By Ultan Russell, Archdiocesan ecumenical officer

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It is not normal to write this page with direct references to me, or even a picture, so this is a first! But I am sharing the joys of this “Pilgrimage of Hope”.

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The Year of Jubilee has been a busy and indeed tumultuous one – a new Pope, our new Archbishop, Bishop Ruth Worsley as the new leader of Liverpool’s Anglican diocese. Mission and restructuring have been significant not only in our archdiocese but for the Methodists in the region and the three Anglican dioceses.

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Despite local enthusiasm, Unity Week in January can often be dull and dreary due to our weather, but back in January, Churches Together in the Merseyside Region held a major forum on young people. The forum also reflected on the 1,700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. This has resonated throughout the whole of the year, culminating in Pope Leo’s visit to Turkiye and Lebanon, and the symbolic joint events, notably with the very varied Christian communities in Turkiye.

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We have had interfaith work promoted locally by the Missionaries of Africa as Father Moses and Father Terry forge links with other faiths as well as reaching out to the varied Christian communities in central Liverpool. A sad aspect of intolerance was the October attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester. Archbishop John Sherrington was quick to contact the Merseyside Jewish Representative Council who received his message with gratitude. Archbishop Sherrington comes to us like his predecessors with a firm commitment to interfaith and ecumenical work.

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As the year continued, thoughts turned to the 40th anniversary of the “Faith in the City” report, whose trenchant critique challenged not only the government but also the internal workings of the churches on racial justice, sharing between rich and poor churches and robust commitment to social action. In November, Churches Together in the Merseyside Region hosted a major conference and produced a manifesto titled Hope in Liverpool City Region, with the Church leaders signing this in the presence of our city region mayor, Steve Rotherham. The Jubilee, the poor, and Better Together were again at the fore. Another Jubilee challenge! Lucy Raeur was pivotal in this initiative.

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Indeed, the whole Pastoral Development team were pivotal, meanwhile, in giving the well-established Two Cathedrals Pentecost walk a creative flavour with music, stalls and drama. The team related the event to the Jubilee themes – an initiative welcomed by our ecumenical partners.

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In November, I was privileged as a member of the executive of the archdiocesan council to attend the Jubilee consultation on synodality in Rome. The photo above shows (from left to right) Chris Loughlin, Shirley Green, myself and Jill Williams. By a wonderful coincidence, we were there at the same time as the visit of King Charles and Queen Camilla, with its symbolic placing of the chair adorned with the King’s coat of arms at the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls. This was a major talking point, and all the more so for me as an ecumenical officer married to an Anglican woman priest.

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The Most Revd Ian Ernest (former Anglican Archbishop of the Indian Ocean), who had just completed a term running the Anglican Centre of Rome, addressed the conference and spoke joyfully of discussions on synodality between Anglican and Catholic Bishops, citing many fruitful examples of partnership.

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Finally, I will end with a prayer for the new year from the Coptic Orthodox Church:

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Lord, make it a blessed year…

A pure year to please You…

A year in which Your Spirit prevails…

And joins in working with us…

Hold our hands and guide our thoughts from the beginning of the year till its end…

Let this year be Yours, to please You…

It is a New Year, spotless; let us not tarnish it with our sins or impurities…

Lord, be with us in every work we intend to do this year… Silent we will be, and you will do everything…

Let us rejoice in all Your deeds, and say with John the Evangelist:

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:3)

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Amen.