When life gradually returned to normality after the Covid pandemic, some things struggled to get off the ground again. For Christ Church Downend, this was the case for some of their connections with their local schools. The loss of relationships, combined with a desire to work more closely with other nearby schools, led the parish to employ a ‘Growing Faith Chaplain’.
In October 2024, the benefice of Cotham Parish Church and St Paul’s, Clifton, launched ‘Earthy Foundations’, a weekly gathering for families with babies and small children. The group focuses on faith formation, while also seeking to invest in the spiritual engagement of the whole family.
The second week of October marked the one-year anniversary of Christ Church Swindon’s Lunch Club, a weekly gathering which provides a space for community and friendship, particularly for the lonely and vulnerable.
The Three Crowns Newsletter is a triannual parish news-sheet from the Diocese of Bristol, designed to celebrate the life, faith, and everyday witness of our churches and communities. In the Harvest edition we hear about the Athelstan Pilgrim way, St Margaret’s Church Stratton's first beer festival and hear the latest news on the process of selecting the next Bishop of Bristol.
This Harvest season, we sat down with James, a Farmer from Wiltshire, to hear about how he experiences God through his work and to learn more about the Harvest Festival.
On 4–5 October, the four churches of the newly formed Wellspring Villages Parish will join together to celebrate unity, faith and the beauty of their villages.
The Diocese of Bristol is pleased to announce that Father Simon Clark has been licensed as Interim Priest in Charge of All Hallows Easton, Holy Nativity Knowle and Christ Church with St Ewen, Bristol
Throughout June, the Diocese celebrated the licensing of several curates stepping into new roles of leadership and service
Young people and learning disabled individuals across the Diocese of Bristol are helping shape the selection of the next Bishop through creative, inclusive listening sessions called Echo Focus
The Diocese of Bristol is delighted to announce that the Revd Steve Wilkinson has been licensed as Priest with oversight of the Gauzebrook Benefice, alongside his continuing ministry in the Woodbridge Benefice.
Celebrations at St Stephen’s, Southmead as Revd Gaby Doherty is formally licensed as Priest-in-Charge, continuing her faithful ministry
Celebrations as Revd Vicky Wicks is licensed as Minister at Holy Trinity, Stapleton!
Celebrations as Revd Lydia Morey is licensed as Priest-in-Charge of St Peter Penhill & St Philip Upper Stratton
The Diocese of Bristol is delighted to announce the ordination of eight new Deacons on Sunday 6th July 2025
Churches across the Diocese raised thousands through creative events, showing incredible generosity and community spirit in support of global neighbours.
We're delighted to launch Three Crowns News, a brand new quarterly parish news-sheet from the Diocese of Bristol, designed to celebrate the life, faith, and everyday witness of our churches and communities.
St Mary's, Leigh Woods will open its doors on Sunday to light candles for Bristol Suspension Bridge victims.
Malmesbury Abbey receives the Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust 70th Anniversary Grant
A blog from Father Andre Hart at Westbury-on-Trym about his church's efforts to connect with its history
St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol unveils new stained glass windows to replace those commemorating slave trader Edward Colston with new designs celebrating Bristol's multicultural past and present
The Fromeside benefice and Yate Mission area recently held a Dementia Friendly Churches Focus and Awareness Day
The pandemic showed us that there are many creative ways to hold Christingles, and that innovation has continued this year as churches across the diocese hold a variety of celebrations.
The Bishop of Bristol and the Chair of the Bristol Diocesan Board of Finance are delighted to announce the appointment of Richard Leaman as the new Diocesan Secretary and CEO.
Revd Tricia Roberts writes about HMP Bristol, and makes suggestions on how to pray for the prison. Resources for Prisons Week are also included.
On Homeless Sunday, churches and individuals take time to reflect upon homelessness and the issues surrounding homelessness in the UK.
‘At the heart of Christmas' is the Church of England's theme for 2021, and a range of digital and print content has now been released.
The Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, is pleased to announce that three new canons have been appointed for the College of Canons in the Diocese of Bristol.
The Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, is pleased to announce that Revd Sam Sheppard has been appointed as Priest in Charge of the parishes of Christ Church Hengrove and St Augustine's Whitchurch.
Wild Church enables people to worship and engage with God in a fresh way through creation.
The Trust is aiming to raise an extra £1,000 for each of its 40 years, including Ride+Stride in September, and is publishing Simon Jenkins' 'Favourite Churches of Gloucestershire and Bristol.'
This June, churches around the world will mark the 200th anniversary of the Ellacombe Chimes, invented at St Mary's Church in Bitton
The guidance for parishes and cathedrals addresses concerns over memorials with links to slavery and other ‘contested heritage'.
Findings released from national research into non-traditional church gatherings
Three parishes in the diocese have been awarded grants as part of the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund.
St Sampson Church, Cricklade, is to share in a funding payout from the National Churches Trust to fund repairs.
Bristol Diocese is part of a multi-faith group that has released a faith manifesto in the lead-up to the Bristol mayoral election this May.
The Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Rev'd Vivienne Faull, nominated John Bishop and Jean James from the Diocese of Bristol to receive Maundy money at this year's service.
Holy Week this year takes us from loss to a new dawn.
A message from Foodbank Manager Emma Murray.
The Bishop of Bristol is delighted to announce that the Revd Canon Debbie Dewes will be the next priest-in-charge of the Upper Thames Benefice.
The book provides a comprehensive study of how this historic place of worship ties into the growth and development of Swindon itself.
Since the most recent lockdown was announced, some churches have made the difficult decision to close their buildings and offer digital services only until restrictions ease
The Bishop of Bristol is pleased to announce the appointment of Rev'd Steve Wilkinson as the new Area Dean of North Wiltshire Deanery.
Rev'd Dr Janet Anderson-MacKenzie ran the overall distance of a marathon to raise money for the Lidbrook Group of Churches in Wiltshire, of which she is the Priest in Charge.
The role of the Adviser for Lay Ministry is to encourage and develop good practice in all kinds of lay ministry in the Diocese of Bristol.
The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Rev'd Vivienne Faull, is pleased to announce that Rev'd Melanie Otto will be the new Priest in Charge of the churches of St Agnes and St Anne's.
The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Rev'd Vivienne Faull, is pleased to announce that Rev'd Lizzie Kesteven and Rev'd David Stephenson will be the Interim Co-Area Deans for the Bristol City Deanery.
A Christmas appeal from the Together 4 Fromeside churches has raised over £11,500 to support vulnerable families in eight local primary schools.
The Bishop of Bristol is pleased to announce that Revd Trudie Wigley has been appointed Area Dean of Swindon.
Christmas services are going to be looking different this year, but there is still comfort and joy to be found.
The Diocese of Bristol is excited to announce that it has been awarded two awards as an Eco Diocese— Silver for its operations, and Bronze in recognition of its wider engagement— from the national environmental charity A Rocha.
The Revd Aggy Palairet, curate at St Mary Redcliffe Church, writes about her experiences of race and ministry.
From today, Thursday 5 November, Bristol Cathedral will ring a bell at 6pm every evening as a call to prayer for the city.
The Bishop of Bristol announced a new focus of work for the upcoming months, to shape the future of the Diocese of Bristol.
The Revd Anjali Kanagaratnam writes about her experiences of race and ministry.
Seven new lay ministers were licensed in Bristol Cathedral on Saturday 17 October.
The Right Revd Vivienne Faull, Bishop of Bristol, ordained 13 new priests over four services in Bristol Cathedral on Saturday 10 October.
Artists and creatives from Bristol and surrounding areas have been meeting virtually since April to share their experiences of lockdown.
New app launched to encourage young people to explore the Bible in new ways.
Almost 450 heritage organisations in England, including St. Andrew's Church have been awarded cash from the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage.
The Right Revd Vivienne Faull, Bishop of Bristol, ordained 10 new deacons over four services in Bristol Cathedral on Sunday 11 October.
During eight services in Bristol Cathedral over the coming weekend, the Bishop of Bristol and the Bishop of Swindon will ordain 23 candidates as priests and deacons.
Mark Nam, Assistant-Curate at St. Anne's in Oldland and United Church in Longwell Green, will be ordained as a Deacon on Sunday 11th October in Bristol Cathedral.
On Saturday 3 October at 3.30pm, the Revd Dr Mandy Ford will be instituted and installed as the 43rd Dean of Bristol.
St Martin's Church, Knowle is now running the food bank set up by Knowle Park Primary school at the start of lockdown.
Pattern Church celebrated their first live worship services in the building on Sunday 20 September 2020.
During lockdown, residents in Slaughterford started a village vegetable box, raising money for St Nicholas Church, after teaming together to create thriving allotments.
You are probably aware that there are a number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (“BAMEâ€) clergy in Bristol Diocese. If, however, I was to ask you to identify some of them, you might struggle.
Pattern Church is a new church in the historic Great Western Railways Pattern Store building in the centre of Swindon.
Ben Lindsay, author of We Need To Talk About Race comes to the Cathedral in October for a series of workshops with church leaders in the Diocese of Bristol.
This September, the Bristol Mothers Union (MU) is inviting members of the Diocese of Bristol to join them in three days of prayer.
Over 40 churches in the Diocese of Bristol are excited to join with 90 churches in Salisbury in this years Wiltshire Ride+Stride.
Holy Trinity, Stapleton was been awarded a £15,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant to help fund roof repairs in their Grade II listed building.
The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, is pleased to appoint Revd Kat Campion-Spall as Dean of Women's Ministry.
The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, is pleased to announce that Revd Mary Gubbins has been appointed to the post of part-time SSM (Self-Supporting Minister) Team Vicar in the Greater Corsham and Lacock Team.
The ‘Friendly Stage Mini Festival' is a miniature Greenbelt-like event over three days, on the theme of ‘A Better World is Possible'.
There is an opportunity for someone to represent the Diocese in the General Synod for one year.
Across the region, churches have been holding services outside in a variety of places.
The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, is pleased to announce that Revd Canon Dr Rod Symmons has been appointed as Interim Minister for the Bradley Stoke Parish.
St Michael's Church, Stoke Gifford, teamed up with Sainsbury's East Filton, to put on a drive-in church service on Sunday 26 July.
On Friday 24 July, a film clip of the Rev Hazel Trapnell's garden was featured on BBC Gardeners World.
On 12 July, members from local churches hosted a virtual afternoon tea and prayer event.
The Rt Revd Vivienne Faull has appointed Revd Dr Catherine Okoronkwo to the position of Bishop's Advisor on Racial Justice.
Goodness and Mercy, the new website and resources aimed primarily at Church of England Schools, is launching this week.
On Saturday 4 July two couples in the Diocese of Bristol were among the first couples to celebrate their wedding day since lockdown.
A personal response to #BlackLivesMatter by Revd Dr Catherine Okoronkwo.
Rev Malcolm Strange goes on a prayer walk around Fromeside
Representatives of different faiths in Bristol - including the Anglican Church - have launched a Faith Manifesto that shares five goals that they believe will contribute to the future well-being of the city.
Light the Night is a beautiful and uniquely peaceful way to honour the memory of loved ones. Light the Night launched in Bristol in 2019 with thousands of candles lit up in St Pauls Graveyard, Bedminster.
The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, is pleased to announce the appointment of Fr Toby Boutle as the priest-in-charge of the parish of Swindon New Town.
Members of the Avonside Evangelism Group took to standing at a train station to invite commuters to Christmas services recently. Revd John Monaghan, vicar of St Edyth's, Sea Mills, reflects on their efforts.
AYF Uganda Choir is returning to the Diocese of Bristol in the New Year for a concert at St Barnabas Church in Swindon.
Image by Pete WilsonChurches in Swindon have been working together to put on a three-week Christmas fair.With this year marking the 50th anniversary of the Old Town partnership of churches.
Revd Dr Cathy Okoronkwo, who was appointed Vicar of All Saints and St Barnabas, Swindon in September, recently represented the Diocese at the CMEAC DLP/MEAC Officers residential conference.
Englands cathedrals have witnessed their highest Easter congregation numbers in recent years, while visitor numbers increased by a million on the previous year, statistics published today show.Bristol Cathedral has followed the trend seeing more peop
In late May Pattern Church in Swindon was awarded a significant Allchurches Trust grant for which the church and the Diocese is extremely grateful.
The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, is pleased to announce that Becky Waring has been appointed Area Dean of Bristol South. Becky has the been vicar of St Martins Knowle since 2016. Previous to her ministry at St Martins, Becky was a Lice
Across the Diocese acts of remembrance took place on Remembrance Sunday as those who serve and have fallen to protect our democratic rights are remembered. Thousands joined services across at churches right across our region to participate.
When a much valued Rector leaves a group of 8 rural parishes to move on to be an Archdeacon there is a temptation to feel things are never going to be as good again. But of course that is not the case.When Revd Christopher Bryan left the Gauzebrook P
Stimulated by the Avonside Mission Area, members of St Marys Stoke Bishop, St Marys Shirehampton, St Edyths Sea Mills, St Peters Lawrence Weston and St Andrews Avonmouth have all been encouraged to form missional communities.
