Ten new Lay Canons have been appointed at Chester Cathedral. They were all Instituted by the Bishop and Installed into their seats by the Dean on Sunday 28th July. Each Canon will now occupy, for as long as they hold their title, one of the Cathedral’s fourteenth-century misericords in the Quire dedicated to saints who are commemorated in the Cathedral’s stained glass.
With festival season upon us, Christians across the Diocese of Chester have been refreshing, relaxing, refueling, ministering and volunteering at all sorts of festivals in the region and across the UK. Find out who went to New Wine and what they got up to.
Rev Ruth Mock, Vicar of Sandiway and Rural Dean of Middlewich will assist with delegated archidiaconal duties across the Diocese of Chester during Archdeacon Mike Gilbertson's three month sabbatical from 1 September.
Following the Archdeacons' visitation services across the Diocese during the month of June, we held a training day at Church House on Saturday 13 July for any new church wardens. We were delighted to see so many new wardens serving in our churches.
In May many of our churches marked Christian Aid week by holding services, hosting events and raising funds. In what are challenging times it is wonderful that as a diocese we are able to continue to support our church’s development agency.
The Bishop of Birkenhead, Julie Conalty has responded to the stabbing in Southport this week in which three children have died and five children and two adults remain in a critical condition. The attack took place at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class for children on Hart Street.
Preparations are underway for the biggest electronic dance festival in the UK right on the doorstep of the administrative headquarters of the Diocese of Chester at Daresbury Park.
Pam Robinson spent most of her life “resisting God.” However, at the age of 42, during one of the most challenging weeks of her life, Pam’s cat went missing. This was the breaking point for her, and she called upon God for the first time. In that moment, Pam found faith.
The Bishop of Chester, Mark Tanner swapped his mitre for his motorcycle helmet and took to the roads with a biking fraternity for ‘Biking the Bounds’, an annual summer road tour of parishes in the Diocese of Chester.
Harriet Roberts has been appointed as Director of Communications on an interim basis for 12 months. Many will remember Harriet who led the Casting the Net Wide process to discern the Diocesan vision.
Friends, family and colleagues from across the Diocese gathered at Chester Cathedral for the funeral of Revd Tom Ryan, Assistant Curate at St Alban’s Broadheath on Monday 22 July. The service was led by the Bishop of Chester, Mark Tanner with a eulogy from Tom’s son, Joseph and an address from Revd Canon Richard Pike.
We need to appoint a new Diocesan Secretary / Chief Executive of the Diocesan Board of Finance, and Bishop Mark is asking us all to be part of that process.
Revd Joe Kennedy, previously Vicar of Oxton St Saviour, is to be consecrated as the Bishop of Burnley this coming Friday 19 July 2024 at 11am. The service will take place in York Minster. Here, Mark Tanner, Bishop of Chester asks Joe what called him into this new role.
Readers in the Church of England are lay people who serve in a vital ministry role. Bip Choudhury, a teacher of Anatomy at Manchester University, explains what studying to be a Reader is like.
Sam Loach, son of Mike Loach, Vicar at Christ Church, Higher Bebington, helped to establish a video streaming service for the church during the pandemic lockdown. This inspired him to study film and media at Liverpool John Moore's University.
St Peter’s Church in the historic centre of Chester has been awarded two large grants to enable it to carry out major repairs and keep the iconic, 700-year-old building open.
Sue Horn talks about how Foundations has equipped, encouraged and enabled her to grow in faith and explore the next step in her Christian life.
Further to the recent announcement that our long-standing Dicoesen secretary, George Colville is to stand down at the end of August, Bishop Mark has asked two people to provide interim cover for the role until a new Diocesan Secretary can be appointed.
Revd Jane Addenbrooke is to be Priested this coming Saturday, 15 June at Chester Cathedral. Her journey hasn't been smooth. In her own words, she explains, how, despite her health issues, God has given her the strength she needed to fulfil her calling to ordination.
Please pray for all those who have been called to ordained ministry, in particular, we give thanks to God for those who are to be ordained priest at Chester Cathedral on Saturday 15 June. May they be blessed in their ministry and be a blessing to those they meet and serve.
Revd Jenny McKay wanted to keep in touch with her veterinarian work colleagues during the outbreak of Covid so she started a simple Facebook page called @thereverendvet. The page has grown to nearly 9000 followers from all around the world.
The Diocese of Chester has been awarded a bronze Eco Diocese award in recognition of our care for creation. The award was given by the Christian conservation charity A Rocha UK, and reflects Chester Diocese’s commitment to walk in step with nature and put creation care at the heart of what we do.
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, is making a missionary visit to Chester diocese later this month. He aims to share in and encourage the mission of the church, the work that churches, schools, and chaplaincies are doing to show the love of God and to make him known to the 1.5 million people of our diocese who have no connection with church.
Canon George Colville will step down from his post as Diocesan Secretary for the Diocese of Chester on 31 August 2024. He has served the Diocese for twenty-five years, fourteen as Diocesan Secretary, and moves on with our gratitude and affection.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are encouraging Christians to pray systematically in the run-up to the election. We have provided some links to resources that will be useful to parishes during the pre-election period.
Sam Rowan will be joining our Dicoese on 30 June 2024, when he will be Ordained as a Deacon, along with others, at Chester Cathedral. But how did his journey to ordination begin?
Bishop Mark recently visited the Diocese of Aru, one of our linked dioceses in the global Anglican Communion. The Diocese of Aru is located in the far north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), near the borders of Uganda and South Sudan.
St Mary's in Licard is serving up a smashing Men's breakfast, replete with sausages, black pudding, beans, egg, bacon, tomatoes and toast, on the third Saturday of every month. The food, though fantastic, by any greasy spoon standards, is only part of how the diners are nourished
Average weekly attendance at Church of England services rose by almost five per cent in 2023 - the third year of consecutive growth, preliminary figures show. Even more positively, attendance by children was up by almost 6% cent last year, according to the annual Statistics for Mission findings.
Earlier this year, Rebecca Holland was appointed as our JSP Champion for the Diocese of Chester. She recently visited Church House to meet with the Director of Outreach, Revd Peter Froggatt, which gave us an ideal opportunity to learn about her role and the progress she's been making.
