The Bishop of Norwich’s work around his diocese in October took him to schools, churches and charities.
He also used podcasting to spread the gospel.
He led joyful confirmation services at St Martin’s, Thompson, near Watton, St Anne’s Earlham, in Norwich, and St Margaret’s Old Catton, near Norwich.
As the Church of England’s lead bishop for the environment, Bishop Graham sponsors several prizes and awards with a green theme including the new Bishop of Norwich Environment Prize for Schools.
It was won by the children of St Peter and St Paul Carbrooke Church of England Primary Academy and Nursery for their spiritual nature garden.
They gave Bishop Graham a tour of the garden they are creating – and a ‘Well Done’ sticker after he had eaten all his school lunch (cheesy pasta and cauliflower followed by a chocolate pudding.)
October is Black History Month and Bishop Graham joined a walking tour, devised and led by Paul Dickson, exploring the black history of Norwich and Norfolk. He said: “This was a great way to learn more about our city and how it has welcomed and been shaped by people from around the world. It was a chance to hear the stories of black Norwich citizens through the centuries and a reminder of how many Norwich Christians were at the forefront of the fight against the evils of slavery.”
October also saw the 20th anniversary of Network Norfolk. They celebrated two decades of sharing news from Christian communities across the county by staging the Norfolk Christian Communications Awards.
The Bishop of Norwich gave a speech at the awards evening, talking about the power of good communications to make Christ known in Norfolk, from parables to social media posts.
He also sponsored the award for best church website, which was won by the Roman Catholic Cathedral.
Several groups and individuals from the Diocese of Norwich were winners too including East Church and St Helen’s and St Edmund’s, Costessey, which were shortlisted for best church website.
A picture of the St Mary Magdalene lunch club in Gorleston, taken by David Styles, won ‘Best Picture of the Church in Action.’ The Gorleston church was also highly commended for ‘Best Use of Social Media’ for its Facebook page and the Nar Valley Benefice’s was shortlisted.
The Hethersett Good News magazine won the ‘Best Newsletter,’ with the Benefice of Poringland highly commended for Contact. Barnham Broom and Upper Yare Benefice, and Holy Trinity, Norwich both made the shortlist of six.
The Diocese of Norwich’s Creation Care videos were shortlisted for ‘Best Digital Content’ and Suzi Ashcroft of St Peter Mancroft church, Norwich, was shortlisted for the ‘Best Christian Communicator’ award.
There were more celebrations in Reepham where Bishop Graham helped reuse and recycling charity Scrapbox mark its 30th birthday. Scrapbox turns discarded materials, which would otherwise end up in landfill, into resources for art, craft and technology projects. It has been so successful it is expanding its Reepham shop.
The bishop led services in the cathedral and around the diocese, including at Wayland Prison, near Watton, for Prison Week. “Their worship band was superb and rich conversations followed,” he said.
At Norwich Cathedral he installed the Revd Richard Lamey and the Revd Martin Greenland as new honorary canons, and Dr Claire Gilbert, an expert on ethics in public life, and on Julian of Norwich, as a new lay canon.
He also enjoyed Harvest Festival at the Cathedral with the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association and attended another special Cathedral service to mark the 220th anniversary of Vision Norfolk, which has been helping people with vision impairment to lead more fulfilling, independent lives for more than two centuries.
This month Bishop Graham was a guest on two podcasts. The Justice and Coffee podcast was set up by Norwich man Bryn Frere-Smith, whose coffee business raises funds for organisations fighting human trafficking and caring for survivors.
The pair talked about religion, politics, climate and biodiversity – but not so much about coffee after Bishop Graham confessed he drank just one cup a week.
The bishop, as Lord High Almoner, was also interviewed for a podcast put together by the Royal Mint Museum and released in October. Find out more about Maundy money, and what Bishop Graham regards as perhaps the most beautiful words in the whole of Scripture here.
This year’s Bishop’s Prize for Ecology was won by Caleb Stradling, who achieved the highest marks on his University of East Anglia masters course for his research into nesting curlews. Bishop Graham, who himself studied ecology at university, said: “As a Christian it is my calling to care for God’s creation, and it is a privilege to be able to support this kind of research. Caleb’s work is giving curlews the best chance of survival and helping make it possible that generations to come will be able to delight in the beautiful curlew call.”
Bishop Graham’s work in the House of Lords in October included scrutinising the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. He put forward an amendment, urging special protection for rare chalk streams. There are around 220 chalk streams in the world – and many of them flow through the Diocese of Nowich. His amendment, urging the government to give better protection to the unique, important and threatened habitats was passed by 196 to 137 votes.
As part of his mission to care for the environment he met Climate Minister Katie White and the Rt Revd Marinez Bassotto, Archbishop of the Amazon, ahead of COP30 in Brazil.
He also added his voice to a piece by Norfolk environmental journalist and author Patrick Barkham, published in the Guardian, about a study revealing Britain is one of the least ‘nature connected’ nations in the world. He said: “We’ve long known that getting out into nature is good for body, mind and soul. In the Gospels we keep encountering Jesus going out to be alone in nature to be with God; he notices the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. I believe that what we notice we begin to love, and what we love we come to treasure, and what we treasure we want to protect. It all starts with children and is why activities like forest school and wild church are important for people and nature.”
At the beginning of October Bishop Graham travelled to Rome for the 10th anniversary conference of Pope Francis’ ecological treatise Laudate Si, calling for global action to prevent environmental disaster. He met Pope Leo and said: “This was a powerful speech by Pope Leo which built on Pope Francis’ teaching legacy. He criticised those who ‘have chosen to deride the increasingly evident signs of climate change, to ridicule those who speak of global warming.’ It was a privilege to be in the room.”
Also in the room, to meet Pope Leo and support his calls for putting environmental protection into action, was Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Pictures: Diocese of Norwich,