Chester Diocese
News Item
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Deepen YOUR faith – by attending the Chester Diocesan Lay Conference 2008
THE Church is changing – there is no doubt about that. If you want to keep abreast of developments while also deepening your faith and becoming more active as a Christian, then a good start would be to book yourself on the Chester Diocesan Lay Conference 2008. As well as offering the laity a chance to meet and converse with our bishops, this event offers a wide range of inspirational workshops, including the three featured here. • What – me, change? This will be led by Gill Carding, our Diocesan Head of Counselling. “Change is inescapable,” says Gill, “but it can evoke varied responses in people – such as fear, avoidance, excitement. “How do you view change? The questions we will be examining in this workshop are ones such as: Where are we within ourselves amid a changing world and changing church? and how far can we each change to become the person God created us to be?” • Easy Evangelism. “Everybody can be evangelists,” says the Revd Ian Enticott, our Diocesan Evangelism and Lay Training Officer. “This workshop will show how to equip people to share the Good News of Jesus. It will look at the resources that are available for this great purpose. We will explore simple things that your church can do to maximise opportunities for faith sharing.” • Lay Pioneer Ministry and Developing Fresh Expressions of Church. This will be led jointly by the Revd Steve Croft, Archbishops’ Missioner and Team leader of Fresh Expressions, and the Revd Richard Burton, our Parish Mission Development Officer. Steve told Chester Diocesan News: “I look forward enormously to learning at and speaking to the Chester Diocesan Lay Conference.” Richard said: “Fresh expressions of church really are happening right across our Diocese. In this workshop we explore how each person as a lay Christian might start a fresh expression in their own area. We are seeing people emerge now as pioneers of a re-energised Christian mission right across our Diocese. “And, of course, our Mission Shaped Ministry course will be teaching people how to be very effective pioneers in the new shapes of church. Those who come to the Lay Conference, and attend this workshop, will discover just how exciting the Mission Shaped Ministry course can be.” • The conference is a major residential event for the Chester laity and will take place over the weekend of 16 to 18 May 2008 in the Swanwick Conference Centre, Derbyshire. The theme will cover, from a lay perspective, the vitally important topic of mission. The cost will be between £100 and about £120 per person for full board, depending on the level of accommodation. The conference will run from 6pm on Friday to 4pm on Sunday. Application forms containing fuller details of themes and workshops have been sent to every parish and are also available from Church House (phone Ann Finlay on 01244 681 973, ext 248).
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Gill Carding
The Revd Ian Enticott
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