In the comfortable new offices of Bath Abbey on a very cold frosty January I met with Rev Stephen Girling to find out what 2022 holds for the Church of England in Bath.  Stephen (as he said I could call him) joined Bath Abbey’s clergy team in 2015.  He is the Abbey Missioner.

Explaining his role he said “I am responsible for the outward facing work of the Abbey in the city.  This could be with Universities, the Mayors offices, Artists, other church’s and all sorts of other people who may want to do things with the Abbey.  I’m also responsible as a member of the Clergy, for how we communicate the Christian faith and the worship and prayer-life of the Abbey to our visitors as a place of Christian Worship.  I’m also the Area Dean of Bath which is an Anglican Term and that means I have oversight responsibility for the thirty plus Church of England Churches in the city and villages”

Asking about the broad “styles” of worship Stephen spoke of the Evangelical impact of Charles Simeon [an Anglican clergyman and biblical commentator born in 1759 and who led the Evangelical movement, in reaction to the Liturgically and Episcopally oriented High Church party].

To hear about this and what he has to say about the National Initiative Living in Love and Faith: Conversations around sexuality, marriage and gender, click on the audio below.

If you want to get involved in the conversations, there are courses being run through the Abbey and other churches.  Find out more here

“…BathCAN does have a very important role in terms of helping the churches understand each other better and work together….”

Rev Stephen Girling, Bath Abbey.