Licensing of Laura Verrall-Kelly

Wednesday's service of Welcome and Licensing of Laura Verrall-Kelly was marvellous. We were delighted to see people from St Martin's Knowle, where Laura served her curacy, St Luke's Brislington, where she has been curate-in-charge for the last few months, and friends of hers and her husband Jack from across the city and beyond.

As well as people in church, thanks to the wonders of our live streaming, we also had about 40 screens 'on' throughout the service. So a great gathering of people in church and across the ether, praying with and for Laura as she starts her time with us.

The service was led by Bishop Lee, in probably his last visit to SMR before he retires as Bishop of Swindon at the end of April, and the sermon was preached by the Archdeacon of Bristol Neil Warwick.

Lots of SMR people helped in various ways, including most of the young people who made up the Youth Panel which interviewed the candidates for the post back at the end of November. The service included a procession around the church to various points of symbolic importance where Laura confirmed her commitment to ministry and we dedicated ourselves to share in that ministry with her.

After the service refreshments were served so that we could meet people from other churches and offer a hand of friendship and fellowship to those we were getting to know.

Laura said of the evening: "It was really affirming and exciting." And who could disagree with that!

You can watch the whole service here

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Sermon on Sunday,10th August 2025

By matthew.buckmaster • August 10, 2025

Preached by the Revd Laura Verrall-Kelly, Associate Vicar

Interregnum Information

By Laura.Verrall-Kelly • August 7, 2025

Keeping You Updated During the Interregnum As I prepare to go on maternity leave at the end of August, I want to share some important updates regarding our Sunday Services and communication during the Interregnum period. We’ve taken time to consider what is sustainable and meaningful in this season of transition, and while some of the changes have been difficult, they are intended to ensure we can continue to worship together well. Service Changes 8am BCP Eucharist We’ve made the difficult decision to pause this service during the vacancy, following a PCC vote (with 3 votes against). This is due to the limited availability of clergy to cover two Eucharist services on a Sunday. We’re grateful that this decision has allowed us to secure strong cover for the other services. If you’re looking for an early service, the Cathedral offers Morning Prayer at 7.40am and BCP Eucharist at 8am. This change to the 8am will happen from the beginning of October. Mattins & Evensong These will continue with support from a growing team of Lay Leaders. If you're interested in helping lead, please speak to Simon Goodman. Please note: bespoke online orders of service will no longer be produced weekly. Instead, we will use a standard booklet and hymn book in church. Online viewers will receive a standard order of service plus a document with Bible readings and hymns. 10.30am Sung Eucharist Some small changes are being made to simplify things for visiting clergy: Notices will be read by a Church Warden, Duty Warden or Church Representative Communion distribution will return to queue formation A Gradual Hymn will replace the Responsorial Psalm - there is simply not the resource to produce a weekly or termly Psalm hand out in church. We’ll use a standard “Eucharist during the Vacancy” order of service (in booklet form), with hymn books provided in church. As with other services, online resources will mirror this setup. These changes to the 10.30am will happen from the 17th August. Christingle Service Due to the scale of this service and the planning it requires, we’ve made the difficult decision to pause it this year. Without full-time clergy to oversee preparations and lead the service, we don’t believe we can deliver it safely or well. We know this will be disappointing, but this service will be back. Ongoing Communication Thanks to Chris Duncan and Sam Love, we will continue to send out a weekly email during the Interregnum. I’m very grateful to both of them for stepping up to support in this way. We know some of these decisions may not affect everyone, while others may feel them more deeply. We don’t expect universal agreement, and that’s okay — your questions and thoughts are welcome and valued. All we ask is that feedback is offered with kindness and respect for those who have worked hard to make these plans in a short space of time. Thank you for being part of this community and for your ongoing support as we navigate this together.