Diocese Prayer

Almighty and merciful Father, bestow your grace upon the Diocese of Brentwood.

We give thanks for the witness of past generations and pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit that we may be ever more faithful to proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.

Bless our Bishop, the Clergy, Religious and Faithful of our Diocese as we work together to evangelise our Diocese and fulfil our Vision, and graciously grant plentiful vocations to the Priesthood, the Consecrated Life, Single Life and the Sacrament of Marriage.

Strengthen us in the communion of faith, hope and charity, united in prayer with our Holy Father the Pope and the Universal Church.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saints Erconwald, Cedd and Edmund of Canterbury, pray for us.

Diocese Vision

“Proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in Essex and East London” The Church in Essex and East London working better and differently together to evangelise our diocese: it is a vision of the people of God here and now collaborating to use our various grace-given gifts to evangelise our diocese to the best of our combined ability with the help of God.

Diocese Objectives

Maximise the opportunities for evangelisation

Maximise sacramental provision

Maximise the opportunities for putting faith into action through charitable works

Bishop Alan

Born in Lancashire in 1951, Alan Williams trained for the priesthood at Allen Hall before which he obtained a Degree in Natural Science from Durham University, a Degree in Theology from the University of Cambridge, a PhD in Psychology from London University and a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Hull.

Bishop Williams previously served as Director of the Roman Catholic National Shrine at Walsingham where he had overall responsibility for pilgrimage and retreat work. He also served as parish priest at St Lawrence of Canterbury, Sidcup. He is a former Major Superior of the Marist Fathers in England, a post he held from 2000-2008 and has also served as a school teacher and chaplain in secondary schools and Catholic chaplain at Sheffield Hallam University. He has also taught Christian Spirituality at postgraduate level.

Statement of Commitment: Racism in Catholic Schools

There is no place for racism in our Church and education community. The Diocese of Brentwood is actively working with pupils, teachers, parents, governors and service providers, through the Brentwood Diocesan Education Service, to promote inclusion and a culture of respect. We believe that every person is created in the image and likeness of God and we uphold fairness and justice for all people.

The Diocese of Brentwood is committed to:

• ensuring that no pupil leaves any of our schools without knowing and understanding that all human life is sacred and that, racism can never be justified in any circumstances

• ensuring that our schools celebrate the richness of racial diversity in our day to day lives and throughout the world

• providing regular opportunities for pupils, teachers and others to share their stories and be heard

• ensuring that no pupil in our schools is subject to prejudice or discrimination or experiences bias based on their social, cultural or ethnic heritage

• regularly reviewing and developing the curriculum in our schools so that it presents and explores society, culture, literature and history accurately and fairly

• actively encouraging the creation of diverse staff and governance teams that reflect our school communities and ensures that black, Asian and minority ethnic team members have equal opportunities to all posts/roles

• collating, reviewing, monitoring and evaluating school-level data in a way that enables us to address any concerns relating to discrimination and to identify exemplary practice, reporting these annually to the Diocesan Board of Education (DBE)

• setting up of a working group to help us find the best ways to deliver on these commitments.