News

Bishops Sam and Julie grilled by Archdeacons Bishop Sam Corley and Bishop Julie Conalty have each had their Welcome Services in the last week. They were asked some very searching and personal questions by the Archdeacons who gave no quarter in their grillings.

Church bells to ring ahead of COP26 Churches across the country are planning to ring their bells on the eve of COP26. Churches will join in the Ring Out for Climate initiative at 18:00 for 30 minutes on Saturday 30 October.

Clergy Gathering speaker confirmed The planning team behind next year's Clergy Gathering has confirmed the name of one of its key note speakers. The conference will take place between 16 and 19 of May 2022 at Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire.

Net zero Sunday Service Parishes are invited to hold a net zero service between now and the 7th November. Resources are available to help parishes measure the carbon footprint of their services, including travel emissions, heating, lighting and electricity.

Woodchurch receives Green Flag Award Holy Cross Woodchurch Churchyard has achieved the Green Flag Award. The Green Flag Award scheme recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces. Holy Cross Churchyard is one of 2127 award-winning green spaces.

General Synod election results 2021 The voting and subsequent counting of the votes for the General Synod election for the Diocese of Chester has now been completed. The counting of votes took place on the afternoon of 13 October 2021.

Lay licensing service 2021 On Saturday 9th October Bishop Mark admitted and licensed twelve lay people at Chester Cathedral. Seven readers and one pastoral worker were also there, as were eighteen readers and four pastoral workers who became emeritus.

Chester Diocesan News out now The October edition of the Chester Diocesan News is now available. Revd Canon Lameck Mutete talks about 'Black lives matter' and introduces the 'Global Images of Christ' exhibition at Chester Cathedral.

Racial Justice Commission members announced The Archbishops have announced the names of the 11 Commission Members who have been appointed to the Racial Justice Commission, joining Lord Boateng whose Chairmanship of the Commission was announced in July.

Equal access to church buildings A new Church of England guide for parishes, to help them consider how to ensure their building is welcoming to all, has recently been published. Find out more and get in touch for further support.

Watch the lay licensing online 12 men and women will be licensed into lay ministry on Saturday at 2.30pm. Bishop Mark will lead the service which will be available to watch online. Please continue to pray for the new Readers, Pastoral Workers, and Lay Pioneers.

Church service to commemorate Guide Dogs A special service was held at St James’ Church, New Brighton, on Sunday 03 October, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Britain’s first Guide Dogs. Members of the Guide Dogs Association were also present.

Camino to COP walkers Camino to COP is a pilgrimage for climate justice, which began in London and will finish in Glasgow on 31 October. We met the walkers in Hartford as they passed through our diocese.

New safeguarding team member During the summer, Sean Augustin joined the safeguarding team at Church House as an Assistant Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser helping and supporting our Parish Safeguarding Officers (PSOs).

Camino to COP walkers A multi-faith group walking from London to Glasgow to raise awareness of climate crisis are about to arrive in our diocese where they will be explaining more about their walk and COP26.

Stolen church pathway repaired On 16 August St Mary's Lymm had their pathway stolen. Since then, the church has had lots of support from the local community and Warrington Borough Council. The path is now fully restored.

Global Images of Christ opens The opening of Global Images of Christ, the ground-breaking exhibition, has been well received at a special launch event at Chester Cathedral. The exhibition is open to the public from Saturday 25 September until the end of October.

Helping to restore broken lives A course called Restoring Lives will support those impacted by separation or divorce. Run by Mark and Helen Tomlinson from St Mary's, Cheadle, they say the need to get alongside people "is as great as it has ever been".

CDN to discontinue The Chester Diocesan News is to discontinue at the end of 2021. The final edition will be the 2021 December edition. The CDN features stories from parishes and publicises upcoming events and initiatives from Church House officers.

Clergy Gathering themes announced The planning team for the Clergy Gathering 2022 have announced that the conference will focus on Mark 1:14-18 and will be titled: "Recasting the Net". Hundreds of clergy are expected to attend in May 2022 at Swanwick, Derbyshire.

One million downloads for Daily Prayer podcast Hundreds of thousands of people have rediscovered the ancient monastic cycle of daily prayer through a Church of England podcast which has received more than a million downloads in just six months.

Marking Safeguarding Sunday The Bishop of Birkenhead, Julie Conalty, is encouraging churches in the Diocese of Chester to mark Safeguarding Sunday and says: "We need to talk more about safeguarding," and address our "past failures".

Pray for our new lay ministers Please pray for the 12 men and women who are due to be licensed into lay ministry roles at Chester Cathedral on 9 October 2021. Pray for them, their new ministries, and for the parishes in which they will serve.

An invitation to welcome Julie and Sam All are invited to two special Welcome Services for the new Bishops of Birkenhead and Stockport, to praise, pray and offer thanks for the ministry of Julie and Sam as they begin their ministry amongst us.

Service for Emmanuel Theological College A bright new dawn broke on Saturday as representatives from Church of England dioceses across the North West gathered together for a celebration service to launch the region’s newest theological college.

Teaching Day: Global Images of Christ A teaching day to help us all think through the issues of race and ethnicity as they affect the Church today. Speakers include Revd Cham Kaur-Mann, Revd Shemil Matthew, and Revd Calvin Samuel.

General Synod elections 2021 The General Synod elections are currently underway. The diocese is required to elect four representatives in each of the two electoral areas to the House of Laity and six Proctors in Convocation.

Chester registers for Eco-Diocese The Diocese of Chester has registered its intent to work towards Eco-Diocese status. To achieve bronze, silver, and gold status, the diocese must fulfill certain activities as part of the A Rocha environmental scheme.

Global Images of Christ A landmark exhibition of over 40 works of art, sculpture, and images will challenge perceptions of how Jesus Christ and other people of faith are depicted. The exhibition opens at Chester Cathedral on 25 September.

Disability Awareness Day - 12 September Our Engagement and Inclusion Officer Reverend Vanessa Layfield reminds us that Deaf and disabled people are an essential part of the Church. We celebrate the day with a video service which you can view online.

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