This time last year, we asked you to share your views to help us shape the future of The Bridge – our diocesan newspaper – and after an overwhelming response we’re excited to finally be sharing our plans! Your feedback told us that 70% read each edition faithfully, with a 50/50 split of people enjoying content in print and digitally. We also asked you to tell us whether you would like to see other changes around the frequency, style and design too. After lots of work behind the scenes, we’re looking forward to launching our new-style quarterly Bridge magazine.
Since we returned to print in April 2023 after a break during the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s been a joy to be able to share your stories in newspaper format. We have covered a whole range of local, diocesan and national topics, milestones and events – not to mention shared some fantastic photos that wonderfully reflect our richly diverse and vibrant mix of Christian witness across south London and east Surrey. Thank you to each and every one of you for contributing and remember, this is your publication – so please do continue to tell us what you have been up to in your parishes and schools.
Don’t worry, each edition will still be packed full of stories from across our diocese which we hope you will enjoy and be encouraged by, plus lots of new features to help lead you through each season. It will still be available in print and copies will continue to be distributed directly to each parish
A bit of Bridgestory!
The first edition of The Bridge was published in September 1995, when the late Rt Revd Roy Williamson – then Bishop of Southwark – tasked the Communications Team with producing a new diocesan newspaper. Bishop Roy wanted the new publication to be like the one that he had valued so much when he was the Bishop of Bradford, prior to coming to Southwark. His enthusiasm led a brand-new form of communication for Southwark Diocese, which has changed and developed over the decades.
Looking back at how it all started, we caught up with the Revd Canon Wendy Robins, former Director of Communications and Resources (now Director of Discipleship and Ministry) who was charged with getting things started 30 years ago…
Wendy says, “When I was appointed by Bishop Roy it became clear to me very early on that he would like to have a diocesan newspaper, similar to the one that he had valued so much when he was in the Diocese of Bradford. It took a while to get to the point of the Senior Sta team deciding that we should do it – and so it was that in the spring of 1995, I was asked to take a paper to the Bishop’s Council, proposing how we might go about starting one.”
Choosing the title was an easy task as many years ago there had been a diocesan magazine called The Bridge, and with this the team began to make plans for the paper and gather news.
Since the first issue appeared, it has continued to be published ten times a year – with double editions in summer and over Christmas. An Editorial Advisory Board, made up of clergy and laity, was formed and met quarterly to help the team plan content and design. For three decades the newspaper has been available in print – with a short pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic, returning to print in April 2023. It has also been available online via the diocesan website.
Wendy adds: “Bishop Roy was clear that he wanted a newspaper that shared news between the parishes, so that they could learn from each other and exchange ideas. He wanted it to be appealing to all, and we aimed for the same reading level as that of the Evening Standard. We did not often achieve this! It was our job as the Communications Team to ensure that parishes felt visible in the paper, and each month parishes would be encouraged to send in their photographs and stories.
“Some parishes took to this easily and sent in articles almost every month – others were more reticent, and we spent time encouraging them to tell us more about events that we had seen advertised.”
One of the most important features of each edition was the Parish Prole. In this section, journalist and Editorial Board member Tom Sutclie would visit a parish and write about their worship and the service he attended. He would also meet and talk to those who held roles within the church to give a more complete picture of life in its parish. Although the person writing the Prole changed, it continued to be part of the paper until a format change in 2016.
The style and layout of The Bridge has been updated on a number of occasions having been consulted on, redesigned and reviewed throughout its time.
The paper featured a prayer column by the former Dean of Southwark, the Very Revd Andrew Nunn, entitled: ‘Let us pray’ which sought to bring the people of Southwark together around a particular event or on a particular theme. That column has continued since Andrew’s retirement, in 2023. For a season, it was written by the Venerable John Kiddle, then Archdeacon of Wandsworth until his retirement in Spring 2025. It’s now brought by a variety of contributors, each taking a turn to share their own reections and personal testimonies.
The centrespread in every edition has always been an in-depth look into an important or seasonal topic and the paper also covered key moments in diocesan life such as ordinations, consecrations of Bishops and appointments of lay ministers. Photographs of such events have drawn people into the paper and brought the stories of their ministries, Christians and our communities to life.
“As The Bridge changes once again,” says Wendy, “it’s a good time to thank all of those who have been involved thus far – and to look forward with anticipation to a new future.”
Want to share your stories? Email us at [email protected] and look out for the new-style Bridge launching in April 2026.
