It was a great pleasure to be able to welcome the new Bishop of Richborough to St. Peter’s on 6th July and especially joyful to be present as he confirmed three of our regular worshippers. It is a sign of hope that people want to make this sacramental commitment and become communicant members of the Church.

The catholic movement in the Church of England witnesses to the beauty of holiness, the centrality of the sacramental life and the importance of truth. This movement has played a significant part in the life of St. Peter’s for many years now through the incumbencies of Canon George Austin, Father Robbie Low, Father Stuart Seaton and into the present. Since the ordination of women to the priesthood in 1994 this has been made possible through the provision made for orthodox parishes to have a bishop whose orders can be recognised throughout the Church of England. At St. Peter’s we have been privileged to enjoy the ministry of successive bishops of Richborough, latterly Bishop Norman Banks and currently Bishop Luke Irvine-Capel.

Over the years the movement for orthodoxy has been supported by Forward in Faith, a body to which we are affiliated at St. Peter’s. It provides the legal, financial and charitable backing for the Society under the Patronage of St. Wilfrid and St. Hilda (The Society) which is the ecclesial body for those who seek to maintain the orthodox catholic life and witness of the Church of England. It supports and resources those of us who do not wish to see our church drift towards liberalism and relativism, but wish instead to maintain the faith of the Apostles for our good and the good of future generations.

A number of us at St. Peter’s are members of Forward in Faith and support the work of the Society. It would be great if there were many more. Find out more from me or by visiting https://forwardinfaith.com/

Forward in Faith: Supporting The Society.

Renewing the Church in the Historic Faith.

What we believe

• We are committed to the catholic faith as the Church of England received it, and to proclaiming it afresh in this generation.

• We uphold catholic order and the catholic doctrine of the Sacraments, and in particular the threefold ministry in historic succession, which the Church of England shares with the Church throughout the world and across the ages.

• We long for the visible unity of Christ’s Church, and especially for communion between the Church of England and the rest of the Western Church.

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