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Thirty bishops of the Church of England from across the North will flock to the Diocese of York next month, to take part in a weekend of prayer, witness and welcome, at which the good news of God’s love and life in Jesus Christ will be shared.
‘Come and See’ is the eighth Northern Bishops’ Mission in the Church of England’s Province of York in the last five years and runs from Sunday, March 15, to March 20.
Many visiting bishops will bring colleagues from their home dioceses to offer encouragement, ideas and energy to the 580 churches of the Diocese of York, spread between the Humber and Tees and from the A1 to the Yorkshire coast.
Representing our diocese, the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Tony Robinson will be visiting the Middlesbrough Deanery.
The four-day Mission will include a host of events in many parishes, offering hospitality and welcome in local communities alongside the opportunity to find out more about the Christian faith and the love of Jesus Christ.
Planned events include concerts, breakfasts with various speakers, ‘Spa’ events, ‘Forest Church’, a scarecrow trail, wine and cheese evenings, ‘Hymns, Beer and Pimms’, many school visits, ‘Cream Tea and Faith Stories’, Family Fun & Sporting Challenges, Children’s Games Evenings, ‘Messy Church’, ‘Songs of Praise’, All-Age worship and much more: many events are listed at https://comeandsee.uk/events.
The Mission begins formally with a service in York Minster at 1.30pm on Thursday, March, 12 to which everyone is welcome to attend.
During the service those involved in the mission will be commissioned by Archbishop Sentamu and prayers will be said for the weekend.
The Archbishop is urging parishes to step out “with courage, with confidence, with excitement, but above all, full of expectation that God is going to visit us in the power of the Spirit!”
Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham Paul Williams is one of those who will be visiting. Speaking of the equivalent Mission in his own Diocese last year, Bishop Paul said, “We are in awe of what God has done through the encouragement that it gave to churches in their local mission, but above all in the stories of people who, as a result of the connections they made on that mission, have made the journey into faith.
“Don’t miss out on Come and See! Some events are about making connections with people outside the life of the church; other events give people the opportunity to hear the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ.”