He is one of the most famous vicars in the UK but in just over a month's time the Reverend Richard Coles will retire from parish duties at his church in rural Northamptonshire, and instead volunteer with prisoners.He will also leave the village which has been his home for more than 11 years and the county he and his family are from.So how does the former pop star reflect on his time as vicar of Finedon?Father Coles says: "Someone came to church the other day, this hulking young guy, and I said 'have you been here before?' and he said 'it's me Father Richard' and it was a kid from school, who I'd known since he was a little boy, and now he's a grown man and he's thinking about getting married."You are so much part of people's lives - you baptise them as kids, you marry them, usually in that order, and then you bury them or their parents or their grandparents and before you know it you're part of the community."So I leave, but I don't think I'll ever really leave, actually."The vicar and his family hail from nearby Kettering and he now he feels more connected to his home town."The older I get the more I realise that you're the product of your past and I'm Kettering and I think when I was young what I wanted to be was 'not Kettering'."I wanted to go away and have adventures in the world and go to great cities and travel, and I love all that, but as I get older I know that I really am proper Kettering actually."Father Coles says the death of his partner the Reverend David Coles has prompted his retirement and move away from Northamptonshire.He died at Kettering General Hospital in December 2019 and last year Richard revealed it was alcohol that killed him.Father Coles says: "When your life partner dies what dies with them is your future and I realised I wanted to be with people who I love and care about and know well and it just so happens that some of them live in Sussex and one of my oldest friends, a house two doors up from hers was up for sale, and she said 'why don't you move here' so I did."I think David on a good day would have wanted me to face forwards and step forwards; on a bad day he'd have loved me to stay at home stirring polenta and thinking of him again."But it's just part of the process of bereavement, you get used to a world in which the other person's not in it and then you start thinking, 'well, I'm in it', so what am I going to do?"I think I've got some more to do."In 2017, Father Coles appeared on BBC TV's Strictly Come Dancing, which he said his partner warned him against doing because "he said I dance like a walrus".The 59-year-old says: "I must confess I nursed this completely ridiculous belief that I would be good at it - there was a Justin Timberlake or a Fred Astaire or a Gene Kelly waiting to be released."But he was right - it was a walrus, I couldn't do it."He says the doctor during his pre-series medical told him: "You're overweight, you're one point off obese, you have arthritis in both knees and one leg is significantly longer than the other - you'll be fine."The vicar says the series "was so much fun" and gave him a "great skill" to spot fake tan.He says while others might think someone has been on holiday he knows if it is "Venetian double dark"."I think I can safely say I'm the only vicar who's spray-tanned with Debbie McGee," he adds.Once Father Coles leaves Finedon he says he will volunteer with prisoners and people in the criminal justice system to try to cut reoffending.
Messages and photos are to be placed at ‘walls of reflection’ in cathedrals and churches, with prayer vigils and services due to take place, to mark the second anniversary of the first Covid-19 lockdown.Services and events are to be held across the country for the National Day of Reflection tomorrow (Wednesday March 23), with ‘walls of reflection’ and remembrance created in cathedrals and churches where people can bring photos, prayers and memories to honour those who have died.The Day, coordinated by the charity Marie Curie, will see some cathedrals joining other landmarks across the country lighting up in yellow as a sign of support.Only Human, a poem commissioned by York Minster from the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, will have its first reading at a choral Evensong tomorrow at the Minster while a memorial concert, Remember Me and Never to Forget will be held in St Paul’s Cathedral.Southwell Minster will launch Portraits from an Artist in Isolation (Real People Real Heroes) – an exhibition of 49 paintings and the culmination of eighteen months work by artist, Sarah Flanagan, as a tribute to keyworkers in the pandemic.Postcards on which people can write the name of someone who has died have been created by Chelmsford Cathedral and will be made into a Wall of Remembrance with a printed prayer card available to take home. The cathedral will hold services in the garden and inside the Cathedral.A ‘Wall of Reflection’ was put in place last week at Sheffield Cathedral for people to honour and remember loved ones who died during the pandemic by adding their names. At St Albans Cathedral, a Wall of Reflection has been created outside the Cathedral with cards available for people to write prayers.The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: “As we mark this second National Day of Reflection, our prayers are with all those whose lives have been changed forever in the last two years by the Covid-19 pandemic. “We think especially of those whose grief for lost loved ones will still be deeply painful, and for all those suffering from Covid and experiencing the debilitating effects of long Covid. May God hear and know the suffering of His children, and bring them comfort in their darkness. “When things change so greatly, we cannot go back to where we were and pretend nothing has happened. “Today is a moment to acknowledge all we have been through - individually, in our relationships, and as a nation - to mourn all we have lost and recognise all we have learnt about the importance of compassion and community. “Christ calls us to be His presence in the world: may this difficult time be for us a turning point, a moment where we resolve again to build a fairer, kinder society together - one which honours those we have lost and the hardships we have faced.” The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, who is Chair of the UK Commission on Bereavement, said “Since March 2020, the country has experienced a sort of collective grief on a scale not seen for a great number of years.“On the second anniversary of the first lockdown, I recall how helpless so many people, including myself, felt in the early days of the pandemic, surrounded by constant reminders of the magnitude of loss being experienced across the country.“Today is a day to reflect. To pause and remember those we have lost over the past two years. And to pray for the millions of people who have been bereaved during the pandemic, who were left unable to grieve in traditional ways with the support of family and friends.“As Chair of the UK Commission on Bereavement, hearing the hurdles that so many have faced to access good bereavement support has strengthened my resolve to ensure that every person who faces the death of a loved one doesn’t have to do it alone.”The three churches in the benefice of Gloucester City and Hempsted will be offering prayer stations inside and outside for people to write prayers and to pause and remember.Rector Revd Canon Nikki Arthy, said: “As we mark this second National Day of Reflection, we will offer space both inside and outside the churches of our parish for people to pause and to pray.“We reach out to those who grieve, remembering people who have died from Covid and those who have died during the pandemic from other illness. We thank all who continue to care for those with Covid or Long Covid across our communities. “
Our fourth Lent course meeting will take place in the Vestry at Hascombe Church on Thursday at 7pm. The meeting will last an hour.<br>It would be great if you can join us. But if not, you can be part of the meeting from home or elsewhere by clicking on the following link. <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86285911070?pwd=RFBFNHBPTVE1cVlUbzkvd0szOGFrUT09">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86285911070?pwd=RFBFNHBPTVE1cVlUbzkvd0szOGFrUT09</a>
MORE than 200 church leaders in the UK have urged the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to impose a windfall tax on oil and gas companies in his Spring Statement, which is due to be delivered on Wednesday. The money should be used to help people who are struggling to pay their food and heating bills as energy prices rise significantly, the letter says.Signatories to the letter, co-ordinated by Christian Aid, Operation Noah, Arocha, Tearfund, and CAFOD, and addressed to Mr Sunak and the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, include the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams, more than 30 serving Anglican bishops, and the Primates of Scotland and Wales.The letter says: “We call on you to use the Spring Statement to provide financial and fiscal support for renewable energy and energy efficiency, especially solar and wind energy and the retrofitting of homes and other buildings across the UK. These measures would reduce heating bills, decrease carbon emissions and increase our energy security.”It continues: “The Spring Statement must include no support for new oil and gas developments. The International Energy Agency has stated that there can be no new fossil-fuel developments if we are to limit global heating to 1.5°C. New oil and gas production will not deliver lower energy bills for families facing fuel poverty and will have no impact on energy supply for years.“We urge you to increase support for vulnerable households across the UK facing a cost of living crisis as a result of increasing food and energy prices, through measures including a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.”It concludes: “Now is the time to end our dependence on fossil fuels and fund a fair and fast transition, which will secure our future economic prosperity and protect the livelihoods of vulnerable communities.”Among the Anglican diocesans to have signed the letter are the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, who is the C of E’s lead bishop on the environment; the Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, who is a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Environment and Climate Change; and the Bishops of Southwark, Chelmsford, Worcester, and Sheffield.The interim CEO of Christian Aid, Patrick Watt, said on Monday: “The war in Ukraine has been a stark reminder that a world which relies on oil and gas is a world that is economically and politically combustible, as well as being environmentally disastrous. This is the moment we need to fundamentally rethink our energy system, and break the power of petro-autocrats for good by switching to clean, affordable, home-grown renewables as fast as we can.“If the UK is to be taken seriously as a global leader on climate change, it needs to take this opportunity to accelerate the roll out of renewables as well as widespread energy-efficiency measures, which have been overdue for many years.“A rush for fracking or more North Sea oil would undermine efforts to tackle climate change and endanger some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, who are dealing with the impacts of the climate crisis and look to the UK to lead the way in decarbonisation, not pursuing more polluting fossil fuels.”
