Category: Deanery Briefings

March Deanery Briefing: Circuits & Deaneries – The Dream Team

Communion

Booking Now Open

Working collaboratively and combining resources creates a powerful Christian presence in the community.

The Church of England and the Methodist Church have just celebrated the 21st Anniversary of “An Anglican Methodist Covenant”.   We have a lot in common, but sometimes find it difficult to work together.  When we do, it can be amazing, but our differences can keep us apart.

In this Deanery Briefing we will hear from a Circuit Superintendent and a Deanery Lay Chair who will tell us how these bodies work. It will give us the opportunity to learn from each other and think about ways to harness the energy of the Circuit/Deanery partnership.

The Briefing willbe led by Steven Cooper and Tim Norwood – the respective Methodist and Church of England National Ecumenical Officers.

There will be opportunities for questions and discussion.  It promises to be an interesting, informative and creative session!

This meeting is open to anyone involved in both Deaneries and Circuits.  We hope that Methodists and Anglicans will learn from each other in this very ecumenical event.

More Details

Book Here

January Deanery Briefing: Singleness in the UK Church

Booking Now Available

40% of adults are single

40% of UK adults are single …. And it is increasing in every age group ….

40% of UK adults are single - that’s those who have never married, along with the divorced, separated and widowed and who are not cohabiting - but research shows they don’t always feel welcome in church.
          • Are singles under-represented in your church?
          • Does your church embrace singles?

At a time where singleness is increasing in every age group, single people are disproportionately missing from our churches. Research from 3,000 single Christians showed that many feel invisible and isolated in church.

In this Deanery Briefing the Single Friendly Church Network will share how welcoming in single people can grow and enrich your whole church community.

- Why should churches care about becoming Single Friendly?

- What’s stopping single people from feeling fully part of their churches?

- What practical things can churches do to make them feel welcome and valued?

More Details Here

Book Here

Beth Collingridge

Beth Collingridge is the Communications Director of Single Friendly Church Network, a charity that encourages churches to welcome and value single people at every stage of life. Beth has worked for SFCN for 7 years and is passionate about seeing single people thrive in their faith and church communities.

She heads up the training programmes and resources for churches and single champions, and enjoys equipping leaders with practical tools to welcome in those who are single. She is also a songwriter and pop artist living in London, releasing music under the name Beth Keeping.

Beth Collingridge

As a UK based singer/songwriter Beth has a flair for storytelling. With colourful pop melodies and empowering themes, her honest and wistful songwriting has connected with people around the world, with self-worth and sincerity being at the forefront of her music.

Inspired by artists such as Lauv, John Mayer and Martyn Joseph, Beth started out writing for other artists in Singapore, Ireland and the USA before recording her first EP in Nashville. After receiving an allied response from fans and critics for some of her previous releases, and gaining close to a million views on TikTok over the pandemic, Beth felt inspired to start focussing on her own music as an artist. In 2022 she released EP ‘I still think about that moment’, featuring the song ‘Plane Tickets’ which became the anthem for thousands of solo travellers around the world with its honest and empowering lyrics about single life.

Beth's desire to champion and empower women is evident not only through her song lyrics, but also in her initiative 'Write Like A Girl', which shines a light on female songwriters. Founded in 2018, the movement has grown exponentially with two UK tours and sell-out writers round shows in London, Newcastle and Bristol.

In December 2022 Beth was selected among hundreds of artists to be a 2023 Ambassador for Yamaha Music London. These successes, along with her music gaining places on prestigious Spotify playlists such as New Music Friday and New Pop UK, is just a taste of what we expect to see from her in 2023.

Details of the Deanery Briefing: Singleness and the UK Church

Book for Deanery Briefing: Singleness and the UK Church

More on:

Single Friendly Church Network

Beth Keeping the singer/songwriter

November Deanery Briefing: What’s the point of the Deanery?

Whenever there is a whisper or hint that changes for the deanery are a foot, something stirs across the dioceses in the deanery community. There is a surge of objection and protest that leads to a rethink and the Deanery survives.
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NDN Leaflets

25 years on from the Bridge Report (that proposed doing away with the Deanery!) in some areas the Deanery has become the powerhouse driving the Church’s mission and ministry however, in others it has not faired so well.  …. But how and why in some areas the Deanery has flourished and in others that’s not the case?

So …..

  • What’s the point of the Deanery?
  • What is it that causes such an outcry when the Deanery is threatened?
  • What are the characteristics of a good deanery?
The Deanery Today

In this Deanery Briefing we look at what has shaped the Deanery since the Bridge Report, how to use the synodical structure to influence national policy and support the mission and ministry in the deanery locality.

More Details Here

Book Here

Rev Nicky Grey / AtaLoss Head of Church Engagement

Nicky Grey is an ordained priest in the Church of England with varied experience leading church in rural towns and cities. She has worked as Chaplain in several prisons in the Midlands.

Alongside her role as Head of Church Engagement, Nicky works as a Chaplain at HMP Foston Hall for women. Nicky experienced the loss of her husband in 2018 and her Mum just 6 weeks later. Her son was entering into university education at the same time.

Nicky first became involved with AtaLoss during the pandemic. AtaLoss provides signposting to bereavement services and information and resources churches to provide effective community support.

The Bereavement Journey Card

When Nicky began helping AtaLoss with the national online The Bereavement Journey© in October 2022 she found the materials deeply helpful for herself in processing her grief.  She has gone on to deliver the programme since in prison, where it is helping women process traumatic and unresolved loss.

Since its re-launch last year The Bereavement Journey programme, has already been delivered in over 360 locations.

Nicky is based in Staffordshire and is leading the Deanery Briefing: The grief phenomenon ….. on Wednesday 23 October 2024.

More details on The Grief Phenomenon ….. Briefing

October Deanery Briefing: The grief phenomenon …..

How bereavement support is preventing mental ill-health, growing churches and transforming lives.
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Bereaved Couple

Bereavement, when it happens often comes when least expected. When we lose a loved one, our intense emotions trigger a massive stress response with wide-ranging repercussions on our mental, emotional but also physical wellbeing.

Working across deaneries we can respond and provide spiritual, emotional and practical support as part of our Christian care for someone who has been bereaved …. we can make a difference.The Bereavement Journey Card

In this webinar Revd Nicky Grey will explain how bereavement impacts and its relationship to mental ill-health and other societal issues, and why The Bereavement Journey® programme is growing so fast with such extraordinary results.

More details and to book.

2024/2025 Deanery Briefings Programme

After a break the National Deaneries Network is back with a new programme of the popular Deanery Briefings.

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The NDN Briefings have become a popular and established series of online briefings, focusing on the key issues of our time, for those with an interest on deaneries.

Looking forward there is once again a varied programme tackling issues based on feedback from the Network.

23 October 2024

The Bereavement Journey – a programme of films and discussion that addresses the range of issues we encounter in bereavement. This Briefing will focus on why and how Deaneries should engage with the programme.
Speaker: Revd Nicky Grey from AtaLoss; providers of the UK's bereavement signposting website.

More details on the Briefing here and to book it's here.

20 November 2024

What’s the point of the Deanery – Where the deanery fits and how it can be effective in the scheme of things.
Speakers: Tug Wilson and Bex Chapman from the NDN

January/February 2025

Supporting and engaging with Mental Health Initiatives – the Deanery’s pivotal role.
Speaker: Rt Revd Jane Steen *

14 May 2025

It’s all about church buildings – from maintenance and funding to exciting alterations and incorporating new uses.
Speakers: TBC from National Church Trust and Churches Conservation Trust *

18 June 2025

Pioneering Parishes - tools for Deaneries to help parishes become more outward looking, engaging with and extending their mission and ministry across the deanery.
Speaker: Revd Greg Bakker *

* Subject to availability of speakers

September Deanery Briefing: Booking opens

New opportunities to reach the missing younger generations

Growing the faith of our children and young people

With Lucy Moore, Head of the Growing Faith Foundation and Stephen Beamond, Programmes Lead in the Growing Faith Foundation

Ask any member of the church what we should be focusing on in our mission and you would hope to get a response that includes, “We want our children and young people to have faith in Jesus, to grow in that faith and help shape the Church.’

Over the years we have probably researched this aspect of our ministry to the point that what we don’t know is not worth knowing. We have had Children in the Way (1988); All God’s Children (1991) Youth Apart (1996) Growing for Growth (2010) and Rooted in the Church (2016) in addition to the Education Division setting out ten marks of a high performing Diocesan Board of Education. Church members often claim that all the resources are skewed towards the under-16s at the expense of older people.

  • So where are the children and young people?
  • Why do so many parishes not seem to mind that they have few or no younger church members?
  • And how can the church truly become a community for believers of all ages?

In this Deanery Briefing Lucy Moore and Stephen Beamond from the Growing Faith Foundation will outline the work of the Foundation and will suggest practical ways to help the Deanery play its part in supporting and equipping the missional work of the parish with children and young people.

July Deanery Briefing booking opens

Mental Health & wellbeing: resourcing churches, restoring communities

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At a time when mental health and our wellbeing affects so many - whether ordained or lay -  the July Deanery Briefing will throw the spotlight on mental health and wellbeing.

Mental Health and wellbeing concerns

Are you concerned or do you worry about:

  • Rising rates of mental health disorders (especially amongst young people)
  • The lack of mental health support available
  • The Church’s ability to respond?

Chris Cooke and Michèle Hampson,  two priests and former psychiatrists, will present a Christian perspective of mental health and wellbeing and then Ruth Rice and Corin Pilling will inspire you with ways you and your church might respond.

More Details: Mental health & wellbeing: resourcing churches, restoring communities

 

Ruth Rice and Wellbeng Cafes

Ruth Rice

Corin Pilling and Sanctuary Ministries

Corin Pilling

Tackling Modern Slavery

with Caroline Virgo Director of The Clewer Initiative 7:30pm Wednesday 1st February 2023

There are an estimated 136,000 victims in the UK. Modern Slavery comes in many forms and can be difficult to identify- it is present in every type of community and victims don’t fit into a simple stereotype.
  • Could you spot the signs of modern slavery?
  • Would you know what to do if you suspect someone is a victim of modern slavery?
  • What can Deaneries do about modern slavery?

In this Deanery Briefing Caroline Virgo Director of The Clewer Initiative will help Deaneries to consider:

  • What is modern slavery?
  • How might it be taking place in my local community?
  • How do you recognise, respond, record and refer concerns about modern slavery and exploitation?
  • What practical actions can Deaneries take against the issue?

The interactive Briefing will be led by Caroline Virgo using films and case studies which will lead to a greater understanding of the church’s interaction with potential victims.

The Clewer Initiative is the national work of the Church of England to combat modern slavery.

Find out more about the work of The Clewer Initiative via their website: https://theclewerinitiative.org/