Articles

A year of listening

For over a year now, I’ve been listening. In the months before I arrived I met with each of my new senior colleagues and have spent time reflecting on the qualities the diocese said they would like their new bishop to have. I paid particular…
Reconciliation

Reconciliation : a profound gift

On Good Friday, Christians everywhere will take time to reflect and remember the events of that Friday long ago when Christ was crucified.

Supermarket Flowers

Ed Sheeran released his third album, Divide, a few weeks ago. It went straight to Number 1 and 2 in the download album chart (there’s a deluxe version which costs a bit more). Just about every song was in the top fifty singles the following…

General Synod and ways forward

  Dear Friends and Colleagues Thanks for your prayers for the General Synod as we met this week. It was a good meeting, in the end, with a good but difficult debate on human sexuality at its heart. Emotions were understandably…

A prayer for the General Synod

Dear Friends and Colleagues As you will know the General Synod meets this week.  On Wednesday the Synod will reflect in small groups on GS 2055 on Marriage and Same Sex relationships after the Shared Conversations and hold a take note debate…

Come and See!

This is one of the times of the year when the Church needs to make “Come and see” our song.

A day in the Abingdon Deanery

I began a new part of my journey across the Diocese of Oxford last week.  In October there were four Welcome Eucharists, one in each Archdeaconry.  In November, I’ve travelled across the city of Oxford, visiting incumbents in the Cowley…

Sing songs of hope, new hymns of joy

From time to time, I try and write a new hymn.  Some are better than others.  I’m not a musician so I write them to an existing hymn tune.  For the last few years I’ve tried to write a new hymn as the verse on my official Christmas card. …

Safeguarding Matters

Some of you will be aware that on the day of my inauguration as Bishop of Oxford, there was a small demonstration outside Christ Church by two survivors of sexual abuse who go by the names of ‘Joe’ and ‘Michael’. Christ Church welcomed…