Bishop Rhiannon

03/06/2026

Having spent the day in Southampton listening to local residents, faith communities and civic leaders I offer you this:

A statement from the Bishop of Southampton, the Rt Revd Rhiannon King:

03/06/2026

I know Southampton to be a place of peace, tolerance and respect. For centuries it has been a city that has welcomed, embraced and celebrated people from all corners of the earth.

Responding to violence with violence is never the answer and only love drives out fear and creates the city we want to live in.

I call today for all big hearted people everywhere to conquer violence and injustice with something much more powerful, LOVE.

02/06/2026

Praying for peace on the streets & in the homes of Southampton tonight. 🙏🏻

01/06/2026

Thank you to all our volunteers!

This week is Volunteers' Week and we want to celebrate the amazing people who give their time, energy and kindness to make a difference in our churches and communities every day. Our churches simply couldn't run as they do without our volunteers. THANK YOU! 💙

For those who need more volunteers, or are struggling to keep them engaged once they've started, we have developed resources to aid you. From clearly defining roles to expenses, hopefully they'll be something of use in your setting.

👉️ Please visit the link in the comments for the resources.

31/05/2026

Can’t remember if I’ve shared how good this app is before? Ideal for anyone who needs to track their mileage for churches or the diocese. It’s free if you don’t do that many miles and costs a bit if you do. It’s low hassle and has made my life so much easier. NB other equivalents are also available!

Automate mileage tracking with MileIQ. Save time, track every drive accurately, and maximize tax deductions. Sign up for free today!

31/05/2026

If we want to grow more diverse as congregations one of the easy ways for churches (with screens) is by offering simultaneous translation into multiple languages of what is going on at the front. Great to see this in action at KCC this morning where they have 00s of people whose first language is not English.

Further exploration at the end revealed they use https://breezetranslate.com/en/ at £11 a month. Would love to know if others have tried it… (If that’s too much there’s always google translate). Please share. It would be great to see this in more places.

31/05/2026

Blessed twice this morning in two very different ways by worshipping in these two congregations: St Mary’s South Stoneham and Kings Community Church in Hedge End.
Grateful for the welcome at both and for a wonderful lunch with Andy and Janet Johnston at KCC. Thank you!

31/05/2026

Great attitude for today: thank you Lectio 365

30/05/2026

Just discovered my distant cousin (below), Oliver Meirion Jones, was Town Clerk of Basingstoke. Now I can say I have family connections in the Diocese of Wi******er. Hurrah!

He also helped to set up a Welsh-speaking congregation in Shanghai, as you do.

30/05/2026

I enjoyed visiting Chichester on my day off yesterday and was reminded of this great prayer by St Richard of Chichester:

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits thou hast given me,
for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly, day by day.
Amen.