The Digest - Wednesday 13 May, 2020

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Wednesday 13 May, 2020

Our #BeaconsofHope this week comes from Fr John Caster, Vicar of St Barnabas Church Tunbridge Wells.

We're delighted to share with you another Beacon of Hope - our joint campaign with the Diocese of Canterbury.

Fr John Caster, Vicar of St Barnabas Church, Tunbridge Wells, talks about the hope he is seeing through the local primary school and the acts of kindness from local businesses.

These include the Bicycle Bakery who are supporting the teaching staff by providing them with lunch for free each day.

Watch it here

Update on Bishop James

Having had Covid Symptoms for the last 10 days or so, Bishop James has been off work. He is really grateful for the many expressions of support which he has received. Most of the symptoms have now diminished and Bishop James will be easing himself back into his role from today.

Latest guidance

Following the Prime Minister's press conference on Monday, the Church of England has issued a short response to the Government's Recovery Strategy.

A response to the Government's Recovery Strategy by Bishop Sarah Mullally

We have also updated our COVID-19 page to include the latest guidance to churches in the Diocese on a phased reopening. The Church of England continues to regularly update its guidance on its website here

Diocese backs new Faith at Home Campaign

The Diocesan Board of Education, and the Children & Young People Team, are pleased to support The National Church’s recently launched Faith at Home campaign.

The aim is to resource and equip parishes, families and schools in the support of the spiritual care and nurture of children and young people.

One of the newest resources is a new song that can be used with children and young people currently social distancing - perhaps even as part of Thank A Teacher Day on 20 May.

Online Guided Retreat Extended!

The online guided retreat has been so popular that the Spirituality Network in Rochester Diocese will continue to offer the opportunity until the 24 May.

This is ideal for those who feel drawn, at this time of lock-down, to spending more time in prayer . You are simply encouraged to put aside time each day for your own prayer.

If you would like to find out more, or to book a place, please contact Susanne Carlsson susannecarlssons@hotmail.co.uk

Thy Kingdom Come

Each year a new novena has been produced. The little booklet provides a text, an image and a prayer for nine days of prayer.

Our Diocesan coordinators Margaret Wooding-Jones and Barbara Lloyd recommend this as beautiful and inspiring. This year’s novena can be read and downloaded at here

Novenas from previous years are also available on the prayer resources section of the TKC website here.

New Licensed Lay Ministers

Although this year's service cannot happen in the Cathedral, a new cohort of 12 Licensed Lay Ministers (LLMs) will be licensed this weekend via Zoom!

We'll be sharing details of the new LLMs via our social media channels and on our website over the next few days.

Please pray for them, their families and the parishes they will be serving, as they take this next step on their journey of faith.

Find out more about lay ministry within the Diocese here or take a look at the national website for lay ministry called: Transforming Ministry

The Diocesan Office is now closed until further notice. A Reception service is still available remotely. If you need assistance, in the first instance please email the Diocesan Reception on: reception@rochester.anglican.org

During office hours you can also ring 07384 826866 or 07468 709671. If you do ring the main reception number (01634 560 000), you will hear a recorded message detailing all this information for you.

All other teams are working from home and should be contacted in the first instance via email. All contact details can be found here: www.rochester.anglican.org/contact/