As part of its response and support for parishes, the Diocese of Chester, led by officers based at Church House, are offering a series of webinars to support lay and ordained church leaders to reflect and prepare for this new chapter in church ministry in our diocese.
As we learn more about the new context in which we find ourselves, the webinars, produced in the summer of 2020, offer resources and ideas to help church leaders to respond.
The webinars cover a range of topics including ministry online and in church, and how we can live out our faith in our everyday lives. The first two webinars will focus on wellbeing and trauma and will help us to think about the impact the pandemic has had on the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of ourselves and others.
Wellbeing
This was a discussion hosted by the Director of HR and others, including the Head of Counselling. The aim of the webinar was to help people consider the impact the current situation is having on us all as individuals in the diocese and to provide some suggestions and resources to aid our mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing.
With:
Liz Geddes
The Revd Peter Mackriell
The Revd Jonathon Green
The Revd Anne Lawson
The Revd David Herbert
The Revd Christine Broad
The Revd Lesley Currie
Trauma: Awareness and healing
This webinar was a discussion that explored the nature of the Covid-19 pandemic as trauma, the impact it may be having on us and on our communities, and strategies for healing and building resilience.
With:
The Revd Christine Broad
The Revd Jenny Bridgman
The Revd Steve Mansfield
The Revd Peter Mackriell
The Revd Canon Jane Brooke
The Revd Debbie Dalby
The Revd Rachel Griffiths
Resources from the webinar:
- Counselling Service of the Diocese of Chester
- S.T.A.R Strategies in Trauma Awareness and Healing
- Conference papers from the University of Winchester's webinar: Christian Theology in the midst of COVID-19,
- ProjectBook: Tragedies and Christian Congregations, including a tab for Meditation on lament by Carla Grosch-Miller
- Facebook Group: Pandemic through a Trauma Lens for Churches
Blended Economy
As church buildings open again, church leaders are planning for a ‘new normal’ which will be a ‘blended ecology’ of online and offline church life. But in this new normal, where and how might we best do worship, teaching, mission, giving or pastoral care? This webinar brings together pastors and people with technical tools for a discussion which begins with the pastoral and missional and then seeks the best technologies to fit our priorities.
With:
The Revd Dr Joe Kennedy
The Revd Ruth Mock
The Revd Andy Stinson
Resources from the webinar:
Ministry online
This webinar works from the premise that, especially at this time, the quality of our online material can be crucial to missional engagement. The answer is to resist any temptation to spend lots of money – but rather to learn some simple ways to improve our online presentation, gain a little knowledge of the pros and cons of various online platforms, and perhaps to buy some simple and inexpensive ‘kit’. Join us as we showcase some recent and particularly effective online missional material produced by parishes in our diocese and chat with its authors.
With:
The Revd Joe Kennedy
The Revd Paul Bentley (and family)
The Revd Tim Hayward and daughter Rose
Stephen Freeman
Resources included in the webinar:
- An excellent blog post from Ian Paul, well worth a ten-minute read.
- Easter video from the Bentley family
- Bunbury Church Online
Everyday faith in a pandemic
A webinar exploring the ways in which people have seen God at work in everyday life during the pandemic and how they have responded to what he has been doing, Monday to Saturday as well as Sunday.
Mike Gilbertson, Ruth Bull and Anne-Marie Naylor introduce the webinar. They are joined by Sarah Guest, who talks about her experiences as a teacher and a parent; Paul Ogunyemi, who shares what it has been like running a small business; Alan Finneron, a funeral director; and Tina Upton, who has seen God at work as the church in Blacon has reached out into the community. Andy Stinson and Andrew Rudd offer some thoughts on resources for worship and spiritual accompaniment to underpin our everyday faith.
For further reading, explore the everyday faith resources from the Church of England here.
Why are we running these webinars?
On 04 July, church buildings opened for public worship once again.
The way we use our spaces and conduct regular services, as well as weddings, funerals, baptisms, and confirmations, will remain a challenge for some time to come as we adapt and comply with the guidance and the rules around social distancing and personal hygiene.
Not only this, but the logistics and the careful way in which our church leaders are ensuring worship is conducted safely is sometimes carried out to a backdrop of personal and collective difficulties, weariness, and anxiety.
The Back to Better series of webinars aims to provide support and resources to help us all meet the challenge we face.