Welcome!

Welcome to the blog from the Discipleship and Ministry Department in the Diocese of Winchester. Here you will find all that we are doing as a department, information on upcoming training and events and reflections on new resources.

Each member of the department regularly updates the site with what they are currently doing, which resources they recommend and any training or events that are coming up.

You'll see a list of all the most recent updates from all of the team on the right hand side of each page. If you only want to read info from one part of the department then simply click on the links on the top of the page.

On the left hand side of the page you’ll see the link “meet the team”. If you click that you will find out who we all are and also something about the responsibilities that each of us has. We hope this will help you get in touch with the person who can be most useful to you.

We want this blog to be interactive and to respond to your ideas as well. If you have any ideas for resources that should be more widely known, if you have read a good book recently (or seen a film) and want to draw this to our attention and alert others, if you have heard a good speaker and want to recommend them – then get in touch.

We will send out a regular email to ministers and leaders alerting you all to what is happening and giving links back to this blog where you can find out more. Why not add this page to your favourites now!

Simon Baker

Director of Discipleship and Ministry

Adult: Adult Discipleship
CMD: Continuing Ministerial Development
FX: Fresh Expressions
IME: Initial Ministerial Education
Vocations
YCF: Youth Children and Families
Spirituality

Visit the main website for the Diocese of Winchester here

 

Events to Watch out for!

Our Church Officer Training Day on Saturday 5 November 2011 was a day of information and help for Churchwardens, PCC Secretaries, Parish Administrators, PCC Treasurers - indeed, anyone who serves in a church and needs to know!  Click this link for a report of the day and access to handouts. And now we're doing it again on Saturday 19 May 2012 at Old Alresford Place. Click this link for more details.

 

Reader Licensing Service 2011

On 1 October the Bishop of Basingstoke and the Bishop of Southampton conducted the service of Admission and Licensing for our Readers.

Seven new Readers were admitted at the end of their training and a further six Readers were welcomed as they take up ministry here having moved from other diocese.

There were a good number of their fellow Readers in the congregation to join in the welcome and to renew their own promises to serve God and the Church in this important ministry of preaching and teaching.

Altogether the congregation was one of the largest we have seen in the Cathedral for this service. The congregation applauded the new Readers as they received their admission certificates. In doing this they promised to continue to support them in their work. The support that family, friends and local congregations give to Readers in training is immense and the service in the cathedral is a fitting celebration of all that they have already given and now hope to receive through the ministry they came to see admitted and licensed.

At the service the following new Readers were admitted and licensed:

  • Stephen Adam (Winchester St Barnabas)
  • May Barker (Chandlers Ford)
  • Lesley Edwards (Four Marks)
  • Shelagh Kavanagh (Basingstoke)
  • Peter Ridley (Yateley)
  • Gerry Stacey (Itchen Valley)
  • Bruce White (Fair Oak)
  •  

In addition, other Readers were licensed to the Diocese, having transferred from other Diocese:

  • Ruth Chattell (Farleigh, Candover & Weild)
  • John Hayward (Eastrop)
  • Mary Herbert (North West Hampshire)
  • Geoff Maddox (Milford-on-Sea)
  • Keith Sydenham (St Mary Extra (Peartree))
  • John Wilson-Brown (Hythe)

Every year we hope to recruit new Readers in training. If you would like to know more about this ministry, the training, or the selection process please look here XXXXXX.

A wide range of people from many different backgrounds take up this ministry. It might be what God is calling you to do! Or you might know someone who could respond to this call.

(Photo by John May; 01962 882505 or email emayjohn@sky.com)