Dear sisters and brothers, I am greatly looking forward to being with you in Canterbury next week. As you set out on your journeys from around the world, I thank God for this opportunity to be together in prayer, study and conversation.This year’s Lambeth Conference will be focussed on the major global crises of our time, their impact on the most vulnerable, and our Gospel imperative to serve a world in need. This is a historic opportunity to hear from each other about the opportunities and challenges we face in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ in our diverse contexts around the world – and to pray for and affirm each other in those ministries.I know that many of you are reading and praying about the draft Lambeth Calls that have been published this week – and they are naturally the subject of debate ahead of the conference. Indeed, these Calls have grown out of a process of discussion and encounter with one another. They are informed by the insights and themes of the online video conversations between bishops across the world over the past year. They have been drafted by a diverse group of Anglicans – male and female, lay and ordained, from different generations and from every part of the Communion. They are one part of a process that began before this part of the Conference, and will continue long after it formally finishes, as every Province discerns its own response to the Calls in their own contexts.As you prepare your hearts and minds for this gathering, I pray that we all reflect on the draft Call on Anglican Identity, which states that Anglicans “belong to a tradition that seeks faithfulness to God in richly diverse cultures, distinct human experiences, and deep disagreements.” That call also states: “The Anglican Communion is a gift from God. Governed by Scripture, affirming the ancient creeds, sacramentally centered, and episcopally led – Anglicans seek to be faithful to God in their agreement and in their disagreements.”Without ignoring those things on which we deeply disagree, I pray that we will approach this gathering with an even deeper sense of what unites us: the love of Jesus Christ and his calling to serve God’s world.Be assured of my continuing prayers for you all – now and in the weeks to come.Yours as ever in the peace of Christ,++Justin
We hope you will be able to join our joint parish Holy Communion service from St Peter's Church, Hascombe at 10am this Sunday.If you are away or housebound and want to be with us online please click on the following Zoom link.https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84804637292?pwd=NDU0RWNXKzAyclIybmdKQzZnZU8rQT09
St Leonard’s Church, Scawsby, in Doncaster launched ‘Messy Church’ before lockdown and within six months, a new church community was established – which continues to thrive today. The vast majority, more than 80 percent of those attending did not previously come to church on Sunday.Father David D’Silva, Priest-in-Charge at St Leonard’s Scawsby (with St Luke’s Scawthorpe) explained how the new church community was first started:"With any new venture, what we try to do at St Leonard’s, is to begin by creating a community. “We brought a group of people together who didn’t really know anything about church, and we created a place where people could feel accepted and loved.“We stick to the Messy Church formula – gathering, activities, worship, and a meal – while still being firmly rooted within the Catholic tradition of the Church of England.”Father David explained that the existing Sunday congregation also played a crucial role in helping to form the new Messy Church community.“We had people in the existing congregation who were able to help with Messy Church and who were also willing and able to be natural evangelisers for it.“There are also five primary schools in the parish, who aren’t church schools. “We are blessed that so many took up the invitation, seeing new people come to discover Messy Church, has been really joyful.”Father David said the feedback has been very positive from those taking part and that there is an expressed desire for the Messy Church sessions to continue:"Parents have told us that their children know Wednesday from the different days of the week, because Wednesday is Messy Church Day! “We only do Messy Church during term-time, but the kids keep asking when it’s coming back.“It’s been a real joy to see it start from nothing and then take on a life of its own,” he reflected. The Messy Church movement was set up by the Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) 18 years ago, offering mainly families and children food, activities such as arts, crafts and sports and worship. The movement has spread across the world, with churches meeting on Saturdays and weekdays as well as Sundays.The Church of England's Vision and Strategy for the 2020s is helping us to be a Church which proclaims and lives out the Good News of Jesus Christ afresh in every generation.
