Colchester CAP Debt Centre Celebration

Bishop Roger will be the guest speaker at the Colchester CAP Debt Centre celebration on Sunday 1^st March. Hear about the CAP Life Skills which was launched in Colchester, in partnership with St Leonards and the challenges and opportunities for 2020. Plus a story or two from people that have been helped by CAP in Colchester. The evening begins at 6.30pm, at Equippers Church, Norfolk House, 23 Southway,Colchester,CO2 7BA

Creation, Climate & the Environment

Bishop Stephen has announced that the whole topic of our care for creation will be a major focus in 2020 - and there will be events throughout the year throughout the Diocese. We can already put in our diaries Tuesdays 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th & 31st March at 7pm, when our Bishops will lead events at St. John's Church in Colchester as part of the Lent Series. Contact dhardy@chelmsford.anglican.org and check out this poster, to see more and to book in.

Recruiting a new Pioneer

St Albright’s Church, Stanway are to employ a full time Children, Families and Community Pioneer to join the pioneer team. This is an exciting opportunity for a lay or ordained Christian to be part of a parish-based pioneering work in one of the fastest growing areas of the county. The area has six schools, a thriving retail and hospitality sector and two large new housing developments. The Parish are praying for the right person - could it be you? For the job and person-spec, click here to be directed to the Chelmsford Diocesan vacancies page.

Our next Deanery Synod Meeting

The next meeting of Colchester Deanery Synod will be on Tuesday 11th February, at St. Margaret's Church, Berechurch. It's in Stansted Road, Colchester CO2 8RA. As usual, we start at 7:15pm with refreshments and networking, and the meeting itself begins at 7:45pm. The main topic this time will be the Deanery Vision Plan. See you there!

World Day of Prayer 2020

St Michael's, Myland, Colchester, CO4  5DY, is hosting the annual World Day of Prayer service this year on Friday 6th March at 2pm. This year the Church in Zimbabwe has put together an evocative and thought-provoking service. All are welcome. Refreshments to follow.

Happiness, happiness.....

Come to Great Horkesley to find out how life could be happier in 2020! It's through a 6-session course covering topics such as gratitude, kindness, forgiveness, friends & family, body & soul, coping strategies.... the course takes place at two different venues in Great Horkesley, at different times; there's a leaflet attached with all the details, and anyone can book in or learn more through Revd Anne Mason on 01206 851792 or 07895 970834 or by email at revdannemason@gmail.com. Don't we all want to be happy?!

2020 Vision?

How clearly can your Parish see the road ahead? Have you revisited your Parish Vision recently? Are you considering a Vision Day? With the Deanery Vision Document in the later stages of development, the New Year seems a good time to check our plans against Biblical principles and the needs of the communities around us. Visit our Vision pages for ideas.

Pray for Bishop Stephen, the Province of York - and the Diocese of Chelmsford

The news that Bishop Stephen is to become the next Archbishop of York may not have come as a surprise to some - we know he is a leader blessed by the Lord - but clearly the change will bring many challenges and opportunities. Please pray for all who will benefit from his ministry, and all effects of the change; not least, the leadership of our own Diocese.

Colchester Clerical Society Programme launched

The 2020 Programme for the Colchester Clerical Society has been announced, with an impressive list of speakers booked for the monthly meetings. Speakers include Tim Elbourne (Diocesan Director of Education); Steve Kersys (Diocesan Children & Families Adviser) and Roger Matthews (Chelmsford Diocese Dean of Mission and Ministry). Meetings are on the second Monday of the month, and include lunch - for all the details and the venue, contact Revd Canon Hugh Beavan on hugh&mary@BEAVAN.go-plus.net

Alpha Course at St. Anne's

An Alpha Course will be run at St. Anne's Church, Compton Road, Colchester CO4 0BH, every Tuesday evening in January at 7:15pm. St. Anne's Church is on Compton Road, just off Ipswich Road. The Course is open to all.

Is your website up to date?

You know there's nothing worse than an out-of-date website - it gives the impression of an out-of-date Church! The New Year is a good time to have a look at every page, and update the text, contact details and events, to make sure visitors to our websites want to become visitors to our Churches. If you're not the Parish Webmaster, you might like to suggest changes to the person who is.... sometimes, the author just can't notice when things need changing!

New Chairman for the Deanery Mothers' Union

The Mothers' Union in Colchester has welcomed their new Deanery Chairman Vivien Chapman in a service at St. Michael's, Myland. Vivien was commissioned by Revd Canon Paul Norrington our Area Dean alongside Judith Meaden, Diocesan President, during the Mothers' Union Carol Service in St. Michael's Myland on Wednesday 4th December. Click the photo to view it full-size!

2020 Calendar of meetings now online

The dates of all Deanery meetings has now been added to the Deanery website's Calendar page. Some further details and venues will be added in due course. Essex school term dates are also on the page, through to July 2021.

Bishop Stephen's Presidential Address at Synod

Diocesan Synod in November debated a tough proposal on how to afford mission and ministry in the Diocese in the coming years. It's explained in Bishop Stephen's Presidential address, which can be read here. Expect to be reading more about the proposal in the coming weeks!

Revd Tim and Revd Hilary Platts announce they are to move on

Revd Tim Platts, Priest-in-Charge of Greenstead, St. Andrew with St. Matthew & St. Anne, and Revd Hilary Platts, Chaplain with East Suffolk & North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, have announced that they are to move on from their roles. They will continue to work part-time; Tim with his work for the Chelmsford Counselling Foundation and Hilary in a new Chaplain's role with the Mental Health Trust. Revd Tim's final service will be on Sunday 16th February. He came to Greenstead in 2014 after a stint as the Bishop of Colchester's Chaplain following ministry in Birmingham and Oxford, and we will all miss his experience from the Parish and Deanery. We pray that he and Hilary will be richly blessed in their new roles.

Holy Land Tour next September

Revd Hazel Greenland in Myland is co-ordinating the Colchester end of a tour of the Holy Land, to be led by Revd Elizabeth Price of Churches Together in Loughton from 9th to 16th September. Elizabeth is Associate Minister of St. Michael and All Angels, Loughton. There will be an opportunity not just to visit the sites of the most important events of our Lord's life and ministry, but also to meet local Palestinian and Israeli Christians who are the ongoing, living Church in the region. It could be a life-changing and faith-changing journey! The cost is £1,795. Contact Elizabeth directly at eaprice49@yahoo.co.uk or Hazel at hazel@mylandchurch.org.uk for a brochure and more information.

Revd Canon Pat Prestney retires

Revd Canon Pat Prestney, Associate Priest at Christ Church, Colchester, retired on Christmas Day. It's not the first time Pat has retired, as she was Rector of Lawford until 2010, after ministry there from 1987 and years as a School Chaplain - and in the last decade Pat has given good service to many Parishes and people. A presentation was made to Pat during the Carols by Candlelight service at Christ Church. We wish her every blessing in her retirement.

Annual Report of Synod meetings

Here's something new - Martin Roscoe, Secretary to Deanery Synod has done an Annual Report of the meetings in 2019 - a succinct summary which Parishes could use as part of their Annual Report. Read and download the Annual Report here.

FairTrade Breakfast on Commonwealth Day

This is advance notice that there'll be a big FairTrade Breakfast in Colchester Town Hall on Commonwealth Day, which is Monday 9th March. It will take place from 8:30 to 10am, and is run by the FairTrade Town Group. Mark the date in that diary you've already bought - and come to the Town Hall to celebrate the distinctiveness of our Town and the area.

Confirmations in Stanway

Bishop Roger will be presiding at a service of Confirmation in St. Albright's, Stanway on Sunday 2nd February at 10:30am (note the recent change of date and time). All Parishes in the Deanery are invited to present candidates for Confirmation at the service; in the first instance contact Michael Topple, the Parish Administrator at office@stalbrights.org

Abbeyfield Community Project becomes CO2

The Abbeyfield Community Project, the community-based Christian outreach project, is now called ’Community Open 2 All’ or CO2 for short. Mark and Naomi Snelling of CO2 say: This reflects the ethos that everyone is welcome and also the postcode area in which we are making wider connections through initiatives such as Essex Free Uniform. Our discernment process continues as we are still in need of people to join the team, vacancies on the management group, funding and possibly an additional venue to develop any future ministry. If you would like to know more, please get in touch and most importantly, continue to pray’. Contact CO2 through naomijsnelling@gmail.com.

Youth Newsletter

Dot Salmon, our Colchester Area Youth Adviser, keeps us updated with a Newsletter, so that we're aware of youth events and training for leaders. Click here to be directed to the current issue. But why not sign up to receive the newsletter regularly? In fact, if you click on this link, you can sign up to receive news on any topic of your interest!

Colchester's growing population

The Borough of Colchester continues to be the fastest growing Borough in the east of England, and the population has now reached 192,523. A new document showing further forecast population growth has been added to our website's vision page, to assist us in our planning. The statistics do not drill down below Borough level so we cannot know Deanery or Parish figures - but as we know that most of the growth is within the Deanery, we can expect the Deanery population to be in the region of 145,000 - an increase of 19,000 since the 2011 Census.

A Retreat for your Parish or MMU?

Revd Jackie Sams, part of the Diocesan Spiritual Direction Team and a leader of Individual Guided Retreats at Pleshey, can be available to lead a quiet day or retreat for a Parish, team or MMU. If you would like to explore the opportunity, contact her on 01206530586 or by email at revjackiesams@gmail.com.