Come and See ~ 30 bishops to join the Archbishop of York in ‘Come and See’ Mission to the Diocese of York

Thirty bishops of the Church of England from across the North will flock to the Diocese of York between the 12th and 15th March 2020, 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.

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.

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 comeandsee.uk/events.

The Mission begins formally with a service in York Minster at 1.30pm on Thursday 12th March 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 has encouraged 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.”

Bishop of Whitby Paul Ferguson spoke of visiting a secondary school during a previous mission: “The students’ questions were so serious – things that really mattered to them – beginning of life questions – or what can we say about the environment? They were really engaged, really taking it seriously, and I hope that through ‘Come and See’ everyone will have the opportunity to engage in the same kind of way.”

comeandsee.uk