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29 January 2024
Pioneering is theme of Readers’ Conference
Licensed Lay Ministers (Readers) from across the diocese gathered for a weekend of teaching, worship, ... read more
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15 September 2023
Called as a teenager to serve God
Richard Shurmer was an RE teacher for 36 years and has been a Reader for ... read more
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14 September 2023
New pioneer minister in Gosport
Matt Gatt has been appointed as Pioneer Minster in the parish of South Gosport. He’ll ... read more
Pioneering is theme of Readers’ Conference
LICENSED Lay Ministers (Readers) from across the diocese gathered for a weekend of teaching, worship, crafting and good food on the Isle of Wight, with guest speakers from CMS’s Pioneering Parishes team.
Lay Readers/Licensed Lay Ministers from Portsmouth Diocese gathered on the Isle of Wight, staying at the Shanklin Beach Hotel for the weekend of January 19th to 21st. They enjoyed times of welcome, sharing, worship, delicious eating and drinking and the opportunity to catch up with people they often only see once a year, and had a great time!
The theme of this years’ conference was ‘Pioneering Parishes’, and the teaching sessions were led by Rev Greg Bakker, who was the Dean of Pioneer Ministry in our diocese until recently, and Rev Tina Hodgett, who established and lead the Church Mission Society’s Pioneering Parishes ministry. They explored themes such as the uncomfortable topic of change: ‘Jesus the disruptor’, loss and lament of the familiar, the importance of culture for our sense of security, developing values for congregations to live by, and creating space for the new.
Worship was led by a small worship team from Crofton parish, alongside LLMs from Fareham and the Isle of Wight deaneries. There was also opportunity to engage in crafts whilst listening to the speakers.
The Readers Conference takes place every January on the Isle of Wight, and is open to all lay Readers, lay licensed ministers and lay worship leaders. You can find out more here.