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First results from the 2021 Census
The
Office for national Statistics has just produced the first
datasets resulting from the 2021 Census, showing growth in the
population of the Borough of Colchester from 173,100 to 192,700
in the last decade. We have a comparison with other local
Boroughs and an analysis by age, which make interesting reading
(well, we think so - it could be very useful for mission
planning!). Much more information will be released in the coming
months, but we've set out the results so far on
this
page. |
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Bishop Guli issues her Petertide Ad Clerum
An
'Ad Clerum' is to the Clergy, but Bishop Guli's letter issued
this month contains much of interest to all of us - including
details of a service at the Cathedral to mark the work done by
so many people involved in Safeguarding at Parish level. That's
to be on Wednesday 21st September
at 7:30pm. More details will follow.
Read the Ad Clerum here. |
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Trevor Davies, RIP
We are very sad to hear of the death of Trevor Davies, the
husband of Revd Pam Davies who ministered at St. Margaret’s
Berechurch until 2015. Trevor died suddenly whilst at work. We
send our condolences to Pam, who will no doubt be supported by
family, friends and the fellowship of the Parish of Sundridge,
near Sevenoaks, where she is now Rector; but we ask you to
uphold in prayer Pam and everyone around her as they grieve. |
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Upcoming concert in Wivenhoe
On Friday 15th July,
there's a concert in St. Mary's, Wivenhoe that you're sure to
enjoy: The Goldcrest Ensemble will feature international
harpist Miriam Keogh in an enchanting evening's entertainment. Tickets
are £10, with a free glass of wine, and are available at the Wivenhoe Bookshop and online at
ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/wivenhoe. |
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All Saints
Great Horkesley hold Open Day
The ancient
Church of All Saints', Great Horkesley are holding an Open Day
on Saturday 2nd July from 10am to
4pm, when they'll be showing plans for the refurbishment and
extension of the Church. Why not come along and see what's
planned - it may give you ideas, too! |
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Ecumenical
Prayer Breakfast at Colchester FoodBank
Food poverty is
drastically increasing; FoodBank donations are not keeping pace;
and Volunteers are under constant pressure. Prayer is needed
like never before! Please support the monthly Ecumenical Prayer
Breakfast at the Stanway FoodBank, 3 Tollgate Retail Park
(between Curry's & B&M). It's from 7:30am to 9am each first
Wednesday, so the next one is on Wednesday
6th July. You'll be welcomed with open arms - and with
coffee and pastries! |
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More concerts at St. Botolph's
The regular and
popular concerts at St. Botolph's Church in Colchester continue,
with an attractive programme announced for the coming weeks. To
book tickets, visit the Group's website (click on the name):
Saturday 2nd July:
Colchester
Symphony Orchestra; Saturday 9th July:
St. Botolph's Music Society;
16th July
Essex Youth Orchestra. |
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Ride & Stride
Friends of Essex Churches Trust hold
their annual 'Ride & Stride' event on
Saturday 10th September. Cycling or walking around our
Churches is a great way to raise money for the Charity and your
own Parish. All the information you need is at
https://www.friendsofessexchurches.org.uk/ride-stride and
lots of our Churches will be open to receive visitors. Let's
make this a great year for exercise & mission projects! |
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Join the
Course in Christian Studies
Chelmsford's
popular Course in Christian Studies, which starts again in
September, is an excellent way of
learning more about the Christian faith, at any level - whether
you are just interested, or if you are considering a vocation to
any kind of formal role within the Church. There are weekly
sessions which take place at various locations around the
Diocese, and on Zoom, and online. There are also Taster Sessions
so that you can see what the course can mean to you.
Here's a poster about the course,
and details of where the sessions are. |
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School Term
dates for 2023-24 added to our Calendar page
The
Calendar
page of the Deanery website has been updated with recent changes
to our schedule of meetings, and we have also added the 2023-24
School Term Dates calendar from Essex County Council. The page
also reminds us of other dates, such as when Diocesan and
General Synods sit, and when our Clergy meet. |
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Diocesan
Synod met on 11th June
The latest
meeting of Diocesan Synod took place on
Saturday 11th June, and Bishop
Guli's Presidential Address can be viewed
here. A full
agenda included Education, Clergy wellbeing and
the 2023 Budget including further development of the new scheme
for Parish Share. All supporting papers are in the
public domain, downloadable from the
Synod page of the Diocesan website; and progress on setting
the 2023 Parish Share can be seen on the
Share page here. |
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Latest
Newsletter from the Mustard Seed Team
Our Diocesan
team promoting training, activities and initiatives for our
families, children and youth have issued their
June newsletter,
and
it's here for you to download and read. It's jam-packed full
of events and ideas; please pray through how we can encourage
our fellowships to make the most of these opportunities - and
the most of our Mustard Seed Team too! |
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New Report:
Poverty and Social Rights in Essex
This influential
report from the University of Essex brings significant insight
into the current needs of people within our Deanery, and is
worthy of investigation. Read a summary
here on the University's website, where there is also a link
to the full report. |
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Colchester
becomes a City
Congratulations
to all who have worked so hard to promote Britain's First
Recorded Town and Britain's First City into... Britain's Newest
City! What a shame that the rules no longer require a City to
have a Cathedral.... Bishop Roger spoke on BBC Essex on the day
the news was announced;
listen
here to what he had to say. |
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Revd Ian
Scott-Thompson adds new responsibilities
It has been
announced that Revd Ian Scott-Thompson, Priest-in-Charge of
Marks Tey and Aldham, is also to be Priest-in-Charge of the
Parishes of Great and Little Tey, Wakes Colne and Chappel, which
are part of the Hinckford Deanery. Please pray for Ian and all
his Parishes, as they establish new relationships and a new
process of ministry. |
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Wivenhoe's
exciting new Youth venture
A new club for
11-16 year-olds has begun in the Annexe at St. Mary's Wivenhoe,
meeting fortnightly on Tuesdays. There' are games,
arts & crafts, cooking, films, as well as music and a tuck shop.
It's called 'The Way' which, as well as its Christian meaning,
also stands for 'Wivenhoe Affable Youth', and the strapline is
'finding the way to be yourself'. Let's spread the word about
The Way - and
this poster will help us do that. |
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Fr Richard
announces his retirement date
Fr Richard
Tillbrook, Vicar of Old Heath since 2003, has announced that he
will officially resign his 'living and freehold' on
31st July this year, though his
last Parish Mass will be on Sunday 26th
June. Please pray for Fr Richard and the
Parish of Old Heath as they prepare for this significant change
after almost 20 years' faithful, dedicated and passionate Parish
ministry. |
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Grants for Church building capital projects
Colchester Churches Charitable Trust is able to offer grants to
our PCCs to assist with the cost of new capital projects to
develop, maintain, repair or conserve our buildings. Grants are
available for up to 20% of the capital cost to a maximum of
£10,000. For full information and application forms, go to
www.colchtrust.org.uk.
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New website
for Greenstead
The Parish
Churches of St. Andrew, St. Anne and St. Matthew in Greenstead
have a new website - inventively entitled Andy, Anne & Matt!
It's wonderful to see how our Parishes make the Church
attractive and interesting to online searchers; if you're
looking for ideas as to how to refresh yours, why not have a
surf around them all? Click on the Parish's location on the
Deanery map
or on the
list of Parish Churches. Greenstead's new site is at
https://andyanneandmatt.org.uk/ |
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Revd Canon
Paul Norrington to retire
Paul, our Area
Dean and the Rector of Christ Church, has announced that he is
to retire from being Area Dean in July
and from the Parish at the end of September. Paul says: ‘Having
served for 20 years here and eight years as Dean, I know in my
heart that the time is right for me to make this decision. There
is always more for us to achieve and I’ll be working to complete
several tasks before I go. It will be hard to leave this
wonderful place and its people!’ Paul will be a hard act to
follow; please pray for our Bishop, Archdeacon, the Deanery
Standing Committee and the fellowship of Christ Church as they
digest the news. |
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Software from
Microsoft, for free, for ever!
Really? Yes!! This is a genuine
offer to Charities, and includes Churches. To prove it, Revd Ian
Scott-Thompson has succeeded in downloading Office 365 Pro software for the
Parish of Marks Tey. So we encourage Parishes to do the same -
but it will need someone with perseverance and patience to
follow Microsoft's registration procedures! Revd Ian has
provided detailed instructions
which you can download from here. We suggest you try it,
and let Ian know
how you get on.
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Towards Zero
Carbon for Churches
Revd James
Gilder, the Diocesan Environmental Officer, presented at the
October 2021 meeting of Deanery Synod. It could be a very
positive statement to say that his presentation sparked strong
debate; and it may help us widen that debate if our Parishes
review James' presentation slides
which can be downloaded from here. Has also pointed us to a
guide by the Archbishop's Council on how we can move towards
being a Zero Carbon Church, and that sheet too
is available here.
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Kingdom Calling: A major report on every-member ministry
Is the Church distanced from the realities of daily life? Our
members aren't. Is the Church relevant to today's society? To
our members, she is. Does the Church adapt to our changing
world? Our members have to. 'Kingdom Calling' is a major new
report from the Church of England highlighting the vital
importance of our Lay membership to the present and future
mission of the Church. The full report can be downloaded
by clicking here; and it is
also available for download from our
Vision page.
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The Deanery Vision & Strategy Plan
The Colchester Deanery Synod adopted the Deanery Vision &
Strategy Plan in 2020 and it was noted by the Area Mission
& Pastoral Committee, as will new MMU Vision documents in due
course. A copy can be downloaded from the
Vision page of our website,
together with further guidance to assist in the development of
MMU plans. |
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