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Welcome to the website of the Church of England Deanery of Colchester. The Deanery comprises 24 Parishes in and around the City of Colchester, Essex. Read our news items below, and click the menu to view our other pages.. |
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Latest News
Deanery Day - Get set for 10th October!
In recent weeks we've been booking speakers for our Deanery Day on Saturday 10th October. We're delighted to say that the venue is again St. John's, Colchester, and that last year's caterers - Sainty Catering Solutions - are booked too! We look forward to announcing a full line-up in the next month. In the meantime, please make sure the Day is in your diary - and, importantly, in the Church's diary so that nothing gets in the way of making this a really good day out for the Parish.
Organist/pianist sought by Stanway
This year's Visitation Service
The annual Visitation Service, led by our Archdeacon which includes the swearing-in of Churchwardens, is to take place in the evening of Thursday 11th June at St. Stephen's Church, Canterbury Road Colchester CO2 7RY. The invitation will be out fairly soon, but we thought we'd tell you now that it's likely to be rather different this year, with more people invited. So keep looking out for the news!
New Priest-in-Charge arrives in Shrub End and Stanway
Revd Nikki Horsley has been appointed Priest-in-Charge of the Parishes of Stanway St. Albright and Shrub End All Saints with St. Cedd, and will be installed in a service at St. Albright's at 7:30pm on Tuesday 23rd June. Nikki has been Curate in Black Notley, Great Notley and Rayne since 2023. Our Parishes are looking forward to welcoming her; please pray for her, husband Clive and their two children as they prepare to make the move. Archdeacon Ruth's formal announcement can be read here.
Installation of Myland's New Priest-in-Charge
Revd Janine Wilde, Curate in the Benefice of West Mersea with East Mersea, Peldon, Great & Little Wigborough, is to be installed as Priest-in-Charge of Myland St. Michael on Thursday 9th July at 7:30pm. Janine, who has lived and worked in Myland, says that 'it will feel very much like coming home'. Please pray for her and her family, the Parishes she will be leaving and for the people of Myland, as they prepare for the move and the changes. The full announcement can be read here.
Essex Churches ride again
How are your plans firming up for the Friends of Essex Churches Ride & Stride on Saturday 12th September? Now's the time to galvanise neighbouring Churches, family & friends to make the most of this opportunity to raise funds for FOECT and your Church. Picnics, dog walks, bike rides, cake sales, coffee mornings, displays - anything to encourage people into the Church for an open day. you'll see all the information on this web page, and why not display this poster, to encourage people to get involved.
Taizé in Wivenhoe
Forum for Green Spaces in Colchester
Colchester Area Mission Mailing
Pray For Schools Gathering
Places of Worship Renewal Fund
The replacement for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme has now been announced. Historic England, who will be managing the scheme, say that it is 'designed to support the repair of England's treasured places of worship and targeted at places of most need.' There is £23m available each year, which will set the bar high. But the Fund is already open - see how to apply on HE's website here.
Colchester Churches Charitable Trust - grants for Church building work
The May Newsletter from the Mustard Seed Team
Elections at the APCM
Vocations Day 2026
The Colchester Area Vocations Day this year will be on Saturday 7th November, and it will be at Great Notley Church, CM77 7GN. Yes, we know it's many months away - but if you or someone in your Church are currently thinking and praying about how you can develop your faith and service, it will be good to put the date into the diary so that prayer is even more focused. There'll be more details published in due course - but perhaps now's the time to speak to someone and move things forward!
Welcome, Revd James Grenfell
The new Head of Chaplaincy at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust is Revd James Grenfell, who comes to us from the Barts Hospital Group. As well as his dedicated Chaplaincy work, James has served as Parish Priest in Liverpool, Sheffield and Portsmouth, worked for a charity involved in health and community projects worldwide, and also been involved in the training of Clergy and Lay ministers. Married with three children and having diverse leisure interests, Revd James is sure to be a good friend and colleague to many in our Deanery.
Leading Your Church into Growth: 2026 Conference
This year's LYCiG Conference for the Colchester Area is to be held on Saturday 17th October. LYCiG is a good way for Churches to develop a vision for mission, and get practical ideas too. The venue is the Salvation Army Chelmsford Citadel, 70 Baddow Road, Chelmsford CM2 0DD. Click here to see more information on the Diocese's web page, where it's already possible to book.
SMMIB Presentation at Synod
Wendy Lidgate, Programme Manager in the Diocese of Chelmsford, presented the progress being made on the Colchester Area's grant bid to the Strategic Mission & Ministry Investment Board (SMMIB) at the March meeting of Deanery Synod. Wendy has kindly provided her PowerPoint presentation which can be downloaded from here. We are invited to address any questions to Emma Sivyer our Colchester Area Mission Officer, or to Wendy.
Korban's presentation at Synod
100 Days Of Prayer
Is your Church - are you personally - taking part in the 100 Days Of Prayer? Prayer works. Prayer nurtures our faith. Prayer changes lives. Prayer can change the world. 100 Days Of Prayer is a resource from the Diocese of Chelmsford which can be used together as a worshipping community or privately at home; during Passiontide and through Easter. The 100 days are already running and are due to complete on 29th May, so we can all add to the power of prayer by joining in this big conversation with the Lord and listening to His word. Read more and see the resources on the Diocesan website here.
SHAPE - an excellent nurture course
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The Church of England Deanery of Colchester is part of the Colchester Episcopal Area of the Diocese of Chelmsford. The Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance is a registered Charity, no. 249505 We are committed to Safeguarding children and young people and vulnerable adults. As a Diocese, we have adopted the Church of England’s policies and best practice on safeguarding which may be found on the Church of England’s website: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/safeguarding. Diocesan guidance is available at https://www.chelmsford.anglican.org/safeguarding
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Praying
hands for playing hands, please! The Organist at St. Albright's
Stanway retires this month after forty years in post, and the
Parish are seeking a successor - either an organist or pianist,
or both! Stanway has enjoyed a strong musical tradition, but the
congregation are open to a wide range of music in worship and
are very welcoming. If those could be your hands - or you know
someone who would like to consider the role - please
There
will be a service of Taizé worship in St. Mary's Church, Wivenhoe on the
evening of Sunday 7th June, starting at
6pm. With the title of 'Longing for Peace', what a wonderfully quiet yet
powerful way to bring Sunday to a close and place the cares of the world
at the feet of the One who cares. Why not come across to Wivenhoe with a
carful of others?
Colchester
Civic Society want to set up a local forum of people who look after
green spaces in our area (parks, meadows, Churchyards, woodlands etc)
and would like to meet up with people who are already involved in
tidying and managing them, to share projects, best practice & sources of
funding. If you would like to take part, contact our Town Crier
Just
published is the Colchester Area Team's first Mission Mailing (
The
Pray For Schools Gathering is a passionate and creative time of
prayer for Colchester's schools, which is being held on
Tuesday 23rd June from 7:30pm to
8:45pm at St. John's Church, Colchester. Everyone's invited, and
you can let Christian Youth Outreach (CYO) know that you intend
to be there by
By
now we'll all have held our APCMs, and we continue to pray that all our
Parishes are enabled, empowered and enthused for the coming year. We
recently sent out a form to each parish, asking for updates on who's who
- please make sure that comes back to us at
At
March's Deanery Synod meeting Mark Wood, CEO of Colchester's Korban project,
gave a powerful presentation of their work to break the cycle of
homelessness in & around Colchester. Here's a copy of his
