Bishop Robert has posted his Christmas message. You can watch it below, or go to the page on the website of the Diocese of North West Europe.
Diocesan News
With Advent just starting, our charitable giving goes to the Bishop’s Advent Appeal.This year the appeal supports the Anglican Communion Fund of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which makes small donations across the church which can make a real difference. The focus for Advent is on South Asia. You can find the full story on this page on our Diocesan website.
2022 Lent and Easter Appeal for Aid to Ukraine Usually, I write to you several weeks before the start of Lent to introduce my Lent appeal. This Lent, however, we find ourselves in exceptional and grave circumstances with war in Ukraine. Working with our partners USPG, we have therefore taken some time to set up a special appeal fund for the crisis in Ukraine. Our fund will be managed by USPG. The fund will be…
Attack on Ukraine ‘an act of great evil’ – statement from Archbishops of Canterbury and York | The Church of England Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The situation in Ukraine is very deeply troubling. President Putin is leading a completely unjustified and aggressive war against Ukraine, a war which many ordinary Russians deeply deplore. Leaders from many Christian churches, including the Ukrainian Orthodox (Russian Patriarchate) Church have condemned the invasion of Ukraine. Our hearts…
2021 Bishop’s Lent Appeal for the English Church of Liège (Belgium) My Lent Appeal this year is concerned with restarting ordained ministry in a chaplaincy that has gone through tough times but where there is great potential. The new chaplain is one of the (very few) stipendiary, trained curates from our own diocese. The Reverend Guy Diakese trained for the priesthood in Nigeria and Rome. He speaks French, English and Italian fluently and we are…
In one of our best-loved carols, Christina Rossetti situates the birth of Jesus ‘in the bleak midwinter’. She paints a severe and freezing manger scene, with howling wind and deep snow. She represents the frosted earth and water with iron and stone. From the biblical narrative, it seems unlikely that Jesus was born in the bleak mid-winter, as the shepherds would not be putting their sheep out to pasture in freezing conditions. But that does not stop…
The Bishop in Europe: The Right Reverend Dr. Robert Innes During August I was fortunate to take part in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and to see, again, the places associated with the life of Jesus Christ. Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, is now a sprawling Arab town, but in the first century was only a village of perhaps 500 people. Capernaum and the places around Lake Galilee have retained their peacefulness and beauty…
Below is the message sent by our Bishop before the start of Lent The Bishop in Europe: The Right Reverend Dr. Robert Innes Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I send you this appeal as we begin to prepare our hearts and minds for the beginning of Lent in three weeks’ time. Natural as well as man-made disasters in our world bring hurt and heartbreak to all those affected. They remind us of the fragility…
The Bishop in Europe: The Right Reverend Dr. Robert Innes In the 1960s, it was said UK entry to the “Common Market” would mark the end of a thousand years of British history. Fast-forwarding to 2019, the clock is now ticking rapidly towards the end of British membership of the European Union. Where are we, and where are we going on Brexit? Brexit is a UK choice The UK has decided to leave the EU.…
Travelling over to London on the Eurostar in mid-November, I saw my first Christmas tree of the season. It was a giant silver variety placed prominently on the concourse of St. Pancras Station. And I was reminded that ‘the Christmas season’ starts earlier in the UK than in most of mainland Europe. And to be sure, this year, the Christmas spirit is sorely needed to boost flagging High Street revenues and give some cheer to…