September Newsletter
News from the Training and Development Officer
It has been a very busy July and August.
- I attended my first General Assembly with many others from the Synod and learned so much! See the photo!
- I attended the annual residential for the TDO+ Network in London. See photo.
- I travelled to Memphis Tennessee for the General Assembly of my other denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. Whilst there I heard both the daughter of Rev Martin Luther King Jr., Rev Bernice King, and Rev William Barber, preach, and I attended the Moral Mondays march with Rev Barber to oppose policies that cut social programs and restrict voting rights. I visited the Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel where King was assassinated.
- I also delivered a workshop in Memphis, entitled Beyond Worship: Creating Spaces for 21st Spiritual Play. About 250 attendees showed up which was unexpected!
- I spent a few days in Colorado with my family and returned home with my husband Tom after living apart for 5 months while he finished his job.
- My parents and youngest son also travelled over with us and spent a month staying with us and I took some much-needed Annual Leave to be with them.
- Amid all this I have visited several churches to either preach or meet with their ministers – The Church in Hope Street in Sheerness, Bexley UCC, Reigate Park, and St. Andrews Cheam. Thanks for the warm welcome at each!
I am really looking forward to all the activities of the Autumn! Here’s what you can expect.
- There will be four Elders Trainings this season and details can be found on the Synod website here.
- A Sacraments Training will be available for Elders who have been approved by their congregations and their Pastoral Committees.
- Visionary Companions Development will be on Tuesday September 30th in Tonbridge.
- The Lay Preacher Training Day at Oxted URC will focus on resources for preaching, and on prayer. It is open to anyone who leads worship or preaches and wants to work on their gifts and skills. Contact Deirdre, the Lay Preaching Advocate.
- Information will be made available about the upcoming Locally Recognised Worship Leader Training which will begin in January.
- I will be hosting an online group study working our way through the URC Stepwise material together. To find out more about Stepwise, click here.
If you need support with any of the above, please feel free to reach out directly to me at any time. [email protected]
If Facebook is something you use, please keep in touch with my work and travels at #tdotravelsurcsouthern
Blessings!
Charisa
