The Church of England in the Wokingham Area
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MA in Biblical Studies,
St Mary’s University, Twickenham
The MA is available full time and part time from September and was developed with the CMD needs of clergy and lay ministers particularly in mind.
Grave Talk – What Is It All About?
Over the past year, groups of All Saints Church members have begun gathering together to talk about death. No, we haven’t lost our minds, become depressed or run out of things to say. We are trying out a recent Church of England project, designed as a form of ministry for those of all faiths and none, to encourage people to break down the taboo around death. This project is called Grave Talk.
The idea is to get us talking about our feelings around loss, our own death, grief, what a ‘good’ funeral means to us etc. The hope is that taking part in the discussion will get us thinking and talking to our loved ones about our feelings and our ideas about funerals.
Some people took a bit of cajoling to join the first group and most of us felt some level of trepidation and scepticism. What were we doing there, and why would talking about death be a good idea?
Despite all our doubts within a matter of minutes there was a buzz of conversation and laughter running through the room. In fact, people were so keen, it was difficult to bring the session to a close. Now we get people asking when the next session will be.
SCHOOL VISITS TO CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
The Education Department at the Cathedral provides a bespoke learning experience.
Church Urban Fund | Mustard Seed AppealTo read more, follow the link:
https://www.cuf.org.uk/mustard-seed-appeal
FREE YOUTH GROUP RESOURCE
The Children’s Society have produced a new church youth group resource. The sessions are built upon their first-hand knowledge of supporting young people, no matter what issues they may face. It contains six youth group sessions from a faith perspective to help youth workers unpack key topics such as identity, sexting, mental health, healthy relationships and life online, empowering your young people to support themselves and their peers.
Each session is aimed at 11-16 year olds and is around an hour and a half long but can be adapted. See www.childrenssociety.org.uk/youth