The village of Eyam has been recreated in fruit cake!

Baker Lynn Nolan's model took three months to make and the tasty model is on display in St Laurence's church until the end of November 2019.

Lynn used a total of 65 cakes, which are held together with skewers and covered in icing.

You can see the model at Eyam Church from 10.00am to 4pm on weekdays and Saturdays, and on Sundays from 1.30pm to 4.00pm.

>> See the video on the BBC News website.

One of the great things about going to school is that you get fed!

And whilst not every child relishes the thought of having a school dinner, at least those that do don’t go hungry.

But what happens during the school holidays? If parents are struggling to make ends meet there is a real possibility that some children can start the new term malnourished.

Breakfast and lunch clubs during school holidays have proved to be part of the solution for some areas.

We are aware of some suspicious emails that appear to be from clergy and even from Bishop Libby. Responding to the emails will result in requests for money or gift cards.

Please DO NOT reply to the emails.

We are not currently aware how many may be affected; however, it is important that we are all aware and be vigilant to protect our online safety and security.

We are not aware of any system security breach and are in the process of compiling some website best practice guidelines so that our churches can take action to greater protect themselves.

Steps to take if you receive a suspicious email

1. DO NOT reply to the email.
2. Check the email address of the sender – is it the same email address as usual?
3. If in doubt, type in the usual email address of the clergy, rather than just hit reply. Better still, talk to them and check if they have sent this email.
4. Run a complete anti-virus scan of your computer.
5. If you have sent any money as a direct result of the email, please contact the Police to report the matter.

Steps to take if you are the named sender of a suspicious email

1. Reassure any recipients that you have not sent the email and verify your correct email address.
2. As a safety procedure, reset your email password and any clergy portal passwords.
3. Run a complete anti-virus scan of your computer.
4. If you receive any reports of money being sent as a direct result of the email, please contact the Police to report the matter.

On Sunday, 6 October 2019, four candidates were Admitted and Licensed by Bishop Libby as Readers at a very special service in Derby Cathedral. The service also served as a Thanksgiving for 50 years of Reader Ministry by Women.

Our special congratulations to:
Katherine Mary (Kate) Brookbank
Jacqueline Haywood
Anthony (Tony) Hill
Roberta (Bertie) Walker

In addition, Brenda Silcock, who was formally Licensed in the Diocese of York was given Permission to Officiate in the Diocese of Derby.
On a later occasion, Martin Cox, Licensed in another diocese will be Licensed to the Diocese of Derby.

Photographs from the day are available to view and download on our Flickr page.

Readers in the Church of England are lay people froma range of backgrounds and experiences who are trained and authorised to preach, teach and lead worship.

There are more than 8,500 Readers actively involved in ministry in the Church of England today.

Men were licensed into the role in 1866, but it was over 100 yars later before women were permitted to become Readers.

Legislation was passed in 1969 and since then the ministry of both women and men as Readers has continued to be a vital part of the life of the Church of England.

Congratulations to all those who were awarded Bishop's Badges in two special services. See the photos here.

No events currently scheduled

Hannah Grivell reflects on Christ Church Belper's involvement in the town's first Pride festival.

As soon as I heard that Belper was hosting its own Pride event, I knew that Christ Church had to be involved.

Snowballing from a small picnic planned in the memorial gardens to the town-wide event it became as interest grew, Pride in Belper presented a fantastic opportunity for us to spread Christ’s redeeming message of love and acceptance to a community who had, directly or indirectly, often had painful experiences with the church.

This was in line with our mission as an Inclusive Church, which we signed up for in November 2017. Inclusive Church is a network of churches, groups and individuals uniting together around a shared vision:

"We believe in inclusive Church - a church which celebrates and affirms every person and does not discriminate. We will continue to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality. We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.”

The celebrations kicked off, like most Prides, with a parade—but this being Belper, it was far more fitting for this to be a ‘Strutt’ down from the marketplace, along King Street, then back up to the memorial gardens. Crowds lined the streets, with people leaving shops to watch the Strutt—even mid-haircut!

We were grateful to have been allocated a stand in a prominent position—as were the Unitarian Church and the Quakers—to ensure that the healing message that God’s love does not discriminate was front and centre.

>> More about Christ Church Belper

>> Read Together Issue 6 online

>> More about Together Magazine

This was a deliberate move by the organisers which not only allowed us to have many conversations with all kinds of people, it also meant that our sign quoting 1 John 4:16—“God is love. Those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them”—was unmissable by all walking by, with some stopping just to photograph it.

We encouraged any who visited the stand to write names or prayers on a second sign with the word ‘LOVE’ written out, which a truly touching number of people chose to, and our intercessions the following day were centred on holding each of these people and situations in prayer.

Our shirts, provided by One Body One Faith who run the Christians at Pride movement, also proved a valuable witness and meant that even away from the stand people would stop us to ask questions or to simply thank us for being there.

With around 2,000 people estimated to have attended, the reaction we received was overwhelmingly positive, though even the most heartwarming reactions to people receiving the message that they are loved and accepted for who they are carried an undertone of sadness for the lifetime of alienation, rejection and secrecy that this revelation betrayed.

We will continue to carry the stories and situations we heard in our hearts and prayers, and hope that the spectacular success of the festival is the spark for wider change and growth in the church.

This feature was originally published in Issue 6 of Together Magazine

Bishop Libby is pleased to announce that the Revd Canon Dr Elizabeth Thomson will be Acting Dean of Derby from 1 October 2019.

Canon Elizabeth has been at Derby Cathedral since 2014 as Canon Missioner, and was appointed sub-dean by the outgoing dean, the Very Revd Dr Stephen Hance.

On making the announcement, Bishop Libby said: "We are very thankful that Elizabeth is willing to take on this crucial role during the vacancy. Elizabeth has a proven track record of leadership and creative ministry in the cathedral. I am confident she will not only love and support the cathedral through this time of transition, but bring her gifts and experience to enabling the Cathedral to flourish and grow during this time."

>> Stephen Hance bids farewell to Derby Cathedral

The task of selecting a new dean is already underway. The Archbishop of Canterbury will appoint someone who knows Derby and Derbyshire well to chair the panel that will oversee the process.

The panel for the interviews represents the diversity of the diocese, the cathedral and the wider community, reflecting the wide-ranging nature of the role of a dean. The panel works with the Bishop to make this appointment.

Consultations will be in mid-September. Individuals and groups have been contacted who can give the panel a really broad and deep sample of views about what the diocese, the city of Derby and the county needs in its dean, and there will be an open meeting for the congregation on Tuesday, 17 September.

All these conversations and other contributions will be drawn together to create a profile of the role, the cathedral and the kind of person who might be called to become Dean of Derby.

Both Derby Cathedral Chapter and Bishop Libby will submit their requirements and vision for the new dean, to complement a statement of needs and role specification.

It is intended to interview before Christmas, in the hope that an appointment can be made, and the new dean installed in 2020.

The full text of Dean Stephen Hance's farewell sermon at Derby Cathedral

So, we have come to my farewell service, the last chance I have to preach from this pulpit, and I want to thank you for being here to share in this act of worship as we say our goodbyes to one another today. It’s good to see you.

Cathedrals have been in the news again this summer. First of all, it was Rochester Cathedral with their mini golf course. Then it was Norwich with the helter skelter in the nave. And both of these had the predictable response from the usual people. This was, apparently, a desecration of holy ground, further proof that the Church of England, which for hundreds of years had thought that worship and prayer and pastoral ministry was sufficient, had now entirely lost the plot and was obsessed with gimmickry to get people in.

The Dean of Derby, the Very Revd Dr Stephen Hance, said a fond farewell to the congregation at Derby Cathedral at a special service on Sunday, 1 September 2019.

Dr Hance leaves the Diocese of Derby later this month to take up the post of National Lead for Evangelism and Witness for the Church of England.

In his final sermon at Derby Cathedral, he said it had been a privilege to serve as the Dean of Derby for the past two years and that good progress had been made in that time.

>> Stephen Hance's farewell sermon in full

He also talked about "getting the foundations right as a Christian community" and that cathedrals should continue to strive to find new and exciting ways to engage with people who might not always see a reason to visit them. 

The Dean concluded by thanking everyone for their prayers and their giving to the cathedral.

At the service, the Bishop of Derby, the Right Revd Libby Lane, announced that sub-dean, the Revd Canon Dr Elizabeth Thomson, will assume the role of Acting Dean of Derby from 1 October.