A Warm Welcome from the Bishop
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
Our Invisible Faith
In a recent letter to incumbents, Bishop Rod says that non-churchgoers are inspecting the Church’s message with ‘a new earnestness.’ He says that the closure of church buildings gives us a unique opportunity to explain that our ‘invisible’ faith is based on what Jesus Christ achieved, not on physical acts or places. The full text can be found by clicking the Letter to Incumbents button below.
Services and Prayers
Since it’s not possible to meet up physically at the moment, many churches are helping people by ‘live streaming’ bible talks and prayers; organising volunteer rotas; and arranging group discussions online. To download an information sheet on how you can link to these resources, click on the ‘Resources’ button. In addition, if you are needing some personal reassurance or you are concerned about the weight others are carrying in providing care, please click on the ‘Support’ button to download a sheet giving help from the Bible and for suggested prayers.
Latest News from Bishop Rod
Bishop Rod's Good Friday Message
Updates & Notices:
Cancellation of Regional Meetings
The Bishop of Maidstone’s regional meeting scheduled to be held in London on 17th June has been postponed. This follows the government’s latest advice concerning non-essential travel and avoiding gatherings of people. We do not yet know when it will be possible to reschedule these events but will publicise details once we have them.
The booklets produced for these meetings are now available on this website as pdfs. Please click on the ‘Guidance’ tab above, the booklets are listed on the left hand side of that page. The two publications are:
- Fellow Workers: Women and men in gospel ministry. A discussion paper by Revd Alan Purser
- Evangelicals and their Bishops: The role of bishops and how we should relate to them, A briefing paper for the Church Society Regional Conferences 2020 by Revd Dr Lee Gatiss
Safeguarding Statement
The Bishop of Maidstone is committed to the Church of England’s policy for safeguarding children, young people, those involved in domestic abuse, and vulnerable adults, but does not have responsibility for dealing with safeguarding queries arising in parishes or dioceses with which he works. These queries should be directed to the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser in the diocese in which the concern arises.
If you need help or advice regarding queries which fall outside this arrangement, please contact the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team: [email protected], 020 7898 1778
The Church of England’s policies and best practice on safeguarding can be found on the Church of England’s website: https://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding/promoting-safer-church-safeguarding.