Monday, June 28, 2010

We survived the Youth Group "Sleep"over...

We survived another "Sleep"over in the vicarage garden to celebrate our Patronal Festival. If you had been there you would understand why the "sleep" in the title is in inverted commas...not a lot of it in evidence!

Someone had the bright idea of building a human pyramid - the process was not as easy as the end result implies...










The morning after the night before. But some of the children seemed still to have enough energy for a water fight! The same could not be said for the leaders! Many thanks to my right-hand woman, Nicky Harvey, for her energy and enthusiasm (and her tents, borrowed from Seal Cubs!)








Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The new Bishop of Rochester



It has been announced today that the new Bishop of Rochester is to be the Rt Revd. James Langstaff, who is currently Bishop of Lynn, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Norwich. I am sure we will all want to pray for him and wish him well as he and his wife make the move to Rochester.


You can read more about him here, and I have pasted the letter he sent to the clergy below.

"Dear Brothers and Sisters
By the time you read this letter, it will have been announced that I am to be your new diocesan bishop. I am very conscious of the privilege and responsibility of this calling and am writing to you today as much as anything to for ask your prayers as I prepare to join you later in the year. I know that you will also continue in your prayers for Bishop Brian and other members of diocesan staff as they carry additional responsibilities until my arrival.

You will find some information about me and my family in the press release on the Diocese of Rochester web-site. A very brief summary is that I was ordained deacon in 1981 and have spent about 20 of the subsequent years in parish ministry, mainly in the Diocese of Birmingham in both inner urban and suburban settings; I have been Bishop of Lynn since 2004. Within the Diocese of Norwich I have had a particular interest in and oversight of the church’s engagement with social and community concerns; this overlaps with a long-standing involvement in social and affordable
housing. For the last few years I have chaired Housing Justice, which is the national ecumenical voice on homelessness and housing issues.

At heart I remain a parish priest and believe that our commitment to expressing the church’s pastoral, prayerful and missionary presence in each community or neighbourhood is a particular gift that the Church of England brings to our nation. I have also come to value greatly the expression of Christian presence which is embodied in chaplaincies and other ministries within a variety of institutional and other settings. Such effective Christian presence can take many forms,and I am very keen to foster both traditional and innovative expressions of that presence.

I will have a huge amount to learn as I come to the Diocese of Rochester in relation both to church life and the community more widely. In the early months I will need to do a great deal of listening and learning. Most important will be getting to know people within and beyond the churches, and in particular I look forward to early opportunities for meeting the clergy, lay ministers and lay leaders across the Diocese. I trust that we will soon come to know and respect one another, as we also grow in our shared commitment to God in Christ and our desire to spread abroad the good news of his generous love.

Our two children, Alasdair and Helen, are both adult and live elsewhere, but Bridget and I very much look forward to moving to Rochester and making our home among you.
With my prayers and good wishes,
+
James, Bishop of Lynn"

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Coming up...

VArious notices about events coming up.

Patronal Festival
Next weekend we celebrate the feast of St Peter and St Paul with a special Eucharist in the morning, a Strawberry Tea in the afternoon (4-6pm in the Vicarage Garden, £5 adults, £2.50 children), and a Festival Choral Evensong at 6.30pm. Everyone is welcome!

THE PETER AND PAUL PROJECT BLOG is coming along nicely – quite a few greetings have come in. The youth group have been helping to prepare a display for the back of church for the Patronal Festival so that those without access to the internet can read the greetings too. http://peterandpaulproject.blogspot.com/2010/04/whats-it-all-about.html


AN EVENING WITH RUTH DE BARROS – Thursday July 15th 7.30pm
· At Alverstone, Woodland Rise, Sevenoaks, TN15 0HY
· Ruth is our mission partner with USPG in the Amazon. Come and hear her talk about her work as we share a barbeque.
· No set price – please give whatever donation you can for the work of USPG
· Please sign the list in church if you want to come or email me.
Ruth and Saulo’s latest newsletter is here. http://www.sealpeterandpaul.com/100609_De_Barros_Newsletter.pdf


Maggie Fox asks for any unwanted gifts that can be sold at the Coffee Morning on July 3 at 17 Zambra Way to be left at the back of church.
She also wants to remind people about the Sponsored Walk around Bewl Water on Saturday July 17. Sponsor forms are available in church .