THE WIDER CHURCH
Diocese
For the latest diocesan news ('Surge of the See') please click HERE (.pdf)
For the latest diocesan prayer diary please click HERE (.pdf)
Both publications - and much more - can be found at the diocesan web site.
SIGNPOSTS FOR THE FUTURE
The Bishop of Coventry has written a booklet in which he writes his thoughts about the future of the diocese. Tim's summary, and a link to the whole document, is available HERE.
READERS REPORT
A report about Reader Ministry in the Church of England, entitled 'Reader Upbeat', has been published and is available HERE. (.doc file of 786KB.)
OFFA HOUSE
For details of the Diocesan Retreat House and its programme, click HERE.
COVENTRY CURSILLO
The following Cursillo weekends have been planned:
Coventry Cursillo 38
Friday 30th April - Monday 3rd May 2010
Coventry Cursillo 39
Thursday 4th November - Sunday 7th November 2010
Cursillos are held at Offa House, the Coventry Diocesan Retreat centre, in Spring and Autumn each year. They commence at approximately 6.30pm on the Thursday or Friday and finish at approximately 5.00pm on the Sunday or Monday.
Please note: There is a closing Eucharist on the last day of each weekend in St Gregory's, Offchurch at 2.45pm; parishioners, relatives and friends are warmly invited to attend.
For an application form, please click HERE
WHAT AM I DOING HERE? - A Beginner’s Guide To Church
This is a witty, thought provoking guide to church by Hilary Brand. It can help answer the questions many people ask about why they go to church. For further information click the following link: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/feature.asp?id=2394257
MARRIAGE MEASURE 2008
The occasional offices remain a royal road to evangelism and church growth in England for those who want to take this opportunity seriously. Certainly our latest research shows that couples coming to the church for a wedding want to take God seriously. New legislation offers local churches ten ways to say yes to couples coming to them for marriage. See www.yourchurchwedding.org also http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr6608.html
CHANGING ROLES AND THE BISHOPS CERTIFICATE IN DISCIPLESHIP
Richard Cooke writes:
Some changes have taken place in my role recently, so that I have relinquished responsibility for Initial Ministerial Education (Phase 2) - what was once upon a time known as Post-Ordination Training. This means that I no longer have responsibility for supporting and supervising the overall training of curates and their training incumbents. A new half-time post has been created for IME2, though it has not yet been filled.
This frees me to give more time to Local Ministry and Lay Development, which have been my responsibility since last September, alongside Continuing Ministerial Education (which is now defined as supporting clergy and Readers once their initial training is completed).
Local Ministry, which has largely comprised the support and development of MLTs, has been reviewed and the review is available at:
http://www.coventrydiocese.org/upload/file/finalreport020308.pdf.
There will be more discussion about the way forward for MLTs through the Autumn.
The Lay Development programme is, at the moment, largely focused on developing the new Bishop's Certificate in Discipleship (BCD). The official launch will be in late September, when we hope to have a full year's programme fixed and available. Information will be available on the Training pages of the diocesan website at http://www.coventry.anglican.org/ministry/learning/trainingstudy/. The introductory leaflet, answers to frequently asked questions, and a booking form for the module on Jesus and the Gospels are already accessible there. If you wish to know more please email Sarah at cme@covcofe.org.
One of the effects of the introduction of BCD is a major change to the format of Reader training in the diocese. A new Reader training course will begin in September 2009, and will last approximately fourteen months instead of the current two years. Candidates will have to complete the BCD before embarking on Reader training as such. Therefore anyone who might be looking for selection to train as a Reader can begin by taking part in some BCD modules in preparation, though of course completing the BCD so does not automatically imply that someone will be selected for Reader ministry.
Elizabeth Dyke, who has been Director of Initial Training for Readers for the last six years, is stepping down from that post; this is a good opportunity to say thank you for the hard work, common sense and efficiency which have made Elizabeth such a valuable member of the team. She remains vicar of Dunchurch and Thurlaston, so we shall still see plenty of her! No successor to Elizabeth has yet been appointed, so queries about Reader training are best addressed for the time being to Chris Haines (email: chris@haines.uk.com), the Warden of Readers.
SPAB’S MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK
SPAB’s (The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) new maintenance handbook is now available. The Good Maintenance Guide has been written by the Faith in Maintenance project team and contains a wealth of advice about the day to day care of historic places of worship but is also relevant to all types of old building.
The handbook is intended to be a practical and easy to use source of advice and includes chapters on understanding traditional materials, why buildings decay, maintenance tasks and working with professionals and others. It also contains a useful maintenance checklist and many references to related sources of help and guidance. The guide is particularly aimed at volunteers who care for historic places of worship, but is applicable to all historic structures.
To purchase the guide contact 0207 456 0913 or visit www.spab.org.uk
The Faith in Maintenance website has also been updated to include additional advice and guidance. Several new case studies have been added and a new online forum has been launched. To contribute to the forum and join in the debate and let us know what you think by registering at www.spabfim.org.uk/forum/index.php
COSTA COFFEE SUPPORT CAFÉ CHURCH
Costa Coffee are supporting and hosting various expressions of ‘café church’. Read more (and register) at
http://www.cafechurch.net/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=10
The following additional material has come from Southam Deanery:
PRINCETHORPE RETREAT AND CONFERENCE CENTRE
Please click HERE for the current programme.
This page last updated on 1/2/2010