We see the ministry of the whole of the Diocese of Norwich, across Norfolk and Waveney, as being about how we live our life together, for the flourishing of every person in every place. Transformed by Christ: prayerful, pastoral and prophetic.
Our Life Together
Jesus said “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10.10). We see this ministry of the whole diocese as being about how we live our life together for the flourishing of every person in every place. Any vision should help the local church to flourish and grow in confidence that we are loved by God.
Jesus also said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6.21). The heart of our mission is about being open to, and enabling others to discover, a life transformed by Christ. We join in Christ’s mission, conscious of the five marks of mission of the Anglican Communion, through responding to God and the world
Being open to all of this will enable God in Jesus to accomplish far more than all we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3.20). If we allow the Holy Spirit to breathe God’s divine life into our human plans, much more will be made of them, for God can bring abundance from scarcity.
We are called to be faithful, as God is always faithful to us. By prayerfully placing the life of the diocese where our sails can best catch the wind of the Holy Spirit, God will take us where God wills.
Thoughts from the Bishop of Norwich
Being transformed by Christ means allowing God to live in us, penetrating the depths of our being, and transforming us into his image; to live as images of Christ. This is done, individually and corporately, when we embrace the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ, extend the love of God in Jesus to all whom we encounter, and allow the breath of the Holy Spirit to fill our sails each day.
The vision reflects our deep and heartfelt desire to draw individuals into a richer relationship with Jesus and to nurture Church communities into fullness of life. Through meeting Jesus and being transformed by him, we are called and invited to share the good news of Jesus Christ more widely and more generously in action and word.
This strategy is not a fixed plan but a living framework – one that invites every church community, every leader, and every disciple to participate in God’s mission.
It is a call to hope, to action, and to transformation as we strive to become more like Jesus – Prayerful, Pastoral, Prophetic.
– Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher
Pray for our Vision together
In a world that often feels unstable and uncertain, where people are often fearful and looking for hope, the Bible tells the story of individuals, often overlooked or underestimated, who are called from obscurity, imperfection and even brokenness to become vessels for God’s transforming work. From Genesis through to Revelation, Scripture repeatedly reveals the impact and power of one life lived for God and empowered by His Word and Spirit.
Our vision across the Diocese is Transformed by Christ: Prayerful, Pastoral and Prophetic. It is a big vision which is rooted in something very small: the belief that, by the grace of God, one heart transformed by Christ, living in the purposes of the Holy Spirit, is sufficient to transform another life, a whole family, a school, workplace, market town, urban estate, rural village or coastal community.
Transformed hearts transform hearts. Transformed communities transform communities.
Diocesan Vision Prayer to share with your church communities
Christ of transformation,
sow deep into the soil
of our hearts and parishes,
your seeds of prayerful listening,
conversation and discernment:
then nurture their growth, we pray,
with the gentle rains of your Spirit
that they may flower and fruit
into new ways of revealing
the abundant life you offer
and long for us to share.
Amen