News for clergy, churchwardens, LLMs and lay chairs

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News for Clergy, Churchwardens, LLMs and Lay Chairs

The View 21 DECEMBER 2020

EDITION 30

Welcome Guli

Well, now we know! At 10am last Thursday 17th December, exactly a year to the day since Bishop Stephen was revealed as the next , 10 Downing Street announced that Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, currently is to be the next Bishop of .

There followed a joyful day of welcomes and introductions of Bishop Guli to the Diocese and media interviews, all conducted and filmed on Zoom. We have begun to get to know our next diocesan bishop and her extraordinary Christian journey.

Bishop Guli must have been exhausted by all this, but she seemed as relaxed and lively at the end of the day as at the start. In fact her day had started much earlier with an input to Radio 4’s Thought for Day. That ‘thought’ was so appropriate to what came later in the day that I felt, better than hear again from me, it would be so apt for this last ‘The View’ before Christmas that you should hear from your next , and on what better theme than wisdom!

Welcome Bishop Guli (continued)

So from me … Thanks so very much to everyone for all you have given in the service of our Saviour and our communities in this so challenging year. Have a blessed, safe, and joyful Christmas, however you are able to celebrate it. ‘The View’ will return in the New Year.

O Sapienta O Wisdom (slightly adapted from the Radio 4’s Thought for the Day 17 December 2020)

Arguably, the run up to Christmas this year should be easier than usual. For me there are fewer services and family gatherings, for example. And yet the challenges we face as a nation aren’t any less demanding. The introduction of a vaccine to protect against Covid has been met by some resisting inoculation; the number of infections remain worryingly high and more areas are going into tier 3. Arguments abound over school closures, the hospitality sector, and the relaxation of rules over Christmas. All the while there’s an impact on the country’s economy and the mental health of its citizens. Meanwhile, Brexit negotiations remain on tenterhooks. And amidst all the confusion and fear, a clamour of voices and maelstrom of opinion about the way ahead, with little consensus from politicians, scientists, or anyone else.

Last Thursday, on my announcement day as your next bishop, we entered the final 7 days of Advent, which are accompanied in liturgical settings by the Great Os or the Magnificat Antiphons - short chants or refrains based on passages from Scripture invoking 7 messianic titles both foretelling the coming of Jesus and helping Christians prepare to greet the Christ child on Christmas day. The antiphons represent an ancient Christian tradition, set to music by many composers most famously perhaps the contemporary Estonian Arvo Paert.

Last Thursday’s antiphon is O Sapientia, which translates as O Wisdom, a title for God from the Hebrew Scriptures: “O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other mightily, and sweetly ordering all things; come and teach us the way of prudence.” These words are a reminder for Christians of the hope encapsulated in the coming of Jesus, as God’s wisdom, into the mess and chaos of the world. They’re also a prayer for wisdom, that we might think and act with insight, compassion, and deep understanding. It’s difficult to define what precisely wisdom is. But it has to do with experience that’s been reflected on, with the capacity for self-awareness, the ability to see the big picture - to be discerning and perceptive.

O Sapienta O Wisdom (continued)

Wisdom is something we might well want for those in authority, tasked with making rules, passing laws, and ordering our society. But perhaps now more than ever wisdom is also needed in every other layer of society including for each of us personally as we make plans for Christmas – that we might do so with integrity and honesty, navigating our way through the regulations and considering the needs of those around us.

+Guli Loughborough (and Bishop of Chelmsford Designate)

News and information Online and broadcast worship over Christmas Below are a number of links to worship that you may wish to share in your parish communications.

• 22 December, 2pm - Carols for Kids at - Facebook, YouTube • 24 December, 3pm - A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols – BBC Radio 4 • 24 December, 5.30pm - Midnight Mass at Chelmsford Cathedral – Facebook, YouTube • 24 December, 5.30pm - Carols from Kings BBC2 • 24 December, 11.30pm – Midnight Mass with the and the (watch online) • 25 December, 10.30am - Christmas Day Eucharist at Chelmsford Cathedral- Facebook, YouTube • 27 December, 8.10am - Sunday Worship from with the Archbishop of Canterbury, BBC Radio 4 • 27 December, 9am - service with the Church Army and featuring Bishop Guli (watch online) • 27 December, 10.30am - Chelmsford Cathedral online service, Facebook, YouTube • 3 January, 9am - Church of England Epiphany service with Embrace the Middle East (watch online) • 3 January 10.30am - Chelmsford Cathedral Eucharist Facebook, YouTube

To find out about more live streamed worship taking place in parishes across Chelmsford Diocese – please click here.

Christmas Messages and Sermons

Over Christmas we will also be sharing Christmas messages and sermons on our social media channels. These will also be available on our Comfort and Joy web pages which you can view here

Included are:

• Bishop Peter’s Christmas Day Sermon (coming soon) • Bishop John’s sermon for the First Sunday of Christmas • Bishop Roger’s Christmas message

Good News – 12 Days of Christmas, stories of generosity across Chelmsford Diocese

Throughout 2020 our churches have stepped forward to help those most in need, often in innovative ways and often in the most difficult of circumstances. Since we started the View in the Spring we have been sharing examples each week and across the 12 Days of Christmas we will be using our website and social media to look back on some of those stories.

Please follow along at chelmsford.anglican.org or via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram

The Big Thank you- Mid and South NHS Health and Care Partnership Campaign

As part of a campaign to thank key workers and recognise how people have come together to fight coronavirus, the Mid and South Essex Care Partnership are encouraging local residents to stand on their doorsteps at 6pm on Christmas Eve and to either ring a bell, ring a doorbell or light a candle. A poster can be downloaded here for inclusion in any communications. You can also find out more about the campaign here. Please ensure that any bell ringing in churches follows the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers guidance which has been updated to include guidance for Tier 4 areas.