Diocese of Coventry eBulletin

Dear , This will be the last eBulletin of 2021. The next eBulletin will be sent out on Monday 10th January 2022.

Jenny Dymond appointed as Joint Registrar On the 30th November, Bishop Christopher commissioned and appointed Jenny Dymond as Joint Registrar. Prior to her appointment Jenny was the Deputy Registrar. As Joint Registrar she works with Mary Allanson who is Joint Registrar and Legal Secretary to the Bishop of Coventry. The Registry is responsible for providing advice to the Bishop, Archdeacons, diocesan committees and Synod, parishes within the diocese and their clergy, PCCs, churchwardens and dealing with general enquiries from members of the public. It also offers administrative assistance to the Chancellor of the Diocese, Mr Glyn Samuel. Read more

The Equip Hub The Online Learning Platform from the Diocese of Coventry. Once you've signed up, this email will contain personalised recommendations for topics you are interested in exploring.     Sign Up Now

Customizable Carol Service Advent is an exciting time in the Calendar of Christian worship; as we prepare in heart, mind and spirit for the coming of Jesus, and we want everyone to be able to join in the celebration and reflection. To make sure that no one misses out, we have created a full 9 Lessons and Carol service that can be downloaded for FREE, to be used by groups and individuals. There is a variety of content available aimed at a number of different groups; Many churches would like to host a Carol service for their local community, but struggle to find musicians – We have provided 9 Carols as both video and audio. The videos will have the words for the Carol on screen, and there is a printable pdf booklet for those who would prefer to do it that way. The Carols are a mixture of traditional and more contemporary musical styles and we have chosen popular and well-known classics to be as accessible as possible. We are also going to film the prayers and readings, and create a single video of the whole service that can be watched through beginning to end. We would encourage you to share this with anyone you know who can’t get out to a carol service in person. See more

Living Generously: Lent and Easter Workshop Thursday 27th January, 1-2.30pm What does it mean to live generously? Why does it matter? This year the Diocese team are exploring how we can respond to Christ’s generous act of love on the cross by living generous lives ourselves. We are currently creating a range of resources and ideas for the Lent and Easter season that you can use and adapt to your context. This will include materials to use in small groups, prayer days, personal devotion and services. Jen and Anna (from the Serving Christ project) are running this workshop to share the resources and create a space to share ideas and think about how they might work in your context. Sign up now

Difference Hosts Gathering Have you run the Difference course? Are you thinking about it? Having done it, are you wondering how to build on the learning? At the Difference Hosts Gathering there will be a time of worship, two workshops and short talks facilitated by a panel of facilitators and speakers from across several diocese. We hope you will come away feeling more equipped to host context sensitively and resourced with ideas and practices that help individuals and communities apply the habits beyond the course. This event will be in person on the 5th February 2022 from 13:15-17:00 at Stoke, St Michael’s’ Coventry, 365A Walsgrave Rd, Coventry CV2 4BG. We will adapt according to Covid regulations at the time. Read More

Diocesan News Christian Foundations - Encouraging Discipleship in Small Groups ‘Christian Foundations’ published in November 2020, is a book containing 16 fully resourced and attractively presented Bible based discussion topics on key areas in the Christian life.  The author, Tim Wagg, evolved the content and format over many years of mutual discipling at St Paul’s, Leamington. After 2 further years of extensive and wide-ranging trials the material was made available in book form a year ago. The book can be viewed on Amazon by searching “Christian Foundations, Tim Wagg”, where you can see the content pages, examples of the format and a number of encouraging reviews. Tim is very willing to talk through the material with any church seriously thinking of using it. A Discount is available for churches in the Coventry diocesan area. waggtim@gmail.com Greenhouse Early next year we will be launching Greenhouse across the Diocese. This is a national Church of England initiative to support small teams of lay (or ordained) leaders from churches who are planning or running a New Worshipping Community/Fresh Expression. More information about Greenhouse can be found by clicking here. Open to anyone who is interested, there is an information event on Zoom on Thursday 13th January from 7:30pm-9pm. If you would like to join this event, or for more information about Greenhouse, please email Sally Buddle, Director of Healthy Churches and New Worshipping Communities: Sally.Buddle@coventry.anglican.org. Leadership Toolkit - St Mark's Coventry St. Marks Academy’s ‘Leadership Toolkit’ starts on January 13th – running for six Thursday mornings (10:35-12:30) at St. Marks, Coventry. The course will equip you with practical skills in leading groups, pastoral care, evangelism, time management, and prayer ministry. If you want to grow in leadership and equip yourself for ministry, then this course is for you! To find out more and sign up click here. Support for those struggling this Christmas Church of England research earlier this year showed that: 6 in 10 people had been bereaved since March 2020 with 1 in 4 having experienced more than one death 8 in 10 agreed that more support was needed AtaLoss.org provides a UK wide website hub of bereavement support and information for anyone bereaved and those seeking to support them. This an easy way for clergy to direct bereaved congregation members and people in their communities to support.  The website could be advertised on church websites, in church foyers (posters are available), at funerals (cards are available), and we recommend, this year especially, mentioned at Christmas services or on carol service sheets. For more information click here. Sacred Journey The Sacred Journey is for those who are thirsty for more of God, for all who are dissatisfied with living on the surface and who want to travel deeper into God’s heart. All are invited to join with others in practising spiritual disciplines and creating sacred space for God. This event will take place at St Michael’s Church Centre, Budbrooke over 6 Wednesday mornings between Wednesday 2nd March 2022 and Wednesday 6th April 2022. For more information, click here.  New Canon for Arts and Reconciliation Coventry Cathedral are delighted to announce that the Bishop of Coventry has appointed the Reverend Mary Gregory as Canon for Arts and Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral. The Reverend Mary Gregory is currently Team Rector of the Flagstaff Family of Churches, and Rural Mission Enabler, in the Diocese of Leicester. She has previously worked in the Diocese of Sheffield as parish priest, Dean of Women’s Ministry and Assistant Diocesan Director of Ordinands. Of her appointment, Mary said, ‘I am so delighted to be joining Coventry Cathedral as Canon for Arts and Reconciliation in its Diamond Jubilee year, and feel hugely privileged to be joining such a talented team. Click here to read more.

External Vacancies Why do we advertise external vacancies? Healthwatch Engagement and Outreach Co-ordinator Healthwatch is the independent champion for Coventry people for health and social care services. Help them to ensure that people’s views come first – especially those who find it hardest to be heard. You will be interested in local people, have the listening skills and creative thinking to design different ways to reach local people including those from less heard and diverse communities. You will have the ability to build relationships and be persuasive. You will understand how to organise your time and be able to collect, record and analyse information gained from local people about their experiences and views. This is a part-time role of 25 hours per week with a salary of £28,000 pro-rata per annum. For more information click here.  Voluntary Action Coventry - Multiple roles Based within the infrastructure organisations of WCAVA (Warwickshire Community & Voluntary Action) and VAC (Voluntary Action Coventry) the newly formed VCSE Community Mental Health Team will ensure that the voluntary and community sector is effectively engaged in shaping the transformation of community mental health services.  Working collaboratively with other sectors towards an enhanced, easily accessible service providing integrated and seamless care and support for people experiencing mental distress. They are looking to appoint: Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise Programme Lead. 37 hours per week, – £32,000 per annum. Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise Mental Health Liaison Officer (Coventry). 37 hours per week, – £28,000 per annum. For more information about these roles, click here. Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise Mental Health Liaison Officer (Warwickshire). 37 hours per week, – £28,000 per annum. Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise Mental Health Administrator. 37 hours per week, – £21,500 per annum. For more information about these roles, click here.   Click here to submit an article