At the request of the Bishop of Dorchester (Acting Bishop of Oxford), the following letter was read out in all Churches in the Diocese of Oxford last Sunday:

Pentecost 2015

Pastoral Letter from the Bishops, Dean, Archdeacons and Diocesan Secretary to the Clergy and Churchwardens of the Oxford Diocese

 

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place (Acts 2.1)

 

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Clearly it has come as a disappointment that the Crown Nominations Commission were unable to nominate someone to be the next Bishop of Oxford at their recent meeting. Furthermore the fact that they will be unable to interview further candidates until March next year is frustrating. This means, of course , that we are unlikely to have a new bishop in post before the early autumn of 2016.

 

With so much going on that is good and vibrant, we can clearly no longer afford to put things on hold pending our  new  Bishop’s arrival.

 

We will therefore be pressing forward with the decisions we believe are needed in the coming months to support the vision of Living Faith of joining with God in creating a caring, sustainable and growing Christian presence in every part of the Diocese of  Oxford.

 

So, more specifically, we will be pressing ahead with the appointment of a new Director of Mission and a new Diocesan Director of Ordinands; we will be progressing the move to new offices; we will begin implementing the Archdeaconry Mission Action Plans; we will continue to foster the growth of work in oL.:r schools; we will be encouraging vocations to lay and ordained ministries in new ways; we will move forward with church planting in our new housing areas; and, above all else, the prayers and worship of the Church will continue to be central to our   life.

 

We believe that there are some remarkable opportunities at the moment being given to us by God for growing the Church and the  Kingdom.

 

Please continue to pray that we may, as Christ’s body here on earth, seize hold of them in the next fifteen months to be benefit of the Diocese and the Glory of God.

 

Signed: +Colin Dorchester

The Rt Revd Colin Fletcher OBE Bishop of Dorchester The Rt Revd Dr Alan Wilson Bishop of Buckingham The Rt Revd Andrew Proud Bishop of Reading The Very Revd Martyn Percy Dean of Christ Church Cathedral
Acting Bishop of Oxford
The Ven Judy French The Ven Karen Gorham The Ven Olivia Graham The Ven Martin Gerick
Archdeacon of Dorchester Archdeacon of Buckingham Archdeacon of Berkshire Archdeacon of Oxford
Rosemary Pearce
Diocesan Secretary