This year sees the 10th anniversary of Thy Kingdom Come, a prayer movement launched by the archbishops of Canterbury and York 10 years ago. Since its launch, Christians in 172 countries now participate and more than 85 denominations are involved. Thy Kingdom Come is truly global in its reach!Thy Kingdom Comes focuses on the 10 days between Ascension Day and our celebration of Pentecost. Think back to the story of the disciples after Easter, waiting patiently in Jerusalem, full of expectation and anticipation, for the gift of the Spirit which Jesus had promised. If they were honest, it was all a bit frightening as they didn’t quite know what the gift would involve. They may not have realised what the impact of the Spirit would be – for them all it would be a costly gift involving the giving of their own lives in witness to the risen Jesus - yet they waited in obedience to Jesus’ instructions.This year the focus is on the words of the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray and which we pray in every act of Anglican public worship. The published materials say: ‘the prayer Jesus taught us transcends the ages, uniting people across different denominations, generations, and nations. We believe that now, more than ever, we need to pray Thy Kingdom Come over our homes, communities, nations, and our world.’The resources include reflections on the Lord’s Prayer from a range of different voices from across the world to help us experience something new in a prayer that many of us are familiar with. Thy Kingdom Come has travelled a long way in 10 years. Let’s engage with it this year and become part of the story with global Christians. Let’s enter the hope and expectation that the first disciples experienced in those days before the first Pentecost in Jerusalem. Let’s create an opportunity every day in the 10 days between the Ascension of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit, to notice where God is active in the world, in the church and in our own lives, and to commit ourselves to cooperate with God’s work. Why not visit thykingdomcom.global and see how you can get involved in your parish? There are resources to help the Church pray and especially there is an encouragement to pray for individuals close to us. We are encouraged to pray for five people each that we with them may know the gift of God’s Spirit in their daily lives. On Friday, 30 May, from 7pm to 10pm, Derby Cathedral is holding a prayer vigil for Thy Kingdom Come to which all are invited. Why not hold a vigil in your parish church and open your own parish community to the growing involvement in Thy Kingdom Come?The Very Revd Dr Peter Robinson Dean of Derby
On the day I wrote this article, the stock markets were down 11% as the impact of what President Trump termed ‘Liberation Day’ took hold on the global economy. As of April 2, the United States has imposed global tariffs on countries exporting goods and services to America. Some countries have already responded to Trump’s move by imposing retaliatory tariffs on the cost to the United States of exporting their goods into those countries. Now, you might not follow the ups and downs of global stock markets and the twists and turns of the geo-politics, but part of the concern over these tariffs will be their effect on nearly all of us. The US President’s move affects pensions, the cost of car purchases, family savings and more. And the language applied to the advent of these significant and far-reaching tariffs is ‘Liberation Day’. The heavy burden imposed on countries and individuals by these tariffs starkly contrasts with Jesus’ message of salvation, liberation, and hope that we celebrate during the Easter season. Jesus took the full weight of human sin on himself on the cross and rose from the dead to offer us new life in Christ. Whereas President Trump’s tariffs lead to hopelessness and despair, the liberation Jesus offers us brings hope. However, as we take our confidence in the Good News of Jesus, we must reconcile what we believe in faith with the world as we experience it; that is the challenge of being a disciple. It might strike you as hard to cling to a message of hope amid a fractured world, but that is the work we must do if we are to point people to Jesus. Will Freemont-Brown’s chapter in the Archbishop’s Lent book ‘Wild Bright Hope’ suggests that for Christians, hope is not the same as optimism but inviting Jesus into the challenging and traumatic: the hopeless places of our lives and the world, we can reimagine those spaces with hope. The apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans (12.2) urges early followers of Jesus to ‘not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your [our] mind’. Therefore, the challenge for us as contemporary followers of Jesus is not to deny or play down the despair of tariffs and warfare but, through prayer, invite the Holy Spirit to help us reimagine our outlook on the here and now, in light of the liberation Jesus won for us on the cross and in the resurrection. The Venerable Matthew Trick Archdeacon of Derby City and South Derbyshire
The 3Cs project, which aims to provide a new servery and WC in the church, launched its appeal to members of the congregation on Mothering Sunday, 30th March 2025. Members on the Electoral Roll received a letter from the churchwardens, giving more information about the plans and how everyone can help. The aim is to raise sufficient matched funding to enable the church to approach charitable trusts and other grant bodies. A series of community events is also planned to start later in the year. For more information about the project, visit our page here. To donate to the appeal on-line, please click here. We are also conducting a short survey to get the views of the Hartington Community about the church and the project. If you have 2 minutes, we would love to get your feedback. Please click on the link here to take you to our online survey.
Our church, along with every parish in the Church of England, is required to prepare a new Electoral Roll in 2025. This means that we are obliged to destroy our previous Electoral Roll records and to contact those people that were on the list to ensure that they are aware of this, and to offer the opportunity for them to complete a new form, to continue to have their details included. Those currently on the roll will be contacted by Phillip Neal our Electoral Roll Officer but we also welcome new registrations from those not currently on the Electoral Roll. Completed forms can be returned to Phillip by email or if you prefer by post or hand. Please note if sent by email you are not required to physically sign, but please type your name in the signature box, ensure you include your email address on the form, and that the same email address is used to send the form.All forms must be returned by the 1st May ready for presentation to our Annual Parochial Church Meeting on the 21st May.
