Each year we put on a conference on a different aspect of Mission to help our parishes thrive in their call to follow Christ. We have done ones on the Mixed Ecology of Church, Children and young people and last year we focused on the rich biblical theme of Jubilee.
Across the Diocese we are seeing parishes flourish through countless mission initiatives — re-missioning and revitalising congregations, planting fresh expressions, grafting new life onto existing roots, and pioneering entirely new ways of being church.
This year our theme is Signs of Hope, as we see stories of growth and innovation in very different contexts and traditions across the Diocese, and we want to share some of these stories of hope and help you reflect on what might help your church thrive as you seek to follow Christ.
One of the exciting developments in recent years in Southwark is what we call Hub church models. Hub Churches are churches who have developed something new and innovative that can be shared with other parishes to help them grow and thrive. We have a wide variety that we hope to share with you at the conference via seminars and the marketplace. These are aimed at helping churches across the traditions, across ages and across the diversity of the Diocese. So far, we have the following who have committed to be there:
Spring – helping our Estates thrive
Lifting Young Voices – developing missional choirs in a church and school setting
Growing Younger Together – building a catholic children and youth work from the ground up
Sparkle – Intergenerational working between young people and the elderly
Youth Ministry in Communion – Sacramental youth work between churches in an area
Body & Soul – an integrated approach to wellbeing – fitness and faith
Bubble Church – Bubble Church is a puppet-packed, Jesus-centred, 30 minute family Sunday service for families to worship together.
We hope to announce more in the next couple of months..
We hope that you will come and hear and be inspired and think through what changes (many of them small) that Christ might be nudging you to make. Some of these may be changes to what you do in your church services, others may be new ways of reaching those outside the Church.
Bishop Christopher said
As we have sought to be an innovative and creative Diocese, I have seen the real fruit in so many of the initiatives that are being shared at this conference. I would urge you to come with a team from your parish to hear and learn and see what small changes you might make to see a big difference in your parish.
Canon Will Cookson, Director of Mission said
These conferences are one of the highlights of my year – encouraging one another; supporting our parishes; hearing stories of what God is doing amongst our parishes. I do hope that you will come and be encouraged.
For more information please see our booking form – https://tinyurl.com/Signs-of-Hope
If you have any questions or queries please do email us [email protected]