Covid-19 & Parish Magazine distribution
Further to national Church of England guidance, we are temporarily halting the production and distribution of our excellent parish magazines. During the period of the Covid-19 lockdown, we are therefore planning to circulate to the Benefice mailing list via email (please feel free to forward the magazine on to anyone interested). We are also publishing on this website. See links below:  Read More

Covid-19 Update
Please see our latest Covid-19 updates on the dedicated page: Resources > Covid-19 Updates I wanted to write to you to let you know some of the things that we are doing in response to the current situation regarding COVID19 (the coronavirus outbreak). This is a challenging situation, which is, of course, rapidly evolving. For many people it is a scary situation: people are justifiably and understandably afraid for themselves and for family members. It reminds us just how vulnerable each one of us is and of how much in our lives is outside of our control, which frightens us. There are, of course, various things that we can all do to reduce the risk both to ourselves and to others (some of which are below), but for almost all of us, this looks to be an incredibly difficult time. Three things occur to me from the Bible in terms of how to respond to this: Read More

The Rector Writes.... March 2020
All sorts of people that I speak to seem confused about what a Christian is. Now, that might not matter too much, if nothing else depended on it. But when it comes to whether or not I really am a Christian, well the stakes could hardly be higher. To borrow Bill Shankly’s words, “it’s not a matter of life and death, it’s far more important than that.” So, what does Jesus say about this? Read More

The Rector Writes.... February 2020
There are few emotions more crippling than feeling guilty. It can turn toxic and damage our relationships leaving us feeling restless and defensive (and thus prone to cause yet more harm, leading to more guilt, and so on in a downward spiral). Many of us know something of its power. Whether it is the words that we wish we could take back; the opportunities missed to spend time with someone; the hurt caused because we did not think of someone else’s perspective – it can haunt us. Read More

The Rector Writes - January 2020
So, 2020 is upon us. The first fifth of the twenty-first century is past (which hardly seems possible). Markers like that can helpfully prompt one to look back. If we look globally, all sorts of things have happened: It barely seems credible now, but as the twentieth century dawned, people spoke of “the end of history”, the idea that western liberal democracy would be without serious rivals. Since then we have had 9/11 and the threat of Islamist extremist terrorism, renewed Russian authoritarianism, Chinese repression of dissent, and so on. And yet those challenges do not tell the whole story... Read More

Website Update
We are updating various sections of the website. As part of this, we have switched to using Google Calendar for our Benefice Calendar. Please see What's On > Benefice Calendar for details of upcoming services and events. You can add the Google Calendar to your smartphone for live updates using the 'Add Calendar' button in the bottom right hand corner of the Benefice Calendar page. Read More

The Rector Writes - November 2019
Can you believe that it was 30 years ago this month, on 9th November 1989 that the fall of the Berlin Wall began?  Over two million people from East Berlin visited the West in a celebration described as ‘the greatest street party in the history of the world.’ However, we are still living with walls, thinking of those dividing Gaza and Palestine from Israel. It’s a strong human instinct to build walls to separate us from those we view as different and threatening. (Or think of the divisions in our own society between Brexiteers and Remainers). Read More