Rob Hay, Head of Learning and Ministry Development, highlights some new training and learning opportunities in the diocese...
Catalyst is a new diocesan initiative providing space for anyone who feels called to start a new church community as part of the life of their church but isn’t ordained. It is designed to provide support, encouragement and training
You may not yet have worked out what it looks like and would benefit from gathering with other like-minded people to discover how to go about it. Or you may have recently started a new church community and find that you need training and support as it develops.
This programme is designed to be lightweight and can be done alongside church and a busy life. It is based out of St John’s Clarendon Park and the first cohort of people will start in the autumn. If you are interested in exploring further, please see www.sjbchurch.co.uk/catalyst or email Scott Else on catalyst@sjbchurch.co.uk.
If you have done our local Journey in Faith Course, perhaps are already a licensed lay minister, you might want to dig deeper into your faith, the bible and theology. If you do, we are fortunate to have two local resources:
St Mellitus College – which teaches both in Nottingham on a Tuesday daytime and in Leicester, at St Martin’s House, on a Monday evening. There is a great mix of students, with some training for ordination, but many for other ministries and some just to deepen their own discipleship. Here is a great introductory video where you may recognise a few folks from Leicester.
They hold regular open days and more information about the range of options can be found at their website.
Another regional resource where a number of our ordinands and lay leaders train is St Hild College. They have a number of postgraduate study options, one module of which you can do online as a taster for further study, or just because you want to stretch your faith and thinking. You can find out more and book in here. The cost for this short course is £198 and if you are a licensed lay, or ordained leader in the diocese, you can use your Continuing Ministry Development Grant, towards this.