What do we do when we are bursting with happiness, overwhelmed by something wonderful that has happened to us? At first we might jump up and down, or shout, or even burst into tears, but as what has happened begins to sink in, many of us feel like singing or find ourselves expressing our joy with words that hardly seem our own.
The Dean of Jersey, Mike Keirle, writes: "Jersey has endured two terrible tragedies in this last week, with the death of twelve Islanders, in two separate incidents, one at sea and one on land, and the community is in shock as we approach the Christmas season. Read more here...
Amidst the snow and cold of this Advent season, the Diocese has been enjoying a whole heap of Advent celebrations and services as we prepare for Christmas Day, and remember that Jesus died for us and then came back to life. We’ve rounded up a few of our favourite highlights from the past week below!
You can watch Bishop Stephen's Christmas message here, or download it to play it at your Christmas service here.
A message from Bishop Stephen to the people of Jersey, following days of tragedy which began with the loss of a fishing vessel and the lives of its three crew on Thursday, followed by the explosion which has killed at least five people in the early hours of Saturday.
In this season of Advent, our diocese has been busy putting together a whole host of different Advent events for everyone to enjoy. From life-sized outdoor advent calendar to Christmas tree festivals!
Over the past nine months, six rural benefice teams comprised of a mix of lay and ordained leaders from across Sherborne and Ramsbury have been following the Flex course funded by Rural Hope. The last session of the course was held this month, drawing Flex as a whole to a close.
At Evensong last Sunday, 13-year-old Rory from Warminster was installed as the latest in a long line of Chorister Bishops at Salisbury Cathedral, unseating the Bishop of Salisbury for the duration of the 45-minute service.
This past weekend Bishop Stephen made his first official visit to the Channel Islands since the island deaneries were joined to the Diocese of Salisbury in mid-November.
This year’s national Church of England Christmas video tells the story of a life supported by the local church. It follows one woman through many Christmases throughout her life – from her first starring role as the baby Jesus in the village nativity play, to childhood and teenage years, joining church youth groups, getting married, parenthood and facing bereavement.
