28 Nov | Bishop’s Letter: Is there any hope for Advent? In his message for Advent Bishop Lee highlights the challenge of the season for our discipleship.
28 Oct | Bishop’s Letter; Fit for purpose? In this month’s Bishop’s Letter, Bishop Mike asks how we can apply what we know we need to do in our physical lives to our spiritual lives.
25 Sep | Bishop’s Letter; To sell or not to sell? The messy business of ethical investment This month Bishop Lee reflects on the work of the Ethical Investment Advisory Group and the decision to sell shares in News Corporation.
06 Aug | Bishop’s Letter: Olympic Dedication In this month’s letter, Bishop Mike reflects on what our Olympic team might have to say to how we approach our church life.
28 Jul | Bishop’s letter: Giving a voice to wonder This month Bishop Lee reflects on the significance of awe and wonder in our relationship with God and resisting being conformed by ‘left brain’ ways of attending to the world.
25 Jun | Bishop’s Letter: Ignorance of the law is no excuse…. In this month’s Bishop’s Letter, Bishop Mike asks who should be teaching children right from wrong, what they should be teaching, and what part people of faith have to play.
26 May | Bishop’s letter: Growing the Church ~ From Peru with Love This month Bishop Lee describes how the Anglican Church in Peru has been growing.
28 Mar | Bishop’s letter: Redemption and risk This month Bishop Lee offers some reflections following his recent accident.
26 Mar | Bishops thank parishes for “playing their part” Bishop Mike and Bishop Lee have written to each parish in the Diocese reflecting on what has beeen achieved for the Kingdom of God in the last year and expressing thanks and support to each each parish for their commitment to ministry and mission in their communities.
06 Feb | Bishop’s letter: Changing seasons through Lent This month Bishop Lee invites us to embrace Lent as a time for necessary endings so we can truly experience God’s new beginnings. Over the past 6 months the opening verses of chapter 3 from the Book of Ecclesiastes have …
02 Dec | Bishop’s letter: What’s inn a word In his message in the lead up to Christmas, Bishop Lee invites us to consider a different perspective on the nativity story which Middle Eastern Christians believe does justice to both the biblical accounts and their culture. Over the years …
31 Oct | Bishop’s letter; Come again? In Bishop Mike’s letter, he looks forward to the season of advent, unpacking its themes and suggesting that it has serious implications for the way we live. It seems a bit weird to say that I love the season of …
04 Oct | Bishop’s letter; Looking for a fresh generation Bristol Diocese has seen an impressive increase in our numbers of lay and ordained Ministers in recent years but Bishop Lee senses there is more to come. This month he writes of God challenging a younger generation to offer themselves …
30 Aug | Bishop’s letter; You’re better than that! In this month’s letter, Bishop Mike takes some inspiration from Barack Obama and St Peter, and encourages us all to look beyond the symptoms of what is around us to see God’s perspective. I once heard this story about Barack …
01 Aug | Bishop’s letter: Counting down to London 2012 This month Bishop Lee invites us to look ahead to next summer and the Olympic Games to ensure we do not miss the opportunities it will create. Last month I took a train journey from the east of London which …
28 Jun | Bishop’s letter: ‘You still live as the people of this world live’ ‘You still live as the people of this world live’ (1 Corinthians 3:3. Good News Bible) The current situation in the Anglican Communion raises all kinds of questions. There are questions about the issue of autonomy – a subject which …
01 Jun | Bishop’s letter: Use words – we must! This month Bishop Lee reminds us of the importance of evangelism – being confident to speak of the faith we have in Christ and releasing the evangelists God has gifted to his Church. I always enjoy the Initial Ministerial Education …
25 Apr | Bishop’s letter: Has death lost its sting? In this month’s Bishop’s Letter, Bishop Mike asks how equipped our society is to face death. Recently I attended the funeral service of a dear friend. As I sat in the crematorium, it brought back memories of my second curacy …
28 Mar | Bishop’s letter: All Stations to Swindon With Holy Week approaching Bishop Lee describes some of the creative initiatives churches have been taking to connect with those who know little about the Easter story. In my journey as a follower of Jesus, Lent and Holy Week have …
22 Feb | Bishop’s letter: The Forgiveness Business The season of Lent is almost upon us again and many of us will take up the challenge of ‘giving something up’. That’s good, but I hope that many of you will take up the Biblefresh Challenge to read through …
05 Jan | Bishop Lee’s New Year letter – Getting in shape spiritually This month Bishop Lee asks us to reflect on what shape we are in spiritually. He asks whether we might benefit from a rather different form of health check and exercise regime at the beginning of the year. This is …
03 Dec | Bishop’s Christmas letter: The most precious unwanted gift Bishop Mike’s Christmas letter to the Diocese What do you do with the Christmas gifts that you don’t want? Those orange socks and the aftershave or perfume that would asphyxiate your parrot – if you had one! I find it …
16 Oct | Diocesan Letter: Small words – big impact As Alan Hawker retires as Archdeacon of Malmesbury, he reflects on the power of words – and has some heartfelt things to say as he and Jen leave the Diocese. As a child I learned the old saying: “sticks and …
21 Sep | Bishop’s letter: “Doing God?” In August, Bishop Lee wrote about the militant secularism which troubles many Christians but also how some secularists are revising their thinking. This month he considers how the tide may be turning further in the light of the Coalition Government’s …
18 Aug | Diocesan Letter: What is it like? In this month’s Diocesan Letter, David Hoyle, the recently installed Dean of Bristol, reflects on the difficulties of answering this question and challenges us to ask a different kind of question in our lives. Friends, who mean well, ask me, …
21 Jul | Bishop’s letter: Mind your language This month Bishop Lee reflects on the pressure that Christians, and indeed other religious faiths, are under from secularisers. The good news is that our voice is still valued in the public arena but we need to match our tone …
28 Jun | Bishop’s letter: Lessons from the building trade In this month’s Bishop’s Letter, Bishop Mike encourages us to ask where we have plastered over the cracks in our lives. Shock and horror. They have discovered dry and wet rot in the walls of one of the bedrooms in …
05 Jun | Bishop’s Diocesan Synod Address, 5 June 2010 Bishop Mike addressed the Bristol Diocesan Synod in Swindon on Saturday 5 June 2010. Our nation suddenly finds itself in a new and slightly strange place. The result of the May General Election puts us in a position almost beyond …
27 May | Bishop’s letter: Playing our role in the big society This month Bishop Lee reflects on building a big society and what has been happening to support chaotic lives in Swindon One of the stated aims of the Conservatives in the lead up to the General Election was their desire …
30 Apr | Bishop’s letter: That’s the Spirit The feast of Pentecost looms large in the Church’s calendar. The amazing fulfillment of the prophet Joel came to be. A small bunch of uncertain and nervous disciples were transformed into a confident group of three thousand people who would …
22 Apr | Bishop encourages ministers to seek out support The Diocese is looking afresh at how ministers can find support and be developed in their ministry. “We want to create a culture in the Diocese where ministers themselves are enabled to take responsibility for finding appropriate support and taking …
06 Apr | Bishop’s letter: Using our vote as citizens of heaven This month Bishop Lee reminds us of our responsibility as Christians to engage with the General Election and make our vote count for the Kingdom of God. These are worrying times for our political process. With a General Election imminent …
03 Mar | Bishop’s Easter letter: The well spring of hope? He’s alive! As we look forward from Lent to Easter, Bishop Mike asks what we might have to hope for. Lent is a time for reflection, with an eye to what St Theresa of Avila called “looking forward to the joy of …
02 Mar | Chrism Eucharist and Renewal of Commitment to Ministry, 1 April 2010 To: All Licensed Clergy and Lay Ministers Dear Colleagues, Diocesan Chrism Eucharist with the Renewal of Commitment to Ministry Thursday 1 April 2010 at 10.30am Once again this Maundy Thursday, I am inviting all ordained and licensed ministers to our …
30 Jan | Bishop’s Lent Addresses – Bristol Cathedral Bishop Mike and Bishop Lee are giving a series of Lent Addresses entitled “How now shall we live? Exploring discipleship in the 21st century”. Starting on Ash Wednesday (17 February), the addresses will engage with how we can live in …
29 Jan | Bishop’s Lent Letter: Seeking the God who breathes life This month Bishop Lee shares a call to mark Lent 2010 by attentiveness to God in prayer and fasting which has come through our deanery leadership. As someone deeply committed to our strategic planning and our programme for growth, there …
12 Jan | Bishops write to parishes for the 2010s Bishop Mike and Bishop Lee have written to every parish at the beginning of 2010. The letter briefly sets out their hopes for the Diocese in the new decade as ‘Releasing the Energy, the Diocesan Strategy for 2010-2015, begins its …
24 Dec | Bishop’s letter: The real climate change The real climate change One of the things that’s hotting up in our culture is the climate change debate. There appears to be wide support for the science on climate change, whilst also a voluble minority who regard the whole …
11 Dec | Bishops Christmas Messages go online Bishop Mike and Bishop Lee have both recorded Christmas video messages which can be watched online or shown at Christmas services and events. – Bishop Mike Hill – Bishop Lee Rayfield The short videos, which are on the Diocesan website …
30 Nov | Bishops are back blogging Bishop Mike and Bishop Lee have launched a new blog to keep people up to date with their lives and ministry. The “microblog” allows them to post comments about what they are doing, encounters they have had, views on different …
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