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All our churches are open daily.
Many thanks for your interest, we hope to see you soon.
Bishop Graham Usher the Bishop of Norwich has made a statement following
the Publication of the Malkin report and the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Bishop Graham's statement can be found here bishop_grahams_statement_.pdf
Safeguarding Support
If you or anyone you are in contact with have been affected by the publication of the Makin report and want to talk to someone independently please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.
Alternatively, you may wish to contact the Diocese of Norwich Safeguarding team. Sue Brice and Peter Sayer are the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisers. They can be contacted at: [email protected]
01603 882345
Address: Safeguarding Team, Bishop’s House, Norwich, NR3 1SB.
Or you can contact the National Safeguarding Team [email protected].
HELLO FROM JEREMY
Dear Friends,
Over the next few days and weeks, if you are like me, you will be looking forward with anticipation for the postman delivering Christmas cards from friends near and far and hear all their news.
Many of our Christmas cards will show scenes from the birth of Jesus, in the many different ways that the artists imagined it to be. Although they may use different colours, styles and designs, some things in the pictures are always the same. The Christ Child in the crib, The Virgin Mary and St Joseph, the animals of various kinds, the shepherds and Kings.
There are so many exciting things to do at Christmas that it can be easy to forget for a while, why we have Christmas at all. For Christians the birth of Jesus at Christmas is an amazing event and a time to celebrate this wonderful gift from God, but it is also much, much more.
This is a time to rejoice
In the knowledge that Christ was born at Bethlehem.
This is a time to remember the first Christmas
And all the Christmases we have known,
With gratitude that so much joy has come into our lives.
This is a time to remember one another
In good fellowship and Christian love.
This is a time to remember the unfortunate,
The sorrowful and the lonely.
This is a time to remember the world which God loves so much,
In its need of peace,
In its need of justice,
In its need of the good news of Jesus.
Wishing you and all those you love a very blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
My love and blessing,
In our world, there are many who will spend Christmas in the rubble of their homes or in shelters for the homeless and refugee camps, forced to leave their homes because of war or famine or natural disaster. There will be babies born in the same excruciating conditions as Jesus, the Son of God.
If it is our happy lot to spend Christmas safe and warm in the loving environment of family and friends, let us rejoice and give thanks, but also remember and offer some of our resources to those whose experience will be one of uncertainty, desperation and fear.
Let us pray:
For all the possibilities ahead in this new year make us thankful, O Lord.
Give us wisdom, courage, and discernment in the face of so much chaos, despair, and fear.
Help us to see how, in our circumstances, we can contribute towards peace, faith and love.
And give us the will to translate our desires into actions.
Amen.
PRAYER CORNER
In a world filled with chaos, we pray because prayer is the antidote to anxiety.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.
Philippians 4: 6-7.
Please pray--
SAFEGUARDING, HELP AND ADVICE
Safeguarding means protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of children and adults at risk of, or experiencing, emotional, psychological, physical or spiritual harm and/or neglect.
Safeguarding means enabling those who are affected to live safely, free from any kind of abuse or neglect. It is about people and organizations working together to prevent and reduce both the risks and actual experience of abuse in all of its forms.
We take safeguarding very seriously, at all of the Benefice Churches and care about all those we seek to serve within our churches and our communities.
We conform to the policy of Norwich Diocese which can be found at https://www.dioceseofnorwich.org/about/safeguarding
If you believe that either yourself or someone you know may be at risk of harm or neglect, please contact the Benefice Safeguarding Officer Rev. Paul Yeomans 07437203535 to discuss your concerns and what the next steps might be.
Alternatively, you may contact the Norwich Diocese Safeguarding Team by email at [email protected] or by telephone on: 01603 882345.
If you yourself or someone you know is in immediate danger of being harmed then please call 999 to be advised by the emergency services.