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Thursday 1 November 2018

Welcome to the November edition of Rochester Diocese's monthly e-newsletter.

Resources

Uplifting visit by Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury has just completed a wonderful two-day visit to the Diocese which saw him share time with parishes, people and communities across the three archdeaconries. Uplifting and encouraging those he met, he too was inspired and moved by the many stories he heard and the work he witnessed.

Highlights included a prayer walk through Chatham High Street, a visit to the Medway Towns Sikh Gurdwara Sabha and a moving service in Rochester Cathedral which saw 18 new volunteers commissioned to work on raising awareness of Modern Slavery.

Every place he visited however was special and shone a light on just some of the amazing work taking place in churches across the Diocese to support the diverse needs of their communities. We've dedicated much of the parish news below to his visit. See a full gallery of pictures here.

News in brief
Stories from around the parishes

Little fish get a BIG surprise
The young regulars at St. John's in Penge had a special visitor for story-time.
Read more.

Prayer hits the street in Chatham
Shoppers got more than they bargained for during a prayer walk through Chatham Read more

Students take on social media
Students from St. George's C of E Secondary, Gravesend hold their own in live debate. Read more.

Parishes prepare for Centenary
Poppy displays, exhibitions and services as parishes prepare to mark the Centenary. Read more

Diocesan Update
All you need to know this month from the Diocese and National Church

REMEMBRANCE MESSAGE
In his monthly video message, Bishop James looks ahead to Centenary commemorations next weekend and asks that we continue to learn the lessons of the past, share them with our young people and to pray for peace. View it here.

ADD YOUR OWN EVENT
Did you know you can now submit an event onto our What's On calendar? Just head over to the calendar and submit your event for approval. We've also added a few new features to the homepage including our twitter feed, prayer cycle and a view of our latest video or podcast. Take a look here.

INDICATIVE OFFERS: HAVE YOUR SAY
You only have until tomorrow to respond to the 'One mission, many places' consultation, regarding the proposal to introduce Indicative Offers.The consultation closes on Friday 2 November. To read the full proposal, download a summary leaflet, or find to out how to submit your views, click here.

RAISE YOUR VOICE

Church Urban Fund is inviting churches to support their work this Christmas... and be in for the chance to win £400 worth of church resources with CPO. A 'Raise Your Voices' event can be anything from carol services to carol singing. To host an event and be entered into a prize draw to find out more here.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION FUNDING

A total of 32 projects promoting a better understanding between science and faith have been funded since 2016 in cathedrals, dioceses, and churches as part of the Scientists in Congregations scheme. Applications for a new round of grants are being invited with a deadline of January 7 next year. Apply here

SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING - We still have a few spaces available for our social media training on Tuesday 13 November. Delivered by the national church Digital Team via a live stream, places are limited to one place per parish and are ideal for anyone responsible for their church's online presence. Book here

ROCHESTER LEARN - We have re-launched the twitter feed dedicated to all our training and learning opportunities for lay and ordained ministers. Find it at @RochesterLearn You can also find out more information about our training and short courses here.

#FOLLOWTHESTAR - Material for this year's national Christmas campaign, #FollowTheStar are now available. Sign up for daily reflections, purchase publicity materials or dowload family resources here.

Video of the month: Imaginative prayer with the Archbishop

In a first for the Diocese, an Imaginative Prayer session, live-streamed on Facebook, allowed people from within the Diocese and beyond, to hear Archbishop Justin in conversation with Bishop Simon Burton-Jones and to share in a time of prayer with him.

Reflecting on the story of 'On the Road to Emmaus' ( Luke 24: 13-35) the session was led by Susanne Carlsson and Madeline Dahl from the Companions of Christ, who are based at the Diocese's Attic Retreat Centre in Chatham.

Reaching over 18,000 people so far, it can be viewed on the Diocese of Rochester's Facebook page: @CofERochester or click the image above.

CONNECT WITH US. FIND US AT:

Safeguarding

The safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults in our churches is of utmost importance and the Diocese takes its responsibilities in this area very seriously. We have a range of policies, forms and advice notes as well as a regular programme of training to assist parishes with their safeguarding needs.

C2: Leadership safeguarding training

Thursday 06/12/18 at St John’s Centre, St John the Baptist, Wrotham Road, Meopham DA13 0AA Book here
Monday 28/01/19 at All Saints Church, Church Green, Frindsbury, Rochester ME2 4HE Book here
Saturday 09/02/19 at Diocesan Offices,St Nicholas Church, Boley Hill, Rochester ME5 1SL Book here
Thursday 14/02/19 at The Anglican and Methodist Church of St Andrew, Maidstone Road, Paddock Wood, Kent, TN12 6DZ Book here
Monday 18/03/19 at All Saints’ Church, Bark Hart Road, Orpington BR6 0QD Book here

C3 Clergy and Lay Ministers Safeguarding Training

Tuesday 15/01/19 at St John’s Church, 251 Eden Park Avenue, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 3JN Book here
Wednesday 27/02/19 at St Nicholas Church, Rectory Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1JA Book here

Online modules: The C0 and C1modules are available online and are recommended for anyone who needs a basic level of awareness of safeguarding

If you have any questions about Safeguarding, or need to report an issue, please contact the Safeguarding team here or call them on 01634 560 000.

Resources

Top resources to support you in your work, life and faith - or just to share with others.

MODERN SLAVERY: SCHOOLS
The Clewer Initiative has now launched new resources for schools to help young people understand the issue of Modern Slavery. As a key partner with the Diocese, we would encourage you to share them with your local school networks. Download the resources here

ADOPTION SUNDAY

This Sunday is Adoption Sunday. Marking Adoption Sunday is an opportunity for the Church to celebrate our adoption into God’s family, to pray for vulnerable children in our nations, and to stand with families who foster and adopt in our communities. Watch Bishop James' message and click here for resources.

JOURNEY OF THE MAGI
If you're looking for a novel and creative way to share the joy and wonder of Christmas with your church and local community this year, then a production from the Springs Dance Company could be for you. Available to host in churches from the 17 November 2018, they still have some dates available, so for more details visit their website here

Events and Training

A range of courses can be found in the Diocesan Online Course Directory here. You can also view our online What's On calendar, and explore the courses available at the St. Benedict's Centre here and St. Augustine's College of Theology here.

Creation Care Lunch - Sunday 4 November 12.30pm, St Nicholas, Sevenoaks - Come and hear Andy Atkins, Chief Executive of A Rocha UK - founders of Eco Church - speak about how, as Christians, we should be caring for God’s creation. Lunch provided. Donations to A Rocha welcome.

Unlocking the Beatitudes - Tues 6 to 27 November, 7pm to 9pm, St. Benedict's Centre. Revd Nathan Ward will be leading a 4 week series on The Beatitudes - radical statements about the Kingdom of God and how they can transform us and the world around us. £40 incl. refreshments. Visit stbenedictscentre.org/programme/

Honesty Over Silence - 11 November, 5.45pm to 7pm, Christ Church, Chislehurst An evening of live music and talks, opening up conversations around difficult topics such as trust in God when life is painful, and dealing with anxiety and depression; part of Patrick Regan's tour of the country. Details here

Evangelism: 'no pressure' - 15 November, 8pm, St Philip’s and St James Church, Chatham Revd Canon Mark Brown leads an evening exploring evangelism and faith sharing, and some of common areas where people can feel under pressure. More details here

Understanding this Generation - Monday 26 November, 7.30pm, Christ Church, Tunbridge Wells Transforming Children’s mental health; how can the Church be part of the solution? How to spot the signs and knowing what to say. Speakers include Bishop Simon Burton-Jones. Details at: fegans.org.uk/event/generation

Christingle 50 Years - Saturday 15th December, 12.30pm, Rochester Cathedral. The Children's Society is celebrating 50 years since the first Christingle service. Join this special service led by the Diocesan Youth Council.

Christmas Unwrapped - Sunday 9 December, 6pm to 8pm, KICC, Buckmore Park, Kent A Christmas carol concert for the whole family. Join preacher J.John, the Salvation Army Band and WE CAN Sing UK for a festive celebration to kick off Christmas together. Visit: www.christmasunwrappedkent.co.uk/

Vision and Aims

GROW - PRAYER To make prayer the fundamental basis for life in the Diocese, to harness the power of prayer to transform lives; to encourage every individual to pray for five people to come to faith

NEW PRAYER APP: For those who like to access their prayer on the go, the Diocese of Rochester’s Calendar of Intercession is now available via the free PrayerMate App. PrayerMate is an award-winning Christian prayer app that helps bring the prayers for the people and causes you care about in one place on your phone or tablet. To find out more and to get started, click here