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Dear Guest,
Our church buildings are much more than bricks and mortar; they are places of worship, welcome, community, and witness. Caring for these special spaces is an important part of our stewardship, helping to ensure they remain safe, sustainable, and fit for future generations.
Whether your church building is centuries old or more recent, regular maintenance and community involvement can make a significant difference in preserving its fabric and vitality. That’s why we’re delighted to invite you to our upcoming event, Looking After Your Church Building.
This practical and informative day will explore simple, cost-effective ways to identify and address maintenance issues before they become major problems. You’ll hear from experts on developing maintenance plans, understanding Quinquennial Inspections, engaging your local community, and growing your volunteer base. The session will also include a hands-on workshop to help you spot common maintenance concerns, along with opportunities to connect with others involved in caring for church buildings.
We hope you will join us for what promises to be an encouraging and valuable day of learning, sharing, and equipping churches to care well for the buildings entrusted to them.
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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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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The latest episode of Zero Interest is now available (on the Equip Hub, SoundCloud, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.)
This episode was recorded with Mary Creagh CBE MP and Alison Wilkes.
Mary is MP for Coventry East and Minister for Nature with Defra. We
had a wide-ranging chat during which Alison brought observations and comments from her perspective as Project Manager with the Churchyard
Biodiversity and Heritage Project.
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Preaching is all about communicating.
This session will explore fundamental techniques and principles of good communication that can make sermons more engaging and more effective.
This session will be led by Rob Harrison, Tuesday 7th July, 7pm-9pm at Holy Trinity, Long Itchington.
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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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We will hold two training days for churchwardens this year. The first, which will be particularly aimed at newer wardens, will be in July, and the second will cover a wider range of topics and will be in October.
The first of those will be on Saturday 11th July, at 10 am. We will be covering a number of topics, including:
– The key responsibilities of a churchwarden
– Wellbeing and boundaries
– Getting permission for changes to church buildings
This session will be led by Matt Jermyn and Tim Cockell, and while it will be suitable for new wardens, everyone is welcome.
Saturday 11th July, 10am – 3pm.
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When John wrote his Gospel, he selected a small number of stories about Jesus that he retold in detail, and a small number of Jesus’ metaphors, which he recorded in detail. In this course Rob Harrison – who has written two novels about Jesus (and is working on a third) – will explore John’ Gospel from a storyteller’s perspective. He will unfold the drama of the narratives and the emotional resonances of the metaphors to uncover what John, the storyteller, is telling us about Jesus.
This five part course will be led by Rob Harrison, starting on Tuesday 8th September, 7:30pm – 9pm on Zoom
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A five week course to help us explore the variety of things we grieve for, understand the grieving process, its complexity and what can be helpful to those who are grieving.
This course will be led by Anne Richards and Anna Naish. Starting Wednesday 16th September, 7-9pm at Saint James the Great Church, Snitterfield
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Growing faith seeks to put children at the centre of all that we do. This course focusses on four key ‘connections’ that make a difference to including and involving children and youth in church life.
– Voices – how we listen and make space for their voices to be heard.
– Relationships – developing links between the different areas of their lives.
– Rhythms – recognising/creating patterns to move deeper into participation.
– Purpose – finding shared purpose so they see faith having an impact on our lives.
While the focus of this course will be around children, it is important to note that these four connections can also impact other voices in our church or community that can go unheard. A helpful reminder that work in one area can impact others at the same time.
The sessions will be lead by Anna Naish starting Monday 21st September 7:30-9pm on Zoom. The final session will take place in person.
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Pastoral visits usually take place when someone is emotionally or physically vulnerable. This can make visits feel daunting for everyone involved. This session will focus on what we can do to help put people at ease before and during visits so that they feel supported, heard and safe. This will include practical things we can do (and not do), how to listen well and how to approach spiritual topics or prayer.
This session is aimed at people who are exploring or engaged in a pastoral visiting ministry or a ministry where you have pastoral responsibilities. These might be formal or informal roles. It may also be helpful to those who find themselves supporting other people to consider how you do that well.
This session will be led by Anna Naish and Lou Peet. Wednesday 21st October, 7-9pm, Holy Trinity Parish Centre, Stratford-upon-Avon
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All of our upcoming courses and events can been seen on our calendar.
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