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Churches Together in Cumbria Sep /Oct 2023 Newsletter

Actively Promoting God's Love for Everyone

Index: In this month's newsletter:

Telling our Story - Anna Chaplaincy Conference 2023
Farewell to Sheila & Jo
Monthly Update from Jo Phillips (Ecumenical Social Responsibility Officer)
Valuing, helping, and supporting our agricultural family.
Responding to Bullying Course
Upcoming events at Rydal Hall
We believe, so we sing.
The Comfort Cafe
Positive Working Together Training Courses
SHAPE course

Anna Chaplaincy Conference 2023

Telling our Story

On Saturday 13th September, Anna Chaplaincy Cumbria held its annual Conference at Penrith Methodist Church, and what an incredible day it was!

Miriam Baird kicked off the day with a fascinating and educational talk on Dementia and how as Anna Chaplains and Anna Friends we can better support people when we know how their condition impacts upon them.

Debbie Ducille gave a great talk on what is happening in Anna Chaplaincy around the UK, and between her presentation and Di's talk - looking at what is happening in Cumbria, it was clear to see how God has created opportunities, and it demonstrated the blessings that Anna Chaplains and Anna Friends have had on those requiring their support. There were some incredible stories to be told!

Workshops throughout the day involved crafts, Godly Play and Renew Wellbeing, and these demonstrated alternative ways of interacting, supporting and communicating with older people and offered a new perspective on how to meet their spiritual needs.

It was a really lovely day of friendship, learning and story-telling, and we ended the day with worship led by Revd. Andrew Dodd and Debbie Ducille before heading home to consider all our new-found knowledge and new friendships.

For any enquiries about Anna Chaplaincy in Cumbria do contact Diana Armstrong at diarmstrong25@gmail.com

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for ongoing news.

Thank you and Goodbye

Thank you to Sheila & Jo

Having spent three years in the role of Vice-President for CTiC (having also been in the role for four years previously), Sheila Goodliffe is stepping down for a well-deserved rest!

Sheila has worked hard to ensure the first few years as a Charity has run smoothly for the organisation and her experience and knowledge has been a real blessing to the CTiC Trustees.

Sheila was thanked at the Trustees meeting on Thursday 28th September with a gift and card, plus a lunch at Cranston's where all Trustees thanked her and wished her well.

Please watch this space for news of our new CTiC Vice President in next month's newsletter.

After two years with us working for CTiC, Jo Phillip will be leaving her position as CTiC Ecumenical Social Responsibility Officer in the autumn.

We are extremely grateful to Jo for the work she has done over the last two years. She has worked skilfully and with great energy to support a wide range of people with an interest in social responsibility in Cumbria and has made great strides forward. We will miss her greatly!

CTiC will be seeking to fill the ESRO position again, as soon as we are able. An advert will be posted on the CTiC website and in the Newsletter early in October, so please watch out for this and share it with anyone you know who may be interested.

Monthly Highlights from your Ecumenical Social Responsibility Officer

October 2023

It was a joy to gather in Kendal for the Social Responsibility Forum meeting early in September. We were joined by Lois Sparling of the South Lakeland area Poverty Truth Commission. ‘Nothing about us, without us, is for us’ is the strap line of these projects across the country. They seek to bring about greater effectiveness of services for people experiencing poverty, through joint discussions with those who deliver those services.
We also heard from Jonny Gios, who is involved in many social action projects and working in the Kendal area. These include CAP (Christians Against Poverty), refugees and asylum seekers, The Well (addiction charity), a drop in and ‘Warm Space’ at the Town Hall. Jonny also runs Gateway Church which runs ‘Give A Day’ events where local Churches and businesses offer their time and resources to solve local problems. The discussions arising from these presentations were energetic and encouraging.
I attended my first CVS funding fair this month, seeking support for the future of the modern slavery work that I’ve been engaged with over the last few years.
Through a new colleague who works at the University of Cumbria in Lancaster, I was invited to be part of a professional panel presenting to students from the Business Department. This was in order to highlight the importance of awareness and proactiveness in the issue of exploitation and modern slavery.
I attended a God For All Operations Group meeting to continue to contribute to the process and implementation of strategy.
I fed in some news from some Church-led food insecurity projects, to the Cumbria Poverty Reference Group I regularly attend.
I’ve also been preparing for a network training day on modern slavery day to be held in Penrith on 4^th October too.

Blessings,

Jo Phillips – ESRO

Cumbria Agricultural Chaplaincy

Valuing, helping, and supporting our agricultural family.

Our Agricultural Chaplaincy Lead in Cumbria, Amanda Gorton is wondering whether CTiC can help with getting some available grant money out to the agricultural community.

It’s a Cost-of-Living Grant available for the farming community in the South Lakes area. Earlier this year Cumbria Agricultural Chaplaincy, working with Cumbria FCN, were awarded a total grant of £5000 by Cumbria County Council (now Westmorland & Furness Council) to specifically help people in the farming community across the South Lakes area. The money is there to directly help families and individuals who are struggling to meet the demands of the increased cost of living. It is to be used for household costs (not business) and might be used to help with utility costs, rent, debt relief and is being spent in response to local demand, and we are approaching those with a front-line role in the farming community in the South Lakes area that may know of individuals or families that might benefit from this support. This is a discretionary grant, and we don’t need much information about the recipient (location, age of recipient, household type, use of grant). What is gathered will be used to report back to Westmorland and Furness Council and help to ensure the rural and agricultural community receives support in the future.

If you know of anyone who may benefit and be interested in receiving this, could you get in touch with Amanda cumbriaagchap@outlook.com

Upcoming events at Rydal Hall

A Quiet Day

Saturday 30^th November 2023

9.30 – 4.00 pm

Suggested Donation £10

https://www.rydalhall.org/events-calendar/quiet-day-nov23

Theme: Just another Sunday Morning? Enriching our experience of Holy Communion.

Leader: Revd David Wilmot

David is the Chaplain at Rydal Hall and Rector of Grasmere and Rydal.

How many times have we attended Holy Communion and wished that it had more fully touched our heart? Why does it so often feel like a missed opportunity for grace?

In this Quiet Day, we will reflect on the roots of this disquiet and discover some ways of entering more richly into what has been called ‘the source and summit’ of the Christian life.

Our Quiet Days are free of charge, but Donations are welcome, and booking is required, please. Tea/Coffee provided. You are welcome to bring a Packed Lunch, or alternatively, you may wish to visit our Tea Shop.

Free Car Parking: permit available from Reception.

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Companions on the Journey

Learning to pray with Benedict, Ignatius and Francis.

https://www.rydalhall.org/events-calendar/companions-journey

Monday 4^th December 4.00 pm – Thursday 7^th December 1.00 pm

£240 per person

24-Hour Rate

Leader: David Wilmot

In the heart of the beautiful Lake District, we`ll spend these days in the company of three of the most influential guides to the life of prayer. This gentle introduction to their lives and teaching through talks, worship and more is aimed at providing inspiration and encouragement for our own walk with Christ. (No previous study of the saints will be assumed).

David Wilmot is Chaplain at Rydal Hall and Priest in Charge of Grasmere and Rydal and, until recently, a Spirituality Tutor for those in Training for Ministry.

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Setting the Captives Free

Discovering God in the ups and downs of every day.

https://www.rydalhall.org/events-calendar/setting-captives-free

Monday 11^th December 2023 - 4.00 pm – Thursday 14^th December 2023 - 1.00 pm.

£240 per person

24-Hour Rate

Leader: David Wilmot

Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits and author of `The Spiritual Exercises`, has been called `the mystic of moods and thoughts` (Harvey Egan). In his Rules for Discernment, Ignatius addresses something that is fundamental in every life of faith: the alternations of joy and fear, peace and anxiety, hope and discouragement and offers us a way of receiving, understanding, and appropriately responding to what he calls the ‘different movements in the soul’.

Are we helpless in the face of such contrasting movements of the heart? Is there a way for us to understand this complex spiritual experience? Can we learn how to respond wisely to these changes in our hearts?

These few days are a gentle introduction to the wisdom of Ignatius and the art of what he calls `the discernment of spirits` in everyday living. The aim is to `set the captives free` (Timothy Gallagher).

David Wilmot is Chaplain at Rydal Hall and Priest in Charge of Grasmere and Rydal and until recently, a Spirituality Tutor for those in Training for Ministry.

https://www.rydalhall.org/events-calendar/setting-captives-free

We Believe, So We Sing!

We received an email last week that we thing our readers would be interested in, so we are sharing it with you today:

I’m Olivia Chatterley, and I’m currently a student in Durham from Lancaster.

Last Easter, a group of us started singing hymns and praises at 3pm each day of Lent, with a sign that said ‘We believe, so we sing'. It would be a different group of people each day, but people came as they felt able.

Gradually, God brought along people from all different ages and churches (Presbyterian, Charismatic, Catholic, Pentecostal, non-denominational, Evangelical and even a Franciscan Friar). It was so beautiful and really had an impact on people walking past.

I am hoping to do the same thing for Advent this Christmas again in Durham because it was really effective and a beautiful thing to be a part of. I wasn’t sure who to email, but I love the Churches Together movement and can see such power when the Church unites to lift up the Lord’s name.

Because it worked so well in Durham, I’m sure it would work well in other cities and counties. I wasn’t sure who to contact, but the purpose of sending this email is to share the idea in the hope that it would spread. I wonder whether you could picture anyone interested who would attempt it for Advent in their own cities and share it with networks in different counties around. It would be really beautiful for it to spread into the rest of the UK and for Jesus to be praised all over during Advent this Christmas in the unity of the Church.

Please feel free to forward this to whoever you think would like to hear about it.

Best wishes,

Olivia

The Methodist Church: Positive Working Together Training Courses

We can all find ourselves in a place of tension and conflict. The Methodist Church, in partnership with Place for Hope – www.placeforhope.org.uk - offers 3 one-day training courses around conflict – aiming to give a basic awareness and some tools for working with areas of conflict. The courses are offered online, as well as the option to deliver these locally in-person. The courses are open to all denominations in Cumbria – with a small charge for non-Methodists. The cost for non-Methodists living in Cumbria for ‘Growing through Change and Conflict’, and ‘Spirituality Scripture and Conflict’ is £5. The cost for ‘Responding to Bullying and Harassing Behaviour’ is a standard £45 per person if the denomination is paying, or a 'Pay What you Can Afford' , as appropriate to the individual’s financial circumstances, for personal payments – please - see our website – for more details.

The Eventbrite collection where all booking details can be found is at: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/positive-working-together-818889 .

Please contact Brec Seaton for more information.

One-day training courses:

Growing through Change and Conflict

Consider your ‘conflict style’ and how you respond in difficult or tense situations. Explore how conflict and tensions escalate in a church context, and begin to consider some tools to de-escalate conflict.

Scripture, Spirituality and Conflict

Exploring how scripture sheds light on conflict, on managing change, and on the spiritual journey.

Bullying and Harassment

Come along and explore a basic understanding of bullying and harassing behaviour, and learn some basic techniques to create good practices in ministry that can address negative behaviour. The workshop may not be suitable for individuals who are in a complaint process.

Faith in Change and Conflict:

This is a six-day training course offered either direct with Place for Hope, or through the Methodist Church. Please contact Brec Seaton for more details:

Unit 1: Introduction to Conflict Transformation and Personal Development

Unit 2: Communication and Facilitation Skills

Unit 3: Conflict and Mediation Skills

Unit 4: Conflict in the Context of Faith

“Let both grow
together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters:
First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then
gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. ”

Matthew 13:30-39

CTiC Trustees and Staff

Our Trustees:

Revd Andrew Dodd - CTiC President - andrew.dodd1@btinternet.com

Revd Kath Dodd - CTiC Treasurer - kath.dodd@btinternet.com

Derek Lacey - Social Responsibility Forum Chair

Bill Bewley - Church Leaders Representative

Revd Nicola Reynolds - Denominational Ecumenical Officer Representative

Revd Richard Snow - Denominational Ecumenical Officer Representative

Paul Burden - Churches Together Group Representative

Brian Pateman - Churches Together Group Representative

Our Staff:

Jo Phillips - Ecumenical Social Responsibility Officer - jo@churchestogethercumbria.org.uk

Gwen Backhouse - Virtual Assistant / Administrator - admin@churchestogethercumbria.org.uk

Find out more about us here

Please remember to keep looking at the CTiC events page which is regularly updated with all the events we are notified about.

Please send your news to us by 25th October for our November newsletter: admin@churchestogethercumbria.org.uk

Churches Together in Cumbria

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