Saturday
11th October 2025
at St. John's Church
& Centre, St. John's Close, Colchester CO4 0HP
A day of encouragement with worship & workshops
for all our congregations and families
See the Deanery Day
web page for details of speakers.
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Start signing up for Deanery
Day!
We handed out posters for
Deanery Day at the June meeting of Synod -
mail us if
you'd like more.
Click here for the Deanery Day web page, where there are
downloads of posters for printing and displaying on screens;
there's also an outline magazine article with the logo and even
a QR code to help promote the event. We thought we'd get the
ball rolling before the summer holidays - so start drawing up a
list of those planning to come along! |
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CYO Pray for Schools Evening
Join Christian Youth Outreach
at a Pray for Schools Evening at St. John's Colchester on
Wednesday 25th June at 7:30pm.
Schools are at the centre of many of our communities and
Parishes. They are incredible places where young people learn
life skills, academia, social skills, boundaries, sports, the
arts - and discover their interests. But schools are under so
much pressure to take on even wider roles in the wellbeing of
the young, whilst experiencing restraints of all kinds. Let's
gather in St. John's to pray for schools - both staff and
students. |
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Archdeacon's
Visitation
We're looking forward to seeing
Bishop Roger at
the annual Visitation service as he 'deputises' for Archdeacon
Ruth! This year's service takes place at St. John's Church
Colchester on the evening of Tuesday 1st
July. It's a 'three line whip' for Churchwardens and
Incumbents, but there'll be space for others to attend in
support of our leaders and to hear what is said in the sermon -
which is formally called 'The Archdeacon's Charge'. |
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Summer Concert series at St. James the Great
The
Summer Lunchtime Concerts at St. James the Great East Hill have
begun, and they have an outstanding programme -
see it here. Concerts take place on the 1st Tuesday of each
month at 1pm. On 1st July the Ariori Duo
perform;
5th August the Althena Ensemble;
2nd September with Dr Emma Gibbins
(Master of Music & Organist at Chelmsford Cathedral); and
Emmanuel Dauvin on 7th October.
Admission is free; a retirement collection helps St. James'
music ministry. |
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Revd Matt Simpkins is to move on
It has been announced that Revd
Matt Simpkins, Priest-in-Charge of the Parish of Lexden, has
been appointed Vicar of the Parish of Clacton St. James with
Jaywick St. Christopher. His final service at St. Leonards is to
be on Sunday 20th July and his
Licensing service will be on Monday 1st September. Please pray
for the Lord to bless Matt, Sian and the family as they make
preparations for the move - and of course for the people of
Lexden, preparing to say farewell and make plans for the future.
We are so grateful for all that Matt has achieved with us. |
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Concerts in
St. Botolph's
The Spring Concert season at
St. Botolph's Colchester concludes on
Saturday 28th July
Colchester
Choral Society's concert is entitled 'Summer Serenade'. Click on the company's name to find our more and to book
tickets. |
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Take part in the National Churches Survey
The National Churches Trust are
running a survey from now to
the end of July, and invite every Church to help them
fill in lots of missing data from around the country. Register
at
https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/survey. The purpose is
to give a voice to the people who are dedicated to serving the
nation's 38,500 Churches. You'll know that they have given grant
funding to many of our Parishes, and also fight hard to see our
good work acknowledged. |
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Revd Anthony
Bushell to retire
Revd Tony,
Priest-in-Charge of the Parish of Stanway, has announced that he
is to retire, with his final service at St. Albright's to take
place on Sunday 10th August. Having
been ordained in 1996, he first served in Felsted before
becoming Curate in Stanway then after eight years in the Parish
of Greenstead with St. Anne's he returned to Stanway in 2014. He and his wife
Morag (a Licensed Lay Minister in the Parish) will be greatly
missed; we pray that these coming months will be a great
blessing to them as they plan their future. |
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Friends of Essex Churches 'Ride and Stride'
date
This annual fund-raising event
where proceeds are shared equally between your Church and
Friends of Essex Churches Trust takes place on
Saturday 13th September. It's when
people from all over Essex are sponsored to walk or cycle
between Churches & check in with each Church to prove they've
been. On the Trust's website at
https://www.friendsofessexchurches.org.uk/ride-stride you
can let them know that your Church will be open for visitors,
and get lots of ideas for making the day a big event to benefit
your church & all Churches! |
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St. James the
Great receive grant funding from NCT
The National Churches Trust
have announced that the restoration of the southeast windows of
the Lady Chapel in the Church of St. James the Great, East Hill
is well under way, thanks to a grant from the National Churches
Trust. Read the full press release
here. The people of St. James' are very grateful to the NCT
and to other helpers and grant funders who have made this
possible - and that includes the Colchester Churches Charitable
Trust. And may this success encourage other Parishes as they
endeavour to maintain and develop our Church buildings. |
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Children's,
Families & Youth Newsletter - Trinity Edition
The June
issue of our Mustard Seed Team's Newsletter is now out, with lots of
information, opportunities and guidance for everyone involved in
children's, youth and families work in the Colchester Area.
Read here
about resources for leadership, courses and more! |
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Please send us your Annual
Reports
You'll have held your APCM by
now - and as you know, we need a copy of your Annual Report and
Accounts, including the Independent Examiner's Certificate. If
you haven't sent yours yet, please ask whoever has it to email
it to us at
mail@colchesterdeanery.org.uk. We analyse them and send them
on to the Diocesan Office, who also need an online return of
statistics -
see this page of their website. Thank you for all your help
with this! |
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It's easier
to get grants from the Colchester Churches Charitable Trust
The trust have just
relaxed their application criteria - grants are now possible for
up to 50% of the total cost of capital works to our buildings,
to a maximum of £10,000 for each Church building or PCC asset
(e.g. Church Hall). That should help quite a few Parishes - so
if you're planning a capital project or have Quinquennial work
to do, surf along to
colchtrust.org.uk |
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SHAPE - an
excellent nurture course
Our Area Mission & Ministry
Adviser, Phil Ritchie, is looking again at the SHAPE course -
that stands for Spiritual gifts; Heart's desire; Abilities;
Personality; Experience. If you'd like to consider this as your
next nurture course,, all materials can be downloaded for free
here; and why not
email Phil
- he'll be delighted to hear from you. |
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Friendship
Line - A listening ear in Lexden
St. Leonard's,
Lexden have recently set up a Friendship Line, and it's not just
for their Parishioners. Anyone who feels they need someone with
whom they can have a friendly chat, or would like someone to
listen to their concerns, will feel more positive after a time
of sharing. The Parish will be happy for you to
put up this poster on your noticeboard. More information
from the Parish Office on 01206 575565 or Revd Maggie Whiteman
at maggiew234@gmail.com.
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Churchwardens - help is at hand
Are
you a Churchwarden, or would you like to be more supportive of
your Churchwardens? The Diocesan website has a wealth of
information on Churchwardens' duties and responsibilities,
training and support material (including YouTube videos) to
guide us in this important role. It includes pointers for
building works, actions in a Vacancy, being a Trustee, and much
more. Surf to
www.chelmsford.anglican.org/churchwardens and be encouraged! |
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PCC Wellbeing Toolkit
The wellbeing of Church leaders and
members has been high on the list of the Church of England's
priorities since Covid, and a PCC Wellbeing Toolkit was
introduced to our Clergy and Lay leaders in a recent seminar.
PCCs may find helpful to review it together, and involve the
Church membership. It is offered to you to use as you see fit;
download it from here. May it bless you! |
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Lexden
Bereavement Support Group
This Group, a resource available to
all Parishes, is run by three Lay members of St. Leonard's,
Lexden, all of whom are retired registered nurses with
experience and extra training in loss and bereavement. A new
course of six fortnightly sessions begins soon for those of any
faith or none missing a loved one who died recently or longer
ago. For details or to book a place phone Margaret on 01206
547803 or email
bereavement@stleonardslexden.org.uk. |
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To add news items to
this page, email us at
mail@colchesterdeanery.org.uk |
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