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Spiritual Accompaniment Course
Birmingham Forum for Spiritual Directors and
Companions 2022-2023
Soul Boats
©Jake Lever www.jakelever.org
Spiritual
Accompaniment
A one
year ecumenical training course for lay and ordained Christians
September
2022 to July 2023
Who is
the course for?
The course is open to Christians of any denomination. Those
seeking a place would be people who:
- find others turn naturally to them to talk about their life and
faith.
- are
stable and open to learning in their Christian faith, and keen to
develop their knowledge and discipleship.
- already have, or are prepared to have, a spiritual director.
The
course aims to:
- Encourage each person to grow and develop gifts for spiritual
accompaniment in various contexts.
- Offer knowledge, critical awareness and skills for spiritual
accompaniment and direction
By the
end of the course, participants will have:-
- Broadened and deepened their understanding of Christian
traditions of prayer.
- Experienced differing approaches to, and emphases within,
Christian spirituality.
- Explored the meaning of their faith and spiritual traditions
and how these encourage growth and personal fulfilment.
- Practiced key skills as a spiritual companion, and supported
others in this process.
- Developed a reflective approach to their work as a spiritual
companion.
Could
this course be for you?
Some questions you might want to ask yourself . . .
- Do
others come to share with you their hopes and fears about their
faith and life journey?
- Have you
felt that God may be calling you to ‘companion’ others in this
way?
- Have you
considered whether training might develop your gifts?
When
and where?
The course consists of 14
Tuesday meetings, over three terms, (avoiding
school half terms) from 10 am till 3.30 pm. There will be a
Saturday retreat at the beginning of the second term.
Term 1:
(2022)
20 Sept, 11 Oct, 8 Nov, 29
Nov, 13 Dec.
Autumn
School holiday Week: (24 Oct to 30 Oct 2022 )
Term 2:
(2023)
Retreat Day - Saturday 14 Jan 2023
Then: 24 Jan, 7 Feb, 28 Feb, 21 March,
Spring School hols: (20 Feb- 26 Feb ) Holy week (2 Apr -
9 Apr 23)
Term
3: (2023) 18 April, 16 May, 6
June, 27 June, 11 July,
Easter hols (3 Apr – 14 April ) School hols (
29 May – 2nd June )
Venue:
This will be a hybrid course- some days on zoom,
others face to face in Birmingham at a venue tbc.
Cost:
£ 450
(payable in 3 termly instalments).
Help with costs may be available within your church or diocese or
through a small bursary fund.
Course
content
Each day will include teaching input, prayer and discussion,
small group sharing and skills practice. In Term 2 course
members begin a 1-1 spiritual accompaniment practice with someone
outside the course, supported and guided by the facilitating
team.
Foundation:
Introduction
and Approaches to Spiritual Accompaniment,
Human faith development, Images of God, Forms of prayer
Skills:
Reflective
Listening, Presence, Forms of communication,
Discernment,
Beginnings and Endings, Safeguarding, Inclusion and Diversity,
Ethics and Boundaries, Making use of supervision
Assessment:
Peer and facilitator feedback is continuous
throughout the course. Towards the end of the course,
participants are also asked for a reflection on their learning.
Attendance
and Certification:
In order to protect the quality of the course, a
Certificate of Attendance will be given where 80 % of the
sessions have been attended. This will be presented after the
reflection on learning has been received.
The
Facilitating Team will include:
Maureen
Slattery Marsh: Maureen is Catholic married to an
Anglican with a background in theology, therapy and training. A
past member of the course, she offers spiritual accompaniment and
pastoral supervision alongside her therapy practice. She
has been involved in various ecumenical and reconciliation
initiatives over the past 30 years and is also a member of
Manresa Link.
Eleanor
Jackson: Brought
up in a Methodist family, Eleanor is a Quaker married
to an Anglican. She is a past member of the course and has been
offering 1:1 accompaniment for many years. She completed
Woodbrooke’s Equipping for Ministry course in 2004 and joined
their Associate Tutor team soon after. She is also a member
of Manresa Link.
Phil
Hoar : Phil
is a Methodist
minister and past member of the course. He has been involved in
spiritual accompaniment, groups, workshops and retreats for many
years, as well as involvement in the community among LGBT asylum
seekers, and prayer guiding in prison. He is also a
member of Manresa Link.
Magdalen
Smith:
Magdalen is an Anglican priest and author. She has been involved
in spiritual accompaniment within several parish settings and as
a Director of Ordinands. She has a background in the visual arts
and is particularly interested in the fusion between faith and
ordinary life. She has recently returned to Birmingham after a
gap of 18 years and is a new member of Manresa link.
We will also be drawing on the specialist skills and experience
of other leaders and speakers from different traditions and
denominations throughout the course.
The
course administrator is Revd Canon John Austen: John is an
experienced spiritual director and chairs the Birmingham Forum
for Spiritual Directors and Companions.
Applying
for the course
Course places are limited to 20, and since we want to ensure that
the course is right for each participant, admission is not
automatic, and will include an informal interview. We need to
receive applications by
Friday 1st April 2022
Late
applications may be considered if places are still available.
For further information about the course, and details of how to
apply, please contact: Revd
Canon John Austen by email: johnausten151@hotmail.co.uk
Tel: 0121-554-8882
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FE Sunday resources
FE Sunday, is running for the first time on 15 May 2022.
It is WMCFEC’s initiative to encourage local churches to pray for
their local college and its students and staff. Simply beginning
to pray for your local college is often a great first step
to understanding it
better and exploring how you might be able to partner with
that college in loving service.
On FE Sunday you could…
- Invite a local FE
chaplain or Christian member of staff to share about their
work in FE
- Use the worship
and prayer materials available online to pray for your local
college
- Watch the videos
together as part of your worship (best place to start is WM
FE Chaplaincy Ambassador Nigel Roberts’ intro. to FE Sunday)
- Take some next
steps to work with your local college
Prayer
cards, videos, suggested readings, sermon outline are available
online at https://wmcfec.org.uk/further-education-sunday/
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Stationing Training 5th May
The
introductory session to the Stationing Process for 2022/23 will
take place at 7pm on Thursday 5th May. All those who expect
to have any involvement in stationing this year are invited.
Zoom invitations have just been sent out to ministers whose
current appointments are coming to an end in 2023, together with
the Superintendents and Senior Circuit Stewards of all Circuits
involved in stationing, for further distribution as appropriate.
If you need a Zoom link and have not received one, please contact
your Circuit in the first instance and, failing that, the
District Office.
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Food for Thought Conference
All lay and clergy are welcome to discover
more about being a disciple of Jesus Christ at this day
conference.
Roger
Walton will explore discipleship in Mark’s gospel with some
summary points about the other three gospels and their approach.
Mark’s gospel is an ‘action movie’. It presents
discipleship as learning rapidly on the move. So fasten your seat
belts for a bumpy, exhilarating ride as we explore discipleship
in Mark and how that might speak to us today.
This joint day conference between
Lichfield Diocese and Wolverhampton & Shrewsbury Methodist
District on 7th May 2022 features keynote
speaker Revd Roger Walton. There will be worship, Bible study and
workshops in which to reflect on different aspects of
discipleship including joy, rule of life, forgiveness and change.
It will be held at Yarnfield Park Conference Centre near Stone
ST15 0NL between 10 and 4pm. The cost is £20 including tea,
coffee and a choice of lunch from a quality menu.
Bishop Michael of Lichfield and the Revd Rachel Parkinson, Chair
of Wolverhampton & Shrewsbury Methodist District are taking
part. The workshops are being led by Revd Andrew Roberts, Dr
Lindsey Hall, Revd Preb Helen Morby and Revd Roger Walton.
Bookings are being taken now. For more information visit the website or
contact John Underhill on 07936 300297 or jlunderhill@btinternet.com
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Digital Development Officer Vacancy
The
Tamworth and Lichfield Methodist Circuit seeks a Digital
Development Officer.
We need a creative and motivated team player to grow the digital
presence of the circuit and develop this as a means of sharing
the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Main duties of the role are:
• Facilitate and produce video content and upload to social
media, working alongside colleagues and volunteers.
• Support and update the Circuit Website
• Source/create material for regular positing on social media.
It is an occupational requirement of the role that the person
appointed be a Christian.
Starting Salary £11.50 per hour Part time initially 8 hours per
week
The role is for an initial 1 year contract
Closing date for applications midnight 6th May 2022
Interviews scheduled for mid May For further information and
application form contact Circuit Administrator on churchoffice.tamlich@gmail.com
Tel: 01543 256333
For a job Description lick here.
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Comedy Magic Night
We
have a special treat coming to Trinity Methodist Church,
Codsall, Wolverhampton, on Saturday evening, 11 June, 2022,
and I am just giving you the first 'heads up'. We will be hosting
Tom Elliott: if you have never heard of him, then
please read all about him below:
Tom
Elliott is one of the UK’s most exciting comedy magicians,
touring throughout the year, whilst also being founder of ‘Our
Centre Stage’, a network of nationwide community arts projects
coming in 2022. However, the majority of his gigs aren't in
comedy clubs or theatres, they are in churches, of all
denominations. He is a regular on what is known as the 'Christian
circuit'.
A
committed Christian, he hopes his brand of comedy can bring
people closer to God.
Once
described by Miranda Hart as ‘Such Fun’, Tom has appeared on BBC
TV & Radio, had a feature piece in the Times Newspaper and
received significant crowdfunding support for his initiatives.
He's also welcomed the likes of Milton
Jones & Rosemary Conley CBE onto his wellbeing
themed podcast.
Tom is
always keen to champion the goals and dreams of others, driving
him to launch the People On A Pursuit Community, that
helps people to pursue ambitious entrepreneurial or creative
goals, increase their productivity and maintain a sense of
wellbeing.
Tickets
- £8 (recommended age 12 upwards)
Please
put this date in your diary now. It would be great if
you could advertise the event over the next few months, bearing
in mind that people have busy diaries, which is why we are advertising
this now. I will be able to send you some printed
publicity in the next few weeks.
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Circuit Stewards Training
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Queen's Platinum Jubilee and Children's
Support Fund
There
is still a good amount of funding still available through the
above fund so if you have any activities celebrating the Queen's
Platinium Jubilee with your Junior Churches then please submit an
application for funding. We can turn these around reasonably
quickly provided all the information and signatories are
complete. Click here for an application
form.
If you have any projects not linked to the Jubilee then please
also consider applying.. any questions please contact me tim.a.lorimer@gmail.com.
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Learning and Development Events
As I’m
sure you’re aware, all of Reflective Supervision CPD Courses are
now available online.
These courses are delivered by colleagues across the Network, the
wider Connexional Team, ministers in Circuit and external
trainers. Some are even written (and will be delivered) by your
good selves.
The courses are listed at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/methodist-church-supervision-cpd-courses-39676866413.
These short courses will be repeated and added to over the coming
year.
The LN Calendar will be updated with new learning opportunities
regularly, so make sure you make a habit of checking back using
the link: (the posterboard or tile view may be the most useful to
get a sense of what’s available)
Learning
and Development Events (methodist.org.uk)
Here are a few upcoming courses:
Learning
and Development Opportunities
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Would
you like to train as a Mental Health First Aider? This is a
vital skill to support people in our churches and local
communities during these challenging times.
At present this is primarily an online course - with four
sessions plus a need to complete self-learning at home
for which materials will be provided. You must
attend all sessions to qualify. Maximum 16
per course.
Cost is £50 per person (payable with booking
and non-refundable) - this is being heavily subsidised for
Methodists from the £300 per person fee usually charged by MHFA
England. Book by clicking the link below or (if having
difficulties with link) by emailing Howard Wilson – wilsonh@methodistchurch.org.uk
Course D - 21,23,28,30 June 09:30-12:00 book here
Please note: Having booked via Eventbrite you must
then use the link on the booking email to register your place
on the MHFA website to receive your materials.
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2.
Circuit Stewards Training Various dates, on
zoom.
This four -session course will be offered twice in 2022. The
sessions are based on the material available on the Stewards
pages of the Methodist website. Sessions will run from 7 till 9
pm.
Dates:
14th, 21st, 28th June & 5th July
To book – www.bit.ly/circuitsteward
3.
Beginning a Church at the Margins: A 3 session interactive online
course Various
dates, on zoom
Aim of
the course: A space to think about connecting and
becoming a community of new Christians amongst and led by people
experiencing poverty.
For: People
who are passionate about their community with very little or no
experience of this kind of work. Whilst you can attend alone
ideally, we would like you to join as a team (you plus one other
person from your church or circuit) to share in conversation
together (if you are an experienced pioneer drop us an email for
more information).
Important:
Each
session in the course builds on the previous session, so you need
to be available to attend all three sessions. The sessions are
designed to be interactive rather than formal presentations and
will not be recorded. This course is open to all across the
connexion (not just West Midlands)
Hosted
by: Eunice Attwood, Church at the Margins Officer
and Kerry Scarlett, Regional Learning and Development Officer
To
book: please click the links (in blue) below, or
go to https://www.methodist.org.uk/our-work/our-work-in-britain/evangelism-growth/discover-church-at-the-margins/church-at-the-margins-training/
and click the links in red beside the dates you wish to attend.
Wednesday
8th June 7-9pm: Session One:
Creating connections and spaces where people truly encounter one
another.
Wednesday
22nd June7-9pm: Session Two:
Nurturing communities in which people with lived experience of
poverty are recognised as the experts
Wednesday
13th July7-9pm: Session Three:
Sharing the gospel and seeing transformation as people grow in
faith and challenge injustice.
If you would be interested in attending this course over two days
face to face at Cliff College, please email: attwoode@methodistchurch.org.uk
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Conference Volunteers URGENTLY needed
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3Generate 2022
We’re
delighted to let you know that 3Generate, the Methodist children
and youth assembly, will be taking place at the NEC in Birmingham
again: the dates are Friday
30th September to Sunday 2nd October 2022. Tickets go on sale
from 1st April
to 31st July so groups can
register and book tickets during this period but payment isn’t
required until the first week of September 2022. More information
can be found here.
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Stationing Training 2022
Following
the positive response to online training sessions last year,
training in Stationing processes will once again be held online
and broken down into separate sections. The training will be
conducted by the Chair and the District Lay Stationing Rep.
Ministers and Circuits expected to be involved in stationing will
receive individual notification of these sessions. The
training is for ministers, spouses/partners,
Superintendents and Circuit Stewards involved in
reviews or moves. Training on the process for re-invitation
would also be very helpful for any other people, such as Church
Stewards, who may play a part in the review process.
7pm
Thursday 5th May: An introduction to the
Stationing Process*
7pm
Monday 23rd May: The re-invitation
process
6pm
Tuesday 24 May: New appointments
(Ministers)
7.30pm
Tuesday 24 May: New appointments
(Circuit Invitation Committee)
*NB the District Policy Committee previously arranged for that
date is being postponed due to other factors)
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