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Dear Guest,
This week – Holy Week – marks the most traumatic week of the Gospel story. Through these events we see the way of God lived out in human history; it isn’t easy stuff!
Within the story, we see a group of faithful and frightened women doing the best they can to put their love for Jesus into practice. In the decades that followed, St Paul suffered many traumas and challenges as he strove to understand and proclaim what God had revealed through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Through the centuries since then, the Christian church has sought to keep that story and that understanding alive in its worship and its practice.
This Holy Week and Easter, allow yourself to be shocked; it is a shocking story. And perhaps, in the weeks that follow, one of the courses below will help you to explore further the ways of God.
Best wishes,
The Equip Hub Team
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Catch up with Course Recordings
Interested in one of our Zoom courses but worried about missing a session? Fear not! Every session is recorded and sent to everyone who has signed up, giving you the flexibility to catch up whenever you need.
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Children and School
When churches and schools have a positive relationship, everyone benefits. This session will look at the breadth of ways we can develop positive relationships with children, families and staff. It will look at the impact these relationships can have on staff wellbeing, opportunities to be involved with the school and children exploring faith.
This session will be led by April Gold and Anna Naish.
Thursday 30th April, 7pm-9pm, Camp Hill Parish Church, Nuneaton
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Building Supportive Teams
This session will explore:
– The culture of a good team (this might be a pastoral team, refreshments team, children’s team, PCC etc etc)
– How we can expand and invite people into teams in helpful ways.
– How we can foster support if there is a lone person in a role.
This session is aimed at anyone leading a team or thinking about creating a team. This might be a team in church (pastoral team, children’s team, PCC, worship team etc) or you may be thinking about other teams where you want to create a more supportive atmosphere.
This session will be led by Anna Naish.
Wednesday 13th May, 10am-12pm, St Paul’s Church, Foleshill, Coventry
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Children, Youth and Neurodiversity
For children who are neurodivergent (e.g. have dyslexia, autism, ADHD) churches can be a really difficult space. There are certain expectations, rules, people, lights, noise, silence that make it tricky. And yet, we are called to welcome everyone.
This session will help us think about the breadth of neurodiversity, how our church might feel for a family with additional needs and how we might make our church a more welcoming and accessible space.
This session will be led by James Henney and Anna Naish.
Thursday 4th June, 7pm-9pm, All Saints Church, Bedworth.
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Upcoming Courses & Events
Click the titles of any of the below courses and events to read more about it.
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Join us at Coventry Cathedral for speakers and discussion about how we can truly live out the imperative towards reconciliation: a partner event jointly held by the Third Order, Society of St Francis and the Community of the Cross of Nails.
Day 1: What is the nature of peace? – Starting with the midday Coventry Litany of Reconciliation, the day will focus on the foundational Christian spirituality of both the Third Order, Society of St Francis, and the Community of the Cross of Nails. Former Minister Provincial Pat Mossop and Coventry’s Canon for Arts and Reconciliation Kate Massey, respectively, will outline how this spirituality sustains our work for peace. We will also spend time walking and reflecting on what Coventry’s buildings have to tell us, and how they can bring inspiration and hope for the journey. Visiting speaker Revd Dr Isabelle Hamley will then be with us in the evening to share her insights on the nature of peace globally and locally.
Day 2: How do we work for peace? – We will be joined by Revd Dr Al Barrett to discuss what peace-building looks like in the local context; then break into small group discussion workshops before the conversation then broadens after lunch, with some of Coventry Cathedral’s partners of other faiths joining us. The conference will close mid-afternoon on 23rd.
22nd-23rd April at Coventry Cathedral.
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Wherever and whenever humans gather in large groups, there are politics. Wherever and whenever there are politics, there are differences and difficulties. The political landscapes of the Bible’s history were no less complex or challenging than those of our own day.
In this five-week zoom course Rob Harrison will explore the many and varied political landscapes against which the history of the Bible unfolded, and note how God’s people, from Abraham through to Paul, navigated their life-journeys across those landscapes.
Along the way, we will reflect on our own relationships with the changing political landscape of our time.
Starting Wednesday 10th June, 7:30pm-9pm on Zoom.
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This session will explore ways in which the physical space in which worship takes place influence’s people’s experience and engagement. As well physical space, we will also consider related factors such as sound, lighting and warmth.
This session will be led by Rob Harrison, Matt Ford & Philip Morton.
Monday 15th June, 7pm – 9pm at All Saints Church, Allesley, Coventry.
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All Parish Safeguarding Officers are invited to join us for a PSO Celebration Day at St. Johns Church, Westwood on Saturday 20th June from 10:00 – 3:00pm.
We are pleased to confirm that David Shemmings will be our guest speaker for part of the day. He is a prominent speaker and educator on trauma-informed practices, particularly in the context of domestic abuse and trauma and has contributed significantly to the understanding and implementation of trauma-informed approaches in various settings, including healthcare and education.
His work often involves sharing insights from his own experiences and collaborating with other experts to create resources and training programs that promote trauma-informed practices.
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A funeral service is an important point in the grieving process. It is a moment to celebrate and remember a person’s life, mourn their loss with others and for some it is the moment the reality of that loss hits.
This session will be led by Anne Richards and Jo King. Anne and Jo both have a lot of experience in taking funeral services. This session will help you think about how you plan, shape and lead funeral services. It will cover the practicalities you need to know as well as important conversations around how you include the family, tailor a service to the needs of the community and how to include God in a helpful way. There will also be space to consider cremations and the burial of ashes.
Monday 22nd June, 7pm – 9pm, Holy Trinity Church, Leamington.
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We will be looking at the value of maintenance and how to identify small tasks that can be done easily and cheaply to slow the rate of decay in your church building. Dr Claire Strachan, Church Buildings Development Officer will talk about, ‘A Stitch in Time’ maintenance and how to develop a maintenance plan. We will also be welcoming Janine Rusby from Engaging Heritage who will discuss ways to engage the local community in the care of your church; and highlight strategies of how to grow your volunteer base.
Plus, architect, Simon Bird, from Flying Buttress Architecture will outline the purpose of Quinquennial Inspections, how to read them and how best to work with your architect. At the end of the session there will be a practical workshop helping you to spot common maintenance issues. Hot drinks and a light buffet lunch will be provided.
Tuesday 30th June, 9:45am – 3pm, St Michael’s Church Centre, Budbrooke.
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All of our upcoming courses and events can been seen on our calendar.
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Worshipping God |
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Making new disciples |
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Transforming communities |
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Worshipping God |
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Making new disciples |
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Transforming communities |
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