas Concert. Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, Islington, London, N1 2UN. Tickets £20. Concessions £15 from:- [email protected] 01252 678589 or 07957 302922. www.michaelcard.org.uk
WATERINGBURY12 and 13 December. Angels and Cribs. 2.30 to 4.30pm The Church of St John the Baptist, Tonbridge Road, Wateringbury, ME18 5PA. Visit the church to see a display of nativity cribs and angels and enjoy a cup of tea with angel cakes and biscuits. Entrance free.
ROCHESTER11 and 12 December. Christmas Tree Festival. St Justus, Rochester, ME1 2LT. Friday 11 12 noon – 6 pm. Saturday 12 December 10 am – 4 pm. For more information, email [email protected], visit the website www.christmastreefestivalatstjustus.co.uk or ring the Rev Helen Burn on 01634 841183
WILMINGTON12 December. 7:30 pm. St Michael & All Angels’ Church, Church Hill, Wilmington DA2 7EH. An evening of silent movies, songs from the shows and carols featuring Bernard Tilley. £10 admission which includes wine and cheese Tickets from [email protected] 01322 288235 or 07946 519061
ASH 13 December 7.30 pm Kent Chamber Choir. Words and music for Advent and Christmas. Alan Vincent Conductor. Geoffrey Lester Organ. St Peter and St Paul Church Ash. TN17 7HD. Tickets £10 (£5 for children and full-time students) on the door or in advance from Jean Bentley 01474 872333 or at [email protected]; and Rebecca Moate on 07834 600563 or at [email protected] In aid of Ash Church.
13 December. Sat 1000 to 1600 Sun 1400 to 1600. Christmas Tree Festival. St Peter and St Paul, Ash, TN17 7HD. Entry free. Donations welcome. Vote for your favourite tree.
13 December. Lamberhurst Music Festival. 7.30 pm. Carols by candlelight, sung by The choir of Selwyn College Cambridge. St Mary, Lamberhurst. Contact: www.lamberhurstmusic.co.uk or phone 07812 192338
ERITH13 December. Carols by Christmas tree light. 6.30 pm Christ Church, Erith.
ROCHESTER13 December 12 noon to 4 pm, Craft Boutique, Carol Service at 6.30pm St Justus, Rochester. Live music throughout the weekend, refreshments, all age creative Christmas session and Sunday Craft Boutique. Admission free. Donations to Wisdom Hospice.
RAMRYGE ANGELS10 December to 21 January. Rochester Cathedral.
What’s on
The Ramryge Angels will be on display at the Lady Chapel in Rochester Cathedral from 10 December 2015 to 21 January 2016
Captions to : [email protected] 31 December 2015 please.
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Walking with Christ
Advent itself gives us themes about the closeness and immediacy of the
God who comes among us, and about waiting for and on God. And that leads me to resolve to give more attention to prayer and listening to God. Lindsay, my Chaplain, resolutely puts Quiet Days into my diary – and I regularly take them out again. For 2016, I see that she’s gone further and booked me
into a retreat house for some – I need to take those times seriously and use them fruitfully.
Advent is also a season in which we think about God as judge. That’s a difficult one, but it is important to acknowledge that I am accountable to God for all that he has entrusted to me. That applies to me in relation
both to my ministry as bishop, and to the manner of my life more generally. And that leads me to resolutions about things like not avoiding difficult decisions, doing now the things which don’t need time for reflection, but not rushing the things which do need time. It also leads me to reflect on some of my patterns of personal behaviour and attitude.
With the idea of God as judge, Advent also gives a focus on themes of justice and righteousness. Alongside being Bishop of Rochester, I am also Bishop to HM Prisons and that gives me a particular responsibility to think about these issues in relation to our national approach to criminal justice. Since taking on this role, I have seen the contribution already made by the churches and individual Christians in this arena, and am also convinced that we have potential to offer more. So another of my resolutions is to find ways to encourage the churches to realise their potential for bringing transformation for those caught up in our criminal justice system.
And finally this season is often one in which we reflect on relationships in our wider families. For us as Christians, a wider family is that of the worldwide Church. In our Diocese, we have the joy of many parish and school level links and also our four diocesan level partnerships with Kondoa, Mpwapwa, Harare and Estonia. I hope to see these flourish even more in the next year, and my personal resolution is to nurture more fully my relationships with the four bishops in those places.
So those are some of my resolutions for a New Year of walking with Christ. Can I encourage you to use this season to think what yours might be?
+James, Bishop of Rochester
‘Happy New Year’ might seem a premature greeting for the beginning of December, even if this edition of Link is meant to cover January as well. But of course the Church’s annual cycle begins not with January but with Advent – and that is the season in which we now are. So what might be my resolutions for a New Year of walking with Christ?
Bishop James’ DiaryDecember 2015 Tuesday 1 5pm Bishop’s Council Wednesday 2 5.30pm ‘Callover’ Service Rochester Cathedral Thursday 3 8.30pm London Church Leaders 3pm Housing Justice Board – LondonFriday 4 2pm St Mary’s School, Stone Saturday 5 All Day Quiet Day - Otford Sunday 6 10am Preside & preach - Bromley, St Andrew 6pm Confirmation - Tunbridge Wells, St James Tuesday 8 12.30pm Mission & Public Affairs Council - London 5pm All-party Penal Affairs Group - Parliament 7.30pm Kent Workplace Mission TrusteesThursday 10 7.30pm Institution of the Rev Nicholas Cooper - Frindsbury with Upnor & ChattendenSaturday 12 All Day Cell Group – Londonand Sunday 13 Monday 14 All Day House of Bishops – Londonand Tuesday 15 Wednesday 16 All Day Bishop’s Staff Meeting 5.30pm Carol Service - HMP YOI Rochester Thursday 17 8am Kent Church Leaders - Maidstone 11am General Synod Business Committee - London
Friday 18 12noon Kent Workplace Mission Event - MedwayFriday 18 3.30pm West Kent YMCA Christmas Celebration – TonbridgeSunday 20 10am Confirmation - Bromley Common, Holy Trinity 7pm Preach: Carol Service - Chatham, St Philip and St JamesMonday 21 7.30pm Nine Lessons and Carols - Rochester Cathedral Tuesday 22 7.30pm Nine Lessons and Carols - Rochester CathedralWednesday 23 1pm Diocesan Staff Christmas Lunch Thursday 24 11.30pm Preside & preach - Rochester Cathedral Friday 25 10am Preside & preach – Southborough, St Thomas
January 2016 Friday 1 All Day Annual Leave to Monday 4 Wednesday 6 All Day Bishop’s Staff MeetingThursday 7 All Day Interviews for new Dean of& Friday 8 RochesterSunday 10 10am Preside & preach - Bromley Common, St Augustine 3pm Rededication and Thanksgiving Service – Hoo, St Werburgh
Monday 11 All Day House of Lords Duty - Londonto Friday 15Thursday 14 7.30pm Collation of the Rev Mark Tariq - Falconwood , Bishop RidleyFriday 15 All Day Bishop’s Council Residential – and Saturday 16 LondonSaturday 16 All Day Partnership visit to Estonia to Wednesday 20 Thursday 21 8.30am Confirmation – St Michael’s School, Otford 11.30am Society of Catholic Priests AGM - RochesterFriday 22 2.30pm Budget Review GroupSaturday 23 1pm Lay Ministers’ Residential – West WickhamSunday 24 8am Patronal Festival - Crofton, St Paul & 10.15am 3pm Window dedication - Horton Kirby, St MaryMonday 25 10am College of Bishops - LondonTuesday 26 10am Senior Leadership Development Group - LondonWednesday 27 2pm Partner Dioceses Steering GroupThursday 28 7.45pm Archdeaconry Churchwardens gathering - Bromley Parish ChurchSunday 31 10am Preside & preach – Beckenham, St Barnabas 4pm Confirmation - Hoo Peninsula Group
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Around 600 people attended a short service in church
led by the vicar of Rainham, the Rev Judy Henning, before going out for a short service and laying of wreaths at the war memorial.
Representatives from the many local organisations, the Scouts and Guides, as well as many veterans and families attended the service, in church and we were as usual joined at the memorial by hundreds of local
people and those from other churches and societies.
Wreaths were laid on behalf of the Mayor of Medway and by Mr Rehman Chishti MP, service associations and
charities, along with many other local organisations, the police, schools, clubs, Scouts and Guides as well as many veterans and families who laid their own wreaths and tributes.
Remembrance at RainhamSt Margaret’s Church, Rainham, was again full to capacity for the Annual Remembrance Day Service on Sunday.
Dennis said, “This is important to me. I don’t want to just see ‘Williams, A’ I want to see a full name. We want to recognise all of the fallen because they deserve to be remembered properly. It’s emotional when you find the name you are looking for; it can really choke you.” Denis tried to join the Merchant Navy at the age of
14 because he loved the sea. He was actually a Private in the Royal Army Service Corps between 1944 and 1947 and was demobbed on November 5. Denis met his wife Patricia when they were at school together and they are members of the congregation at St Alban’s Church. He said, “Nearly 200 men from this church laid down their lives
for King and Country; they deserve to be recognised for the ultimate sacrifice they made for us.”
Calling for a Remembrance Day with a difference, Dennis drew up a proposal not only for a church service to remember the fallen but also to help promote the work of the church. He said, “What is the
point of concentrating on the church as a structure, when really it’s all about the people?”
With this service, Dennis hoped to inspire newcomers to attend church perhaps for the first time, and to leave thinking, “We really enjoyed that, and we will come back again.” He said, “St Albans is a great church with great people.”
This Remembrance Day, Veteran Denis Rayment from St Alban’s Church, Dartford, strove for recognition for the nearly 200 men from the Parish of St Albans who died in the 1914 to 1918 War.
St Alban’s Church, Dartford
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6 ochester Link
A Decade of Diocesan LinksIt was a joy to represent Bishop James and the Diocese on 9-11 October, in Tanzania, at 3 days of celebrations to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Links between Mpwapwa Diocese and our Diocese. These links are constantly developing and are deeply valued, both there and here.
By the time the celebrations began, I was joined by several others from this Diocese who were
already out in Mpwapwa; a group from St Stephen, Tonbridge - Stephen and Sylvie Barbor, Mike Tingey and Gareth Francis and a group from All Saints, Orpington; the Rev Canon Yolande Marcussen, her husband Trevor, daughter Rebecca, and the curate, the Rev Cathy Knight-Scott, together with Steve, our “official photographer”.
The celebrations began on Friday 9 October, with a “short” service in Mpwapwa Cathedral led by Archbishop Jacob Chimeledya. The service lasted several hours! It included wonderful singing from various church groups. The history of the Christian Gospel coming to Mpwapwa through Anglican missionaries and the history of our links between Rochester and Mpwapwa were rehearsed. All members of the Rochester team were invited to speak, some more than once! We then visited St Luke’s Hospital, nearby, and the hospital chapel (where I had dedicated the foundation stone in 2007).
The following day, we set forth into the countryside, arriving initially at the village of Chitemo, where we were greeted by choirs singing songs of welcome, who led us in an amazing procession through the length of the village.
The focus for this day’s celebrations were 3 projects arising out of the SEEDS 4 Tanzania initiative, set up by Yolande Marcussen: - a pre-school in the village of Nhyanila, a nearby water borehole project, and a primary school in Chitemo. A great array of choirs sang songs of welcome and of tribute to the Bishops in Mpwapwa and in Rochester, past and present, involved with the links, and songs of Christian worship and teaching.
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In this dry and arid area, where the rains have failed once more, the faith of the people remains exuberant. Once again, all members of the Rochester team contributed verbally to the occasion.
The climax of the celebrations came on the Sunday morning, when we gathered at Queen Esther’s School, a little distance outside Mpwapwa itself, set up in the location which was one of the early centres of Christianity in Mpwapwa and where the Christian faith overcame the slave trade practices in the area. The school provides
secondary education for girls and is highly rated. Our Diocese has contributed towards some of the building work and there are ongoing links there with Trinity School, Belvedere, in this Diocese. Some students from Bennett Memorial School also visited Queen Esther’s School this summer.
I preached on the Parable of the Mustard-Seed and on the words of St Paul in Philippians 1, vv. 3-5, which speak of thankful remembrance of those who are “partners in the Gospel” at the open air Eucharist. Again, we had rich musical contributions from
groups within the school and the wider gathered congregation and the Rochester team members were invited to speak.The day ended with our being invited into the home of Archbishop Jacob and his wife, Mwezwa.
We enjoyed the confident and vibrant faith of these Tanzanian Christians and their partnership in the Gospel. We hope and pray that the links, which began in a small way, may, like the mustard seed in the parable, continue to grow and grow.
By Venerable Clive Mansell, Archdeacon of Tonbridge
The Ven Clive Mansell, Archdeacon of Tonbridge
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Malling Deanery VisitDuring the week of 8 to 15 November Bishop James came to Malling Deanery.
He had previously visited just after he came to the Diocese so we hope he enjoyed the refresher course!
Bishop James spent the week in varies activities, everything from the blessing of bells at Barming, to asking the opinions of shoppers outside ASDA in Kings Hill, to celebrating communion in a home for the elderly at Wouldham, to the licensing of the new wardens of the Pilsdon Community.He also visited both the Malling and Trottiscliffe schools and participated in many services, including Remembrance services at Mereworth
(which was full to the brim with children) and the Royal British Legion Village in Aylesford on Remembrance Sunday afternoon which was a service with a different flavour.
Part of our aspiration for Bishop James’ week with us was for him to get to know and to be seen by different groups within the churches. As well as meeting the clergy for a bring and share lunch and talk, he also met with the Lay Ministers (Readers, Pastoral Assistants, and Evangelists) one evening, and with Church Officers (Wardens, Treasurers and Secretaries) on another. The idea of these meetings with the laity was to give them the chance to meet and talk with the Bishop
and get to know him - unencumbered by their deanery clergy!Along with all these many activities Bishop James also managed to find time to meet informally with the parish clergy for their interim reviews. These informal conversations are a chance for the Bishop to speak with each priest, to catch up with what has been going on in their parish/benefice, and for the clergy to address any issues or ask any advice or questions they feel are relevant.
All in all this has been a very exciting time for us as a deanery and we hope that Bishop James gets a chance for a rest before his next visit to a deanery.
The Rev Matthew Buchan
It can seem a little odd, that in the middle of peace Church of England liturgy, we have a habit of stopping and telling each other what we believe. It’s not only odd, it’s required of us. And in certain services we not only have to tell each other what we believe, but we have to use particular words to do so: to use an authorised Creed.
But in fact this urge to re-cap our faith goes back to the earliest Church. It goes back within Jewish worship well before Jesus was born. Scholars are confident that the Shema (Deuteronomy 6.4) was used in synagogue worship, and that in Paul’s Christological statement in Philippians (2.6 ff) he is quoting, and expanding upon, a well-known creedal hymn.
Sometimes these creeds have been used as testimonies for new members (in the baptism liturgies of the Church, going back to earliest times) sometimes, true, they have been used to separate ‘us’ from ‘them’ (‘what do we believe? Not what that lot do.’); sometimes they have been used to link us to our roots, to remind us that ours is an historical faith, or to give thanks for the saving works of God; but most often, most simply, they are an expression of our desire to stand before God and remind ourselves of what unites us before her.
This is why many churches stand and face in a given direction - either East, or towards the altar, or perhaps towards the Easter candle - to give physical expression
to the unity the words convey. We stand, literally, shoulder to shoulder, heart by heart, united by a fixed point. Sisters and brothers in Christ, part of the great cloud of witnesses that stretches through the ages and around the world.
So when we stand in church, and trot out the well worn words, they can become to us like worn footprints on a pilgrim’s path. They bind us to those who have gone before us, as well as those who stand beside us and even those yet to be born who will follow in our footsteps.
Thr Rev Lindsay Llewellyn-MacDuff.Bishop's Chaplain andWorship Development Advisor
Credo
The Fellowship of Pray-ers exists to provide prayer support to the work and worship of the Diocese of Rochester, as well as to pray for those in urgent need.
Routine prayers are submitted by deanery coordinator but to ask the pray-ers, urgently or confidentially, to hold an event or person in their prayers
please contact the Bishop's Chaplain: the Rev Lindsay Llewellyn-MacDuff, Tel: (01634) 814439, [email protected]
Similarly, contact the Bishop’s Chaplain if you are interestedin joining the Fellowship but do not have access to the internet.
Diocesan Pray-ers
More information can be found under ‘pray-ers’ within ‘Prayers & Intercessions’ in the Ministry menu on the diocesan website: http://www.rochester.anglican.org/
As part of the wider deanery visit, the Commissioning and Licensing of the Rev Viv Ashworth as Guardian of the Community and Tim Ashworth as Community Member by Bishop James took place on Saturday 14 November.
Bishop James based his sermon on the book of Matthew, chapter 25 and said, “This gives us some insight into what they discern as their calling and in this place as well. This is a really tough passage, because it is teaching about encouragement and how we are to act towards others. There is an understandable tendency to become protective and closed, but there is danger when we turn in on ourselves.” After the service, Bishop James joined Viv, Tim, community members and guests for light refreshments and conversation.
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Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
Ex 15:11
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IntercessionRochester Diocese - December 2015
Sunday 29 November
For those travelling to Paris for the Climate Change Conference.
Monday 30 NovemberAndrew the Apostle
Tuesday 1 DecemberCharles de Foucauld, hermit, 1916
For those who work at sea or on the rivers of this Diocese.
Tunbridge Well, St James
Vicar: The Rev Canon Jim Stewart
Tunbridge Wells, St JohnVicar: The Rev Giles Walter
Tunbridge Wells, St LukeVicar: The Rev Caroline Glass-Gower
Tunbridge Wells, St MarkVicar: The Rev Peter Sanlon
Tunbridge Wells, St Peter
Vicar: The Rev Mike Warren
Thursday3 DecemberFrancis Xavier, missionary, 1552
Wednesday2 December
Friday 4 DecemberJohn of Damascus, Monk, teacher of the faith, c. 749;
Saturday5 December
Sunday 6 December
Gillingham Deanery: The Rev Ann Richardson, Area Dean; Mrs Linda Bailey, Lay Chair
Monday 7 DecemberAmbrose, bishop, teacher of the faith, 397
Tunbridge Wells, St PhilipVicar: vacant
Tuesday 8 DecemberConception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Anerley, Christ Church and St PaulTeam Rector: The Rev Matthew Fitter
Wednesday 9 DecemberEmber Day
For vocations to religious orders.
Thursday 10 December
Frindsbury, All Saints, with Upnor St Philip and St James and Chattenden, Bishop Gundulph, and the Rev Nicholas Cooper, instituted today.
Friday 11 DecemberEmber Day
For vocations to ordained ministry.
Saturday 12 DecemberEmber Day
For vocations to lay ministry
Sunday 13 December Gravesend Deanery:
The Rev Sue Brewer, Area Dean; Bob Morton, Lay Chair
Wednesday16 December
Thursday 17 DecemberO Sapientia; Eglantyne Jebb, social reformer, founder of Save the Children, 1928
For all those preparing to spend Christmas away from home.
“O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other mightily, sweetly ordering all things:Come and teach us the way of prudence.”
Beckenham, Holy Trinity Vicar: The Rev Dr Nick Read
Beckenham, St BarnabasPriest-in-Charge: The Rev Tim Hide
Rochester Cathedral: The Rev Canon Dr Philip Hesketh, Acting Dean.
For those who fear the dark, and those who find Christmas distressing.
Saturday 19 December
Friday 18 December
Sunday 20 December
Monday 21 December
Tuesday 22 December
Beckenham, St GeorgeRector: vacant
Wednesday 23 December
Beckenham, St JamesVicar: The Rev Leon Carberry
Thursday 24 DecemberChristmas Eve
Beckenham, St John the BaptistVicar: The Rev Liz Lander
Friday 25 DecemberChristmas Day
For maternity wards, midwives and expectant parents.
Saturday 26 DecemberStephen, Deacon, first martyr
For deacons, and those who feed the poor and visit the sick.
Sunday 27 DecemberChristmas 1
Malling Deanery: The Rev Matthew Buchan, Rural Dean; Mr Barry Fisher, Lay Chair.
The Holy InnocentsMonday 28 December
For writers, poets and artists giving us a fresh glimpse of the Gospel.Monday 14 DecemberJohn of the Cross, poet, teacher of the faith, 1591
Tuesday 15 December Beckenham, Christ Church
Vicar: The Rev Rob Hinton
Beckenham, St Michael with St AugustinePriest-in-Charge: The Rev Leon Carberry
Tuesday 29 DecemberThomas Becket, Archbishop, martyr, 1170
Wednesday30 December
Beckenham, St PaulVicar: The Rev Vince Short
Thursday31 DecemberJohn Wycliffe, reformer, 1384
For those who teach and translate the Scriptures.
Rochester Diocese - January 2016Friday 1 JanuaryNaming and Circumcision of Jesus
For all those in need of a new start, or who are facing new beginnings with joy or trepidation.
Saturday 2 JanuaryBasil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishops, Teachers of the Faith, 379 and 389
Sunday 3 January
Penge, St JohnPriest-in-Charge: The Rev Matthew Fitter
Orpington Deanery: Rev John Tranter, Area Dean; Mr Brian Kemp, Lay Chair
Shortlands, St MaryVicar: The Rev Morag Finch
Bickley, St GeorgeVicar: The Rev Richard Norman
For pilgrims and pilgrim shrines.
For our brothers and sister in the Eastern Orthodox traditions
Tuesday5 January
Monday4 January
Wednesday6 JanuaryEpiphany
Thursday7 January
Friday 8 January
Biggin Hill, St MarkVicar: The Rev Alison Newman
Saturday 9 January
Bromley, Christ ChurchVicar: The Rev Iain Broomfield
Sunday 10 January Epiphany 1
Sevenoaks Deanery: The Rev Cannon Mark Griffin, Area Dean; Brigadier Ian Dobbie, Lay Chair.
Monday11 JanuaryMary Slessor, missionary, 1915
Bromley, St AndrewPriest-in-Charge: Vacant
Tuesday 12 JanuaryAelred of Hexham
Abbot of Rievaulx, 1167; Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wearmouth, Scholar, 689 Bromley, St John the Evangelist Vicar: The Rev Andrew McClellan
Wednesday13 JanuaryGeorge Fox
Founder of the Society of Friends (the Quakers), 1691For our brothers and sisters of the Society of Friends.
Thursday14 January
Falconwood, Bishop Ridley, and for the Rev Mark Tariq collated today.
Friday15 January Bromley, Saint Mark
Vicar: The Rev Steve Varney
Monday 18 January Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins.
Tuesday 19 JanuaryWulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, 1095
Amy Carmichael, spiritual writer, 1951 Bromley, St Peter and St PaulVicar: The Rev Anne Jablonski
Bromley Common, Holy TrinityVicar: The Rev Roger Bristow
Bromley Common, St AugustineVicar: The Rev Canon Katrina Barnes
Bromley Common, St LukePriest-in-Charge: The Rev George Collett
For parish treasurers, and all who manage Church budgets.
For lay ministers in the Diocese, and those who train and support them.
Thursday 21 JanuaryAgnes, child martyr at Rome, 304
Wednesday 20 JanuaryRichard Rolle, spiritual writer, 1349
Friday 22 JanuaryVincent of Saragossa, Deacon, 1st martyr of Spain, 304
Saturday 23 January
Sunday 24 JanuaryHomelessness Sunday
For the Ecumenical groups of this DioceseCounty ecumenical Officer: The Rev Chris Ruddle
Monday25 January Conversion of Paul
Chislehurst, Christ ChurchVicar: The Rev Dave Johnston
Tuesday 26 JanuaryTimothy and Titus, companions of Paul
For those who minister in a culture that is foreign to them.
Wednesday27 January
Chislehurst, St NicholasRector: The Rev Alan Mustoe
Thursday28 JanuaryThomas Aquinas
Priest, Philosopher, Teacher of the Faith, 1274Chislehurst, the Annunciation Vicar: The Rev Paul Farthing
Friday 29 January
Hayes, St Mary the VirginRector: The Rev Napoleon John
KestonRector: The Rev Carol Morrison
Saturday30 JanuaryCharles, King and martyr, 1649
Rochester Deanery: The Rev Penny Foreman, Area Dean; Mr Rob Mills, Lay Chair.
Sunday 31 January
Bromley, St MaryVicar: The Rev Alan Keeler
Saturday16 January
Sunday 17 January
Diocese of Kondoa: The Rt Revd Given Gaula, Bishop.
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12 ochester Link
Goodbye to Bishop Brian
“I am stepping down from 38 years of ministry and I give thanks for the adventure I have had. It’s been a wonderful time…”
He said, “I am stepping down from 38 years of ministry and I give thanks for the adventure I have had. It’s been a wonderful time…If you compare ordained ministry to a fairground, then it’s like being on a mixture of rides; at times a roller-coaster, a merry-go-round, a white-knuckle ride and at other times it’s like a walk in the park - and sometimes all these in one day! I have met many saints in our institutions and congregations who have been a great inspiration.”
Bishop James gave gifts from the Diocese to Bishop Brian and Jane, and addressed the congregation saying, “As the service has made clear, we are here not only to say goodbye to Bishop Brian, but to Jane as well. I have huge admiration for couples who work together and Jane’s contribution has been largely behind the scenes, yet significant. The role of the Suffragan Bishop is an odd one, but during Brian’s time he has made particular contributions. For example, licensing and visiting parishes which connects the local with the universal and I know these visits
have been warmly received. He has also made some specific contributions which I want to acknowledge: Brian has worked hard bringing skill and commitment to vocations and curate training. He has also played a significant role in maintaining and supporting our diocesan links, and I know, for example, that Bishop Chad really appreciates that. Brian has challenged us all in relation to poverty in a world of great contrasts. Brian and Jane are now moving into retirement and we wish them well with all that this brings.”
As the service drew to a close, Brian thanked the congregation saying, “This is not an Oscar speech, but thank you for taking us into your hearts. Your generosity has always been very moving. Thank you for your fellowship and colleagueship. God bless you all; I shall be thinking of you.”
Following the service, Bishop Brian wrote this letter of appreciation which he has asked to share with you all.
The congregation in Rochester Cathedral on Saturday 31 October gathered to say goodbye to Bishop Brian as he and his wife Jane prepare to leave the Diocese.
Dear Friends,
I am writing to thank you for your kindness and generosity shown to Jane and me as we leave the diocese for retirement. We have had many cards, good wishes and gifts for which we are grateful.
My thirteen years as Bishop of Tonbridge have been a wonderful experience where I have learnt so much from you all about commitment to Jesus Christ and God at work in the world. I have felt greatly supported both in times of celebration and at times of difficult decisions. Please be assured of my continuing prayers as you all move into the future to which God is calling you.
Jane joins me in sending our love and best wishes,
+Brian.
